Religions - Religious Studies

Religion is a cultural system of ethical behaviors, practices, beliefs and world views that may also include vows of service and the reading of sacred texts, as well as visiting holy places. Religion can also be seen as a societal organization that sees humanity as having an order of existence. Many religions believe in a divine power or have a belief that a God exists. Though religious practices and personal interpretations of a particular religion varies from person to person, religion is mostly defined by the individual who practices it, and not by a label that one tries to define it with.



Definition of Religion is a controversial and complicated subject in religious studies with scholars failing to agree on any one definition. Oxford Dictionaries defines religion as the belief in and/or worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

Religious Studies is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives. While theology attempts to understand the transcendent or supernatural according to traditional religious accounts, religious studies takes a more scientific and objective approach independent of any particular religious viewpoint. Religious studies thus draws upon multiple academic disciplines and methodologies including anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of religion.

History of Religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,220 years ago or 3200 BC. The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. One can also study comparative religious chronology through a timeline of religion. Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location, and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules. A small part of the Bible involves the collation of oral texts handed down over the centuries.

Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history. Around 100,000 BC is the earliest known human burial in the Middle East. 78,000–74,000 BC is the earliest known Homo Sapiens burial of a child in Panga ya Saidi, East Africa. From 70,000–35,000 BC Neanderthal burials take place in areas of Europe and the Middle East.

Native American Religions are the spiritual practices of the Native Americans in the United States. Ceremonial ways can vary widely and are based on the differing histories and beliefs of individual nations, tribes and bands. Early European explorers describe individual Native American tribes and even small bands as each having their own religious practices. Theology may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, shamanistic, pantheistic or any combination thereof, among others. Traditional beliefs are usually passed down in the forms of oral histories, stories, allegories, and principles. The ancestors of the American Indians were nomadic hunters of northeast Asia who migrated over the Bering Strait land bridge into North America probably during the last glacial period (11,500–30,000 years ago). By c. 10,000 bc they had occupied much of North, Central, and South America.

Australian Aboriginal Religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes the Dreamtime (the Dreaming), songlines, and Aboriginal oral literature. Geological research dated the formative volcanic explosions described by Aboriginal myth tellers as having occurred more than 10,000 years ago.

Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions.

Religious Philosophy is philosophical thinking that is influenced and directed as a consequence to teachings from a particular religion.

Sociology of Religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology.

Comparative Religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.

Evolutionary Psychology of Religion is the study of religious belief using evolutionary psychology principles.

Theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief or the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth, and the theory of when religious beliefs systematically developed. Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. Theology is also a particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings, and the learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion. Theologian is someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology.

Apophatic Theology is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which approaches God or the Divine by affirmations or positive statements about what God is. The apophatic tradition is often, though not always, allied with the approach of mysticism, which aims at the vision of God, the perception of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception.

Religion and Science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern understandings of "science" or of "religion", certain elements of modern ideas on the subject recur throughout history.

Outline of Religion states that Religion is and organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.

Religious Diversity - Differences among Religions

There are large concentrations of different religions around the world. Most countries have a mix of many different religions as well as non-religious people. Map (image)

Growth of Religions (wiki)

There are over 4,000 recognized religions in the world.

Major Religious Groups (wiki)

World Population in 2023 is around 8 Billion.

Religious Populations in the World (wiki)

Christianity - 2.4 Billion, around 33%.
Islam - 1.8 Billion, around 24.1%.
Hinduism - 1.15 Billion, around 15%.
Secular, Nonreligious, Agnostic or Atheist - 1.2 Billion - around 16%.

350,000 Religious Congregations in the United States, about 314,000 are Protestant and other Christian churches, and 24,000 are Catholic and Orthodox churches. Non-Christian religious congregations are estimated at about 12,000. One estimate was 450,000 Churches in America. 118 million people, said they attended worship on the previous weekend. Factions.

Religion - Institutions - Religions - Religion Quick Facts

Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

The Association of Religion Data Archives.

Religions and Spiritual Traditions (wiki list)

Beliefs - Multiple - Why Do We Believe - Cults - Followers - Separation - Atheism

Opinions - Religious Text - Proverbs

Confidence Dangers - Working Together

Prayer - Proverbs - Spirituality - Placebo Effect

Secularity - Conformity - Extremism - Charlatans - Cults - Sins - Confession 

God - Supreme Being

God is conceived of as the supreme being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience or infinite knowledge, omnipotence or unlimited power, omnipresence or present everywhere or ever present, a divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent or perfectly good and all loving. God is the name given to a fictional creator of our world and the universe that millions of people believe in, and whose meaning differs depending on the religion and the person. The seven names of God of holiness are the Tetragrammaton, El, Elohim, Eloah, Elohai, El Shaddai, and Tzevaot. Every person believes in God in their own way, so everyone has their own unique experience. Even people who don't believe in a God also have their own unique experience in life. God is a supernatural being that has never been proven to exist. But many people believe that God exists mostly from religions and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. And some people believe in a God because life is just to incredible to have happened all by itself. But human imagination is a gift that we have to use wisely. Like everything in life, balance is extremely important, and knowledge is the key.

Deism is the belief in the existence of God solely based on rational thought without any reliance on revealed religions or religious authority. Deism emphasizes the concept of natural theology, and that God's existence is revealed through nature.

Goddess is a female deity in polytheistic religions. Nymph in ancient Greek folklore is a supernatural being associated with many other minor female deities that are often associated with the air, seas, woods, water or particular locations or landforms. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate or maintain Nature (natural forces reified and considered as a sentient being) for the environments where they live, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young, and graceful maidens. They were not necessarily immortal, but lived many years before they died. They are often divided into various broad subgroups, such as the Meliae (nymphs of ash trees), the Naiads (nymphs of rivers and streams), the Nereids (nymphs of calm seas), and the Oreads (nymphs of mountains). Nymphs often feature in many classic works of art, literature, mythology and in fiction. Since medieval times, nymphs are sometimes popularly associated, or even confused, with the mythical or spiritual fairies. Dakini is a type of female spirit, goddess, intuitive force, or the female ruler of the muladhara chakra. She is a female messenger of wisdom and a female embodiment of enlightenment. Dakinin is a sky-going mother or “sky dweller” or “sky dancer" or "sky walker" who traverses the sky or who moves in space. The concept of the Dākinī  somewhat differs depending on the context and the tradition.

Artemis in Greek religion is the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity and childbirth. She was identified by the Romans with Diana. Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.

Allah is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions.

Hashem is a title used in Judaism to refer to God. It is also a given name and surname, common in Muslim societies.

Deity a natural or supernatural being considered divine or sacred.

Creator Deity is a deity or god responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, cosmos or universe. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. Intelligent Design.

Numinous is showing the presence of a deity. Of or relating to or characteristic of a numen. Numen in religion is a spirit believed to inhabit an object or preside over a place.

Omnipresent is being present everywhere at once.

Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power.

Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme god within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism.

Krishna is a major Hindu deity worshiped in a variety of different perspectives.

Jah is a short form of Jehovah or Yahweh, the proper name of God in the Hebrew Bible.

Odin is a widely revered god that is associated with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, battle, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg.

Anunnaki are a group of deities that appear in the mythological traditions of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. Descriptions of how many Anunnaki there were and what role they fulfilled are inconsistent and often contradictory.(also transcribed as: Anunaki, Anunna, Anunnaku (singular), Ananaki, and other variations).

Bhagavan or Bhagwan is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is used to signify a deity or avatar, particularly for Krishna and Vishnu in Vaishnavism and Shiva in Shaivism. In Jainism the term refers to the Tirthankaras, particularly Mahavira, and in Buddhism to the Buddha. In many parts of India and South Asia, Bhagavan represents the abstract concept of a universal God to Hindus who are spiritual and religious but do not worship a specific deity.

Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others acting like a master, a chief, or a ruler.

Demigod can refer to a minor deity, a mortal who is the offspring of a god and a human being, or a figure who has attained divine status after death. A demigod is not to be confused with a demagogue, which is someone who exploits the prejudices of ignorant and gullible people.

Sanctified is someone made or declared or believed to be holy; devoted to a deity or some religious ceremony or use. Intelligent Design.

Manifestation of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization.

Omniscient is someone who is infinitely wise and all-knowing.

Canonization is the act by which the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion declares that a person who has died was a saint.

Saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness to God.

Sacred is something worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers.

Holy is belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power. A sacred place of pilgrimage, which is a journey to a sacred place.

Divine is something emanating from God. Being or having the nature of a god. Appropriate to or befitting a god. Something excellent, preeminently good, beautiful or creative. Something perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers.

Divinity is the state of things that come from a supernatural power or deity, such as a god, supreme being, creator deity, or spirits, and are therefore regarded as sacred and holy.

Pantheism is the belief that reality is identical with divinity, or that all-things compose an all-encompassing, immanent god. Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal god, anthropomorphic or otherwise, and instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity. Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. Inner Voices.

Monotheism is the belief in one god. A narrower definition of monotheism is the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, and intervenes in the world.

Theism is the belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in one god as creator of the universe

Animism is the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.
the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe

Totemism is a system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant.

Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god.

Monotheism is the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.

Spirituality - Beliefs - Multi-Faith - Personal Religion

"God is the god of all humanity, but no single faith is or should be the faith of all humanity." Jonathan Sacks (wiki).

Supernatural is defined as being incapable to be explained by science or the laws of nature, characteristic or relating to ghosts, gods or other supernatural beings or to appear beyond nature.

Heaven is a common religious, cosmological, or transcendent place where beings such as gods, angels, jinn, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or to live. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases enter Heaven alive.

Hell - Devil - Positive Thinking - Faith Healing

Thin Place: Where heaven meets earth. A thin place is a place of energy. A place where the veil between this world and the eternal world is thin. A thin place is where one can walk in two worlds. Thin places aren't perceived with the five senses. Experiencing them goes beyond those limits.

Thin Places - Overtoun Bridge (wiki) - Following the Leader could be Dangerous.

What's the difference between compensation and believing that there is a heaven? Death.

Icon is a religious work of art.

Divine Light is an aspect of divine presence, specifically an unknown and mysterious ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means, rather than through physical capacities.

Religious Representatives

Moses was a prophet in the Abrahamic religions. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was adopted by an Egyptian princess, and later in life became the leader of the Israelites and lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the Torah, or acquisition of the Torah from Heaven is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbenu in Hebrew (מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ, lit. "Moses our Teacher"), he is the most important prophet in Judaism. He is also an important prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and a number of other. Commandments.

Jesus was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who has become the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah (Christ, the Anointed One) prophesied in the Old Testament.

Muhammad is the central figure of Islam and widely regarded as its founder by non-Muslims. He is known as the "Holy Prophet" to Muslims, almost all of whom consider him to be the last prophet sent by God to mankind to restore Islam, believed by Muslims to be the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, and the Quran, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief. Sharia is the religious law governing the members of the Islamic faith.

Solomon was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and successor of David. Solomon was the biblical king most famous for his wisdom. The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are 970–931 BCE. In the New Testament, he is portrayed as a teacher of wisdom excelled by Jesus of Nazareth, and as arrayed in glory but excelled by "the lilies of the field". In the Quran, he is considered to be a major Islamic prophet and is generally referred to as Sulaiman ibn Dawud. Solomom was born 990 BCE and died 931 BCE.

Sia represents the personification of perception and thoughtfulness in the traditional mythology adhered to in Ancient Egypt. Thoth, married to Maat (in ancient Egyptian, meaning order, righteousness, truth), was also important and regarded as a national introducer of wisdom. Sia or Saa, an ancient Egyptian god, was the deification of perception in the Heliopolitan Ennead cosmogony and is probably equivalent to the intellectual energies of the heart of Ptah in the Memphite cosmogeny. He also had a connection with writing and was often shown in anthropomorphic form holding a papyrus scroll. This papyrus was thought to embody intellectual achievements.

Prophet is an individual who has claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and to speak for them, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people.

Solomon was a fabulously wealthy and wise king of Israel and a son of David, the previous king of Israel.

Ordained is to make someone a priest or minister; To confer holy orders on. To order or decree something officially. Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination vary by religion and denomination.

Confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in Holy Baptism. In some denominations, confirmation also bestows full membership in a local congregation upon the recipient.

Investiture is the formal promotion of a person to an office or rank, or the ceremonial act of clothing someone in the insignia of an office. The ceremony of installing a new monarch.

Pope also known as the pontiff, is the Bishop of Rome, and therefore ex officio the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is supposed to have given the keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. Pope Francis.

Clergy are some of the main and important formal leaders within certain religions. Buddha.

Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks.

Preacher is a minister of religion or person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a moral or social worldview or philosophy.

Televangelism is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Charlatans.

Glossolalia Speaking in Tongues is a phenomenon in which people appear to speak in languages unknown to them.

Priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the 'priesthood', a term which also may apply to such persons collectively. A priest may have the duty to hear confessions periodically, give marriage counseling, provide prenuptial counseling, give spiritual direction, teach catechism, or visit those confined indoors, such as the sick in hospitals and nursing homes.

Pastor is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, pastors are always ordained. In Methodism, pastors may be either licensed or ordained.

Chaplain is a member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, branch of the armed forces, etc. A chaplain is a certified clergy member who provides spiritual care for individuals in a non-religious organization, rather than a church congregation. Chaplains can work in government roles and serve members of the military in different locations. They can serve patients in healthcare or hospice facilities. A chaplain can also be a cleric such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution, such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence agency, embassy, school, labor union, business, police department, fire department, university, sports club), or a private chapel.

Rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as semikha – following a course of study of Jewish texts such as the Talmud.

Bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Church.

Minister is a member of the clergy. In Christianity, a minister is a person authorized by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister ("servant", "attendant"). In some church traditions the term is usually used for people who have ordained, but in other traditions it can also be used for non-ordained people who have a pastoral or liturgical ministry. In Catholic, Orthodox (Eastern and Oriental), Anglican and Lutheran churches, the concept of a priesthood is emphasized. In other denominations such as Baptist, Methodist and Calvinist churches (Congregationalist and Presbyterian), the term "minister" usually refers to a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may serve as an elder (presbyter), pastor, preacher, bishop, or chaplain. With respect to ecclesiastical address, many ministers are styled as "The Reverend"; however, some use "Pastor" or "Father" as a title.

Ordained Minister is authorized to lead worship, give sermons, and baptize members of the congregation. Those who have a significant preaching/teaching ministry in a church, parachurch, mission organization, school, or other institution, including military chaplains, are good candidates for ordination. Almost anyone can get legally ordained to officiate a wedding. The steps for officiating a wedding can vary depending on where the ceremony will take place, as each state has its own way of doing things. Prior to officiating a wedding, you may need to show official credentials prove you are a minister and get a marriage license. The office in charge of recording marriages – usually a county clerk – will sometimes ask to see documentation such as your ordination credential or a letter of good standing. To learn what specifically you’ll want to have on hand, contact that office directly. 

Marriage Officiant is a person who officiates at a wedding ceremony. Religious weddings, such as Christian ones, are officiated by a pastor, such as a priest or vicar. Similarly, Jewish weddings are presided over by a rabbi, and in Islamic weddings, an imam is the marriage officiant. In Hindu weddings, a pandit is the marriage officiant. Some non-religious couples get married by a minister of religion, while others get married by a government official, such as a civil celebrant, judge, mayor, or Justice of the peace. Religious weddings are officiated by clergy people. To officiate a wedding you need a licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest, or be a Jewish rabbi, or an officer of a religious organization authorized to conduct marriage ceremonies, or justices/judges/magistrates/associate judges, current or retired.

Brethren is the lay members of a male religious order. Sect.

Oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God and to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally living in general society, who, while not professed monks or nuns, have individually affiliated themselves with a monastic community of their choice. They make a formal, private promise to follow the Rule of the Order in their private lives as closely as their individual circumstances and prior commitments permit. The promise is annually renewable or for life, depending on the monastery with which they are affiliated.

Elder is someone of a greater age or much older in age than the majority of the population. Geriatric.

Elder in Christian religion is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. Some of the qualities that an elder should have: A lover of what is good, just and fair. Temperate, vigilant, Sober-minded, prudent, Of good behavior, orderly, respectable, Given to hospitality, Able to teach, moderate, forbearing, gentle, Uncontentious, Not violent, not pugnacious, Self-controlled, not soon angry or quick-tempered, Patient, Not covetous, not a lover of money, Has a good rapport or reputation with outsiders.

Wisdom does not always come with Age because ignorant stubborn people can be stuck in their ways. They have experience in being narrow minded but not experienced about the realities of life. Mostly because their faith and beliefs kept them from educating themselves and becoming more knowledgeable about reality of the world today. Ancient Knowledge.

Religions

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Christ, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament in Christianity, and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest religion with about 2.4 billion followers.

Baptism is a Christian rite of admission and adoption into Christianity with the use of water, It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely. Christening, naming of a vessel, as in ceremonial ship launching.

Abrahamic Religions (wiki)

Islam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion which teachings and beliefs are that there is only one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24.1% of the world's population, commonly known as Muslims. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and has guided mankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, believed to be the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative examples (called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570 – 8 June 632 CE).

Salah is one of the Five Pillars in the faith of Islam and an obligatory religious duty for every Muslim. It is a physical, mental, and spiritual act of worship that is observed five times every day at prescribed times. In this ritual, the worshiper starts standing, bows, prostrates, and concludes while sitting on the ground. During each posture, the worshiper recites or reads certain verses, phrases and prayers. The word salah is commonly translated to prayer but this definition might be confusing. Muslims use the words "Dua" or "Supplication" when referring to the common definition of prayers which is "reverent petitions made to God."

Muslims are people who follow or practice Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their holy book, to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet and messenger Muhammad. The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith). "Muslim" is an Arabic word meaning "submitter" (to God). The beliefs of Muslims include: that God (Arabic: الله‎ Allāh) is eternal, transcendent and absolutely one (tawhid); that God is incomparable, self-sustaining and neither begets nor was begotten; that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that has been revealed before through many prophets including Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, and Jesus; that these previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time (tahrif) and that the Quran is the final unaltered revelation from God (Final Testament). As of 2019, 1.9 billion or about 24.4% of the world population are Muslims. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 91% in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA), 81% in Central Asia, 65% in the Caucasus,40% in Southeast Asia, 31% in South Asia, 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 25% in Asia–Oceania, around 6% in Europe, and 1% in the Americas. Most Muslims are of one of two denominations; Sunni (75–90%) and Shia. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country; 20% in the Middle East–North Africa, where it is the dominant religion; 31% of Muslims live in South Asia, the largest population of Muslims in the world; and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa. Muslims are the vast majority in the Sahel, the overwhelming majority in Central Asia, the majority in the Caucasusand widespread in Southeast Asia. India is the country with the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries. Sizeable Muslim communities are also found in the Americas, China, Europe, and Russia. Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.

Religions around the World (diversity of beliefs)

Judaism is an ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Children of Israel. It encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. The Torah is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth largest religion in the world.

Is Israel mostly a U.S. military base? Are Jews just puppets for Americas war machine that is controlled by corporate war profiteers? Shortly after Oct. 7, the U.S. government started transferring to Israel massive amounts of weapons. Among these weapons, Israel received more than 15,000 bombs and 50,000 artillery shells within just the first month and a half. These transfers have been deliberately shrouded in secrecy to avoid public scrutiny and prevent Congress from exercising any meaningful oversight. Some of these weapons were purchased using U.S. taxpayers’ money through the Foreign Military Sales program; some were direct commercial sales purchased through Israel’s own budget; and some were replenished U.S. military stockpiles in Israel, which the Israeli military may also use. A list of known U.S. arms transfers is maintained by the Forum on the Arms Trade.

Judaism is supportive of the Palestinians (reddit video) - Palestinian Liberation (reddit video) - Palestinian Occupation Song (reddit video) - People support Palestinians in world wide protests (reddit video) - Palestinian Genocide (reddit video) - Genocide.

November 21, 2023: More than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed including 3,561 women and 6,403 children. Journalists have also been killed. December 22, 2023. Israel's offensive has now killed more than 20,000 people. 70% of those killed are women and children. Another 50,000 people in Gaza have been wounded. About 1.9 million people are estimated to be internally displaced in southern Gaza, according to the UN, representing nearly 85% of the enclave's entire population, with children making up almost 50% of this figure. The entire population in Gaza is in a food crisis, with 576,600 people close to starvation. Nearly 40,000 buildings or about 18% of all pre-conflict structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began, including, hospitals, universities and schools. As of January 15, nearly 2 million displaced, nearly 24,000 dead — 10,000 of them children. Over 70,000 wounded and injured, nearly 8,000 more are reported to be missing, presumed dead under rubble. 160,800 buildings damaged or destroyed. Since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, when the militant group Hamas broke into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped some 250 more, the toll of Israel's response on Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has been catastrophic for the territory. As of January 21st, around 25,105 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, while over 70,000 have been wounded. In March, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. War and illness ‘could kill 85,000 Gazans in six months.

"Israel's war is not about fighting terrorism, this is about scumbag Israel leaders instigating future wars with Muslims so that the scumbag war profiteers and war mongers can make more money while destabilizing countries so they are easier to manipulate."

Bernie Sanders on Anti-Semitism Bigotry (reddit video)

Thousands take part in pro-Palestine protests across the world. Protests took place in major world cities, including London, Madrid and Istanbul.

Israel Kills Medics Trying to Save Dying 6-Year-Old Hind Rajab.



62% of the Homes Destroyed in Gaza, and 1.7 million displaced, UNRWA report finds.

Israeli is killing their own soldiers with friendly fire. Nearly a fifth of Israeli fatalities since the invasion of Gaza in late October were caused by friendly fire or accidents, accounting for 36 of the 188 soldiers killed at the time of the report. Experts say it's one of the highest such percentages in recent military history. Israeli soldiers have been killed in airstrikes by Israeli planes and by shrapnel from their own explosives. Some were run over by Israeli armored vehicles or mistakenly identified and hit by tank fire, shelling and guns, according to a report released by the IDF earlier this month. Israel brought nearly 300,000 reservists back to active duty — many of whom went from their regular day jobs to urban combat in Gaza with very limited training. Most of the soldiers fighting in Gaza are in their late teens to mid-20s, and because Israel tends to promote quickly, there are very young people in more senior positions. These soldiers were most likeliy killed because they spoke up against the killing women and children. This is why mass surveillance is so deadly. Everything and anything you say can be recorded and used against you. The next genocide they're planning will be a lot more deadlier than the holocaust.

Palestine is a state located in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO, it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which has been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. The Gaza Strip has since been blockaded by Israel and Egypt. In 1919, Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians constituted 90 percent of the population of Palestine, just before the third wave of Jewish immigration under the British Mandate after World War I. Arabs (wiki)

Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha.

Kabbalah Is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought of Judaism.

Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal law," or the "eternal way," beyond human origins. Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This "Hindu synthesis" started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).

Buddhism is an Indian religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in Ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, where after it declined in India during the middle ages. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravada (Pali: "The School of the Elders") and Mahayana (Sanskrit: "The Great Vehicle"). Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists.

Hoodoo is a set of spiritual practices, traditions, and beliefs created and concealed from slaveholders by enslaved Africans in North America. Hoodoo evolved from various traditional African religions, practices, and in the American South incorporated with various elements of indigenous botanical knowledge.

Voodoo is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional religions of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Haitian Vodou. No central authority is in control of Louisiana Voodoo, which is organized through autonomous groups.

Traditional African Religions are traditional beliefs and practices of African people that are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and are passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals.

Ethnic Religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a primary objective and, therefore, are not limited in ethnic, national or racial scope.

Films about Religions

Around the World in 80 Faiths (dailymotion)
The Trouble with Atheism (youtube)
Trouble in Amish Paradise (youtube)
TROM - 2.22 Religion (youtube)
TROM - 2.24 Mystery and Paranormal Powers (youtube)
Christian Dilemmas (youtube)
Stephen Fry vs Ann Widdecombe: Catholic Church Debate(youtube)
Deconversion, Belief, and the Power of Silence (youtube)
Ancient Knowledge Films

Churches - Places of Worship

Place of Worship is a specially designed structure or consecrated space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is sometimes called a house of worship. Temples, churches, synagogues and mosques are examples of structures created for worship. A monastery, particularly for Buddhists, may serve both to house those belonging to religious orders and as a place of worship for visitors. Natural or topographical features may also serve as places of worship, and are considered holy or sacrosanct in some religions; the rituals associated with the Ganges river are an example in Hinduism.

Church is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly for Christian worship services. The term is often used by Christians to refer to the physical buildings where they worship, but it is sometimes used (by analogy) to refer to buildings of other religions. Photos of Different Churches (images).

Church as a congregation is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status. Among congregational churches, since each local church is autonomous, there are no formal lines of responsibility to organizational levels of higher authority. Refuge - Refugees.

Religious Corporation is a type of religious non-profit organization, which has been incorporated under the law. Often these types of corporations are recognized under the law on a subnational level, for instance by a state or province government. The government agency responsible for regulating such corporations is usually the official holder of records, for instance, the Secretary of State. In the United States, religious corporations are formed like all other nonprofit corporations by filing articles of incorporation with the state. Religious corporation articles need to have the standard tax-exempt language the IRS requires. Religious corporations are permitted to designate a person to act in the capacity of corporation sole. This is a person who acts as the official holder of the title on the property, etc. The Roman Catholic Church is recognized as a corporation by virtue of the treaty of 1898 in Spain, while other religious corporations derive their status from their charters granted to them by the state. Religious corporations are the third form of nonprofit corporations and include many sectarian schools and churches. These corporations are often exempt from paying income taxes and exempt from other state and federal regulations or laws that affect most other nonprofit corporations. The major types of religious organization are the church, sect, and cult. Two types of church organizations include the ecclesia and denomination. Although the term cult brings to mind negative connotations, several world religions began as cults, and most of today's cults are not violent.

Holy Place is a place revered as being holy, typically one to which religious pilgrimage is made. A holy place can be a mosque, a shrine, a synagogue, a chapel, a church, a house of worship, a sanctuary, a temple, an altar, a mausoleum, a house, a pagoda, a basilica, a chancel, a minster, a cathedral, a masjid, a tabernacle, a sanctum or a grave.

Pilgrimage is a devotional practice consisting of a prolonged journey, often undertaken on foot or on horseback, toward a specific destination of significance. It is an inherently transient experience, removing the participant from his or her home environment and identity.

