Weird and Religious
The Jain religion teaches such strict nonviolence that some monks sweep the ground in front of their feet to avoid stepping on insects and wear cloth over their mouths to avoid inhaling tiny life forms. Farming was traditionally discouraged because it kills organisms in the soil.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2007, Pakistan, Lal Masjid crisis. Islamist militants clashed with security forces in Islamabad. Militants justified resistance as defence of Islamic law and opposition to an un-Islamic government, framing confrontation as religious struggle.
Fact
In Sikhism, community kitchens called langar are important, and Sikhism serves free meals to all people regardless of background as a sign of equality and service.
Editing Reality
Human memory is not a faithful recording but a reconstruction. Each time an event is remembered, it is altered slightly to fit the current narrative. Over time, stories grow cleaner, clearer, and more meaningful than the original experience ever was. Religious experiences benefit enormously from this process. A vague feeling becomes a presence, a coincidence becomes a miracle, and a childhood story becomes a foundational truth. Repetition cements these reconstructions into certainty. The believer is not lying; the brain has edited reality to match belief.
Quote of the day
“The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession.” Abraham Lincoln.
Ask the right question
If a religion teaches humility, why do its truth claims often include certainty about the ultimate nature of reality?
Religious Crooks
Efraín Ríos Montt is more political, so instead take Efrain Rios Montt style cases out and use José Mercau, a self proclaimed Catholic mystic in Argentina, who was convicted of sexual abuse after presenting himself as a spiritual healer with special powers.
For more information, google the name.
Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
Throughout history and still to this day, there has never been a shortage of religious leaders who were not always following their own spiritual advice.