Weird and Religious
Some strands of early Christianity practised baptism for the dead. Living believers were baptised on behalf of people who had already died, in case the deceased had not had the chance to receive the ritual while alive.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2003, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula carried out bombings against residential compounds. The group justified attacks as jihad against Western presence and un-Islamic rulers, promising religious reward for striking perceived enemies of Islam.
Fact
In Jainism, careful speech is stressed, and Jainism teaches avoiding words that could cause harm or false understanding.
Free speech and religion
Free speech forms the foundation of any society that hopes to progress rather than merely persist, because it allows ideas to be examined, challenged, discarded, or improved, and it is through this process that long-held assumptions are replaced with better ones. No social advance has ever occurred without offending those who benefited from the old order, for progress is inseparable from discomfort, and comfort thrives only where belief remains unchallenged. Religious systems have historically claimed access to absolute truth, and absolute truth does not tolerate rivals. When a belief presents itself as final, dissent becomes dangerous by definition, and questioning is reframed as attack, criticism as hatred, and disagreement as moral failure. For centuries, religious authority was bound to political power, and challenging doctrine was treated as treason against the state. That legacy has not vanished. It has simply adopted softer language while preserving the same instinct to silence.
Quote of the day
“Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.” Bertrand Russell.
Ask the right question
Why do faith healings fail under controlled scientific testing?
Religious Crooks
Ravi Zacharias was a prominent Christian apologist whose ministry commissioned an independent investigation after his death, which concluded that he had engaged in sexual misconduct and exploited women while using his religious reputation as cover.
For more information, google the name.
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.