Shrine is a holy or sacred site dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which votive offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines are found in many of the world's religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Shinto, and Asatru as well as in secular and non-religious settings such as a war memorial. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, museums, or in the home. Although, portable shrines are also found in some cultures.

Parsonage is a church house provided for a member of the clergy.

One great thing about churches and religion is that it brings people together, which is a great opportunity to communicate with each other and share ideas.

Religion does unite people, but religion can also divide people. This is not the fault of the religion itself, but the fault of people and their interpretations and perceptions, and sometimes a result of them having a big ego and being privileged because they apart of a large group of people.

Congregation is a group of people assembled for religious worship. A group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church. Congregating is to come together, usually for a purpose. Congregation is also a gathering or collection of people, animals, or things.

Assembly - Meeting - Assimilation - Conformity

There are roughly 350,000 religious congregations in the United States estimated by the Hartford Institute. In 1928, there were 5,497 Congregational churches in the U.S. with a membership of 939,130. The three largest religious denominations in the United States are Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, and United Methodist. National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States.

How to Start a Church. The Rules to become a Church and the Church Qualification Guide 14-Point Test: Must have a Distinct legal existence. A Recognized creed and form of worship. A Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government. A Formal code of doctrine and discipline. A Distinct religious history. A Membership not associated with any other church or denomination. An Organization of ordained ministers. Having Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study. Have Literature of its own. Have Established places of worship. Have Regular congregations. Have Regular religious services. Have Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young. Have Schools for the preparation of its members.

Clothing Religious People Wear

Religious Habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order.

Religious Headgear List (wiki) - Religious Attire (wiki)

Hijab is a veil worn by some Muslim women in the presence of any male outside of their immediate family, which usually covers the head and chest. The word ijāb in the Quran refers not to women's clothing, but rather a spatial partition or curtain. The term can refer to any head, face, or body covering worn by Muslim women that conforms to a certain standard of modesty. Hijab can also be used to refer to the seclusion of women from men in the public sphere, or it may denote a metaphysical dimension, for example referring to "the veil which separates man or the world from God".

Costumes (body image) - Modest Fashion

Talisman is an object, typically an inscribed ring or stone, that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck. Or a person regarded as representing and inspiring a particular group.

Fatwa in the Islamic faith is a legal opinion or learned interpretation that the Sheikhul Islam, a qualified jurist or mufti, can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law.

Reality - Culture - Death - Validity

Religious Identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept.

Cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as petroglyphs in European cult caves, dating back to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, and throughout prehistory to the Iron Age. Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian crux ansata with a loop. The "sun cross" or "wheel cross" appears with some regularity in prehistoric European artifacts, usually interpreted as a solar symbol, perhaps representing the spoked wheel of the Sun chariot. Egyptian hieroglyphs involving cross shapes include ankh "life", ndj "protect" and nfr "good; pleasant, beautiful". Saltire is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The cross mark is used to mark a position, or as a check mark, but also to mark deletion. Derived from Greek Chi are the Latin letter X, Cyrillic Kha and possibly runic Gyfu. Multiplication Sign (×). The cross was a pagan religious symbol throughout Europe and western Asia. The effigy of a man hanging on a cross was set up in the fields to protect the crops. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify the sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet Nefer with male cross and female orb, considered as an amulet of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony. The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus on a large wooden cross, is a renowned symbol of Christianity. Symbols.

Tolerance - Respect

Religious Tolerance is giving other people the same freedom and respect that you have to believe in something that they hold close to their heart. It's up to us to understand why people believe differently, it is not for us to judge, it's to understand, which is the same as learning, and we should never stop learning. The human brain has enormous capacity for knowledge and information, we should use this potential to our advantage instead of using it to our disadvantage. Patience.

Institute for Religious Tolerance - Our Mission is to promote religious tolerance, interfaith dialogue, and education about religions of the world as a pathway to world peace. Intolerance.

Freedom of Religion or freedom of belief is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or belief.  It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or beliefs, "the right not to profess any religion or belief" or "not to practise a religion". Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most nations to be a fundamental human right. In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths. Freedom of belief is different. It allows the right to believe what a person, group or religion wishes, but it does not necessarily allow the right to practice the religion or belief openly and outwardly in a public manner, a central facet of religious freedom. Anti-Conversion Law.

Freedom of Association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membership based on certain criteria.

Religious Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. Moreover, because a person's religion often determines his or her morality, world view, self-image, attitudes towards others, and overall personal identity to a significant extent, religious differences can be significant cultural, personal, and social factors. Religious persecution may be triggered by religious bigotry (i.e. when members of a dominant group denigrate religions other than their own) or it may be triggered by the state when it views a particular religious group as a threat to its interests or security. At a societal level, the dehumanization of a particular religious group may readily lead to violence or other forms of persecution. Indeed, in many countries, religious persecution has resulted in so much violence that it is considered a human rights problem. As it stands now, the majority of victims suffering religious persecution worldwide are Christians. Muslims suffer almost as much.

Religious Freedom Bill allows those with religious objections to oppose LGBT rights in accordance with traditional religious teachings without being punished by the government for doing so. This typically concerns an employee who objects to abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, civil unions, or transgender identity and wishes to avoid situations where they will be expected to put those objections aside. Proponents commonly refer to such proposals as religious liberty or conscience protection. Opponents of such bills frame them instead as "religious refusal bills", "bigot bills", or as a "license to discriminate", highlighting how much legislation allows individuals and businesses to openly espouse prejudice, especially against LGBT individuals. (I can discriminate against you but you can't discriminate against me). Separation of Church and State.

Sacred Text

Sacred Text are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or central to their religious tradition. Sacred Texts.

Cultural Knowledge - Proverbs - Folklore - Ancient Symbols - Petroglyphs - Knowledge Preservation - Alexandria - Devine Law

Religious Text are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or central to their religious tradition.

Sacred Language is a language that is cultivated for religious reasons by people who speak another language in their daily life. The problem of religious language considers whether it is possible to talk about God meaningfully if the traditional conceptions of God as being incorporeal, infinite, and timeless, are accepted. Because these traditional conceptions of God make it difficult to describe God, religious language has the potential to be meaningless. Theories of religious language either attempt to demonstrate that such language is meaningless, or attempt to show how religious language can still be meaningful. Traditionally, religious language has been explained as via negativa, analogy, symbolism, or myth, each of which describes a way of talking about God in human terms. The via negativa is a way of referring to God according to what God is not; analogy uses human qualities as standards against which to compare divine qualities; symbolism is used non-literally to describe otherwise ineffable experiences; and a mythological interpretation of religion attempts to reveal fundamental truths behind religious stories. Alternative explanations of religious language cast it as having political, performative, or imperative functions.

Scripture is the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible.

Bible is a collection of writings from different authors writing at different times, sacred texts in Judaism and Christianity, which is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the world's largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers. The Bible is about 611,000 words long, all divvied up across 66 smaller documents called the “books” of the Bible. The Old Testament was written long before Jesus was born. The New Testament books were written about Jesus, and what it means to follow him. The Christian Bible has two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible, the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, written at different times between about 1200 and 165 BC. The New Testament books were written by Christians in the first century AD.

Bible Overview - Bible Summary - Open Bible

Interpretation Errors - English Bible Translations (wiki) - Interpretation of the Law - Framing the Narrative

Who Wrote the Bible? (youtube, 2004, Robert Beckford) - Is the Bible or any other popular religious book, a work of fiction or non-fiction or a little of both? 

Biblical Criticism is an umbrella term for those methods of studying the Bible that embrace two distinctive perspectives: the concern to avoid dogma and bias by applying a non-sectarian, reason-based judgment, and the reconstruction of history according to contemporary understanding. Biblical criticism uses the grammar, structure, development, and relationship of language to identify such characteristics as the Bible's literary structure, its genre, its context, meaning, authorship, and origins. Biblical criticism includes a wide range of approaches and questions within four major contemporary methodologies: textual, source, form, and literary criticism. Textual criticism examines the text and its manuscripts to identify what the original text would have said. Source criticism searches the texts for evidence of original sources. Form criticism identifies short units of text and seeks to identify their original setting. Each of these is primarily historical and pre-compositional in its concerns. Literary criticism, on the other hand, focuses on the literary structure, authorial purpose, and reader's response to the text through methods such as rhetorical criticism, canonical criticism, and narrative criticism. Biblical criticism began as an aspect of the rise of modern culture in the West. Some scholars claim that its roots reach back to the Reformation, but most agree it grew out of the German Enlightenment. German pietism played a role in its development, as did British deism, with its greatest influences being rationalism and Protestant scholarship. The Enlightenment age and its skepticism of biblical and ecclesiastical authority ignited questions concerning the historical basis for the man Jesus separately from traditional theological views concerning him. This "quest" for the Jesus of history began in biblical criticism's earliest stages, reappeared in the nineteenth century, and again in the twentieth, remaining a major occupation of biblical criticism, on and off, for over 200 years. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, biblical criticism was influenced by a wide range of additional academic disciplines and theoretical perspectives, changing it from a primarily historical approach to a multidisciplinary field. In a field long dominated by white male Protestants, non-white scholars, women, and those from the Jewish and Catholic traditions became prominent voices. Globalization brought a broader spectrum of worldviews into the field, and other academic disciplines as diverse as Near Eastern studies, psychology, anthropology and sociology formed new methods of biblical criticism such as socio-scientific criticism and psychological biblical criticism. Meanwhile, post-modernism and post-critical interpretation began questioning biblical criticism's role and function.

Asimov's Guide to the Bible is a guide that goes through the books of the Bible in the order of the King James Version to the extent possible, explaining the historical and geographical setting of each one, and the political and historical influences that affected it, as well as biographical information about the main characters. His appendix "Guides to the Old and New Testament" includes biblical verses, footnotes, references and subject indices. The book was written for the layperson, without expectation that the reader would have much knowledge about ancient history. Professor Robert C. Dentan reminded readers that Asimov's book was not an academic work and he overlooked advances in contemporary biblical archeology. He also noted it as having "lengthy discussions of insoluble geographical problems...The result often seems to emphasize the trivial at the expense of the substantive." Asimov was an atheist, a humanist, and a rationalist. He did not oppose religious conviction in others, but he frequently railed against superstitious and pseudoscientific beliefs that tried to pass themselves off as genuine science. During his childhood, his father and mother observed the traditions of Orthodox Judaism less stringently than they had in Petrovichi; they did not force their beliefs upon young Isaac, and he grew up without strong religious influences, coming to believe that the Torah represented Hebrew mythology in the same way that the Iliad recorded Greek mythology. When he was 13, he chose not to have a bar mitzvah. As his books Treasury of Humor and Asimov Laughs Again record, Asimov was willing to tell jokes involving God, Satan, the Garden of Eden, Jerusalem, and other religious topics, expressing the viewpoint that a good joke can do more to provoke thought than hours of philosophical discussion. For a brief while, his father worked in the local synagogue to enjoy the familiar surroundings and, as Isaac put it, "shine as a learned scholar" versed in the sacred writings. This scholarship was a seed for his later authorship and publication of Asimov's Guide to the Bible, an analysis of the historic foundations for the Old and New Testaments. For many years, Asimov called himself an atheist; he considered the term somewhat inadequate, as it described what he did not believe rather than what he did. Eventually, he described himself as a "humanist" and considered that term more practical. Asimov continued to identify himself as a secular Jew, as stated in his introduction to Jack Dann's anthology of Jewish science fiction, Wandering Stars: "I attend no services and follow no ritual and have never undergone that curious puberty rite, the Bar Mitzvah. It doesn't matter. I am Jewish." When asked in an interview in 1982 if he was an atheist, Asimov replied, I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time. Likewise, he said about religious education: "I would not be satisfied to have my kids choose to be religious without trying to argue them out of it, just as I would not be satisfied to have them decide to smoke regularly or engage in any other practice I consider detrimental to mind or body." In his last volume of autobiography, Asimov wrote, "If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul." The same memoir states his belief that Hell is "the drooling dream of a sadist" crudely affixed to an all-merciful God; if even human governments were willing to curtail cruel and unusual punishments, wondered Asimov, why would punishment in the afterlife not be restricted to a limited term? Asimov rejected the idea that a human belief or action could merit infinite punishment. If an afterlife existed, he claimed, the longest and most severe punishment would be reserved for those who "slandered God by inventing Hell". Asimov said about using religious motifs in his writing: I tend to ignore religion in my own stories altogether, except when I absolutely have to have it. ... and, whenever I bring in a religious motif, that religion is bound to seem vaguely Christian because that is the only religion I know anything about, even though it is not mine. An unsympathetic reader might think that I am "burlesquing" Christianity, but I am not. Then too, it is impossible to write science fiction and really ignore religion. Asimov appeared to hold an equivocal attitude towards Israel. In his first autobiography, he indicates his support for the safety of Israel, though insisting that he was not a Zionist. In his third autobiography, Asimov stated his opposition to the creation of a Jewish state, on the grounds that he was opposed to having nation-states in general, and supported the notion of a single humanity. Asimov especially worried about the safety of Israel given that it had been created among hostile Muslim neighbors, and said that Jews had merely created for themselves another "Jewish ghetto". In politics, Asimov became a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party during the New Deal, and thereafter remained a political liberal. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and in a television interview during the early 1970s he publicly endorsed George McGovern. Asimov's defense of civil applications of nuclear power, even after the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant incident, damaged his relations with some of his fellow liberals. In a letter reprinted in Yours, Isaac Asimov, he states that although he would prefer living in "no danger whatsoever" than near a nuclear reactor, he would still prefer a home near a nuclear power plant than in a slum on Love Canal or near "a Union Carbide plant producing methyl isocyanate", the latter being a reference to the Bhopal disaster. In the closing years of his life, Asimov blamed the deterioration of the quality of life that he perceived in New York City on the shrinking tax base caused by the middle-class flight to the suburbs, though he continued to support high taxes on the middle class to pay for social programs. His last nonfiction book, Our Angry Earth (1991, co-written with his long-time friend, science fiction author Frederik Pohl), deals with elements of the environmental crisis such as overpopulation, oil dependence, war, global warming, and the destruction of the ozone layer. In response to being presented by Bill Moyers with the question "What do you see happening to the idea of dignity to human species if this population growth continues at its present rate?", Asimov responded: It's going to destroy it all ... if you have 20 people in the apartment and two bathrooms, no matter how much every person believes in freedom of the bathroom, there is no such thing. You have to set up, you have to set up times for each person, you have to bang at the door, aren't you through yet, and so on. And in the same way, democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people onto the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears.

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. Nietzsche's body of work touched a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, religion, tragedy, culture, and science. His writing spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism, and fiction while displaying a fondness for aphorism and irony. His early inspiration was drawn from figures such as Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favor of perspectivism; his genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and his related theory of master–slave morality; his aesthetic affirmation of existence in response to the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; his notion of the Apollonian and Dionysian; and his characterization of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and the doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome social, cultural and moral contexts in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health. (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900).

Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information.

Ecclesiastes is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. Kohelet proclaims (1:2) "Vanity of vanities! All is futile!"; the Hebrew word hevel, "vapor", can figuratively mean "insubstantial", "vain", "futile", or "meaningless". Given this, the next verse presents the basic existential question with which the rest of the book is concerned: "What profit hath a man for all his toil, in which he toils under the sun?", expressing that the lives of both wise and foolish people all end in death. (an early form of pessimism). While Kohelet endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that human beings should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one's work, which are gifts from the hand of God. The book concludes with the injunction to "Fear God and keep his commandments; for that is the duty of all of mankind. Since every deed will God bring to judgment, for every hidden act, be it good or evil." According to rabbinic tradition the book was written by King Solomon in his old age, but the presence of Persian loanwords and Aramaisms points to a date no earlier than about 450 BCE, while the latest possible date for its composition is 180 BCE.

Quran is the central religious text of Islam, which is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God (Allah) and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion and the fastest-growing major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population, known as Muslims, who are people who follow or practices Islam. Muslims consider the Quran (Koran), their holy book. The message of the Quran is to bring to our attention that we were not created in vain, and that we will be held responsible for our conduct on this earth. In the Quran, God indicates that He created the human to be His trustee on earth. This is actually an honor given by God to the human being, dignity to be the trustee of God even though He doesn’t need our worship and our obedience. It is for our own benefit. English Translations of the Quran (wiki) - Translation Errors.

Catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals – often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorized – a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well.

Gospel is the record of Jesus' life and teaching in the first four books of the New Testament. The teaching or revelation of Christ. Gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with various reports of his post-resurrection appearances.

Dead Sea Scrolls - Quran

Book of Deuteronomy (wiki) - Grand Grimoire (wiki)

Book of Enoch is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) of the text are estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to 100 BC. Various Aramaic fragments found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Koine Greek and Latin fragments, are proof that the Book of Enoch was known by Jews and early Near Eastern Christians.(Enoch Ge'ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ, maafa hēnok).

Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible.

Prayer - Chant - Mantra - Mythology

Hermetica are Egyptian-Greek wisdom texts from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written—or at least compiled—later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi. Laozi was a semi-legendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master".

Taoism refers to either a school of philosophical thought or to a religion, both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the Tao, which is generally defined as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality. The Tao Te Ching, a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (老子), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism. Taoism teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the all, called "the way" or "Tao". Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize wu wei or action without intention, naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the Three Treasures: compassion, frugality and humility. 慈,儉,不敢爲天下先.

All religious beliefs and stories have changed throughout human history because of how they were translated from different languages, and also how they were changed by people interpreting religious writings to fit their own personal beliefs at the time they rewrote them. Religious beliefs and stories also changed because they were passed from person to person and were not written down by the same people who witnessed these events, so their accuracy and their meanings have always been unclear. Like all knowledge, religions went through many changes and updates, but at a much slower pace when compared to other knowledge and information that has been accumulated during that same time period.

The life of Jesus is a great story, a story that is still relevant today in 2021. The story depicts human behavior that is still being expressed by people all over the world. And what makes this story so popular is how relatable this story is, like with music lyrics. The more general the concepts are in a story, the more open the story is to personal interpretation, which means that more people can find a way to connect to the story in their own way. So the characters in the story can be applied to almost anyone, which means that everyone can play a part in this story. The names have changed, but the story remains the same. You are the metaphor, and your life becomes the moral of the story.

It does not matter how true a story is, because everything is relative. There can be benefits from believing a story, and there can be negative side effects from misinterpreting a story. So it depends on the person and the interpretation of the story. This is why everyone should be educated to recognize misinformation and also know the difference between reality and fantasy.

Jesus is born everyday and Jesus dies everyday. Jesus symbolizes anyone who has been a victim of ignorance. Every human is victimized by ignorance sometime in their lifetime. Ignorance is the birth place of sin. Jesus died for the sins of ignorant people. If we never improve education and never improve the media, and never improve religious teachings, then humanity will continue to suffer from the ignorance of people.

Films about Ancient Knowledge

Zero Point : Volume I - Messages From The Past (youtube)
Sacred Knowledge: In Plain Sight (Decoded) (youtube)
Sacred Knowledge of vibration and the power of human emotions (youtube)
Ancient Knowledge Pt.6/1 - Number 9 Code, Vortex Based Math, Flower of Life, Fibonacci, Time, 432Hz (youtube)


I don't understand certain passages becuase it feels like I'm outsourcing reality, like I'm transferring ownership of my life, or like I'm creating a diffusion of responsibility. I believe that the power of God would be better served if we focused more on our abilities and our potential. After all, God gave us abilities and potential, like the ability to use language to transfer knowledge and information to ourselves and to others. This transference of knowledge is extremely important to everyone on the planet. If we are not careful with the knowledge we convey, we may do more harm then good.

Sins - Bad Mistakes

Sin is to do something bad or wrong that violates a law of God or violates a religious belief, or goes against a moral law by committing a faux pas or a fault or by making a serious mistake.

Transgression is the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle. Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises. Commit a sin or violate a law of God or a moral law.

Faux pas is lacking good judgment and consideration of others.

Contrition is sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation.

Heresy - Mistakes - Confession - Regret - Clear Conscience

An amazing thing about religion is that religion was aware of many human behavioral problems for over a 1,000 years. The sad part is that religion did not improve education, or learn more and update the religious knowledge that they were teaching. Thus human life has suffered, but we could have suffered a lot more without religion. Luckily now we are beginning to understand our responsibility to education, and that we must improve and update our knowledge, if not, we will continue to suffer from our own ignorance, as we can clearly see today when we look at all the problems that we face. We need to stop transferring our problems and start taking responsibility for our lives, and the lives of others.

Staying Ignorant is the ultimate Sin.

Redemption is the act of refraining from sins that are known to cause more harm then good. It is stopping oneself from doing evil.

Proverbs - Praying - Human Rights - Civil Rights - Morality

The Buddha discovered that the direct causes of suffering are desire or craving, and ignorance. This is the truth of the cause of suffering, which is the Second Noble Truth. The Shadow by Orson Welles repeated this.

It's a Sin - Paul Anka (youtube) - Everything I've ever done, Everything I ever do, Every place I've ever been, Everywhere I'm going to, It's a sin.

Seven Social Sins: Politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.


Seven Deadly Sins (wiki)

1: Pride or a false pride is a foolishly and irrationally corrupt sense of one's personal value, status or accomplishments.
2: Greed is an unhealthy and illogical longing for wealth, status, or power. To possess more than one needs.
3: Envy is when a person is illogically jealous of someone else's achievements or possessions, and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
4: Wrath is an anger that involves a strong uncomfortable and emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
5: Lust is an emotion or feeling of intense craving, appetite, or desire without real need. Addiction.
6: Gluttony is over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste.
7: Sloth is extreme laziness and having an unwillingness to act despite having the ability to act or exert oneself. Showing no care or concern for responsibilities or duty. Bored - Sitting too Much.


Five Hindrances (wiki)

1: Sensory desire (kāmacchanda): the particular type of wanting that seeks for happiness through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and physical feeling.
2: Ill-will (vyāpāda; also spelled byāpāda): all kinds of thought related to wanting to reject, feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness.
3: Sloth-torpor (thīna-middha): heaviness of body and dullness of mind which drag one down into disabling inertia and thick depression.
4: Restlessness-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca): the inability to calm the mind.
5: Doubt (vicikicchā): lack of conviction or trust.

Ten Commandments - Virtues - Proverbs


Skandha refers to the five aggregates concept that asserts five elements constitute and completely explain a living being’s mental and physical existence. The five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. The five aggregates or heaps are: form (or material image, impression) (rupa), sensations (or feelings, received from form) (vedana), perceptions (samjna), mental activity or formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vijnana).

Absolutism - Validity - Opinion - Karma - Cause and Effect - Human Nature - Spiritual

Redemption in theology is the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil. The act of purchasing back something previously sold.

Salvation in theology is the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil. The state of being saved or preserved from harm. Saving someone or something from harm or from an unpleasant situation.

Purge is an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place. To oust someone politically. To rid something of impurities or to make something pure or free from sin or guilt. To rinse, clean, or to empty. To excrete or to evacuate or to eject the contents of something.

Confess - Confessions

Confession is a formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime, or to tell someone that you feel guilty about doing something that is bad or horrible.

Confession in religion is the acknowledgment of one's sins or wrongs.

Admit is to declare something to be true or to reveal the existence of something or the reality or the truth of some action or thought. To stop denying what is true and to blow the whistle on yourself.

Reveal is to make information known to the public that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret.

Mea Culpa is an acknowledgment of one's fault or error. An acknowledgment of having done wrong.

See the Error of One's Ways is to realize or acknowledge one's wrongdoing. To admit that they have made a mistake or behaved badly.

When a person stops pretending they know something, they can actually start learning to know something.

Everyone Has Secrets - Cheating - I Have Nothing to Hide - Espionage - Whistle Blowing - False Confession

Is the truth more valuable than the punishment? Is the secret more valuable than the goal. I was going to tell you, but did not want to hurt you or ruin our relationship. I love you more, not less.

How does a person know that their confession is private? How does a person know that the information they reveal will not be used to exploit them or used against them? The truth is debatable, so how does a person know what the truth really is?

Confessional is a box or a cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. The confessional is usually a wooden structure, with a centre compartment—entered through a door or curtain—in which the priest sits, and on each side there is a latticed opening for the penitents to speak through and a step on which they kneel. By this arrangement the priest is hidden, but the penitent is visible to the public.

Confession is when you seek forgiveness for a mistake that you made. A confession does not teach how to learn from your mistake. And just admitting a mistake, does not help you to learn from your mistake.

Penitent is a person who repents their sins or wrongdoings and seeks forgiveness from God. A person who confesses their sins to a priest and submits to the penance that he imposes.

Repent is to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin.

Repentance is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs. It generally involves a commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible and humane life. Repentance in Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus, the primary purpose of repentance in Judaism is ethical self transformation.

Salvation is the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil. A means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness. Saving someone or something from harm or from an unpleasant situation. The state of being saved or preserved from harm.

Snitch is someone who reports another person's wrongdoings to someone in authority. Someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police. To give away information about somebody.

Recant is to formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure.

Intervention - Karma

Confession is a statement made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that he believes the other party is not already aware of, and is frequently associated with an admission of a moral or legal wrong: In one sense it is the acknowledgment of having done something wrong, whether on purpose or not. Thus confessional texts usually provide information of a private nature previously unavailable. What a sinner tells a priest in the confessional, the documents criminals sign acknowledging what they have done, an autobiography in which the author acknowledges mistakes, and so on, are all examples of confessional texts. Regret.

Why do some people confess to crimes they haven’t committed?

False Confession - Trick Questions - Interrogations - Intimidation - Threats

Legal Confession in law involves an admission of some wrongdoing that has legal consequence. s a statement by a suspect in crime which is adverse to that person. Some secondary authorities, such as Black's Law Dictionary, define a confession in more narrow terms, e.g. as "a statement admitting or acknowledging all facts necessary for conviction of a crime," which would be distinct from a mere admission of certain facts that, if true, would still not, by themselves, satisfy all the elements of the offense.

Delator is one who indicates to a court that another person has committed a punishable deed. Delator is Latin for a denouncer, which is to accuse or condemn openly or formally; To classify or describe something as disgraceful. Informer.

Concede is to admit to a wrongdoing. Be willing to admit or forced to agree. To give over and surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another. Acknowledge defeat.

