Weird and Religious
In ancient Rome, there was a festival called Saturnalia where normal social order was briefly reversed. Slaves could mock their masters, gambling was allowed, and public behaviour loosened. Religion created a scheduled period where rules were suspended under divine approval.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1839 to 1842, Qing China. The Taiping movement, led by Hong Xiuquan who claimed a Christian inspired divine mission, began rebellion that became a massive war. Followers justified violence as establishing a heavenly kingdom, destroying demons, and carrying out God’s will on earth.
Fact
In Sikhism, remembrance of God is meant to continue during daily life, and Sikhism does not limit spirituality to special times or places.
An imagined solution
God is not an answer revealed from beyond the world but the imagined solution to mortality, uncertainty, and powerlessness. It is the story humans told themselves when reality was too harsh and too silent. That story worked well enough to survive for thousands of years, and its success says nothing about its truth. It says everything about the human mind that created it.
Quote of the day
“One man’s religion is another man’s belly laugh.” Robert A. Heinlein.
Ask the right question
Why would a god reveal different and conflicting rules to different groups of people?
Religious Crooks
Joseph Smith founded the Latter Day Saint movement and presented new scriptures and revelations, while critics in his era accused him of money digging, failed banking ventures, and blending spiritual authority with economic schemes, alongside later legal troubles before his death.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
History tells us that wherever fools gathered, there was always a religious crook to take advantage of them. The best way to stop the crooks is not to be a fool.