Wickedness, allied to the “truth” of religious belief, can lead men to heinous acts. For it is this sense of having access to the truth that makes religion the dangerous phenomenon that it so often is. Most of the terrible things human beings do to each other originate in a sense of moral conviction. . …
Continue reading ‘A century of Moslem “religious” violence?’ »
In 1924 Kemal Ataturkand the Grand National Assembly abolished the Caliphate, and along with it, the Ministry of Religious Affairs . Pious Foundations were wound up, religious schools transferred to the secular arm, and the Sheriat Courts were closed. Instead, a Civil Code, based on the Swiss code, was introduced. Ataturk believed that Islam was …
Continue reading ‘Moving back to the Middle Ages in Turkey’ »
In 1480 a Turkish force invaded Otranto in Italy, killing 802 people. Catholics claim that they were killed for refusing to convert to Islam. Pope Clement XIV beatified the group in 1771, and now Pope Francis is declaring all 802 saints. He will thus become the Pope with largest number of saints created, overnight. The …
The New York Times reports today that crowds, led by Orthodox priests, violently attacked a gay rights demonstration in Tbilisi, Georgia yesterday. The leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, compared homosexuals to drug addicts, and called the gay demonstration “a violation of the rights of the majority” of Georgians. One supporter of …
Continue reading ‘Borne on a tide of ignorance and thriving on hatred’ »
Alain de Botton is a Swiss philosopher living in England. in his new book, Religion for Atheists, he suggests that those who don’t believe in the teachings of the established religions should appropriate some of their ideas. They are good ideas, he says. They include how to: – build a sense of community – make …
Continue reading ‘Alain de Botton and taking good ideas from world religions’ »