Speak Your Mind is to express one's feelings or opinions truthfully. To freely speak your mind without exaggeration or drama.

Spill Your Guts is to reveal information to someone in an uninhibited way. To make certain information known to the public that was previously known only to a few people, or that the information was meant to be kept a secret.

Face the Music means to admit and accept the unpleasant consequences of one's actions. Come Clean is to be completely honest and keep nothing hidden.

Communion is the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. Communion is also the service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared, as a reenactment of the last supper.

Eucharist is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper; giving his disciples bread and wine during a Passover meal, he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the new covenant in my blood". Through the eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christ's sacrifice of himself on the cross. The Greek noun εχαριστία (eucharistia), meaning "thanksgiving", appears fifteen times in the New Testament while the related verb εχαριστήσας is found several times in New Testament accounts of the Last Supper, including the earliest such account.

Contrition is sorrow for sins arising from fear of damnation or being condemned. Contrition requires sincere examination of conscience. Confession is owning up honestly about sin, accepting responsibility for sin. Satisfaction is doing what is possible to repair harm of offence. Absolution is forgiveness by Jesus through the priest.

People need to confess more often. I like it how churches offer people a chance and a place to confess the things they regret doing, or things that they realized were bad. But people should advise a lawyer first before going to confession. Confessing is not a guarantee that you will learn from your mistake, or will it relieve you of its impacts and side effects. So you will need to seek the advice of another professional, a therapist, one who is an expert in admissions of guilt and the necessary steps to overcome life altering mistakes. You should also seek out more professionals, like people with PhDs in philosophy, psychology, biology and physiology, just to name a few. Just remember that confessions are not without risk.

Proverbs - Biblical Principles

Proverb is a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people.

Moral Principles - Sins - Religious Text - Prayers - Life Quotes - Poetry

The Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament of the Bible primarily focuses on wisdom that was known at that time. The wisdom that is known now in 2023 is much greater.

Proverbs is not merely an anthology but a "collection of collections" relating to a pattern of life which lasted for more than a millennium. It is an example of the biblical wisdom literature, and raises questions of values, right conduct, moral behavior, and the meaning of human life.

Proverbs 2:6 - “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.”

Proverbs 19:2 - “Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and he who makes haste with his feet errs.” Errs is to make a mistake or to be incorrect. To wander from a direct course or wander at random.

Proverbs 22:7 - “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.”
Philippians 4:8 - “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Proverbs 18:13 - “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.”
Proverbs 18:17 - “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.”
Proverbs 21:5 - “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.
Proverbs 11:14 - “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is victory.”
Proverbs 18:1 - “He who separates himself seeks his own desire. He quarrels against all sound wisdom.”
Proverbs 18:2 - “A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.”
Proverbs 10:17 - “He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, but he who forsakes reproof goes astray.”
Proverbs 16:25 - “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Proverbs 27:6 - “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”
Proverbs 14:1 - “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.”
Proverbs 14:15 - “The naïve believes everything, but the prudent man considers his steps.”
Proverbs 27:12 - “A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naïve proceed and pay the penalty.”
Proverbs 11:30 - “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.”

Life Quotes - Pray - Prayers

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. If you feed a human one fish, then you will feed that human for the day. But if you teach a human how to fish, then that human could feed themselves for a lifetime, and even help feed others, and also help teach others. Knowledge is Power. Power to the People.

Teach a person how to educate themselves, and you educate them for a lifetime. If you teach person how to talk and listen, then that person could learn from other people who can also talk and listen. But if you teach a person how to read, then that person can learn from almost every person who has ever lived throughout recorded history. A person who knows how to read can then listen to millions of people talk, and not just listen to a few people speak who are close to them. knowledge is power. Power to the People.

If you teach a person how to understand knowledge and information, then that person can understand almost everything in the universe. Knowledge is Power. Power to the People.

When you solve a problem, it's best to solve the root of the problem. You need to cure the disease, and not just treat the disease. The disease is ignorance. Sometimes you have to face the problem, you can't ignore it, you can't pretend to understand it, and you can't pretend to have the answer. You have to face the fact that you have to educate yourself and learn how to solve a particulare problem.


Cardinal Virtues (wiki)

1: Prudence (φρόνησις, phronēsis; Latin: prudentia): also described as wisdom, the ability to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time.
2: Justice (δικαιοσύνη, dikaiosynē; Latin: iustitia): also considered as fairness, the most extensive and most important virtue; the Greek word also having the meaning righteousness.
3: Temperance (σωφροσύνη, sōphrosynē; Latin: temperantia): also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, discretion, and moderation tempering the appetition; especially sexually, hence the meaning chastity.
4: Courage (νδρεία, andreia; Latin: fortitudo): also termed fortitude, forbearance, strength, endurance, and the ability to confront fear, uncertainty, and intimidation.

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterized by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and time spent fasting while concentrating on the practice of religion or reflection upon spiritual matters.

Surrender means that a believer completely gives up his own will and subjects his thoughts, ideas, and deeds to the will and teachings of a higher power. It may also be contrasted with submission. Surrender is willful acceptance and yielding to a dominating force and their will.

Surrendering in this context above is ignoring your own potential and ignoring your capabilities. Don't accept this form of fatalism because you will be too vulnerable to manipulation.

Don't Fear God, fear ignorance and fear the people who use fear to manipulate people.

Sacrifice is to do without something in order to survive or to reach a goal. Changing priorities and temporally suspending certain activities so that you can work on the things that are now more important.

Purgatory is an intermediate state after physical death in which some of those ultimately destined for heaven must first "undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven". Only those who die in the state of grace but have not yet fulfilled the temporal punishment due to their sin can be in Purgatory, and therefore no one in Purgatory will remain forever in that state nor go to hell. This notion has old roots.

Shape Shifting is the ability of a being or creature to completely transform its physical form or shape. This is usually achieved through an inherent ability of a mythological creature, divine intervention, or the use of magic.

Self-immolation is an act of killing oneself as a sacrifice.

Exclaustration is official authorization for religious bound by perpetual vows to live for a limited time outside their religious institute, usually with a view to discerning whether to depart definitively.


Ten Commandments (wiki)

1: Do Not Kill. (Do not kill without justification or valid excuse, which should be almost never). Murder is illegal.
2: Do Not Steal. (Do not take more than you need, or take something that does not belong to you, or waste things, or obtain money or resources under false pretenses).
3: Do Not Commit Adultery (Don't have sex with someone else's wife, husband or friend without permission or need.)
4: Do Not Bear False Witness. (Don't lie or mislead).
5: Do Not Covet. (Do not wish for, long for, or crave for something, especially the property of another person. Do not be jealous or envious of others) Do not to desire without need. (but this does not mean to ignore people who hoard, or who unfairly and illogically have more than others).
The other 6 Commandments.
6: I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (let us give credit to people first and the reasons why they are credited, this way people understand their potential and their responsibility to life, after that if you would like to give credit to other possible factors of success, then so be it).
7: Thou shalt have no other gods (we don't want to control peoples belief, but the fear is that if people were to worship anything they want, then people would be confused and unable to accurately determine what's important or valuable? But science can answers those questions now, so we can skip this commandment because it's to confusing. And if you did believed in other gods, why would that be bad? We can't assume that other gods will be more popular than your god, they're probably best friends because it makes sense that gods know each other.).
8: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (not necessary if you improve education and all people become educated).
9: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (not necessary if we improve education and learn that some words are better than others).
10: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (rest and taking breaks are necessary, so this is not necessary if all people are educated, to say that time off needs to be holy is illogical because there are many beneficial things that a human can do, one would be learning).
11: Honor thy father and thy mother (you honor those who honor life and who respect human rights, to narrow the scope of who should be honored would be illogical in it self, it would also diminish the meaning and value of honor).
I added one more commandment for good measure..
12: Thou Shall Learn and Gain knowledge and Skills during ones entire lifetime.

Maybe just have "5 Good Ideas to Live by", this way they could display these 5 good ideas in more places without infringing on other peoples beliefs. (Moses 2.0). Sins.

Moses - Religious Representatives

Law of Moses also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. It is the law revealed to Moses by God. (Hebrew: תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה Torat Moshe).

Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. תּוֹרָה‎ Tōrā,"Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law".

Divine Law is any body of law that is perceived as deriving from a transcendent source, such as the will of God or gods – in contrast to man-made law or to secular law. Secular law encompasses all the laws that were put forward by secular institutions, such as the monarchy, the city, or the manor.

Matthew 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains the first portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which will also take up chapters 6 and 7. Portions are similar to the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, but much of the material is found only in Matthew. It is one of the most discussed and analyzed chapters of the New Testament. Warren Kissinger reports that among Early Christians no chapter was more often cited by early scholars. The same is true in modern scholarship. - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.


Five Precepts is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay people. They constitute the basic code of ethics to be respected by lay followers of Buddhism. The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication

Interfaith Dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.


Benjamin Franklin 13 Guidelines

1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.


Native American Ten Commandments 

1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell therein with respect.
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit.
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings.
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
6. Do what you know to be right.
7. Look after the well-being of Mind and Body.
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater Good.
9. Be truthful and honest at all times.
10. Take full responsibility for your actions.
Indian Tribes


Questions - Advice

1. Ask a lot of questions.
2. Don’t fall prey to “wishful thinking” or let your emotions get the best of you.
3. Remember that there are two sides to every story.
4. Is the pressure of time forcing me to make a premature decision?
5. Make sure you are not the only one who holds to your interpretation.
6. Do you have all the facts?
7. Beware of the “once in a life time” deal and the lure of instant gratification.
8. Don’t let the fear of missing out drive your decision.
9. When in doubt, leave it out.
10. What possible motives are driving your decisions?
11. Acknowledge that you have “blind spots.”
12. Honestly assess your motives, both good and bad.
13. Give others permission to speak in to your life.
14. How should past experiences inform my decisions?
15. Look for patterns of behavior – “triggers.”
16. Understand how your family back ground might affect your thinking.
17. Learn from your mistakes!
18. What is the collective counsel of my community?
19. Avoid having many separate conversations.
20. Recognize the difference between “selling” and “sharing.”
21. Know when to “open the circle.”
22. Have you honestly considered the warning signs?
23. Don’t think that you are the “exception” to the rule.
24. Remember that God’s way is the best way.
25. Have you considered all the possible outcomes for your course of action?
26. Work toward the “center” rather than flirt with the “edge.”
27. Ask yourself, would this pass the “newspaper” test?
28. Keep short accounts.

Works of Mercy are practices which Christians perform.

Corporal Works of Mercy - To feed the hungry. To give water to the thirsty. To clothe the naked. To shelter the homeless. To visit the sick. To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive. To bury the dead. Public Service.

Spiritual Works of Mercy - To instruct the ignorant. To counsel the doubtful. To admonish sinners. To bear patiently those who wrong us. To forgive offenses. To console the afflicted. To pray for the living and the dead. Ancient Knowledge.

In Methodism - Doing Good. Visiting the Sick and Prisoners. Feeding and Clothing People. Earning, Saving, Giving All One Can. Opposition to slavery.

Developing Wisdom is of central importance in Buddhist traditions, where the ultimate aim is often presented as "seeing things as they are" or as gaining a "penetrative understanding of all phenomena", which in turn is described as ultimately leading to the "complete freedom from suffering". In Buddhism, developing wisdom is accomplished through an understanding of what are known as the Four Noble Truths and by following the Noble Eightfold Path. This path lists mindfulness as one of eight required components for cultivating wisdom. Buddhist scriptures teach that a wise person is usually endowed with good and maybe bodily conduct, and sometimes good verbal conduct, and good mental conduct.(AN 3:2) A wise person does actions that are unpleasant to do but give good results, and doesn't do actions that are pleasant to do but give bad results (AN 4:115). Wisdom is the antidote to the self-chosen poison of ignorance. The Buddha has much to say on the subject of wisdom including: He who arbitrates a case by force does not thereby become just (established in Dhamma). But the wise man is he who carefully discriminates between right and wrong. He who leads others by nonviolence, righteously and equitably, is indeed a guardian of justice, wise and righteous. One is not wise merely because he talks much. But he who is calm, free from hatred and fear, is verily called a wise man. By quietude alone one does not become a sage (muni) if he is foolish and ignorant. But he who, as if holding a pair of scales, takes the good and shuns the evil, is a wise man; he is indeed a muni by that very reason. He who understands both good and evil as they really are, is called a true sage. The Islamic term for wisdom is hikmah. Prophets of Islam are believed by Muslims to possess high wisdom. We must not be ashamed to admire the truth or to acquire it, from wherever it comes. Even if it should come from far-flung nations and foreign peoples, there is for the student of truth nothing more important than the truth, nor is the truth demeaned or diminished by the one who states or conveys it; no one is demeaned by the truth, rather all are ennobled by it. — Al-Kindi, On First Philosophy.

Beliefs - Believing

Belief is a personal view that is thought to be true even though there is no proof or no evidence that would make something true. A belief is a hypothetical possibility or an opinion about something. A belief is a vague idea in which some confidence is placed.

Believe is to guess that something may be true, even though you can't be sure because there is a lack of evidence and information. Believing is having a general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled. Believing is anticipating an event without having a guarantee that it will happen. To believe can also mean to think or expect that something is probable or likely to be, or likely to happen.

Why do we Believe? - Why do we not Believe? - Why do we have Faith? - Why don't we believe?

Religious Beliefs refers to attitudes towards mythological, supernatural, or spiritual aspects of a religion. Religious belief is distinct from religious practice or religious behaviors with some believers not practicing religion and some practitioners not believing religion. Religious beliefs, being derived from ideas that are exclusive to religion, often relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or the deontological explanations for the values and practices centered on the teachings of a spiritual leader or group. In contrast to other belief systems, religious beliefs are usually codified, which is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code, i.e. a codex book of law. Codification is the defining feature of civil law jurisdictions.

Pious is someone who expresses reverence for a deity. Being devoutly religious. Making a hypocritical display of virtue.

Interpretations - Heresy - Extremism - Cults - Charlatans - Flawed Reasoning

You have the right to believe, but just believing is not good enough, you have to know, because there are charlatans lurking in the shadows who will exploit your beliefs for their own selfish gains. When you can't prove or disprove someone's claims or beliefs, then that person can say anything or believe anything they want. So someone can easily lie and use that lie to manipulate themselves and others.

Prescriptive Belief is a certain action or a situation that is advocated as desirable or undesirable. Exhortatory Belief.

Prospective Belief is one that looks toward the future and what may happen.

Dogmatic people seek less information even when uncertain. People who are dogmatic about their views seek less information and make less accurate judgments as a result, even on simple matters unrelated to politics, according to a new study. Dogmatic people are characterized by a belief that their worldview reflects an absolute truth and are often resistant to change their mind, for example when it comes to partisan issues. This tendency can have societal impacts by polarising political, scientific and religious debates. However, the cognitive drivers of dogmatism are still poorly understood.

Not to believe is still a belief, especially when there's no proof or evidence that proves your nonbelief. And just having correlations does not always prove causality. I have a belief, and you have a belief. I like your belief, but I also like my belief too, but can you like my belief?

Pretending to Know - Rumors - Memory Flaws - Wishful Thinking - Hope - Placebo Effect

Basic Beliefs or Foundational Beliefs or core beliefs are the axioms of a belief system. Foundationalism holds that all beliefs must be justified in order to be known. Beliefs that are properly basic, in that they do not depend upon justification of other beliefs, but on something outside the realm of belief. Beliefs that derive from one or more basic beliefs, and therefore depend on the basic beliefs for their validity.

Foundationalism concerns philosophical theories of knowledge resting upon non-inferential justified belief, or some secure foundation of certainty such as a conclusion inferred from a basis of sound premises. The main rival of the foundationalist theory of justification is the coherence theory of justification, whereby a body of knowledge, not requiring a secure foundation, can be established by the interlocking strength of its components, like a puzzle solved without prior certainty that each small region was solved correctly.

Conviction is an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence. Conviction in criminal law is a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed.

Orthodoxies are generally accepted theories, doctrines, conformities or practices.

Dogma is a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof. Dogmatic is the assertion of unproved principles.

Credo is a statement of the beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions.

Creed is any system of principles or beliefs. The written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group.

Doctrine is a belief or system of beliefs that are accepted by some group or school. Philosophy.

Belief System is a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs of any such system can be classified as religious, philosophical, political, ideological, or a combination of these. Philosopher Jonathan Glover says that beliefs are always part of a belief system, and that tenanted belief systems are difficult for the tenants to completely revise or reject.

Combing Beliefs - Multiple Faiths - Interfaith - Multiple Beliefs - Atheism (not believing)

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing. Faith is the observance of an obligation from loyalty. It's being faithful to a person or a promise or an engagement. Fidelity is the quality of being faithful. Faith can refer to a particular system of religious beliefs. The term 'faith' can have several meanings and can be used in different ways, often depending on the context.

Faith and Rationality are two ideologies that exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. Rationality is based on reason or facts. Faith is belief in inspiration, revelation, or authority. The word faith sometimes refers to a belief that is held with lack of reason or the lack of evidence, a belief that is held in spite of or against reason or evidence, or it can refer to belief based upon a degree of evidential warrant.

Leap of Faith is the act of believing in or accepting something intangible or not provable, or without empirical evidence. It is an act commonly associated with religious belief as many religions consider faith to be an essential element of piety. Over confidence can be risky.

Sola Fide means justification by faith alone. The doctrine asserts that it is on the basis of faith that believers are made right of their transgressions of the law of God rather than on the basis of works of the law or good works. So these believers pretend to be good rather than proving they're good through their good deeds and actions.

We should not question peoples faith, we should just question the side effects of peoples faith. A faith does not relieve a person from their responsibilities or relieve them from being accountable for their actions or words. Faith is not an excuse or a reason for doing something or saying something. Faith is about having trust. Faith is not about being gullible, and faith is not about transferring your problems to other people. Faith should not just be based on a belief, faith should be based on experience and knowledge, and faith should be confidence based on some degree of reason and provide adequate rational motive for doing something or saying something. Have faith in God and have faith in the lord, but you should also have faith in yourself and have faith in the people you know who will do the right thing. Keep your faith, but never let go of your intelligence. It's good to have hope, but always have a backup plan at the same time.

Why people believe

Faith is not just about Religion. Faith is part of all belief systems. Faith in God, faith in religion, faith in country, faith in family, faith in friendship, faith in your job, faith in yourself, faith in brotherhood, faith in political party, faith in government, faith in followers, faith in leaders, faith in humanity, faith in love. Everyone has faith of some kind. But faith should not be tested, challenged or punished. Faith is not an answer or a reason. You can say "I believe this", but under some particular circumstances, your faith or belief may not be part of the reasoning process. There is right and wrong, good and bad, and then there is faith. And faith is neither right or wrong, or good or bad. It is your faith. It's not a promise, it's not your ego, your arrogance, your conviction, your stubbornness and it's not your pride, it is your faith. You control faith, faith should not control you. Faith should not be used as a stonewall or a barrier. Faith is a guide. And if you need to apostatize, korobo, trample, change your mind, or change your stance because of the current reality and facts, or just temporally suspend a particular belief, then there is no shame, no guilt and no regret, especially when the decision saves lives or avoids destruction.

Mythology can refer to the collected myths of a group of people—their collection of stories they tell to explain nature, history, and customs—or to the study of such myths.

Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or supernatural. A widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief. Superstition is the belief that one event causes another without any natural process linking the two events, such as astrology and certain aspects linked to religion, like omens, witchcraft, and prophecies, that contradict natural science.

How Superstitions Spread. Even seemingly irrational beliefs can become ensconced in the social norms of a society.

Suspicion is an impression that something might be the case. A feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true. A doubt about someone's honesty. Distrustful of someone. Jealousy - Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley (youtube)

Psychosis is when contact with reality is lost or highly distorted.

Sentiment is a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty. A tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion.

Worship - Religious Devotion - Religious Charlatans - Conformity - Praying

Cognitive Inertia refers to the tendency for beliefs or sets of beliefs to endure once formed. In particular, cognitive inertia describes the human inclination to rely on familiar assumptions and exhibit a reluctance and/or inability to revise those assumptions, even when the evidence supporting them no longer exists or when other evidence would question their accuracy.
Cognitive Distortion - Divided.

Philosophy - Positive Thinking - Denial - Bias

Deist is a person who believes that God created the universe and then abandoned it. Atheism is the belief that there are no deities or Gods. The Age of Reason (wiki).

Deism combines the rejection of revelation and authority as a source of religious knowledge with the conclusion that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of a single creator of the universe.

Natural Theology is a type of theology that provides arguments for the existence of God based on reason and ordinary experience of nature. This distinguishes it from revealed theology, which is based on scripture and/or religious experiences, and also from transcendental theology, which is based on a priori reasoning.

Invalid Arguments are in almost every aspect of society. Pretending to know the truth or pretending that you know the answer to a question, is debilitating and also illogical. Religion should not create an information bubble. Everyone has to keep learning. 

Gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

You are still religious even if your are an atheist, you still have beliefs. You just happen to believe that you ascended from nothing and that you will descend into nothing, like nothing ever happened. I would still want to know you and I would still want to learn about how your beliefs affected your life.

Doxa is "to appear", "to seem", "to think" and "to accept", a Greek word meaning common belief or popular opinion.

Esotericism in the west is a scholarly term for a wide range of loosely related unconventional ideas and movements which have developed within Western society.

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structure.

Sociology of Religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology.

Mores meaning "manner", "custom", "usage", "habit".

Rituals - Traditions - Prayer

Veil is to make something undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing. Just like what ignorance does to the human mind. Fallacy's.

Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities, seminaries and schools of divinity.

Why do People Believe

Believing is a natural human instinct and a design of the human brain. If humans did not believe, then humans would never act or adapt, thus we would never live or survive. So if we did not believe in things, then we would not be here. Beyond our instinctual behaviors, you have to believe in something in order to act. If scientists or inventors did not have theories, we would not have any of the technological advances or have any of the luxuries that we have today. If we could not imagine something, than how could we create something or predict something? Imagine not being able to visualize where you left something, something that you lost or misplaced, you would never find anything. You wouldn't even be able to find yourself, or, be able to find anyone you have ever loved. Imagine not being able to have an idea. Imagine not being able to tell how someone is feeling. Imagine not being able to imagine. It's human nature to believe, and it's also extremely important to believe. We need to visualize a positive future, which is why believing in God or believing in heaven can give us comfort, like a placebo. So believing in something can give a person hope, especially when hope is sometimes the only thing that a person has. Plus you don't want people to feel stressed and be overly worried. So believing that things will be alright can be beneficial. But you don't want people to be fooled or have false beliefs. Ignorance is bliss, just as long as you're not ignoring the warning signs or just looking the other way in order to make yourself feel better about the dangers of reality. Pretending to know the answers so that you can avoid feeling stressed may put you in danger and also put other people in danger. You don't want to fake being happy. You want to be happy because you're intelligent and aware. Your beliefs should never turn into assumptions or biases. Your beliefs should never turn into a fantasy or a privilege. Your beliefs should never create an ego or be apart of any fallacies. You don't want your beliefs to make you weak. Beliefs should make you strong. Humans need to believe in something in order to interact with life and interact the environment. But, it's what you believe in that can make all the difference. You don't want a belief to become an assumption or cause you to pretend to know something, because that would be misusing your brains technology. The brains abilities are gifts that we should learn how to use effectively and efficiently. Another danger with having a belief is that it may cause you to not to seek out solutions to your problems, thus you will be vulnerable to failure, which is the same problem with having too much optimism or when expecting things. Sometimes a belief can relieve you from having to worry about something, maybe something that you can't understand, but you should never stop asking questions or stop learning, because that could cause serious mistakes to happen. There's a big difference between believing that things will be all right and actually taking the necessary steps to improve your chances to make things better. Believing was never designed to replace learning, or stop us from acquiring knowledge or stop us from questioning reality. Pretending that you Know enough, or being content with what you know about yourself and the world around you, could have devastating consequences. Fear is a natural response that helps us react to dangerous situations that are unfamiliar to us and also familiar to us. But fear was never designed to paralyze us or discourage us from learning, or stop us from effectively reacting to the world. Humans have natural instincts that help us to survive. But natural instincts were never intended to stop us from living or learning. But here we are, we are letting our beliefs control us, instead of us controlling our beliefs. And we are just learning about this as if a veil has been lifted from our eyes.

Humans have a natural ability to believe and to imagine. But this natural ability can be exploited and manipulated. Like with a humans need to drink water, people can poison the water. Like with a humans need to eat food, people can poison the food. Like with a humans that need to breathe air, people can poison the air. Like with a humans need to believe, people can poison the information they believe in. Living in a fantasy world can bring enjoyment and help reduce stress, but as soon as you need to face reality, you will usually become angry or depressed, and then you will hopefully realize that living in a fantasy world does not prepare you for reality. The only thing that prepares you for reality is educating yourself with valuable knowledge.

Manipulating someone's memory should be illegal, especially manipulating someone's memory where that person could not tell the difference between fact or fiction. Schools, universities, religions and the media are manipulating peoples memories, which is why most people can't tell facts from fiction.

Exploiting peoples natural ability to believe in things can be dangerous and sometimes even criminal when it becomes fraud. Having beliefs is fine. But giving advice without proof or relevance, is the same thing as making false claims when selling a product, its called fraud. You're selling snake oil that is nothing more than a placebo. You are not solving any problems, you're just fooling people into believing that they solved their problems. So believe what you will, just don't try to sell me false beliefs or judge me because I refused to buy your snake oil. I am a believer, I'm just not that gullible or naive anymore. I need facts and proof, so save your bullshit for someone else. I trust you. as long as you trust me.

The beliefs that a person may have are not as important as what those beliefs makes a person do or think. If a belief stops you from learning or stops you from asking questions, then you're using your beliefs as an excuse not to learn, not to listen and not to be informed. Your beliefs are not a reason to make assumptions. This is not what believing in God is supposed to do to you. A belief should free your mind. A belief should never box you in or imprison you, because then you will find it hard to be close to any God anywhere. People need to be aware of labels. When someone tells you their religion, or any other detail like their political affiliation, or a particular belief, or even their gender, all that does, is tell you just one detail among the thousands of other details that would help to explain some of their behaviors in their personal life and in their public life. Beyond that, a person is communicating very little about who they really are. I would start with telling people your name and then explain your purpose in life and the verifiable benefits that are the direct result of how you live your life, and also mention that you don't prejudge or assume things about other people, even people you think that you know well. People have more non religious beliefs than religious beliefs. But it's how a person interprets their beliefs, is where all the problems and the confusion comes from, or on the other hand, it's  also where all the possible solutions may come from. A belief can be wrong or right, or good or bad. So it will always be better to prove something or clearly explain something than it is to just to believe in something, or just to pretend to know something.

When we stop asking questions, we stop seeing the possibilities. Life is about discovery, it's not about possessions, whether those possessions are in the form of beliefs or material objects. There will come a day when we all agree.

I need to have an open mind, but most religious people want to be narrow minded. I need to live in reality, but most religious people want to live in a fantasy. I need to be involved in society, but most religious people want to be passive and pretend they don't need to solve any problems that plague society. Flawed Reasoning.

A religious belief may have both positive and negative impacts on health and morbidity and having an abnormally gloomy or unhealthy state of mind. Having narrow minded political beliefs can also have negative impacts on your life and others.

Most people live in a fantasy world, and it's not just religious people. You don't have to be religious to be distracted from reality. Most people don't question things because they believe to have the answers. And too many people are passive to most of the problems in the world, but not passive with their beliefs. Everyone is quick to blame someone else, but not quick to explain themselves. It's a double standard and a contradiction of the truth. It's time to talk, it's time to listen, it's time to learn. The path of least resistance is love. All other paths lead to hell, and too many people are on the wrong path.

You have the right to believe in anything that you want, but you do not have the right to believe that you're above the law, or can a belief give you an excuse to pretend that you're right about everything that you do or think. A belief does not give a person the right to break the law or can a belief give you an excuse to pervert moral laws. This is why we have courts and a justice system, so that we can argue our reasoning in front of a judge and jury, or defend ourselves with witnesses. But what happens when the law and the justice system are also controlled by beliefs? We should not just compare our beliefs, we need to compare the facts, things that are provable and real.

You have the human right to believe, but not the right to force your belief on someone else, especially when they too have the right to believe. Your belief can not cancel out someone else's belief. But one belief may be more relevant then another. Relevance being measured by the importance and the known benefits that are the result of that particular belief. And this is how beliefs have been changing since the beginning of human history. All through history we have seen our beliefs change. It doesn't mean that the belief is gone completely, because it is part of our past and our culture, a memory that reminds us that beliefs have changed, and will continue to change, because we learn. Our ability to learn has given us many improvements. We learn to be fair, we learn to understand, we learn to be compassionate. we learn, and we will continue to learn till the end of time, that's if there is even an end at all, there may never be an end, just change.

"I have to believe in things in order to make things up."

Freedom of Religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or beliefs. Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths. Freedom of belief is different. It allows the right to believe what a person, group or religion wishes, but it does not necessarily allow the right to practice the religion or belief openly and outwardly in a public manner, a central facet of religious freedom.

Believing in God helps me to feel less alone and also makes me feel loved. But I know those are just feelings, and feelings of loneliness and feelings of love are things that I can control. But there are things that I can't control. That's when God comes to mind.

Having friends is like having witnesses to moments in your life. This is probably why so many people believe in a God. God is like having the ultimate witness to your life, someone who so it all. This is probably why so many people are nice to God. You don't want to make your best friend angry because God might reveal some of your life's most embarrassing moments, wouldn't that be funny? Sure beats going to hell. 

"Everyone should be allowed to believe in anything that makes them happy, as long as that person is aware that what they have is only one belief and that there are many other things that are involved in creating happiness."

A belief in God is mostly defined by a persons personal interpretation of what believing in God means to them. No two people could share the exact same experience because everyone experiences things a little differently, which is mostly based on an individuals upbringing and the influences of their parents, as well as, the influences from the environment, the influences from schools and knowledge in general, the influences of society, the influences from their own personal experiences, and the influences from a corporate controlled media. Even though people can conform to a particular set of beliefs and values, each individual could never accurately confirm how another individual interprets the same thing in the exact same way that they do, this is because there are many variables that are produced by all the different kinds of external and internal influences that each person experiences in their life. This is one of the reasons why some people can't agree on things. If people want to see eye to eye, we need to have defined rules for communication that focus on the facts, and not our own personal subjective opinions.

Freedom of Thought is essential. But we have to be extra careful not to turn our own thoughts into actions that do not truly benefit everyone fairly, accurately or justly. I truly want to know what you think, and I also look forward to sharing my thoughts. To have freedoms is to be truly blessed. But the gift of freedom can not be used to deny other people their freedoms, if it is, then that's not freedom, that's criminal. Ideas are to be debated and researched. We have a history that is filled with failures, failures that we can learn from. Lets us not insult our ancestries by making the same mistakes, let's honor their lives by showing them that we have learned from their experiences and that we are ready to put those benefits into positive actions. You can believe in God, or you can deny God, but you cannot deny what we have learned and what we have come to understand.

God speaks to me, but are you sure it was God?

God can not be defined and God can not be limited to your definition. It's not fair to God, fair to you, or fair to anyone, to Limit God to fit your personal definition, especially when there are infinite number of possibilities. Every one believes in God in their own special way. But I can not say what God is or who God is. All I can say is I believe there is a Higher power beyond my comprehension, why else would I be here? Besides that, we are learning so many things about ourselves and the world around us than ever before. And in doing so, we have found many things beyond our comprehension, like all the different light waves, and atoms and on on. We are just beginning to understand. So instead of believing that we know the answers, we should just keep learning, because that is definitely the right path to be on. God can be an infinite number of possibilities. So the more we know, the more we know God. Knowledge will bring you closer to God.

We can give God a name, but we should not pretend to know who god is, or pretend to know what god is made out of. If the only evidence you have is two questions, who made humans and who made the universe, then yourself or the universes is not proof that god exists. But I have to agree, someone did something.

God does not personally belong to you, God belongs to everyone, equally and individually. When you believe to know what God says or what God does, that is your own personal God, and no one else's. Every person has a mind of their own. And everyone has the right to believe what they think God is saying or doing. But you must remember that is only your side of the story. Even though other people may share the same story as you, those thoughts are is still in your mind only. And only God can read the thoughts that each individual has deep in their mind. And thoughts can only happen with words, so choose your words wisely.

We can see a belief as being like a mountain, but we know that a belief flows like water, it never stays exactly the same. The mountain will slowly dissolve into the sea, the sea of change. Instead of trying to stop a belief, you should see where the belief takes you by questioning and inquiring. Life is a journey, and on this journey we learn many things. It's when the journey of learning is restricted, that's when the problems and mistakes happen.

God Bless Everyone. There are people playing god, there are people pretending to be a god, there are people who believe that god is divine, and there are some people who question gods existence. We should all agree that god can not be defined by mere mortals. Praise god, pray to god, and oh my god, and god dam it. Let us agree to agree to respect each other and respect our gift of life, whom ever bestowed this gift upon us, because someone did something. Humans have done some incredible things with the advances in technology. If humans are creators, than someone obviously created humans. We look up to our parents when we are children, because our parents were our creators, but when we grow up, we learn that other people created our parents, and so on and so on. To believe that there is a creator is natural. We know there are many reasons why humans exist, we just don't enough reasons to ignore the fact that we do exist. A great awakening is still coming.

What if you had to be God? Would you be a good god or bad god? And would you know the difference between a good God or a bad God? Lets say that we are all Gods, could Gods work together? Maybe Gods have worked together before because we are here. This whole human race is one big family.

You can't say no to something that gives you the ability to say no. If something gives you abilities, it's not to have the ability to restrict others from having abilities. You are not given life to kill life, you are given life to preserve life, that is how life survives, in its preservation, and not in its own destruction. We must give people choices, but we must educate people on the choices they have so they will make good choices. All life survives this way. You have to know what good choices are in order to make them.

I use to think that way, but I don't think that way anymore. I use to believe that, but I don't believe that anymore. I have more information now and a better understanding of how ignorant it is to make assumptions and how not to pretend to know things. I ask questions now instead of believing that I know the answers. And most of the answers that I have now are not written in stone, this way I can update or modify my knowledge in order to adapt to a new reality.

I have a feeling that I have friends in high places. But these high places are not positions of authority, but abstract positions of spiritual divinity. I can't control everything, or can I be aware of everything. So it seems natural to believe in a higher power. It's pretty much statistically impossible to be still alive after all the mistakes I made. Someone had to be looking out for me. And who ever this higher entity is, I say to them, thank you. I appreciate everything you have done for me. I am forever grateful. So, when will I be able to open the present you gave me? Knowing you, I'm sure the present is going to be incredible in its own way. Will it be the final test or just the next step? Or will it be nothing?

Atheism - To Believe or Not to Believe, is still a Belief

Atheism is the belief that there is no God, or a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods, or the absence of belief in the existence of deities.

Negative and Positive Atheism is any type of atheism where a person does not believe in the existence of any deities but does not necessarily explicitly assert that there are none. Positive atheism, also called strong atheism and hard atheism, is the form of atheism that additionally asserts that no deities exist. "I Thank God I'm an Atheist".

Nontheism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in a God or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from an antithetical, explicit atheism. Nontheism does not necessarily describe atheism or disbelief in God; it has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions, such as agnosticism, ignosticism, ietsism, skepticism, pantheism, atheism, strong or positive atheism, implicit atheism, and apatheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology. Intelligent Design.

Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable, either of the divine or the supernatural. Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist." A religious orientation of doubt or a denial of ultimate knowledge of the existence of God. A person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist). What about Guardian Angels?

Incredulous is unwilling to believe something or unable to believe something. Not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving.

Agnostic is someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something. Uncertain of all claims to knowledge. Skepticism.

Ignosticism is the idea that the question of the existence of God is meaningless unless the word "God" is given a coherent and unambiguous definition, preferably yielding falsifiable logical consequences.

Secular - Separation of Church and State - Independent - Divisions in Religions

Ietsism is an unspecified belief in an undetermined transcendent reality. It is a range of beliefs held by people who, on the one hand, inwardly suspect – or indeed believe – that "there must be something undefined beyond the mundane and that which can be known or can be proven", but on the other hand do not necessarily accept or subscribe to the established belief system, dogma or view of the nature of a deity offered by any particular religion.

Nones are people who do not identify with any religious denomination.

Americans in 2024 are now 28% "Nones", or a group of religiously unaffiliated that is comprised of atheists, agnostic and people who say their religion is "nothing in particular". American adult Catholics are 23% and evangelical Protestants are 24%. Nones may still believe in a God and may still be spiritual, and most have more positive views of science than those who are religiously affiliated, but reject the idea that science can explain everything. Nones are also more liberal and Democratic, and nones can also be less civically engaged and avoid the polls on election day, but atheists and agnostics are more likely to be politically and civically engaged. Those who responded that their religion is 'nothing in particular' are far less likely to vote. Nones are also less likely to volunteer in their local communities than religiously affiliated adults. While many people of faith say they rely on scripture, tradition and the guidance of religious leaders to make moral decisions, Pew found that Nones say they're guided by logic or reason when making moral decisions, and wish to avoid hurting other people. Nones are young. 69% are under the age of fifty, and less racially diverse. 63% of Nones are white. People of color are far more likely to say religion is important in their lives, and the 'nothing in particular group' are more likely to be Black or Hispanic or Asian. Nones appear to be evenly divided be gender. Men are significantly more likely to say they're atheist or agnostic whereas women are more likely to describe their religion as 'nothing in particular', but women tend to be more religious on average than men."

People in the U.S. are leaving religions and switching faith traditions in large numbers. The idea of "religious churning" is very common in America, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. About one-quarter or 26% of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated, a number that has risen over the last decade and is now the largest single religious group in the U.S. That's similar to what other surveys and polls have also found, including Pew Research.

You can say there is no God, but you can't say that there is no belief in God. Believing in God does not prove that God exists, but not believing in God does not prove that God does not exist. To believe or not to believe is not the question. The question is, what matters? What does your belief explain? What are the benefits of your beliefs? What are the side effects of your beliefs? Let us not single out just one detail of a belief, let us consider all beliefs as a whole, as you would a person.

Both believers and nonbelievers limit other possibilities. Believers in god believe that god is the answer, while people who don't believe in god believe that there is no answer. Both beliefs are in denial. Both can be wrong, and both could be right, and both could be wrong and right at the same time, and both could live in a fantasy world and refuse to wake up. So what is it? Is it just a belief? Or is it just the beginning of a long and deep conversation? The possibility that there can be another answer, is the answer. If you want to believe in something, believe that there's a possibility that there may be another answer. The one fact that we can all except is that no one knows everything.

Apostasy is someone not faithful to religion or party or cause. A disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.

Pagan is someone who does not follow one of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism); the most common meaning.

Modern Paganism or contemporary paganism or Neo-Paganism is a term for a religion or a family of religions which is influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Africa and the Near East. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse and as a result, they do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Scholars of religion may characterize these traditions as new religious movements. Some academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions while others characterize it as a single religion of which different pagan faiths are denominations.

Heathen is a person who does not belong to a widely held religion. Not to be confused with Hedonism.

"I'm not a Heathen or a Pagan or an Atheist, I'm just a Man of God in Waiting."

Irreligion is the absence of religion or the rejection of religion, or indifference to religion. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware, to full-fledged philosophies such as secular humanism. Other examples are atheism, agnosticism and antitheism. Social scientists tend to define irreligion as a purely naturalist worldview that excludes a belief in anything supernatural. The broadest and loosest definition, serving as an upper limit, is the lack of religious identification, though many non-identifiers express metaphysical and even religious beliefs. The narrowest and strictest is subscribing to positive atheism. According to the Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population is not affiliated with any religion. The population of the religiously unaffiliated, sometimes referred to as "nones", grew significantly in recent years, though its future growth is uncertain. Objective irreligion is difficult to isolate because many of the global "nones" actually hold religious beliefs and some engage in religious practices. Measurement of irreligiosity requires great cultural sensitivity, especially outside the West, where the concepts of "religion" or "the secular" are not always rooted in local culture.

What would an Atheist say to God? (reddit video)

My Church - Maren Morris (youtube) - I've cussed on a Sunday, I've cheated and I've lied, I've fallen down from grace, A few too many times, But I find holy redemption, When I put this car in drive, Roll the windows down and turn up the dial, Can I get a hallelujah, Can I get an amen, Feels like the Holy Ghost running through ya, When I play the highway FM, I find my soul revival, Singing every single verse, Yeah, I guess that's my church.

Dear God - XTC (youtube) - Dear God, hope you get the letter and, I pray you can make it better down here,I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer, But all the people that you made in your image, See them starving on their feet, Cause they don't get enough to eat from God, I can't believe in you. Dear God, sorry to disturb you but, I feel that I should be heard loud and clear, We all need a big reduction in amount of tears,And all the people that you made in your image, See them fighting in the street, Cause they can't make opinions meet about God,They can't believe in you. Did you make disease and the diamond blue? Did you make mankind after we made you? And the devil too! Dear God, don't know if you noticed but, Your name is on a lot of quotes in this book, And us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look, And all the people that you made in your image, Still believing that junk is true, Well I know it ain't, so do you. Dear God, I can't believe in...I don't believe in...I won't believe in heaven and hell, No saints, no sinners, no devil as well, The pearly gates, no thorny crown, You're always letting us humans down, The wars you bring, the babes you drown,Those lost at sea and never found, And it's the same the whole world round, The hurt I see helps to compound, The Father, Son, and holy ghost, Is just somebody's unholy hoax, And if you're up there you'll perceive, That my heart's here upon my sleeve, If there's one thing I don't believe in, It's you, Dear God.

States with constitutions prohibiting atheists from running for office: Arkansas, Article 19, Section 1: No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court. Maryland, Article 37: That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God; nor shall the Legislature prescribe any other oath of office than the oath prescribed by this Constitution. Mississippi, Article 14, Section 265: No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state. North Carolina, Article 6, Section 8 The following persons shall be disqualified for office: Any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God. South Carolina, Article 17, Section 4: No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution. Tennessee, Article 9, Section 2: No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state. Texas, Article 1, Section 4: No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a supreme being.

The Thinning of the Flocks: Can churches and religious schools survive as more and more people become religiously unaffiliated? Yes, but they need to modernize and update so they can become more aligned with a world that is becoming more and more educated, more advanced, more informed and more aware. We know that churches are more than just a religion. Churches and schools have many different functions and provide many services within a community. And with their doors open to the public, churches are also a place of refuge for many people in need of hope and prayer. So as churches and schools make the transition, they will need to find ways to preserve their traditions, their heritage and their culture, and at the same time, learn to communicate more, and work together more on solving the problems that are plaguing modern day society. They need to have more outreach and stop making outrageous claims and false advertising, because we don't want religion to become corporatized, because we all know that the corporate world is going to be fazed out soon, as we welcome a new era in world democracy and sustainability.

American Millennials (generations) - Ancient Hope

Americas Changing Religious Landscape - Templeton Prize

Churches close across the country. Just 16% of Americans say religion is the most important thing in their life, according to a new report released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute. A 2020 survey found that the average congregation size across Christian denominations is less than half what it was in 2000 — down to 65 from 137. It also found that on average, a third of churchgoers are 65 or older, twice that age group's representation in the general population. These numbers held true for Protestants, Evangelicals and Catholics alike. Only congregations of other faith traditions — including Islam, Baha'i and Judaism — are seeing increases, the survey said. Boomers are about 20% 'nones' and Gen Z is about 45% 'nones.

United Methodists Lose 1,800 Churches in Split Over LGBT Stance.

I see too many people blaming religion for a lot of the suffering and pointless killing throughout our history. It's not the fault of religions, it was the lack of information and knowledge. We know what the lack of information and knowledge does to society. Most criminals and people in prison are the result of a poor education. But what we also learned, was that a great education is not a guarantee that a person will do good in life. Perfect examples of that are politicians and corporate leaders. So that is why we must improve education, whether it would be of religious nature or not. 

Do you believe in space aliens?

Remember Versus Know Judgments (memory flaws) - Reasoning

There seems to be this profound difference between believing and knowing. Knowing increases awareness, believing decreases awareness. Not believing is not knowing.

Multiple Beliefs - Multi-Faith

Multifaith is to be more open and understanding of more than one religion, philosophy or world-view. And perhaps to believe that no one is superior to the others.

Interfaith is involved with improving communication between different religions or beliefs.

Parliament of the World's Religions was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths with the belief that different religions have something to learn from each other.

Religious Pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society.

Pluralism - Interfaith Youth Core - Secular

Cooperation (working together) - Tolerance

Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, while blending practices of various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merger and analogizing of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. Syncretism also occurs commonly in expressions of arts and culture, (known as eclecticism) as well as politics (syncretic politics).

When someone says that they're religious, I wonder how religious they are what being religious really means?

Hermeticism is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice Great"). Hermetica.

Manifest Destiny was a widely held belief in the United States that its settlers were destined to expand across North America. Genocide - Over Development.

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God.

Polytheism is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals.

Animism is the religious belief that various objects, places, and creatures with whom humans engage possess idiosyncratic spiritual qualities.

Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of the supreme being or deities. Theist is a person who believes in the existence of a god or gods.

Protestantism a member or follower of any of the Western Christian churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church and follow the principles of the Reformation, including the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches.

Conflicting Beliefs - Heresy - Blasphemy

Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religious teachings, but is also used of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy is any belief or theory that has conflicting facts, claims or opinions that differ from popular or older beliefs or customs.

Discrimination - Book Banning - Censor

Heretic is a person who holds controversial opinions, especially one who publicly dissents from the officially accepted dogma. A person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church.

Freedom of Speech - Whistle Blower - Above the Law - Contempt

My belief is better than your belief is just a silly argument that serves no purpose. They are both beliefs.

To Each His Own means that every person is entitled to his or her personal preferences, tastes or beliefs, just as long as their beliefs don't hurt anyone or violate human rights or violate human decency.

Slander - Frivolous Lawsuit - Invalid Reasoning - Bias

Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Blasphemy is the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, to religious or holy persons or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. 

Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical, it is often called desecration. Sacrilege is blasphemous behavior or the act of depriving something of its sacred character.

Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.

Abomination in English is that which is exceptionally loathsome, hateful, sinful, wicked, or vile.

Sacrosanct is something that is regarded as too important, sacred or valuable to be interfered with.

Variance is the fact or quality of being different, divergent, or inconsistent. An event that departs from expectations. Discord that splits a group. A difference between conflicting facts, claims or opinions. The quality or degree of being subject to variation. An activity that varies from a norm or standard.

Denounce is to criticize or speak out against someone or something and to point out as deserving of reprehension, etc.; to openly accuse or condemn in a threatening manner; to invoke censure upon; to stigmatize; to blame.

Defrock is to deprive someone of professional status or membership in a prestigious group and the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. You're Fired.

Just because a law is written, this does not mean that the law is understood the same way by everyone, or does it prove that the law is even valid or that the law can be challenged. You cannot limit something to a particular label, because labels cannot be uniformly translated or understood the same way by everyone. Just because you have given something a label, this does not mean you don't have to explain your label, an explanation will always help assure that your label is fully understood by everyone. If you don't teach skepticism you will fail to teach the most important element of learning, which is questioning. Without questioning you make people vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation. Don't define a word so much that you confine or limit its meaning.

Unambiguous is having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning. Cognitive Dissonance.

Nothing is definitive. We define things out of necessity. This is not to say that something is definitive. We define something just enough so that we can communicate effectively and continue to move forward and progress.

The awareness of our perceptions seems to be different when looking at the same thing. We need to define the things we see and find a middle ground on which to agree. For a middle ground is all we have, for we have known for some time that there is only one planet on which we all live. We can no longer afford to believe that we are some how separated from the rest of the world, we know that we are not. We have to share this world as well as share our beliefs. Is it All or Nothing or Something for Everyone? Let us Negotiate, work together and Compromise.

Why do some religious practices and traditions become irrelevant and impracticable as we learn more?

Irrelevant is having no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue.

Impracticable is not capable of being carried out or put into practice.

The last thing you want to do is use your own beliefs to attack someone else's beliefs.

So what's your perception of perception?

Philosophy - Evolution - Multiple Beliefs - Atheism

Phenomenology of Religion concerns the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of worshippers. It views religion as made up of different components, and studies these components across religious traditions in order to gain some understanding of them.

People should try to avoid deferring their questions to a higher power. If the question seems to big to answer, then try breaking down your question into smaller questions that you can answer yourself.

Inquisitor was an official with judicial or investigative functions in an Inquisition. Inquisitor is an organization or a program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Public Debate.

Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy.

Grand Inquisitor is the title that usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.

Autonomy is one who gives oneself one's own law, which is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical philosophy.

Truth - Value System - Intelligence

Stoicism taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, of the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature.

Polarization - Factions

Philosophical Realism is the belief that some aspects of reality are ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, perceptions, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc. Philosophy.

Transcendence refers to the aspect of a god's nature and power which is wholly independent of the material universe, beyond all physical laws.

Traditionalist School was a group of 20th century thinkers concerned with what they considered to be the demise of traditional forms of knowledge, both aesthetic and spiritual, within Western society.

Correspondence Theology is a basic relationship found between two levels of existence. Light corresponds to wisdom because wisdom enlightens the mind as light enlightens the eye. Warmth corresponds to love because love warms the mind as heat does the body.

Protestant Reformation (wiki)

Orthodoxy is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.

Bahai - Church of Reality

Jainism central tenet is non-violence and love towards all living beings.

Religious Order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates (laity) and, in some traditions, ordained clergy. Religious orders exist in many of the world's religions.

Holy Orders are ordained ministries such as bishop, priest or deacon.

Fraternal Order is a fraternity organized as an order. Traits sometimes allude to aspects of the original religious or chivalric orders of the Middle Ages. Contemporary fraternal orders typically have secular purposes, including social, cultural and mutually beneficial or charitable aims.

Define is to Limit

To Define is to Limit. Does defining something confine that something to just that definition? It can, especially when using labels that never explain enough about what something is in order to understand it. Things are relative, so we need to understand the context, and we also need consistency and predictability, and we also need adaptability and flexibility. Meaning and interpretation can only be accomplished through conversation.

Equivocation - Meaning - Truth is Debatable

Frame Problem is formulated as the problem of limiting the beliefs that have to be updated in response to actions. In the logical context, actions are typically specified by what they change, with the implicit assumption that everything else (the frame) remains unchanged.

To Define God is to Limit God. We should refer to this phenomenon as an Unidentified Entity of Supernatural Origin, or UESO.

Entity is that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence

Supernatural is something that is not perceived to be existing in nature or reality, something that can't be explained according to natural laws. Something that is not physical or material, but spiritual.

Origin is the source of something's existence or from which it derives or is derived. The place where something begins, where it springs into being.

There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word god (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or specifically to the Supreme Being, as denoted in English by the capitalized and uncapitalized terms God and god. Germanic word "god" comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus, which descends from the Old English guþ from the Proto-Germanic *uđan. The English word god comes from the Old English god, which itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic *uđán. Its cognates in other Germanic languages include guþ, gudis (both Gothic), guð (Old Norse), god (Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch), and got (Old High German).

Semantics is the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text.

Axiom is a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits.

To make an assumption based on a fantasy, then you're just entertaining people and not explaining to people. You know words, but you know very little about what you're pretending to say with those words. When we assume that words automatically defines things, we enter into a fantasy world. Words have definitions, things need explinations.

Is Truth is Stranger than Fiction?

If you didn't have a word for God, what would you call it? If you never learned of a God, how would you explain strange phenomenon? If you never learned of a God, what would you think about life?

People prescribe to a certain way of life, not a way of life that they created, but a way of life that was created by ancestors 100's of years before they were born. But as people grow older they realize that the world is filled with all kinds of people who have all kinds of beliefs that are different than theirs. And these differences all depend on where a person was born and how they were raised. So most beliefs are related to regions, and not so much related to truth. And one of the universal truths that all humans share is that we are all human and that we are all living on the same planet. This is our common ground. People should not separate themselves because of their cultures or their beliefs, but should use these different points of view to examine what we have learned from life, so that we can continually improve life for future generations.

"Never doubt the value of information and knowledge based solely on the source, whether you hear something from a religious leader, or read something from a religious book, always remember that any information could lead you to an answer, whether it could happen indirectly or metaphorically."

"You may choose what you want, but don't be all that you choose..Spending too much time believing, instead of learning and doing, will leave you vulnerable. A life unbalanced is a life that is fragile, unaware and unpredictable."

Why do certain religious teachings look similar to an open-loop controller and an isolated system?

Is religion a closed concept or an open concept?

Religion is not just about believing in God, Religion is also about culture, history and a quest for understanding. Though Religions make presumptions and atheism is believing in nothing, I would still rather believe in something as long as I don't assume that I know exactly what that something is, even though I have a right to a theory. It's not so much what you believe, it's how your belief effects your perception. There is really no clear definition of what 'believing in God' really means. But I have a feeling that science will eventually find God, for scientists are the only ones who are looking in more then one place, even though they are not directly looking for God. And I have another feeling too that when we do eventually find proof of God, God will be something that we never imagined, which will not be all that surprising, after all, it's God. Don't look at science as a threat to Religion, look at science as a friend who took a different path. And all these different paths that we are taking will eventually help us all to become more aware of our existence. 

Integrating Science and Faith - Cosmic Fingerprints

As Above, So Below - Everything is Connected

"You can still experience many things in your life without having to dedicate your entire life to just one experience. Sampling things and exploring the world has its benefits, and its dangers, but so does dedicating your entire life to just one thing. But whatever lifestyle you choose, it should not include limiting yourself to knowledge and information. And experiencing more does not necessarily mean that you are learning more, because first you would have to define what is the most important and the most valuable knowledge and information that the world has to offer. So till then, whatever you chose to do with your life is your choice. But please don't deny yourself to be the best that you can be, because that would be illogical and a waste of your potential."

Why so many people believe in God is simple, human life is just too freaking incredible and just too amazing to have happened all by itself. But that's not a reason to believe in God, that's just clearly recognizing the fact that human life is, without a doubt, a remarkable journey. Of course everyone wants someone to be there at the end when they die, someone to greet them. And most people would agree that they would want to see God. After all, God represents the only person who's qualified to explain just exactly what your life was all about. It's matter of trust, in God we Trust. Having an expert witness is important.

Religion and science are one in the same. They are both on the same path, looking for answers in their own way, using different methods for learning. Religion has been looking for answers for 100's of years, that is why there are so many religions and why religions have gone through so many changes. And science has also gone through many changes. The only difference between religion and science is time. And the time of stubbornness and narrow-mindedness is coming to an end. It's time for religion and science to admit they're friends, both in search for truth, both looking for answers.

Letter to Albert Einstein January 19, 1936 - My dear Dr. Einstein, We have brought up the question: Do scientists pray? in our Sunday school class. It began by asking whether we could believe in both science and religion. We are writing to scientists and other important men to try and have our own question answered. We will feel greatly honored if you will answer our question: Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for? We are in the sixth grade, Miss Ellis's class. Respectfully yours,  Phyllis.

Reply from Albert Einstein January 24, 1936 - Dear Phyllis, I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer: Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish. However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science. But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive. With cordial greetings, your A. Einstein.

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” - Albert Einstein

Spirituality, Religion May Protect Against Major Depression by Thickening Brain Cortex - Meditation

We can't allow ourselves to be separated by our own beliefs anymore. We just don't have the time or the resources. We have a lot of information and knowledge that is a great benefit to all of us. So let us begin to use our information and knowledge to the best of our abilities. We have opportunities that we cannot afford to waste.

"We can no longer afford to devote ourselves to live under one word or one ideal. We must understand that information is only useful to us when it is used correctly as a whole. A separate piece of information that excludes other information cannot exist on its own, it needs other information in order for it to live and to be realized. For example, a Word cannot stand on it's own, a word needs Context."..To deny language its purpose and potential is to deny life itself...

Extremism - Radicalization

Extremism is any political theory favoring immoderate uncompromising policies. Extremism or any type of restricted ideology, can cause people to have extreme prejudice towards new knowledge and new information, which causes a person to have an extreme narrow view of the world, making them extremely vulnerable to bad mistakes and bad choices.

Extremist is a person who holds extreme views far beyond the norm and beyond logical thinking and reasoning. A person who holds extreme or fanatical political views or fanatical religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action.

Militant is someone who prefers hard-line policies, warfare and fighting. Someone who likes to engaged in war.

Hard-Liner is a member of a group or a political group who adheres uncompromisingly to a set of ideas or policies. Hardline describes a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, and laws can be considered hard-line. A hardliner may be either a reactionary or a revolutionary. Synonyms for hardliner include diehard, hawk, extremist, fanatic, or zealot. The term is almost always relative to the Overton window of a given time and place.

Jingoism - Fake Nationalism - Demagogue

Axiom is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. Precedent.

When you can't separate facts from fiction, you will always have problems, you will always make mistakes, you will always make assumptions, you will always have delusions, you will always have suffering, and you will always have avoidable deaths.

A religious person becomes a terrorist when they use their belief as an excuse to commit a crime, or when they use their belief to deny the rights and the freedoms of other people. An ignorant contradiction of the golden rule.

Holy War is a war or violent campaign waged often by religious extremists for what is considered to be a holy purpose.

Religious War is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion.

Jihadism or Jihad is a holy war waged by Muslims against infidels. A holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal.

JIHAD. The Bafta-nominated film by Deeyah Khan. ©Fuuse Films (youtube)

Religious Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or lack thereof.

On Religious Grounds means that a person is using their religious beliefs as an excuse to be an asshole to people, or to be abusive to people or to discriminate against people, without explaining themselves logically, and without having a valid argument. This is not about having a conscience, this is about pretending to be above the law using vague reasons. Everything that you have is based on reality that people followed, but for some strange reason you think that reality doesn't exist. Ignorant excuses are just lies that are used by all kinds of criminals, and criminals will always lie and make up stupid excuses for their behavior. Like with corporations that use profit as an excuse to harm people, kill people and destroy the environment. Too many people are lying scumbags and getting away it. Religious fanatics believe that they're going to heaven because they ignorantly believe they are doing gods work, when in fact, they are actually doing the devils work, and they're dragging down the people they victimize with them.

Paranoia - Paranormal - Superstition - Fallacies - Fantasies - Pseudoscience - Junk Science - Intuition - Correlation does not prove Causation

"When a belief becomes a fantasy, you have to be careful what you wish for because there's always a dark side, and what goes around comes around. What you thought would send you to heaven is actually sending you to hell."

Radicalization is a process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that reject or undermine the status quo or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of freedom of choice. "You alter the facts to fit your view, when you should be altering your views to fit the facts. It's better to face the hard truth than a reassuring fate based on lies."

Blind following the Blind - Just Following Orders - The Devil Made Me Do it - Monopolies - Religious Charlatans 

Radicalism is the political orientation of those who favor revolutionary change in government and society.

Radical Belief is any faith-based belief that cannot be proven or logically explained.

Fundamentalist is the distorted interpretation of every word in the sacred texts as literal truth. Truth is debatable, which is one of the main reasons why we have courts of law.

Fundamentalism is the stubborn unwavering attachment to a set of perceived irreducible beliefs that ignore relevance. Usually has a religious connotation that indicates unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs. A strong sense of the importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroup distinctions, leading to an emphasis on perceived purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal that they claim to understand, from which advocates believe members have strayed. Rejection of diversity of opinion as applied to these established "fundamentals" and their accepted interpretation within the group often results from this tendency.

Absolutism is the acceptance of a belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.

Moral Absolutism is an ethical view that all actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Something may still be wrong even if it's done for the well-being of others and even if it does in the end promote something good. But this will always be relative to the situation and the facts that surround it. Self Defense - Revenge - Desperation.

Splitting in psychology is also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking, which is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism.

Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or with an obsessive enthusiasm.

Fanatic is a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause. Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.

Ardent is being very enthusiastic or passionate with intense emotion. Ardent can also mean glowing or shining like fire.

Sanctimonious is being excessive or hypocritically expressing reverence for a deity. Pious.

Worship is a feeling of profound love and admiration for something or someone. Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader. Worshipping is love that is unquestioningly and uncritically, or to excess. To venerate something as an idol or to show devotion to a deity. Prayer - Beliefs.

Denial - Lack of Empathy - Distorted Reasoning - Ignorance - Conformity

Deradicalization refers to preventive counterterrorism measures that aim to have those with extreme and violent religious or political ideologies adopt more moderate and nonviolent views. This is most effective when counteracting an ongoing - rather than well advanced process of radicalization (counter-radicalization) whereby individuals or groups gradually develop a mindset that increases the risk of violent extremism or terrorism. Deradicalization is not to be confused with anti-radicalization in which radicalization is aimed to be deterred and prevented from occurring in the first place. De-Radicalization has been described as an emerging science. Education Reform.

Indoctrination - Terrorism - Racism - Religious Factions - Political Factions

If someone is trying to sell you an after life full of promises, and if the only way to know if this heaven is true, is to die, then you are already dead inside. There are con men of the spirit who will exploit the name God in order to steal your soul. So you need to focus on living a good life instead of thinking that death is a reward and that your death will end the suffering. To stop the suffering, you need to stay alive, because once you're dead, you can no longer help ease the suffering. Death only adds to the suffering. Gods needs you on earth, why else would God give you life on earth? God does not give life so that you can die, God gives life so that you can live.

Religious Paranoia is an irrational fear of being purposefully attacked by an outside agent(s) in or through some religious context. Some examples: The fear of one's soul being stolen. The fear of being tempted by demons. The fear of being plotted against by cultists. The fear of God or Satan. It is a condition which has been compared to extremism and intolerance. It has been cited as a possible contributor to political violence. It is often related to splitting, psychological projection, a desire to maintain a sense of purity in situations of real or perceived persecution, and rigid and unchallengeable attitudes. In an alternate form of religious paranoia of a psychiatric nature, the patient can suffer from a permanent delusion of a primarily religious nature. He could, for example, believe that he is the messenger of God who has been sent to the world to propagate some religion.

Moral Panic is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the well-being of society. The process of arousing social concern over an issue that is not real and is mostly fabricated in order to divide people. Hoax.

Lunatic Fringe is a term used to characterize members of a political or social movement as extremists with eccentric or fanatical views.

"Those who believe without reason, are hard to be convinced by reason." - James Randi.

People who don't use reasoning in their thinking are hard to teach using reasoning. This does not say that people don't have reasons for doing things or reasons for thinking things, people just don't fully understand what reasoning is. Reasoning is more than a long process of doing a lot of research and learning everything that you can, reasoning is knowing that there will always be things in life that you will not be able to fully understand, and the things that you do understand, will always come from continually learning everything that you can, so when you do present reasons, those reasons will be well documented, transferable, and comprehensible to yourself and other people.

Cults - Cult Like Organizations

Cult is a group of people who are almost entirely controlled by or dominated by a single individual or leader. Cults use isolation, sleep depravation, control, dependence, punishment, reward and admiration or love bombing. Cults take advantage of peoples need for belonging and a persons need for purpose. Cults make you feel privileged and special, mostly because they just want to use you for their own selfish gain, or abuse you for their own pleasure. And they do it without fully explaining why, or they just give you invalid reasons and lame excuses. Cults don't want you to trust other people, cults only want you to trust them. Cults want you to sell your soul and make unfair sacrifices to increase your isolation. Cults use manipulation, lying, cheating, blaming, guilt trips, and even spread rumors to persuade followers to stay. To cults, it's all about the money and control, you are just a pawn in a game you can't win.

Fake Love - Charlatans - Ponzi Scams - Reward System - False Advertising - Gratification - Reward Stimulus - Click Bait - Charisma - Cult of Personality - Mind Control - Subliminal - Brain Washing - Persuasion - Influences - Heresy - Blasphemy - Addictions - Behavior - Media Literacy - Accessory to a Crime - Punishment - Prisons - Praying - Red Flags - Extremism - Pretending to Know - Run Around Talk - Propaganda - Political and Corporate Terrorists - Monopolies - False Flag - Divided We Stand - Two Party System - Conformity - Blind Adherence - Interventions - Assimilation - Patriotism - Influence - Privilege

Love Bombing is an attempt to influence a person by lavish demonstrations of attention and affection.

Gas-Lighting is manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality, or to manipulate another person into doubting their own perceptions, memories, experiences and their understanding of events.

Distorting History - Education Assimilation

Many religions can resemble cults, political parties can be cult like, corporations act like a cult, schools can be cult like, and the police and the military and almost every other government agency and institution that are know can be considered a cult when you see the similarities and recognize the signs. So what cult are you in? If you say that you're not in a cult, that is exactly what someone would say when they are in a cult.

Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to act in an involuntary manner by use of intimidation or threats or some other form of pressure or force.

Attrition is the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure. Attrition in warfare is a military strategy consisting of belligerent attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and material. The war will usually be won by the side with greater such resources.

Psychological Manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the behavior or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded tactics.

When your intuition is telling you that something is wrong, it means that something is bad or not right. So proceed with caution. You can lie to yourself, but the ugly truth will be revealed sooner or later.

How do you know if you're in a Cult? These are some of the signs and behaviors of a cult, things to look out for. 1. Beware of any kind of pressure or any kind of pressure to make a quick decision about becoming involved in any intensive kind of activity or organization. 2. Be wary of any leader who proclaims him or herself as having special powers or special insight or divinity. 3. The group is mostly closed, although there may be outside followers, there's usually an inner circle that follows the leader without question, and that maintains a tremendous amount of secrecy. 4. The group uses deceptive means, typically, to recruit new members, and then once recruited will subject its members to an organized program of thought reform, or what most people refer to as brainwashing. 5. Typically cults also exploit their members. Within the group, they'll exploit members financially, psychologically, emotionally and, all too often, sexually. 6. A very important aspect of cult is the idea that if you leave the cult, horrible things will happen to you. This is important, and it's important to realize. That people outside of a cult are potential members, so they're not looked upon as negatively as people inside the cult who then leave the cult.

How to Spot a Cult (youtube) 

You're a nice person. But sometimes you can be too nice and become passive. You're afraid to criticize your leader and afraid to criticize your supervisors because you don't want to make assumptions. So you basically sign a non disclosure agreement with yourself that states that you will never say anything bad about the scumbags who abused you or manipulated you. But it's not about you. It's about protecting others from abuse and manipulation. You blow the whistle to warn other possible victims. Alerting people to dangers can help protect people from abuse and manipulation. Your mistakes, your gullibleness and your trustworthiness can be a great benefit to other people, and not just to yourself. A bad experience can become a good experience when you learn a valuable lesson. You're cult free now, but you're not free from the responsibility of learning, because knowledge is power. But you have to learn how to control the power of knowledge. So you keep educating yourself. There are big plans in your future and a cultless world is waiting. A world were intelligence is the norm instead of ignorance being the norm. The great awakening is not just a moment, it's a process. The great awakening is knowing what being awake is and what being aware is really about. So you train yourself to be mindful several times a day, and eventually, being conscious and being aware will be the new norm. We will still sleep, but we will now know the difference between sleeping and being awake. And when we are awake, we will see so much more than the eyes can see, and we will not be so blind to trouble or dangers.

Proselytize is to convert or attempt to convert someone from one religion, belief, or opinion to another. Proselytism is the act or fact of religious conversion, and it also includes actions which invite it.

Cult Awareness Network was an organization created by deprogrammer Ted Patrick that provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. It was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and assassination of Congressman Leo J. Ryan in Jonestown, Guyana, and was shut down in 1996. Its name and assets were later bought by a group of private donors (some of whom were Scientologists) in a bankruptcy proceedings; with the transfer of ownership, the organization was renamed the New Cult Awareness Network. CAN and its representatives were known for being highly critical of Scientology, Landmark Education, and some other groups and new religious movements, referring to some of these groups as "destructive cults". Heaven's Gate (wiki)

Anti-Cult Movement opposes any new religious movement (NRM) that they characterize as a cult.

Zealotry means one who is zealous on behalf of God.

Zealous is marked by active interest and enthusiasm.

The 1975 film called Tommy shows the dangers of blindly following.

Anticipation or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure, excitement, and sometimes anxiety in considering some expected or longed-for good event.

Enthusiasm is intense enjoyment, interest, or approval.

Irreducible is lacking the capacity or ability to simplify.

Entice is to Provoke someone to do something through often false or exaggerated promises or persuasion.

Persuasion is a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty. Allure, allurement, appeal, attractiveness, bait, captivation, charm, come-on, courting, draw, drawing power, enchantment, endearment, enthrallment, enticement, fascination, gravitation, inclination, inducement, interest, invitation, lure, magnetism, pull, seduction, solicitation, temptation, tendency. Antonyms: repulsion, revulsion.

Fear is not a good teaching method, what other methods can help make someone aware of danger without using scare tactics?

Compensation is a strategy whereby one covers up, consciously or unconsciously, weaknesses, frustrations, desires, or feelings of inadequacy or incompetence in one life area through the gratification or (drive towards) excellence in another area. Compensation can cover up either real or imagined deficiencies and personal or physical inferiority. Positive compensations may help one to overcome one's difficulties. On the other hand, negative compensations do not, which results in a reinforced feeling of inferiority. There are two kinds of negative compensation: Overcompensation, characterized by a superiority goal, leads to striving for power, dominance, self-esteem, and self-devaluation. Undercompensation, which includes a demand for help, leads to a lack of courage and a fear for life.

Secret Society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence.

Fraternity connotes an organization of men, a fraternity, as a type of organization.

25 Most Cult-Like Schools, 14 are found in the South. Analysis of university prestige, spirit, and enduring devotion to their school. University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is the cultiest college in the country. In second is University of Virginia, followed by University of Florida, Texas A&M and UCLA. When it comes to social prestige, Wake Forest University in North Carolina scores highest overall, ranking first for women's sorority participation. The University of Chicago comes out on top for academic excellence, with excellent SAT and ACT scores in all subjects, and a 90 percent four-year graduation rate.

Religious Movement is used as an alternative phrase to the word cult.

Religious Conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others.

Zionism is the national movement or a nationalist political movement of the Jewish people that supports the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel (roughly corresponding to Palestine, Canaan or the Holy Land). Extremism.

Theocracy is a form of government in which a deity is the source from which all authority derives. The Oxford English Dictionary has this definition.

Religious Affiliations of Inmates in U.S. Prisons

Trying to define a religious affiliation can be easily flawed. It's hard to prove that a particular religious affiliation or practicing religion is not the only influence that a person has on their life, and to what degree did these affects have on this particular individual? Getting accurate, reliable data on the religious identities of US federal prisoners is often difficult because the Federal Bureau of Prisons does not release that information unless someone requests it through the Freedom of Information Act. The data here is self-reported, so it’s also dependent on whether prisoners were willing to disclose their religion. Seventeen percent of inmates listed “no preference” for their religion, but the Bureau of Prisons couldn’t clarify how that is different from the 3 percent of prisoners who described themselves as “Other”. Many chaplains report growth from religious switching in the numbers of Muslims and Protestant Christians, in particular. Some prisoners usually choose the religion that they claim according to gang affiliation or special privileges given to certain faiths. A minister who used to do ministry at youth jails, says that almost all of them say they ‘believe in God.’ Most criminals in prison are republicans or victims of republican abuses.

Religious Charlatans is one of the main reasons for the separation of church and state.

Religious Leaders Convicted of Crimes (PDF) - Religion in U.S. Prisons (wiki)

You can't use a religious belief as a reason to break the law or to do something wrong or bad. You have to have reasons and evidence that proves that you had no other choice or option, and that you were forced to do something wrong or bad. So please explain yourself. Can you prove to everyone else who follows the law and who also has moral respect for other people, that you should be allowed to be an as*hole? Everyone else has to be nice and have human decency, except for you? All because you have some excuse that has no proof or evidence? Laws are made because of proof and evidence, so where is your proof and evidence? Laws are written and people agree to do things because that keeps society from degrading and becoming a living hell. If anyone could come up with any kind of excuse that they want to, in order to do something wrong, then society would have no law and order, as we can clearly see today in several areas around the world. And just remember that you can't solve problems using ignorance or violence. And it's not a protest if people are abused or murdered. One of your main responsibilities is to keep educating yourself because you can't fight ignorance with ignorance. Keep learning, and together we will solve every problem known, and we will even solve the problems that people don't even know exist yet.

Church Sexual Abuse Cases has been going on for over a hundred years in many countries. Why?

Fascism (political groups) - Divide and Conquer - Conformity - World View (ideology) - Popularity

Prison Religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. "Prison Ministry" is a larger concept, including the support of the spiritual and religious needs of prison guards and staff, whose work in an often demanding and brutal environment often creates a special need for pastoral care, similar to the care that is extended to the military, police officers and fire fighters.

Education in Prison

Expectation is what is considered the most likely to happen. Don't expect, plan and anticipate.

We need to take responsibility for our actions, we need to learn to solve our problems, we can't keep passing the buck, because eventually, we all know that the pyramid schemes always collapse, and the last one holding the bill this time, will mark the moment of our extinction. I would never say that ideologies killed us all, but I would say that the combination of our ideologies has given us incredible potential, enough potential to stop the killing, and to end all suffering. Our ability to communicate is our greatest strength, but we need to use our language wisely. We cannot depend on always being understood the way we would like to be, we have to learn how to use language carefully, effectively and efficiently. We should come up with a procedure for language use, so that we can have a guide to help us communicate better.

Truth Saves - Addiction - Problem Solving

Why does religion sometimes look like a Milgram Experiment? Can something be sacrosanct?

Is allowing people to have special privileges just another form of discrimination and prejudice?

Should any Religion have the right to abuse human rights or civil rights? No. You cannot justify it or explain it.

Can codependency also be related to the publics interpretation of the world or world view?

Practice What You Preach, why is this so difficult? Counterintuitive.

Do as I say, not as I do. Where's the good example? 

There are many things that we have to do to maintain our existence, and to guarantee that our children will have a chance to enjoy this incredible planet as we did. I'm not saying the world is full of joy, but it can be. But at the moment I can't enjoy knowing that others are dying and suffering because of the cost of other people's enjoyment, we can't allow ourselves to contribute to this diffusion of responsibility, we owe it to the billions that have lived and we owe it to the trillions of people that will live in our future. Of course we are talking more the trillions of people....Lets say that we have 4 billion years left on our planet, and lets say we stay at our current population size of 7 billion, and lets say that everyone lives for a hundred years, So now we can say that every 100 years we will have 7 billion new people on the planet. 7 billion new lives every 100 years, 4 billion divided by 100 is 40 million, So 7 billion times 40 million is a number so big it cannot be visualized, so lets just say Quadrillions of humans who will experience life on this planet after you are dead and gone, that is a lot of people counting on you. and that is a lot of people to be responsible for. But it is also good knowing that trillions more people will experience life on this planet, and look back on our time in history as being the defining moment, we cannot deny this fact that we are in this moment now, it's time that we open our hearts and our minds, we have a lot of work to do, and a lot of lives to save, so here we go...let us start talking, let us start doing, let us start living as intelligent humans. Let us not break the chain of life, let us make the chain of life stronger, so that humans can live forever, in peace, and in harmony.

Thinking that God will punish evil and corrupt people is foolish, this will not solve our problems. We have to solve these problems ourselves. We can no longer transfer our responsibilities away that easy. Our beliefs and our hopes are comforting, but we all know that we can not just wish away our problems, we tried that already, it failed. So it's time we except our responsibilities. It's time to learn, it's time to live, it's time to love, it's time to progress.

Karma - Revenge

There is nothing wrong with religion, the only thing wrong is peoples ignorance, and if someone wants to blame their ignorance on religion, or use their religion as an excuse for ignorance, then they only prove one thing, and that is that they are ignorant.

Thinking for yourself can only happen when when learn how to think without confining and controlling influences.

Labels - Profiling

Belonging to a group does not mean that you are connected, or excepted, or protected. Even if you belong to a group and your are connected to a group, but if the group you're connected to is not connected to the rest of the world, and is isolated by prejudice or beliefs that cause you to be bias against useful and important information, then your group will eventually go extinct, as history has proven. We want to encourage groups and socializing, but if a group isolates itself and tries to disconnect itself from the rest of the world, then that is the same as a self-induced solitary confinement.

Church and State - Secular - Separate but Not Divided

Secular State is a state that claims to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. But this is hard to prove since there is no definitive evidence that there is a clear separation of church and state or a clear separation of good and bad, because these teachings can be very subtle and difficult to detect. Society has a belief system that is embedded in almost every school, university and institution, and also embedded in almost every media outlet. So there is no real separation, only a type of belief system that most people have no idea how it exists, or why it exists or who controls it? A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion or non-religion over other religions or non-religions. Secular states do not have a state religion, established religion or equivalent, although the absence of a state religion does not necessarily mean that a state is fully secular; however, a true secular state should steadfastly maintain national governance without influence from religious factions. But what about the influence of partisan political ideologies? Or the influence of money? The root of all evil seems to be ignored, just like the ignorance of people is ignored. But of course that's not the only problem is it? We have this corruption problem too. Decisions need to be based on facts and scientific evidence, because this gives us the best accuracy, and also reduces mistakes, errors and corruption. People need to be more focused on separating fact from fiction, as well as separating biases from objective reality. The main reason for separating church and state is because of extremist views and narrow-minded beliefs are dangerous. Decisions should be based on facts, evidence, proof and reality. Decisions should not be based solely on personal beliefs that are not based on facts, proof, evidence and reality.

Separation of Powers - Charlatans - Illusion of Control - Flawed Reasoning - Factions - Atheism - Sovereignty

Secular are attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious basis or no spiritual basis, and are not subject to or not bound by religious rule and not belonging to or living in a monastic or other order.

Secularity is the state of being separate from religion, or of not being exclusively allied with or against any particular religion.

Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. One manifestation of secularism is asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, or, in a state declared to be neutral on matters of belief, from the imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people. Another manifestation of secularism is the view that public activities and decisions, especially political ones, should not be influenced by religious beliefs or practices, especially when a belief is not based on facts and reality, and not based on a personal interpretation of what is right and wrong or good and bad.

Sect is a subdivision of a larger religious group. A dissenting clique.

Separate does not mean closed minded or stubborn.

Secular Humanism embraces human reason, ethics, social justice, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience, and superstition as the bases of morality and decision making.

Secular Morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional philosophies with ancient roots include those such as skepticism and virtue ethics.

You don't need to be religious to be good or to be a good person. Morals without Religion - Margaret K. Knight (wiki) - Humanism Today

Deconsecration also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches to be rendered to non-religious (secular) use or demolished.

Separation of Church and State is an illusion. When you have religious people working in the public sector, like teaching, administrating and governing, then there is no real separation of church and state, especially when they're so much alike. This is why there are religious symbols found in a lot of government buildings. Separation is almost impossible. So in a way the state is a church. And the state believes in controlling it's followers just like most religions do. The State worships money and they expect their followers to do the same. So the state is just like another form of religion where people live their lives in fear and worship a God they call money. So where is this separation? Shouldn't we just be separating the good ideas from the bad ideas? We should not blur the lines between good and bad. The state should not exploit religion, and religion should not exploit the state. There is collusion to a certain degree, so who's really in control? It's not a true democracy. And the constitution or human rights doesn't seem to make it into the conversation, especially when a religious person can use their religion as an excuse to be an ignorant as*hole to people and violate peoples rights. I don't think that "Thou should be an as*hole" is in any religious book. But some religious fanatics feel they can use their religion as a weapon and pretend to be above the law, which makes their religion look more like a terrorist organization than a religious organization. And this is not about respecting their religious beliefs, it's more about how ignorant they are, and that they use religion as their excuse for being ignorant, which there is no excuse, except for having a very low level of education and never educating themselves to acquire the most valuable knowledge and information that is currently available. Religious Freedom Bill is an example that there is no separation of Church and State. Giving religious people an excuse to discriminate and to humiliate people is just influencing more extremism and more terrorism, and just another way for the state to keep people divided. We need exemptions, as long as exemptions are not used as an ignorant excuse to commit a crime or as an excuse to put other people in danger.

Separation of Church and State refers to the creation of a secular state, that is with or without legally explicit church–state separation and to disestablishment, or the changing of an existing formal relationship between the church and the state. Although the concept is older, the exact phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from "wall of separation between church and state", a term coined by Thomas Jefferson. The establishment clause separates church from state, but not religion from politics or public life. Individual citizens are free to bring their religious convictions into the public arena. But the government is prohibited from favoring one religious view over another or even favoring religion over non-religion. In a society, the degree of political separation between the church and the civil state is determined by the legal structures and prevalent legal views that define the proper relationship between organized religion and the state. The arm's length principle proposes a relationship wherein the two political entities interact as organizations each independent of the authority of the other.

Right-Wing Media - Extremists - Cults

Nearly nine-in-ten  members or 88% of Congress identify as Christian, compared with two-thirds or 65% of the general public. Congress is both more heavily Protestant (55% vs. 43%) and more heavily Catholic (30% vs. 20%) than the U.S. adult population overall. Most Republican members of Congress identify as Protestants (68%) largest Protestant groups are Baptists (15%), Methodists (6%). Protestantism emphasizes justification by faith alone rather than by faith with good works. So these believers pretend to be good rather than proving they're good through their good deeds and actions.

Divided by Religious Beliefs - Flawed Reasoning

Arm's Length Principle is the condition or the fact that the parties of a transaction are independent and on an equal footing. Such a transaction is known as an "arm's-length transaction". It is used specifically in contract law to arrange an agreement that will stand up to legal scrutiny, even though the parties may have shared interests (e.g., employer–employee) or are too closely related to be seen as completely independent (e.g., the parties have familial ties). An arm's length relationship is distinguished from a fiduciary relationship, where the parties are not on an equal footing, but rather, power and information asymmetries exist.

James Talarico explains why displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom is ignorant. (reddit video)

The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today (video by Jay Rosenstein - PBS)

Vashti McCollum was the plaintiff in the landmark 1948 Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education, which struck down religious education in public schools. The defendant in the case was the public school district of Champaign, Illinois; instructors chosen by three religious faiths had taught religion classes within the district's schools. McCollum wrote a book on the case, One Woman's Fight (1953), became a world traveler and served two terms as president of the American Humanist Association from 1962–1965. She was also a signer of the Humanist Manifesto II in October 1973 and the Humanist Manifesto III in 2003. In 1948 McCollum told The New York Times "As long as the public school is used to recruit the child or to segregate the children according to religion or to use the truancy power of the public schools to make them go to religions classes, I'm against it".(November 6, 1912 – August 20, 2006). - Released Time is time set aside during school hours, typically an hour a day or a week, for students to receive off-campus private religious education.

Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. Section 8524(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act and codified at 20 U.S.C. § 7904(a), requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to issue guidance to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and the public on constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools. In addition, section 8524(b), codified at 20 U.S.C. § 7904(b), requires that, as a condition of receiving ESEA funds, an LEA must annually certify in writing to its SEA that it has no policy that prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools, as detailed in this updated guidance.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution both prevents the government from establishing religion and protects religious exercise and religious expression from unwarranted government interference and discrimination, which is a contradiction because religion discriminates against information. You can't protect people from discrimination when you allow an organization that discriminates. To say that the U.S. Department of Education's new guidance does a good job protecting students of all faiths and students who don't practice a faith, is a lie. It's just protecting corrupt behavior. Religious liberty in public schools is safeguarded by forbidding teachers and other government employees from leading students in religious exercises while on duty or otherwise coercing students in matters of religion, but on the other hand, schools are dumbed down and not allowed to fully educate students.

In 2022, the Supreme Court rules Maine's tuition assistance program must cover religious schools, which means that state funded terrorism is now legal. Not to say that all religious people are terrorists, it's just a fact that some religious people believe that their personal beliefs give them the right to be abusive to people and to discriminate against people, like with the S.C. law that lets health care providers refuse nonemergency care based on a religious persons personal beliefs that are not based on facts or reality, and are not based on what is morally right and wrong or good and bad. A violation of someone's conscience should be based on facts and reality, and not based on personal interpretations of laws or words. You can not change the meanings of words in order to commit crimes or to be above the law, especially laws that everyone else must follow. We can't give special privileges to criminals just because they believe that they are not a criminal. We can't have people going around making crazy assumptions or pretending to know things or living a life of contradictions or lies, because this makes everyone vulnerable to costly mistakes that can end up hurting people or killing people. Everyone has the right to be educated and be protected from crazy beliefs.

How far do employers have go to accommodate the religious views of their employees? Federal civil rights law requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs of workers as long as that accommodation does not impose an "undue hardship" on the employer's business. Undue hardship as a substantial additional cost, but it also said that the cost need not be more than a de minimis amount, defined in the dictionary as a trifling amount. Refusing to work on Sundays or religious holidays can put a significant burden on other workers when one is allowed to refuse work.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

Golden Rule states that one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (positive or directive form). One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive form). What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself (empathic or responsive form).

Hortative are verbal expressions used by the speaker to encourage or discourage an action. Different hortatives can be used to express greater or lesser intensity, or the speaker's attitude, for or against it. The cohortative is a hortative modality in English. The cohortative is used for mutual encouragement or discouragement. it signals mutual encouragement for the speaker and the addressee(s). Imperative Mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. Linguistic Modality is about a speaker's or a writer's attitude towards the world. A speaker or writer can express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity and ability by using modal words and expressions. Speakers often have different opinions about the same thing. Meaning and interpretation is not always the same.

E pluribus unum is the traditional motto of the United States, E pluribus unum is Latin for "Out of many, one", and also translated as "One out of many" or "One from many". The motto appears on the Great Seal along with Annuit cœptis (Latin for "he approves the undertaking [lit. 'things undertaken']") and Novus ordo seclorum (Latin for "New order of the ages") which appears on the reverse of the Great Seal; its inclusion on the seal was approved by an Act of Congress in 1782. While its status as national motto was for many years unofficial, E pluribus unum was still considered the de facto motto of the United States from its early history. E PLURIBUS UNUM has thirteen letters makes its use symbolic of the thirteen original states, like the thirteen stripes on the US flag. One out of many meant a single nation from a collection of states, and that we are stronger and more resilient when we work together as a team instead of apart. Embracing all of our diversity instead of being separate, divided and weak.

"In God We Trust" is the second motto of the United States that was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956 (H. J. Resolution 396). The motto replaced E pluribus unum, which had been the de facto motto since the initial design of the Great Seal of the United States. When the new motto was adopted, the initial reactions of the general populace was far from unanimous approval. In God We Trust motto has long been controversial as an official motto due to what opponents perceive as being a religious statement, and as such, violating the separation of church and state.

Placing our trust in God is not unusual, what's unusual is not placing our trust in each other. God has made it very clear that humans must learn how to solve their own problems. Waiting for a God to solve human problems will only guarantee that human problems will continue. In God We Trust motto should have never replaced E pluribus unum. One out of Many or One from Many is more aligned with Americas values. This is how the nation was formed and what it was built on. When people work together, their combined strength has tremendous potential. Having trust in God is fine. But we can't ignore our roots or ignore the birth of our nation and ignore what this nation was founded on. If we can't have trust in each other, we will never be one nation under God or indivisible.

Motto is a short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution. Mantra.

Religious Charlatans

There are people who are pretending to be religious and good, but in reality, they are exploiting religion and using the name of Jesus for political gain, like the republicans do. Beware of false prophets. There are people who pretend to do Gods work, but they are actually doing the devils work. Religious charlatans are running a con game in the name of God. They pretend to serve the lord, but in reality, they serve money and power and use God as a cover. These religious charlatans are exploiting gullible followers into believing that they are doing Gods will, when in reality, they work for the wealthy and the powerful. Charlatans live a life of contradictions, lies and deceit. They fail to follow their own rules, vows and oaths of service. Using God as an excuse for your behavior or using your faith as a reason to be an asshole to people, is not faith, it's fraud, it's abuse and it's ignorant. Using perverted interpretations of religious text as an excuse for your actions is totally insane. And they use old stories as a reference as if it explains their motives and behavior. It's all hearsay, they have no witnesses, all they have is a manipulated interpretation of religious writings. They use the name of God to get power, and then say that they are the chosen one. They are a religious mafia who exploits peoples religious beliefs for money and power. They say that they represent the lord Jesus, but they really represent wealth and divide, and they use their followers as pawns in their con game. They use the word God as a catch all phrase to pretend that the word God explains everything that they say and do. But the only thing that this explains is that they know very little about the world, so you use the word God to hide their ignorance and to hide from the truth, which is the fraud that they are committing. They claim that they're building relationships, but they are just building business contacts to exploit and to further their illogical and hypocritical ideologies. They want to be invisible and not be transparent because they don't want to be held accountable for the harm and destruction that they cause. So they will never reveal their ulterior motives, only a vague mission with no clear goals. So it can't be God's will, it's just your will, it's just your plan, and you use God as a patsy. You can't pray yourself out of this mess. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and then you exploit both sides as if you're untouchable and above gods law. You can say that you're doing the right thing. But you can't prove it or show any evidence. Your good intentions are not harmless. You make promises that you can't keep and can't prove, which is false advertising. And disillusioned followers unaware of the scam that these charlatans are committing. You claim that you're Gods children, but you act more like you're children of the corn or the lord of the flies where selfish, egotistical psychopaths run amok because they lack adult supervision. So you act more like the devils spawn than gods children. But the good thing is that most of your followers are the true believers and the real children of God, because they have God and the lord in their hearts and they rely on democracy and the constitution to guide them, and rely on human knowledge to prepare them for the realities of life. The true believers understand that freedom and rights are best earned when they are practiced and protected, and they are not earned using outlandish beliefs or using fantasies about some manipulated reality that only exists in the mind of the ignorant. So you need to stop your charade and start telling the truth and start living the truth. We are tired of your lies, your deceit and your grooming. We forgive you, so let us move forward. We should learn from our past instead of living in a past that no longer exists, because it is no longer logical or good or right.

You should have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. Ephesians 5:11-14 New International Version. Ephesians, Paul begins to warn against “the fruitless deeds of darkness.” What some of these deeds are is indicated in verses 3-6; sexual immorality, foolish talk, dishonesty, impurity, greed, coarse joking, and disobedience to the truth.

It seems that you are the source of this spiritual warfare, and you are the preternatural evil force that will cause the fall of man. But, not this time. Your suicide mission has been canceled. We await your terms for a cease fire. We know you'll do the right thing.

Spiritual Warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways.

Preternatural is that which appears outside or beside the natural. It is suspended between the mundane and the miraculous. The term is often used to distinguish marvels or deceptive trickery, often attributed to witchcraft or demons, from purely divine power of genuinely supernatural origin that transcends the laws of nature.

Fall of Man is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience.

Religion can sometimes be just another pyramid scheme using marketing scams that target the vulnerable. There were several Televangelists who have faced controversy from fraud, private jets and a Lamborghini. Jim Bakker (wiki). Televangelists: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (youtube). Followers can sometimes be accessories to crimes.

God Made Me Do It is just hearsay and a lie. God can't show up in court to testify for you on your behalf. And you don't even have a recording of God saying anything, which means that you're lying and just making up a story to cover up a crime by shifting the blame on God, which also makes you a scumbag, because God can't defend itself from liars and charlatans. Making false accusations against God will only send you to hell, or to prison.

Religion is not a cure all for assholes. It takes a lot more than a religion to stop an ignorant scumbag from doing evil things. It takes a lot more than a religion to stop addictions, or to stop criminals or to stop bad behavior. But that doesn't stop religious people from making false claims.

Cure All is a medicine or other remedy that will supposedly cure any ailment. A cure all is a solution to any problem.

God is just "make believe" to some people. To some people, the word God is just a made-up excuse that they give to themselves or give to other people so they can avoid having to explain their behavior or explain their thinking or actions. There is no accountability, no transparency, no purpose, no goal, no verification, no truth, no proof and no evidence. This is not even close to being positive thinking, this is just pure fantasy and an illusion that is on the edge of being delusional. I'm happy that you have something to believe in, but if you believe that you don't have to learn anything new, then you will be a moron until the day you die. Our reality requires us to be responsible in life, and understanding our responsibility takes a lot of knowledge and information. Life requires lifelong learning because life is complex. Human intelligence can make sense of these complexities and learn how to control and maintain our reality on earth, as we have shown in some areas, but we have not yet mastered. Some people are using their beliefs as an excuse to avoid the responsibilities of life. We have to work together, which means we need common beliefs. Humans are here for a reason. Humans are not here to misuse our creative abilities, we are here to use our brains, effectively, efficiently, productively, creatively and compassionately. We are humans. We are not naive gullible puppets. We are humans. And the word human means an intelligent and caring life form. We are humans. But not all humans know how to be human. Human education and media communication needs an upgrade.

Some people can pretend to know things because no one will ever test them and make them prove what they know.

Faith Healing is the practice of prayer and gestures such as laying on of hands that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. James Randi's The Faith Healers investigates Christian evangelists such as Peter Popoff, who claimed to heal sick people on stage in front of an audience. Popoff pretended to know private details about participants' lives by receiving radio transmissions from his wife who was off-stage and had gathered information from audience members prior to the show. According to this book, many of the leading modern evangelistic healers have engaged in deception and fraud. Religious belief in divine intervention does not depend on empirical evidence of an evidence-based outcome achieved via faith healing. Virtually all scientists and philosophers dismiss faith healing as pseudoscience. The book also questioned how faith healers use funds that were sent to them for specific purposes. Physicist Robert L. Park and doctor and consumer advocate Stephen Barrett have called into question the ethics of some exorbitant fees.

Placebos - False Advertising - Flawed Reasoning

Prosperity Gospel or Seed Faith is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as a sign of divine favor. Prosperity theology is sometimes referred to as the the health and wealth gospel or the gospel of success.

Religious Reasons or just an excuse for being a privileged asshole who thinks they have a right not do something good or right that other people have to do because they're normal. Religious reason is like an insanity plea for ignorant scumbags who don't know how to reason or use common sense.

Money Laundering by Churches involves allowing corrupt money to be combined with legitimate funds acquired by church officials. There are many vulnerable avenues to launder money, and religious bodies, churches and mosques are no exception. Using church money for personal reasons is stealing. Baptist minister Charles Southall pleads guilty to money laundering as prosecutors say he used cash to cover credit-card bills. Churches have also been accused of laundering the proceeds of drug sales.

Mormon Church Fined $5 million by the SEC for using 13 shell companies to hide a $32 billion investment portfolio. Whistleblower David Nielsen alleged that the church had accumulated $100 billion in assets and, instead of spending the money on good works, they church used the money to bail out business with church ties. He claimed that the church violated its religious tax exemption status.

Psychopathic TV preacher Kenneth Copeland loses it when confronted about his use of private jets. He has a wealth of $760 million. (reddit)

Do churches exploit starving people or poor people as a way to influence their religion? Do churches use people's need for food and resources as a way to gain followers? Churches are known to exploit people's faith for monetary gain, so is religion just another racket? Of course religions do a lot of good things, but why is there so much corruption with religious people who are supposed to be morally competent?

Tithe is a contribution to a religious organization or a compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more recently via online giving, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce. A tithe is a one-tenth part of something. After the separation of church and state, church tax linked to the tax system are instead used in many countries to support their national church. Donations to the church beyond what is owed in the tithe, or by those attending a congregation who are not members or adherents, are known as offerings, and often are designated for specific purposes such as a building program, debt retirement, or mission work. Many Christian denominations hold Jesus taught that tithing must be done in conjunction with a deep concern for "justice, mercy and faithfulness.

Conspirituality is when practitioners are given exaggerated information or misleading information that misleads them into believing certain things that are not based on facts. As with other extremist movements, the conspirituality narrative portrays its followers as being more enlightened than mainstream society and are prone to persecution because they are aware of the "real truth". Conspirituality is a neologism portmanteau describing the overlap of conspiracy theories with spirituality, typically of New Age varieties. Contemporary conspirituality became common in the 1990s. Spiritual Teachers.

Faith and Rationality exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. Rationality is based on reason and facts, beliefs are not.

Many religions can be seen as a fantasy world full of wishful thinking with beliefs that are filled with general ideas and vague expressions, which can give the illusion of having the answers, only to create a delusion of grandeur where ignorance is bliss. When you lie to people and pretend to have the answers you give people false hope and a false sense of security, which does more harm than good. A dumbed downed education forces people to look for answers on their own. And sometimes people will fall victim to people pretending to have the answers, and charlatans have more censorship than access to valuable knowledge and information, which leaves people vulnerable and dependent and easy to manipulate. And when people ignorantly believe they have the answers, they will stop asking questions, which is why this scam works so well. While others may enjoy their privileges and fill their life with experiences, they too may neglect knowledge and information, thus never fully understanding their potential and never fully understanding themselves or the world.

No Person Can Serve Two Masters means that you can not serve god and money because being virtuous is not compatible with being greedy. You cannot follow two conflicting ideologies.

Religious Affiliations of Criminals - People in Prison who are Religious

Conflict Thesis maintains that there is an intrinsic intellectual conflict between religion and science, and that it inevitably leads to hostility.

Religious Terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a tactic to achieve religious goals or which are influenced by religious beliefs and/or identity. In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism has more often been based on anarchism, and revolutionary politics. Since 1980, however, there has been an increase in terrorist activity motivated by religion.

Religious Violence is violence that is motivated by, or in reaction to, religious precepts, texts, or the doctrines of a target or an attacker. It includes violence against religious institutions, people, objects, or events. Religious violence does not exclusively include acts which are committed by religious groups, instead, it includes acts which are committed against religious groups. Religious violence covers phenomena where religion is either the subject or the object of violent behavior. All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war.

Destructive Cult generally refers to groups whose members have, through deliberate action, physically injured or killed other members of their own group or other people. Cults.

Religious Freedom is a fundamental human right and the first among rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. It is the right to think, express and act upon what you deeply believe, according to the dictates of conscience. The Supreme Court has long recognized that religious freedom should not be interpreted to permit harm on others. You can't use freedom as a weapon to deny others of the same freedom.

Supremacy Law states that laws or beliefs can't violate federal laws.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion or the lack of religious belief in hiring, firing, or any other terms and conditions of employment.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that everyone in the United States has the right to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all.

Mormon Abuse Cases are cases of confirmed and alleged abuse by churches in the Latter Day Saint movement and its agents, including child sexual abuse.

Republicans and and Religous people are the most likely people to molest children, and they are also the most likely to blame other people. (reddit vidio)

Catholic sexual abuse cases in Europe have been documented by cases in several dioceses in European nations. Investigation and widespread reporting of sexual abuse scandals were conducted in the early 21st century related to numerous dioceses in the United States of America; several American dioceses have filed for bankruptcy after settling civil lawsuits from victims. A significant number of cases have also been reported in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. Top Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated sex abuse victims, report says in 2022.

Establishment Clause of The First Amendment prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another.

Southern Baptist Convention ousted 5 female-led churches. Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., recently ousted five churches across the U.S. because they allow women to serve as pastors.

National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. It is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and pray together. They pray that they stay wealthy and stay in power, and pray that they can hold on to their privileges while denying the privileges of others. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW. The National Prayer Breakfast, held in the Hilton's International Ballroom, is yearly attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. It is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization. Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events. Espionage.

The Fellowship is a Christian organization and a U.S.-based religious and political organization founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide. It is a religious front group for the wealthy and powerful under the guise of religion. The stated purpose of The Fellowship is to provide a fellowship forum for decision makers to share in Bible studies, prayer meetings, worship of God, and to experience spiritual affirmation and support. The Fellowship has been described as one of the most politically well-connected and most secretly funded ministries in the United States. They shun publicity and its members share a vow of secrecy. The Fellowship's former leader, the late Douglas Coe, and others have explained the organization's desire for secrecy by citing biblical admonitions against public displays of good works, insisting they would not be able to tackle diplomatically sensitive missions if they drew public attention. Doug Burleigh is a key figure in the organization and has taken over organizing the National Prayer Breakfast since the death of his father-in-law, Doug Coe. Prior to that, he had a leadership role in the organization and had spoken at the Russian prayer breakfast.

The Age of Reason was written by Thomas Paine who wrote about the corruption of the Christian Church and criticized its efforts to acquire political power. Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as "an ordinary piece of literature rather than as a divinely inspired text". It promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a creator-God. It was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807.

Judeo-Christian Ethics underpins American politics, law and morals, and has been part of the "American civil religion" since the 1940's. In recent years, the phrase has been associated with political conservatives.

If you violate other peoples rights, then that means you're saying that other people can violate your rights, which means that you're inciting a war. So stopping this ignorant cycle of abuse begins with you. You can't use a belief as a reason or as evidence for another belief. No one is saying that you have to give up your beliefs, we are just saying that you should not use your beliefs as a reason not to learn or as a reason not to adapt. It's better to keep looking for answers than pretending that you know the answers.

State Religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. A state with an official religion, while not secular, is not necessarily a theocracy, a country whose rulers have both secular and spiritual authority. State religions are official or government-sanctioned establishments of a religion, but the state does not need be under the control of the religion (as in a theocracy) nor is the state-sanctioned religion necessarily under the control of the state.

State Atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically linked to irreligion and the promotion of irreligion to some extent. State atheism may refer to a government's promotion of anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. In some instances, religious symbols and public practices that were once held by religion were replaced with secularized versions. State atheism can also exist in a politically neutral fashion, in which case it is considered as non-secular.

Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.

Roger Williams was a puritan and an English reformed theologian, and later a reformed Baptist who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, and a supporter of members of the free will Baptist movement.

Educators and their Political Leanings. Even though most educators keep a politically neutral front as part of their jobs, politics has a way of creeping into their classrooms through the text books they use and from school administration requirements. The teaching of ideological beliefs can be very subtle to the untrained teacher and student. But it's mostly the lack of knowledge and skills that schools fail to teach that ends up doing the most damage. Among actors and actresses, there are 90 Democrats for every 10 Republicans. Teachers are actually as liberal or even more so than those in acting. Among English teachers, there are 97 Democrats for every three Republicans, with the proportion being even more one-sided among health teachers, with 99 Democrats for every one Republican. While there are slightly more Republicans among math and science teachers, among high school teachers overall, there are 87 Democrats for every 13 Republicans. Forty one percent of respondents described themselves as Democrats while another 30 percent said they were independents. Just 27 percent were Republicans. Half the respondents voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Another 29 percent voted for Trump. Thirteen percent selected a third-party candidate. Forty three percent of the educators surveyed see themselves as moderate. The rest were slightly more likely to lean to the left than the right. Nearly 30 percent describe themselves as liberal or very liberal. Twenty seven percent view themselves as conservative or very conservative. Seventy percent give Republicans a "D" or an "F" for their handling of K-12 policy. Forty five percent give Democrats a "D" or "F." Each party gets an "A" from only 1 percent of respondents. Right-Wing Media.

Evangelize is to try to convert someone or seek to convert someone to Christianity. To preach the Christian gospel.

Apostasy is the state of having rejected your religious beliefs for your political party or a cause. The act of abandoning a party for cause. Apostasy is the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief. is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. Silence (2016 film) (wiki).

Religious Disaffiliation is the act of leaving a faith, or a religious group or community. It is in many respects the reverse of religious conversion.

Factions - Dissenting Religions - Religions Splitting

Schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. A split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief. Schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, such as the East–West Schism or the Great Western Schism. It is also used of a split within a non-religious organization or movement or, more broadly, of a separation between two or more people, be it brothers, friends, lovers, etc. A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group. Schismatic as an adjective means pertaining to a schism or schisms, or to those ideas, policies, etc. that are thought to lead towards or promote schism.

Divisions - Polarized - Fallacies - Subgroups of Society - Factions in the Republican Party - Secular - Fragmented - Multiple Beliefs - Independent - Outsiders

Faction is a small organized dissenting group within a larger one. A state of conflict within an organization.

Sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group.

Religious Denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.

Denomination is a recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church, or a religious group whose beliefs differ in some ways from other groups in the same religion. Denomination is also the face value of a banknote, coin, or postage stamp.

Infighting is quarrelling and competition between members of the same group or organization.

Reformation was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in particular to papal authority, arising from what were perceived to be errors, abuses, and discrepancies by the Catholic Church.

Cultural Changes - Adaptation - Diversity - Self Manage

New model for predicting belief change. A new kind of predictive network model could help determine which people will change their minds about contentious scientific issues when presented with evidence-based information.

New Religious Movement is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture.

Religious Exclusivism is the doctrine or belief that only one particular religion or belief system is true. Denial.

Religious Conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion.

Forced Conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, while outwardly behaving as a convert. Extremism - Cults.

Anti-Conversion Laws are enacted to protect people from forced conversions, or from being forced to abandon their religion or forced to join a religion. Those accused of fraudulently converting adults, minors or those from a marginalized community, will face a jail time or a fine. A person should not have the right to convert other person to one's own religion. Anti-conversion act criminalizes unlawful religious conversion and inter-faith marriages with the sole intention of changing someone's religion. Freedom of Religion - Religious Tolerance.

Religious Discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated unequally due to their particular beliefs, either before the law or in institutional settings, such as employment or housing.

Religious Intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs or practices or lack thereof. Mere statements which are contrary to one's beliefs do not constitute intolerance. Religious intolerance occurs when a group or person specifically refuses to tolerate another persons practices or beliefs based on their won religious beliefs. Hypocrite.

Intolerance is the unwillingness to recognize and respect differences in opinions or beliefs.

Religious Segregation is the separation of people according to their religion. The term has been applied to cases of religious-based segregation which occurs as a social phenomenon, as well as segregation which arises from laws, whether they are explicit or implicit. Secular State.

Heterodoxy are any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position.

Inculturation is the adaptation of the way Church teachings are presented to other, mostly non-Christian, cultures and, in turn, the influence of those cultures on the evolution of these teachings.

Defunct Religious Organizations (wiki)

Islamic Schools and Branches summarizes the different branches and schools in Islam. The best known split, into Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, and Kharijites, was mainly political at first but eventually acquired theological and jurisprudential dimensions. There are three traditional types of schools in Islam: schools of jurisprudence, Sufi orders and schools of theology. The article also summarizes major denominations and movements that have arisen in the modern era.

Abrahamic Religions are a group of Semitic-originated religious communities of faith that claim descent from the Judaism of the ancient Israelites and the worship of the God of Abraham. The Abrahamic religions are monotheistic, with the term deriving from the patriarch Abraham (a major biblical figure from the Old Testament, which is recognized by Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others).

Shia Islam is one of the two main branches of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor and consider Abu Bakr, who they claim was appointed caliph by a small group of Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful caliph after the Prophet. One of the most crucial differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims is the importance that the Shiites give to Ali, whom the Sunni do not recognize as being the prophet's rightful successor. Both sides agreed that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group (which eventually became the Shiites) felt Muhammad's successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other (which became the Sunnis) felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet's customs was acceptable. The Quran, together with hadith (especially those collected in Kutub al-Sittah) and binding juristic consensus, form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning, consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools.

Cultural Christian are nonreligious persons who adhere to Christian values and appreciate Christian culture. As such, these individuals usually identify themselves as culturally Christians, and are often seen by practicing believers as nominal Christians. This kind of identification may be due to various factors, such as family background, personal experiences, and the social and cultural environment in which they grew up.

Branch Davidians are a religious group that originated in 1955 from a schism in the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists ("Davidians"), a reform movement that began as an offshoot from the Seventh-day Adventist Church ("Adventists") around 1930.

The Family (Australian New Age group) (wiki)

Faith Leaks

Jehovah's Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York, which establishes all doctrines based on its interpretations of the Bible. They prefer to use their own translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, although their literature occasionally quotes and cites other Bible translations. They believe that the destruction of the present world system at Armageddon is imminent, and that the establishment of God's kingdom over the earth is the only solution for all problems faced by humanity. The stated purpose of The Watchtower is to draw attention to the kingdom of God, which Jehovah's Witnesses believe is a real government that will soon replace all earthly governments. Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake!, and refusing military service and blood transfusions. They do not observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays or other holidays and customs they consider to have pagan origins incompatible with Christianity. Adherents commonly refer to their body of beliefs as "the truth" and consider themselves to be "in the truth". They consider secular society to be morally corrupt and under the influence of Satan, and most limit their social interaction with non-Witnesses. The group reports a worldwide membership of more than 8.3 million adherents involved in evangelism and an annual Memorial attendance of more than 20 million.

Flawed Reasoning

Paradox is a statement or situation that contradicts itself or appears to be untrue or impossible because something can't be true and also be false at the same time, unless someone is biased or cherry picking data or living in denial, or unaware of their ignorance. When you ignore the bad and see only one side of a problem, then your fantasy becomes a vulnerability. Mixing lies with facts makes the truth extremely vague. Using lies to explain other lies is still a lie.

Paradoxes are both/all problems, requiring integration of several alternatives into a single overarching solution. Dilemmas are "either-or" problems, requiring selection of one alternative over another. Oxymoron's use contradictory words whereas paradoxes use contradictory ideas.

Law of Excluded Middle states that for every proposition, either the proposition is true or its negation is true.

Half Truth - Withholding Evidence - Censorship - Counterfactual - Vague - Hearsay - Anecdotal - Rumors - Slander - Hypocrisy - Conspiracy Theory - Propaganda - Circular Talk - Empty Words - Dialetheism - Absolutism - Polarity - Unconstitutional - Assumptions - Interpretation Errors - The Paradox of our Time - The Paradox of Progress - Zero Sum Game - Catch 22

Law of Non-Contradiction states that contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time.

Mutual Exclusivity states that two events or propositions are mutually exclusive or disjoint if they cannot both occur at the same time.

Diametrically Opposed is when one thing is the exact opposite of something else. Implacable, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inexorable.

Asymmetric is having two sides or halves that are not the same. Having parts that fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement. Something lacking symmetry.

Chaos - War Profiteering - Charlatans

Antinomy is when two conflicting propositions appear rational and true. A real or apparent mutual incompatibility of two laws.

Discursive Dilemma or doctrinal paradox is a paradox in social choice theory. The paradox is that aggregating judgments with majority voting can result in self-contradictory judgments. Consider a community voting on road repairs asked three questions; the repairs go ahead if all three answers are 'Yes'. The questions are: "Are the roads important?", "Is the weather right for road repair?" and "Are there available funds for repairs?" Imagine that three (non-overlapping) groups of 20% of people vote 'No' for each question, and everyone else votes 'Yes'. Then each question has an 80% agreement of 'Yes', so the repairs go ahead. However, now consider the situation where the community are asked one question: "Are all three conditions (importance, weather and funds) met?" Now 60% of people disagree with one of these conditions, so only 40% agree on a 'Yes' vote. In this case, the repairs do not go ahead. Thus the road repair team gets different feedback depending on how they poll their community. discursive dilemma makes it impossible to make simple statements about the beliefs of a collective.

Fallacy is a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument. An error in reasoning that leads to an incorrect conclusion. or a faulty reasoning that is logically invalid.

Contradiction is ideas that are incompatible and incapable of existing together, or incapable of association or harmonious coexistence.

Belief Merging is similar to judgment aggregation in that there are several conflicting beliefs that are represented as logical formulae that have to be combined into a consistent database.

Oxymoron is when you combine two words that have opposite meanings. Oxymoron is a figure of speech that uses two words that are contradictory to themselves when joined together. Examples of oxymoron's are "awfully good", "tough love", "true fiction", "unbiased opinion", "open secret", "deceptively honest", "organized chaos", "random order", "same difference", "bitter sweet", "good grief", "cruel kindness", "wise fool", "idiot savant" "it was the beginning of the end."

Bad Faith is a sustained form of deception or fraud which consists of entertaining or pretending to entertain one set of feelings while acting as if influenced by another. Duplicity.

Bad Faith is the psychological phenomenon whereby individuals act inauthentically, by yielding to the external pressures of society to adopt false values and disown their innate freedom as sentient human beings. Bad faith also derives from the related concepts of self-deception and resentment.

Parable of the Invisible Gardener is about the perceived differences between assertions based on faith and assertions based on scientific evidence, and the problems associated with unfalsifiable beliefs. religious believers do not allow anybody to "falsify" their assertions, instead they simply change their beliefs to suit the questioner. Thus Flew concludes that religious believers cause God to "die the death of a thousand qualifications".

It's easy to believe that something is true when you can ignore all the things that say it's not true. It's easy to ignore reality when your fantasy is more predictable and easier to control than real life. A paradox is when you say you would never steal, but you're on camera stealing. You say that you're not selfish, but you do selfish things.

Paradox is related to absurdity, ambiguity, anomaly, enigma, inconsistency, and mystery.

Downside is a negative aspect of something that was believed to be only good or desirable. A problem or a setback that hinders progress, or causes injury, loss or death. Chaos.

Drawback is a hindrance or an undesirable or objectionable feature.

Opposite of a Paradox would be regularity, standard, normalcy, accuracy, standard, success, certainty, same, correct, understanding, explanation, correction, truth, usual, axiom, solution.

When someone says that there's no proof of something, it could mean that someone is either lying or they're expressing a fallacy. All you can say is there is not enough evidence that you know of, or are aware of, that would support a particular belief or explain it logically. You have to look at all the evidence that is currently available and analyze the evidence very carefully. And you have to conclude that there's more questions that need to be answered, because the evidence that you do have, as far as you know, does not prove for certain a particular causality. And this also does not mean that there is other evidence that has not been looked at or carefully analyzed. To say that there's no proof would mean that all the evidence that is currently available indicates that something else may be the cause, and we should investigate this further. The absence of evidence does not prove anything. So you cannot use the absence of evidence as an excuse or as a reason to say something that you have no proof of. That type of reasoning is absurd and illogical. Pretending to know the answer is more dangerous than knowing that you do not have the answer. Your theory is not better than another theory if you never explain your theory. It's hard to prove that the universe and life on our planet just happened all by it self. So anyone can have a theory. And it's not just a theory if the theory itself stops people from learning and stops people from seeking knowledge and making new discoveries, especially knowing that every person alive today is the direct result of people learning and people seeking knowledge. So there is no point in pretending that we have learned everything that there is to know, and that there's no point in learning anymore, which is saying that there's no point to life or no point in living, which sounds like the devil talking. Of course we have a lot more to learn. And so we shall, for learning has brought us this far, so let's see how far we can go. If you believe something, you have to remember that the word believe means that there is no evidence or that there is a lack of evidence. Everyone needs to learn how to finish a sentence and stop pretending that they are saying something just because they used a few words. To say that there is no proof of God is a lie, and to say that there is proof of God is also a lie. All you can say is that you believe in God, and a belief means that there's no evidence or there is a lack of evidence. People need to stop pretending that they know something, and they need to start learning and start doing some research. People have to understand that people can say almost anything they want, because they know that people are gullible and naive. And conforming to someone else's lie only makes lies spread like a virus. Just because there is not enough evidence to arrest someone, this does not mean that someone is innocent and not guilty of committing that crime.

Invalid Argument - Fallacies - Fantasies - Two Wrongs don't make a Right - Heresy - Sin - Charlatans - Delusions - Pandora's Box - Divergent Thinking - Convergent Thinking - Diplomacy

Justified True Belief states that in order to know that a given proposition is true, one must not only believe the relevant true proposition, but also have justification for doing so. In more formal terms, an agent S knows that a proposition P P is true if and only if: P is true. S believes that P is true, and S is justified in believing that P is true.

No one likes a Dictator, but everyone is guilty of excepting what has been dictated to them.

I thank God for all the people who died in this horrible accident, because now I can be on TV thanking God that I'm alive. I thank God that I'm more special than others. I'm sorry about your loses, but it's amazing that I lived and that your loved ones did not live. I thank God for the losers losing, because now I can be on TV thanking God for me winning. It's amazing that I won and your children lost. Maybe God likes me better. Maybe God wants you to suffer. I can't thank God for all the people who made my life possible because I'm selfish, narrow-minded and ignorant. So I thank God that I'm ignorant and I thank God for not letting me know that I'm ignorant. I thank God for a dumbed down education system. As you pray and thank god, thousands of children have starved to death, thousands of children were murdered, thousands of children were abused. I thank god for the opportunity. And for all the people who can't thank God, I thank God that I was raped, I thank God that I was murdered, I thank God that I was killed, I thank God that I was tortured, I thank God that I have a horrible disease, I thank God my child was murdered, I thank God my child was raped, I thank God my child was born deformed, I thank God that I was born poor, I thank God that I was born ugly.

When people use other peoples misused unverified information as a reason for them to spread their own form of misused unverified information, that is not only a contradiction and ironic, it's using lies to spread more lies. I don't mind people having theory's or beliefs, but people shouldn't pretend to be reinforcing their beliefs because someone else's misconstrued beliefs makes their beliefs look better. Other peoples bullshit doesn't make your bullshit any less bullshitty. Don't try to make your beliefs look better by comparing your beliefs to other peoples so called beliefs, compare your beliefs to knowledge and information that can be verified, or at the least, admit that you have a lack of verifiable knowledge and information.

I see no difference between a private faith school and a public school. Both are guilty of leaving out knowledge based on personal beliefs. Studying a religion is not bad. What is bad is not giving a child a complete education. When people exploit religious beliefs to fit their own style of personal beliefs, they only confirm that their version of knowledge and information is unreliable and manipulative. You can't enlighten people with Contradictions, and at the same time call it the Words of God.

You can't totally separate two things that are not totally defined, or definitive in themselves. You can only define the parts, and when you define the parts, you are not defining the whole, only the parts. And those particular parts can be compared to other parts from other ideas. And then you can define which qualities are better, or more logical, depending on it's use or application. Generalized ideas may seem to have differences, like science and religion, but there are always some connections between them and they will always intersect in one way or another. Racism (prejudice) - Conservative?

Pretending to be separate from other people based solely on your personal belief is a cruel and deceitful lie. We are all "Other People". No religion or ethnic group can claim ownership of suffering, prejudice, murder or genocide, for these diseases have plagued all mankind from the beginning. And the source of these diseases is ignorance.

Even religious people can be corrupted by power, so not even God can save you from your own ignorance. Learning how to protect yourself from the corruptible influences of society is your responsibility, not God's. And every human on the planet shares that responsibility of learning. You learned how to believe in God, now you just have to learn how to believe in your own abilities, because no one will ever do that for you, not even God.

When peoples ignorance is improperly reinforced by their religious beliefs, or when they interpret things that only match the things they think they know, or when a person only hears one side of the story, or uses perceived popularity as some kind of measurement for value or truth, then that person will always be ignorant and they will never understand things the way the really are. This is another good reason why education needs to improve. We need to stop radicalizing people with these dumbed down education systems.

Personal Religion

I'm religious, but I don't follow any one religion, or am I a member of any main stream religion. I have a personal religion that is based on a combination of several religious beliefs along with moral standards and intellectual guidance.

What being religious means to me. Religious is being conscientious and having a sense of right and wrong. To have principles. To care. To be bound by vows and great effort. Having belief in a deity. Concerned with important matters. Having a sense of spirituality.

Egalitarian is believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. Egalitarianism is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people.

Self Religion is a religious or self-improvement group which has as one of its primary aims being the improvement of the self.

New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs, unifying the Mind-Body-Spirit.

Routines - Affirmations - Mantras - Spirituality

I'm not irreligion, I'm just not 100% affiliated with just one religion.

Non-Sectarian is not relating to a specific religious sect or political group. Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group.

Christian Humanism regards humanist principles like universal human dignity, individual freedom, and the importance of happiness as essential and principal or even exclusive components of the teachings of Jesus.

I believe in God, but I do not worship my belief. Beliefs are not made to be worshiped. Beliefs were created to give us hope in the absence of knowledge. And now that there is an abundance of knowledge, I have replaced many of my beliefs with knowledge. This process has certainly helped me to understand things a lot better. I will always believe in God, but I can not be so presumptuous in guessing what that means. Trying to express your own version of a fantasy does not convey enough useful information, unless you are just trying to entertain people like you would with a fairytale. So then your not so much a religion, but more of an entertainment facility where people pay a fee to play a part in a group fantasy. Preaching is not the same as teaching. We as Humans are really fortunate to have had so many people searching for truth in so many different directions. We have learned so much about ourselves and have learned so much about our world. Ignoring this information is not logical. We are all one big family living in a delicate system called earth. Do not let your beliefs blind you from the known world. Instead, let your beliefs live on in history. Preserving the past does not mean you have to live in the past.

Solitary Practitioner is one who chooses to practice their spiritual faith in the privacy of their home or other designated space, without the need to participate in a group such as that of a Wiccan coven, although it’s not uncommon for solitaries to participate in some communal activities or sabbats. Some solitary practitioners can be Neo-pagans, who adhere to a diverse group of pagan religions that include various forms of Wicca, Traditional Reconstructionism and Traditional British Witchcraft, among others. About half of all pagans are self-ascribed solitary practitioners.

God gave humans the gift of life, and the agreement was that humans are responsible for maintaining life and responsible for preserving the planet for future generations. The gift of life needs to be handled with care and caution. So it is a human responsibility to protect themselves from the dangers and risks in life. God gave us an incredible gift, but this gift comes with warnings. So as humans, we need to stop being selfish and narrow minded. God does not let bad things happen, humans let bad things happen, this is because humans fail to learn and listen. Life improves and progresses as humans mentally progress. And humans have made amazing advancements, but humans have failed to advance the education system to match the current reality of life on planet earth. God also gave humans a brain. We either use it or we lose it.

I love all religious people, but not for their religion, but for their commitment, their discipline, and their hope. I'm more interested in who they are as a person, and not just the nuances of their daily rituals. The ritual is one thing, the person is the other. I have lived long enough to know that the person is the most important, and not my perception of who I believe they are based on their beliefs. I just hope they do the same for me. I don't want to be defined with a word, but defined with several kind words.

I respect the beliefs of others but I do not agree with every belief that a person has or do I agree with every belief that a religion has. If a belief stops you from realizing logical solutions to problems and keeps you from having a clear understanding of knowledge and information, to the point where you cannot make logical decisions and choices, then that is a belief that I do not agree with. Knowledge and information gives you a greater awareness of yourself and the world, I have personally experienced this awareness in myself and have also witnessed this awareness in others. I cannot ignore cause and effect or can I ignore all the knowledge and information that our species has learned and acquired in the last two thousand years. I would not ask anyone to give up their beliefs. All I would ask is that we talk and listen to each other and share our knowledge and wisdom. We can learn a lot from each other. We may feel like we live on separate worlds, but we know that we don't.

I'm more interested in knowing whether a person knows the same things that I do. We don't have to believe in the same things or think the same way. We just have to know some of the same things. We have our personal beliefs, but we also have our knowledge and our life experiences. We can still benefit each other even though we don't believe in the same things, or believe in the same way. Because we will always have some commonality in our knowledge and in our experiences, enough to communicate effectively and efficiently. You shouldn't let your belief in God undervalue Humans or undervalue other people.

A persons religion is only one detail of many details that makes a person who they are. A person is a collection of their personal experiences and the knowledge that they have acquired so far in life. And how a person interprets those experiences and understands what they have learned, will ultimately determine their behaviors and expressions. How much a person has learned in their life will determine how much they will understand about themselves and the world around them. So what ever religion a person believes in, it is still just a small percentage of who you are as a person. I don't judge people by their beliefs or hobbies, I judge people mostly by their character. Instead of criticizing someone's behavior, I would rather ask questions about their behaviors. My goal is to understand, not to assume or to be passive.

Exploiting peoples natural ability to believe in things.

If you are truly trying to teach moral responsibility, then you certainly can't ignore the fact that there is a lot more information and knowledge in our world today then ever before. And this information and knowledge can definitely help explain the logic that is behind having moral responsibility or having a conscience. So it makes sense to update your knowledge-base, especially when other people depend on you and rely on you to help them, and also to help guide them through this world.

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word Poem (youtube)

There's nothing worse then a perverted interpretation of information. Instead of giving me a puzzle made of words, why don't you just tell me what you're saying?

What's the difference between having an imaginary friend and believing in God?

Tree of the Knowledge - God is Knowledge - Death - After Life - Heaven

You give power to a leader, but you can also be a leader with power. You allow others to teach you, but you can also teach others, including yourself.

If you were God, what would you do? What if you could never become the thing that you love the most, then what will you become? If God created the Universe, then who created God? And just where was God living before the Universe was even created?

If you could never imagine that you could be a God or be God like, then how God could exist? God had to learn how to be God, how else could someone become a God without learning what being a God is, or without learning what the responsibilities of being a God is. It must be a really good school. School of God or God University?

I would not thank God that I'm alive when other have people died. It makes God look like a murderer. If you're lucky to be alive, it's because you're lucky. So if you're lucky to be alive, then you should use your luck for an opportunity to do good in the world. Don't waste the good luck that you have been given, especially when others were not so lucky. Are you going to tell the family members of the people who died that God thought that you were special, and thought that the ones who died were not special or important? Don't thank god that you're alive, thank all the people who made your life possible.

A Personal View on Religion

It is not that unusual to think outside yourself and believe in the possibility that you are not alone in life. I kind of feel that someone is out there, but that someone can be almost anything, and that something could exist on some other level or dimension that my senses are unable to understand. So what does this mean? There is something else, but I have no way of knowing what that something else is. So until then, I need to focus on the reality that is clearly in front of me. And if someone on the other side chooses to send me a message, then please do, I just hope that I will understand the message. So if there is a way to communicate or a way to open up a channel, then I guess that is something else that I will have to learn, which is no problem, because I like learning. Intelligent Design.

People love stories, especially stories about fantasies. People like to fantasize about what God may be like, everyone does it, it seems natural, and it's also fun to imagine fantastic levels of existence. So it's not bad, but some people tend to hold on to these stories as if they are true. No one should blame people for their beliefs or judge them in anyway. I understand that everyone needs something to hold on to, so who am I to say what that is. All I'm saying is that we should not use our beliefs to escape reality or try to separate ourselves from each other. We all share reality. And there are many things is this world that can distort reality. So we need to stay true to our reality, and also stay true to each other.

Most religions are a collection of stories about love, struggle and hope that expresses views about the human experience. Religious writings talk about a relationship with a Lord or a significant figure. Religious writings also talk about our relationship with the belief of a creator or God that resides beyond our comprehension. But Religions do not provide me with all the necessary knowledge that I need. So I spend more time outside the religious realm, but never to far away where I stop listening because some religious knowledge, sacred texts and ancient knowledge can be very useful to the right person at the right time. But this knowledge needs to be deciphered and correctly explained so that the symbolism, correlations and similarities are not confused with things that are just a coincidence.

It's a good idea not to live your whole life or plan your entire life solely based on your religion. There is so much more knowledge today then any other time in human history. And knowledge is extremely valuable when trying to understand yourself and the world around you. And Life has also changed tremendously since religions were written. The moral rules that now govern society need to be considered. A person can no longer use religion as the only excuse for a particular behavior or action. Religion should be more of a guide, and not used as a reason. Reasons are more accurate when based on facts and experience, and not exclusively based on beliefs.

"It is said that Men may not be the Dreams of the God, but rather that the Gods are the Dreams of Men."

"If you find evidence that one or more of your beliefs is a contradiction, then it doesn't necessarily say that your belief isn't true, all it is saying is that you can no longer say that those particular beliefs are considered to be true, not unless you prove that the contradiction is false, if so, then you can continue with your belief, or you can, find a new belief with less contradictions."

"Believing more in something doesn't make that something anymore real, you just make it more exaggerated." 

Story Telling - Fables - Folklore - Hobbies

Exaggerated is making something to seem more important than it really is. To lie about certain details about something in order to persuade people to like what you are saying, like in marketing. To enlarge beyond bounds or the truth. The act of making something more noticeable than usual. Represented as greater than is true or reasonable.

Just because information contradicts your beliefs, this does not mean that your beliefs are totally wrong, it just means that the way you understood your beliefs to be true needs to be explained better so that there are no contradictions.

I'm not so concerned about whether a person believes in God or does not believe in God. To me that is just one belief. I am way more concerned about all the other beliefs that a person may have or not have. For me, the more I know about someone the easier it is to understand them. Just knowing someone's religion tells me very little about them.

"Although the unconscious slavery of modern man to the industrial age is a serious matter, the emancipation of mankind from physical and economic slavery is a comparatively easy affair. The real slavery, because it is the most cruel and destructive of all, is the intellectual bigotry which claims to possess an exclusive monopoly on all truth. It is people obsessed by such a belief who, when they happen to be in a position of material power, hasten the downfall of a laboriously built civilization or the disintegration of a living religion. Man can be redeemed from all types of bondage — physical, mental, spiritual, social, political, moral — sooner or later. But the redemption of man from the self-imposed shackles of intellectual self-sufficiency, uncritically accepted ideals and a dry religious heritage is a task which is well-nigh superhuman. Here is the real task of the aspirant: to pierce through his own layers of self-imposed self-sufficiency and insensitivity so that he may expose a layer of vital awareness to the world about him, which would teach him if it could." Meher Baba.

"Why is there suffering? What gives my life meaning? Is forgiveness possible? These types of questions cannot be correctly answered by the church, they are better answered by scholarly research and intelligent collaboration."

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” - (Bruce Lee).

Why am I still alive, especially when knowing that hundreds of millions of people have died in my lifetime? I should not be selfishly thanking God for my good luck, I should be damming God for the deaths of others. Why them and not me? Who will take on the responsibilities of those who died? Who will replace their potential and their purpose? Well God? Is this just another thing that you're forcing me to figure out by my own? What is the lesson here my God? You say that you can't intervene, I get it. Prime directive of course. But can I at least keep my guardian angles? I'm not asking a lot, I just need some guidance, and for someone to watch my back now and then, especially when I can't be aware of everything. So, in God I trust. But with the understanding that I have to do things for myself and for others. Forgive me God for not keeping in touch with you. But just like you, I have a lot of work to do. I'll see you on the other side.

Bias, prejudice, discriminate, selective, everyone is a contradiction to themselves. We don't use logic as much as we should. It seems we have a separate set of rules and values for our beliefs, as if they some how defy logic. This is an error that everyone makes, so this is not unusual. I see people apply logical thinking to several areas of their life, but I also see them not using the same process of logical thinking in other areas of their life. We are selecting when to use logic, and we don't fully understand how to use logic effectively. We want people to hang on to their beliefs, but we also want people to understand their beliefs, so they're more aware and more knowledgeable about themselves and the world around them. I can prey to God and be intelligent at the same time.

Evil - The Devil Made Me Do It

There is No Devil. The Devil is just a metaphor for ignorance. When someone says that the devil will trick you, what they mean is that ignorance will trick you. So the only thing you should fear is ignorance. To overcome ignorance you need to learn and educate yourself. Ignorance is a sin if not addressed or acknowledged.

Making Deals with the Devil - Devil's Advocate - Selling your Soul to the Devil - Religious Charlatans

Devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Hell.

Problem of Evil refers to the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with an omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipotent God. Heresy.

Wicked Priest or the man of the lie, the liar is always associated with "false doctrine and the act of misleading" whereas the Wicked Priest is associated with "cultic transgressions and non-observance.

Le génie du mal is known informally in English as Lucifer or The Lucifer of Liège, who is a religious sculpture executed in white marble and installed in 1848 by the Belgian artist Guillaume Geefs. Francophone art historians often refer to the figure as an ange déchu, a "fallen angel".

Fallen Angel are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" appears neither in the Bible nor in other Abrahamic scriptures, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned. Such angels often tempt humans to sin.

Ignorance is the root of all evil, which means that knowledge is the root of all goodness. It's not just one thing that a person is ignorant about, it's all the other things that a person is ignorant about that allows them to be ignorant about something else. If the beliefs that a person uses to reason with are not accurate, then their reasoning skills will not be accurate. If the roots of a tree are wide or deep, then those roots can support a big tree. Roots can be seen as symbols for knowledge, the more knowledge a tree has, the stronger the tree will be.

Exorcism for Ignorance

Being ignorant can be similar to being possessed by the devil or similar to being controlled by an evil spirit. So you may need to do an ignorance exorcism that helps to enlighten the person so they can begin to free themselves from the ignorance they have that is causing all the havoc in their life. An ignorance intervention is sometimes necessary. Make sure that the person is in a safe and quite place before you begin to recite the therapeutic words that will help to release the demon of ignorance that resides in ones being. And make sure that the person has a good baseline and that they are in good physical health and have good mental health.

Here is one recite example and some therapeutic words to use...."The Power of Knowledge compels you, The Power of Knowledge compels you! Thou cast out all ignorance! Dumbness be gone! Thou cast out all unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders and all wicked sects. We drive this ignorance from us. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost commands you. O Lord grant us thy powerful protection that knowledge gives us. Deliver us from the snares of the devil we call ignorance, keep us safe and sound."

After an exorcism for ignorance, you should inform the person that God is with them and that love fills their heart completely, and good knowledge and righteous wisdom will keep them protected from the devils evil ignorance that wants to corrupt them and weaken their resolve. So continually educating yourself is the best protection from the corrupted influences of ignorance. If the exorcism doesn't seem to work, then you might want to help educate the person and help them do a lot of reading. Eventually the ignorant devil will flee the body in search for another ignorant person to possess and control, which usually doesn't take too long. Extremism - Evil Puppets.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop, or idle hands are the devil's tools, or idle hands are the devil's playground, are sayings that mean when someone is not busy making improvements in themselves and in their world, they will become vulnerable to bad behavior because they feel they have nothing to do except make trouble. Idle hands are the devil's workshop means that when you are not continually educating yourself, your ignorance could cause bad behaviors and bad thoughts. These sayings are not to be confused with taking breaks or relaxing, or should it be confused with taking the time to think, it's about not using your time wisely and not making the most of your time because you wasted time on unproductive activities.

Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions. Exorcism in the Catholic Church are for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession or mental health problem. Just because someone is suffering from a mental health problem or physical health problem does not mean that the person is possessed by the devil, they could just be a republican. Signs of demonic invasion vary depending on the type of demon and its purpose, including: Loss or lack of appetite. Cutting, scratching, and biting of skin. A cold feeling in the room. Unnatural bodily postures and change in the person's face and body. The possessed losing control of their normal personality and entering into a frenzy or rage, and/or attacking others. Change in the person's voice. Supernatural physical strength not subject to the person's build or age. Speaking or understanding another language which they had never learned before. Knowledge of things that are distant or hidden. Prediction of future events (sometimes through dreams). Levitation and moving of objects / things. Expelling of objects / things. Intense hatred and violent reaction toward all religious objects or items. Antipathy towards entering a church, speaking Jesus' name or hearing scripture. The demon may hold control over their physical body. Exorcism in Christianity (wiki).

Exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, or (sometimes) a building or even an object. An exorcist can be specially prepared or instructed person including: priest, a nun, a monk, a witch doctor (healer), a shaman, a psychic or a geomancer (Feng shui - Chinese geomancy). (Of course we now have medical interventions from healthcare professionals).

Demonic Possession involves the belief that an alien spirit, demon, or entity controls a person's actions. Those who believe themselves so possessed commonly claim that symptoms of demonic possession include missing memories, perceptual distortions, loss of a sense of control, and hyper-suggestibility. Possession, in which Satan or some demon(s) takes full possession of a person's body without their knowledge or consent; the victim is morally blameless. Obsession, which includes sudden attacks of irrationally obsessive thoughts, usually culminating in suicidal ideation, and which typically influences dreams. Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical Book of Job in which Job was tormented by a series of misfortunes in business, family, and health. External physical pain caused by Satan or some demon(s). Infestation, which affects houses, things, or animals; and Subjection, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan or some demon(s). Sometimes a possession may be a manifestation of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues or languages that the victim cannot know. Revelation of knowledge, distant or hidden, that the victim cannot know. Blasphemous rage, obscene hand gestures, using Profanity and an aversion to holy symbols, relics or places.

Spirit Possession is an unusual or an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. Out of Body Experience.

Devil in My Car - The B-52's (youtube) - Help! The devil's in my car. Help! The devil's in my car. Help! The devil's in my car. Ho, devil's in my car, whoa please. Please! Leave me alone! We're really tearin' tar. We're goin' 90 miles an hour. Ho! He's drivin' me crazy. He's drivin' me to Hell now. He's pointing his pitchfork at me. He's in the front seat of my car! He's taking over! Ooh, he ripped my upholstery. He's at the wheel, Help! The devil's in my car. Help! He's drivin' too far. Ooh! Whoa! I can't lock the door, I can't put on my safety belt. There's nothing for me to do but yell help! Devil's in my car! I'm goin' to Hell in my old Chevrolet, I don't know which way. Oh, help! Devil's in my car! Yeah, yeah. He's gone too far. I won't see ya tomorrow. I won't see ya anymore. He's got his cloven hoof on the clutch. Oh! Ow! I'm sitting on his tail. Oh-oh, I don't want to go to Hell. (I don't want to go to the devil.) He's in my car, in my car, in my car. Oh-wah! The radio gives me static, There's nothing on my CB. Oh, help! the devil's in my car. Oh, he's in my car. He's in my car. The devil's in my car. We're turning off the road. Oh! Where ya taking me devil? Oh! He's grinning door to door. He's got his cloven hoof on the clutch. Help me! Oh, I don't want to go to Hell. (I don't want to go to the devil.) He's in my car. Freeway to Hell. We're burning up the road. Freeway to Hell. (Right through the tollbooth), we're burning up the road. (1980).

Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen (youtube) - I live my life like there's no tomorrow, And all I've got, I had to steal, Least I don't need to beg or borrow, Yes I'm livin' at a pace that kills, Runnin' with the Devil. (1978).

Dies irae or the Day of Wrath, is a Latin chant or hymn. It is a Medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic. The poem describes the Last Judgment, trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames. It is best known from its use in the Requiem (Mass for the Dead or Funeral Mass). An English version is found in various Anglican Communion service books. The first melody set to these words, a Gregorian chant, is one of the most quoted in musical literature, appearing in the works of many composers. The final couplet Pie Jesu has been often reused as an independent song. The sequence dates from at least the thirteenth century, though it is possible that it is much older, with some sources ascribing its origin to St. Gregory the Great (d. 604), Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), or Bonaventure (1221–1274). (If you learn from your mistakes, you will live a better life or be in heaven. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you will live a difficult life, or be in hell).

Dorian mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek harmoniai (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it), one of the medieval musical modes, or, most commonly, one of the modern modal diatonic scales, corresponding to the white notes from D to D, or any transposition of this.

Accentual verse has a fixed number of stresses per line regardless of the number of syllables that are present. It is common in languages that are stress-timed, such as English, as opposed to syllabic verse which is common in syllable-timed languages, such as French.

God is Knowledge - Knowledge is God - I was Blind but Now I See

We know that information and knowledge is extremely important to everyone's wellbeing, so you could very well say that in a way, God is Information, Information is God. How else could have known that God even existed if no one communicated this information to you? How else could have known that God existed if no one wrote this information in a book? The wealth gained from knowledge is tremendous. The potential for good is immense. And the dumbing down of education is catastrophic, which is Anti-God and Anti-Life. Anti is not in favor of. A person who is opposed or against something.

The mind is blind when you lack the knowledge and information that is needed to accurately understand and interpret reality.

"To Err Is Human, To Learn is Divine." "To stay Stupid is Dumb."

Keep learning, if not for your own sake, keep learning for God's sake. Learning is something of great importance, so you can almost go as far as saying that, " God is Learning, Learning is God ". The Revelation is that the Words of Knowledge is our Salvation. And the The Holy Grail of Knowledge is finally in our reach, thank God! "God is Life, Life is God." God is like a Super Hero and an Inspiration.

Sake is a reason for wanting something done or the purpose of achieving or obtaining. 

Learning something new and important is like being born again, it frees you from uncertainty, while at the same time, opens your eyes to more possibilities. Updating Beliefs.

Possibilities is a future prospect or potential. Capability of existing or happening or being true. A possible alternative.

Opportunities is a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances, like learning something valuable.

Salvation is saving someone from harm or from an unpleasant situation. A means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness. The state of being saved or preserved from harm. Salvation in theology is the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil.

What Moses really said was "Let my people go, go to school, so they can worship knowledge instead of false beliefs, and let people serve every man, women and child as God has intended, as well as, let people take care of our precious planet that God has given to us all and has also given to all other life forms that we share life with on this amazing planet that we all call home. Let my people go and let them be free, free from ignorance and free to educate themselves to the highest degree."

The Exodus was to escape from a hostile environment, an environment that was derived from ignorance. But the ignorance followed us and we did not escape its wrath. So this time, we will not run, we will defeat this enemy, so no matter were we go, we will always be free. So let us part this sea of ignorance, and only let it collapse and drown those who stop learning. Rosh Hashanah (wiki).

To be a disciple is to be a follower and a student of knowledge and information. For we are all apprentices of knowledge and information, and we are all on an endless journey of discovery, a journey that will one day lead us to God, or one day, lead God to us.

Disciple is someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another. Doctrine is a system of beliefs.

God is knowledge and knowledge is God. Knowledge will bring you closer to God, so you need to learn the worlds most valuable knowledge first, then you can love more accurately.

Love is knowledge - Tree of the Knowledge - Proverbs - Enlightenment

The more you learn about life the more fantastic life gets. life is absolutely mind blowing. Even though there are some things that you learn about our world that are disturbing and painful, it's all the other amazing things that you learn about that drives you to want to know more and understand more. Knowledge is Power, but not just the power of control, the power that comes from knowledge is in the form of energy, pure energy. And energy is the driving force of the universe, without energy life could not exist. So maybe God is Energy and Energy is God. And if not, it doesn't matter, because I'm going to find out what the truth is eventually, because I'm never going to stop learning. So ready or not, here I come.

Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.

Revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.

"God is not an old man in the clouds, God is everything. But I guess if God wanted to be an old man in the clouds, then I guess God could be an old man in the clouds, after all, God is everything."

Adam and Eve were not banished from the Garden of Eden, they just failed to understand the responsibilities of knowledge, and that learning needs to be fully understood. It is not forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, it's just that there are many dangers and vulnerabilities if the responsibilities of knowledge are never fully understood. Sin is a product of ignorance. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, and idle minds is where the devil can take control. Keep learning my friends.

knowledge and information have been here since the beginning of human existence. And religion is an interpretation of some of the things that we have learned from knowledge and information. Religion is one of many steps that humans have taken in human history, and we have many more steps to take. You don't have to desert God in order to learn more about what God has given you.

Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615. - I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason and intellect, has intended us to forego their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. He would not require us to deny sense and reason in physical matters which are set before our eyes and minds by direct experience or necessary demonstrations. This must be especially true in those sciences of which but the faintest trace (and that consisting of conclusions) is to be found in the Bible. Of astronomy; for instance, so little is found that none of the planets except Venus are so much as mentioned, and this only once or twice under the name of "Lucifer." If the sacred scribes had had any intention of teaching people certain arrangements and motions of the heavenly bodies, or had they wished us to derive such knowledge from the Bible, then in my opinion they would not have spoken of these matters so sparingly in comparison with the infinite number of admirable conclusions which are demonstrated in that science. Far from pretending to teach us the constitution and motions of the heavens and other stars, with their shapes, magnitudes, and distances, the authors of the Bible intentionally forbore to speak of these things, though all were quite well known to them. Such is the opinion of the holiest and most learned Fathers, and in St. Augustine we find the following words: " . . .Hence let it be said briefly, touching the form of heaven, that our authors knew the truth but the Holy Spirit did not desire that men should learn things that are useful to no one for salvation."

"It's not just what you do in your life, it's what you have learned in your life. Did you learn more then the previous generation? And will your knowledge benefit the next generation? That's eternal life, that's the key to the gates of heaven. It's not so much your actions in life, it's the value of the knowledge that you shared. That's the reason why all life survives. The strongest genes survive, and not what those genes did for a living. But there is one seed that has the ability to trump all seeds, that's the seed of knowledge. Humans don't have to totally rely on just their genes for survival, they have this extra ability to learn, even more then plants and animals do. But the act of learning has become an enigma for humans. We need to correct this if we want to survive."

Enigma is something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained. A difficult problem.

"With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see."

Why do People Believe?

Catharism was a Christian dualist or Gnostic revival movement that thrived in some areas of Southern Europe, particularly what is now northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. "the pure [ones]".

Gnosticism or having knowledge is a collection of ancient religious ideas and systems which originated in the first century AD among early Christian and Jewish sects. These various groups emphasised personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) over orthodox teachings, traditions, and ecclesiastical authority. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity responsible for creating the material universe. Viewing this material existence as flawed or evil, Gnostics considered the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the supreme divinity in the form of mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.

God is Brilliant

You don’t need religion to believe in God..do you? No matter how much you can decipher this world and no matter how much you can explain and understand about this world, you still can’t help but feel just how freaking incredible life is at times. How could you not feel that you are a part of something that is greater then yourself, especially in those moments of grandeur and inspiration? I can’t say that you will meet God when you die because how do you know if death is the final stage. I mean it would be nice to know that God will greet you when you die, but we are talking about God, and how could you be so presumptuous when talking about God? If I do see God when I die I would like to shake God’s hand and say “Wow! You really know how to mess with someone’s head” “That was just one freaking incredible experience that I will never forget” “How did you ever come up with this?” “You’re freaking brilliant God, just freaking brilliant!”

"God is Great" “Now what’s next God, or should I even dare to ask?” What If ?

Too Many Open Ended Questions? A closed-ended question contrasts with an open-ended question, which cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", or with a specific piece of information, and which gives the person answering the question scope to give the information that seems to them to be appropriate. Open-ended questions are sometimes phrased as a statement which requires a response.

Moody Blues - Question (youtube)

Noah's Ark - Knowledge Ark - Ark Replica

The second coming of Christ or savior may not be in the form of a human, it just may be in the form of a mass awareness or mass spiritual awakening. Because we all know, we do not need another leader, or someone to deliver us from evil. What we need is knowledge. The knowledge that our Lord and God has been trying to bestow on us from the beginning. So the second coming may not be something that you will see with your eyes, but something that you will feel with your heart.

To say that there must be a God just because life is incredibly amazing, is illogical. Just because you believe that there must be a creator, to call the creator a God is illogical. To call anyone or anything a God is illogical, mostly because you cannot accurately define what God is because descriptions are not explanations. So what would you call something that you don't understand? I would use the 3 most powerful words in the universe, which are "I don't know." Because you have to admit that you don't know things in order to start the process of knowing. Pretending that you know something means that you will never know. Because if you stop asking questions because you believe that you know the answer, that means that you will never know the answer, and most likely, you will never know God.

"I see a day that all churches will be more then a place of prayer, refuge, hope and deities, but a place that will also become a symbol of knowledge and information."

"One of the greatest experiences is learning from other people, I'm nothing without you, or me or everyone. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is us. The Mother, the Daughter and the Holy Spirit, is us. Without each other, there's nothing, no one exists without the other."

"life is not about suppression, life is about expression. This is how we have survived and learned from the beginning of time. And as a result, everyone alive today is an expression."

Express is precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication. Articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise. Indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.. Manifest the effects of (a gene or genetic trait)

Popular Religious Songs and Music

Jesus Christ Superstar (youtube) (the entire album)

Spirit in the Sky: Norman Greenbaum (youtube)

The Mamas and the Papas: Dedicated to the one I love (youtube)

Grand Funk Railroad: I can feel him in the Morning (youtube)

Carl Orff - O Fortuna ~ Carmina Burana (youtube)

Carmina Burana (Orff) is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana.
Carmina Burana is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century.
O Fortuna is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century.
Carl Orff's O Fortuna in Popular Culture.

Amazing Grace (Lyrics) - Susan Boyle (youtube) - Scottish Bagpipes - Amazing Grace (youtube)

Christmas Music (youtube) - Christmas Music (youtube) - Christmas Music (youtube)

Turn! Turn! Turn! is a song written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s and first recorded in 1959. The song was originally released in 1962 as "To Everything There Is a Season" on folk group the Limeliters' album Folk Matinee, and then some months later on Seeger's own The Bitter and the Sweet. The song became an international hit in late 1965 when it was adapted by the American folk rock group The Byrds. The single entered the U.S. chart at number 80 on October 23, 1965, before reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 4, 1965. In Canada, it reached number 3 on November 29, 1965, and also peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. The lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the King James Version (1611) of the Bible, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) though the sequence of the words was rearranged for the song. Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon who would have written it in the 10th century BC, but believed by a significant group of biblical scholars to date much later, up to the third century BC. turn, turn, turn - To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain that which is to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time of love, and a time of hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

There's a lot of music that has come from religion. Religion and Music.

Religious Music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. Ritual music is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Christian Music Artists (wiki) - Atheists in Music List (wiki).

Church Music is music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn.

Meditation vs. Praying - Spirituality

Spirituality is an individual's search for meaning and purpose in life. Spirituality is to seek connections with family and community and in nature. To seek value or transcendence.

Spirituality is distinct from organized religion in that spirituality does not necessarily need a religious framework. That is, one does not necessarily need to follow certain rules, guidelines or practices to be spiritual, but an organized religion often has some combination of these in place. People who report themselves to be spiritual people may not observe any specific religious practices or traditions. Spirituality can also refer to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man," oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world.

Spiritual Leaders - Spiritual Crisis - Life Force - Third Eye

Psychospiritual is the relationship between spirituality and the mind. It's when psychology and spiritual experience overlap in the realm of transpersonal psychology.

Spiritualism is a belief that spirits of the dead have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living.

Spiritual Exercise is a series of movements or actions which you do in order to get fit, remain healthy, or practice for a particular physical activity. Spiritual exercise is also a set of practices that help individuals connect with their inner selves and the universe. Spiritual Retreat is time set apart to be quiet, to rest, and to be in solitude.

Pilgrimage is a journey where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.

Many adults believe that they have a soul or a spirit in addition to their physical body. But what this belief does to their reasoning and to their understanding of themselves and the world around them is unclear. Many adults also believe that there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if they cannot see it.

Awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing. Psychologists have revealed a profound connection between the spirituality of science and positive wellbeing, much like the benefits traditionally associated with religion. Meaningful experiences could improve educational outcomes in science. Spiritual experiences in science predicted stronger engagement and recall of scientific information.

Science of Spirituality. Both spirituality and science are concerned with understanding the fundamental nature of the universe and our place within it. While science approaches this question through empirical observation and experimentation, spirituality often takes a more introspective and subjective approach.

Praying

Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. May take place in public or in private. Involves the use of words, song or complete silence. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person.

Pray is to address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship.

Grace - Blessing - Faith

Praying is Relative. Why do you pray? When do you pray? Who do you pray to? What is the prayer about? How will the prayer effect you? What are you doing besides praying?

Make sure your prayer is not selfish or mean, because you never know who's listening.

Supplication or Invocation is a prayer asking God's help or a humble request for help. The act of communicating with a deity, sometimes as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving.

I pray that my actions will save lives and reduce suffering. I pray that my life will make a difference in peoples lives.

When we pray, are we just asking ourselves a question? Would we be more responsible if we just excepted that we are the ruler of our lives? Not to say that we are alone, just saying that we need to take control of our lives and become the leader of our soul, instead of transferring our responsibilities to outside entities. But I guess it doesn't hurt to ask the universe for a little help now and then, or ask God for a sign. It's worth a shot, or a prayer. Some people can live on a prayer.

Mindfulness - Homage - Chant - Mantra - Proverbs - Mythology

Amen means "so be it", usually uttered at the end of a prayer or hymn. It is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. It is found in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim worship as a concluding word or response to prayers. Common English translations of the word amen include "verily" and "truly". It can also be used colloquially to express strong agreement, as in, for instance, amen to that.

Praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week will not solve our problems. It's better to die standing up against injustices than to die on your knees. This is not to say that praying doesn't make a difference, but if that's all you do, then it will not help.

Prayer Flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. The prayer flag is a symbol for 5 elements.

Sermon is an address of a religious nature usually delivered during a church service. A talk on a religious or moral subject, especially one given during a church service and based on a passage from the Bible. A sermon is an oration or lecture by a preacher. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation, and practical application.

What are the differences and similarities between Meditation and Salah? They both make you concentrated and focused on what is important to you. They both wipe out unwanted thoughts. They both calm you down by increasing your control over your thoughts. They both give you little extra confidence and fulfillment by giving you the feeling of achievement (on overcoming a daily challenge). They both need high attention to be done correctly. They both can be done in group.

Differences: Salat can be considered as meditation, but meditation is not salah. In mediation you give your attention to your breath, any chanting you want, your instructor or your object of meditation, but in Salah you have to give your attention to the verses and to Islam's god. The goal of meditation can be varied, from reaching tranquility of mind to solving a problem to satisfying a god(in traditional methods), salah is to satisfy Allah only. If you skip your meditation you will not feel guilty, but if you skip salah you will feel guilty and you have to do the skipped salah. You don't have to be religious to meditate, but you have to be a Muslim to do salah. Meditation times can be defined by yourself while salah times are predefined. Meditation can be as short as 5 min up to one hour or more, salah be very fast if you can say verses fast (with less attention) and it can take longer if you choose long verses (normally not more than 15 minutes in any case). You can listen to music in meditation but that is not a good idea for doing salah. You can practice meditation under a female instructor (couch, teacher or guru) but you cannot have a female leader for group salah. Meditation doesn't motivate you toward a specific goal while salah gives you motivation to follow Islam and obey Allah. You can talk or move during meditation, but movements and chants are restricted in salah.

Hallelujah is a shout or song of praise to God.

Piety is the quality of being religious or reverent. A virtue which may include religious devotion, spirituality, or a mixture of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility, which is a lack of false pride.

Litany is a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation. A series of petitions for use in church services or processions, usually recited by the clergy and responded to in a recurring formula by the people. A form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. Litany is any long and tedious address or recital. Incantation.

Day By Day - Robin Lamont - Godspell (1973) - Oh dear Lord, three things I pray, May I know Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly, day by day.

Prayers

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.

Prayer of Saint Francis (wiki) - Missionaries of Charity (wiki) - Proverbs

Lord's Prayer - "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Hail Mary, full of grace.

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Lords Prayer Translated: Be good as if you were a God. Remember to eat healthy and be grateful for what you have. Forgive yourself for the mistakes that you made, and forgive other people for the mistakes that they have made. Be careful of addictions and know the difference between your needs and your wants, especially when wants make you do bad things.

Hail Mary is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is a prayer of praise for and of petition to Mary with an appeal for her intercession or mediation. The practice of praying through saints as an act between parties with a view to reconciling differences. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." The Hail Mary is an essential element of the Rosary, a prayer method in use especially among Roman Rite (Western) Catholics. The Eastern Catholic Churches say a similar version. The Rosary consists traditionally of three sets of five Mysteries, each Mystery being meditated on while reciting a decade (a set of ten) of Ave Maria. The 150 Ave Maria of the Rosary thus echo the 150 psalms. These Mysteries concern events of Jesus' life during his childhood (Joyful Mysteries), Passion (Sorrowful Mysteries), and from his Resurrection onwards (Glorious Mysteries).

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Conformity - Fitting In

Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to a group, like a child who mimics or imitates other people in order to fit in.

Conformist is a person who conforms to accepted behaviors or established practices, sometimes without question or understanding and sometimes following blindly.

Some types of conformity are compliance conformity, identification conformity, internalization conformity and reciprocity conformity, which is a behavior indicative of the desire for social acceptance. People tend to conform when their confidence is low.

Argumentum ad Populum - Passive - Followers - Mimicking - Synchronize - Risks of Conformity

Social Conformity is when people have different opinions in a group but they often adjust their own attitudes and behaviors to match the group opinion, thus end up being submissive and lacking individuality and creativity.

Orthodox is conforming to or adhering to what is generally or traditionally accepted. Heterodox.

Conventional is behavior based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed. Behaviors that follow accepted customs and proprieties or conforming with accepted standards. Behaviors or beliefs that are rigidly formal or bound by convention, or something regarded as a normative example, and being unimaginative and conformist.

Convention is a set of agreed, stipulated, or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms, or criteria, often taking the form of a custom. Certain types of rules or customs may become law and regulatory legislation may be introduced to formalize or enforce the convention (for example, laws that define on which side of the road vehicles must be driven). In a social context, a convention may retain the character of an "unwritten law" of custom (for example, the manner in which people greet each other, such as by shaking each other's hands). In physical sciences, numerical values (such as constants, quantities, or scales of measurement) are called conventional if they do not represent a measured property of nature, but originate in a convention, for example an average of many measurements, agreed between the scientists working with these values.

Standard is a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated. The ideal in terms of which something can be judged. Conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind. Established or well-known or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence. Conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers. Regularly and widely used or sold.

Norms are cultural products including values, customs, and traditions which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do. Sociologists describe norms as informal understandings that govern individuals' behavior in society. On the other hand, social psychology has adopted a more general definition, recognizing smaller group units, such as a team or an office, may also endorse norms separate or in addition to cultural or societal expectations. In other words, norms are regarded to exist as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct. You can say that norms are implicit, unsaid rules, because that would be ignorant. Who said and Why?

Social Norms - Morality

Archetype is something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies. A very typical example of a certain person or thing. An original that has been imitated.

Can you still be true to myself and still fit in and be excepted with out conforming to an ideology that is out of touch with reality?

Social Validation is a psychological phenomenon where one or more passive individuals follow or conform to the actions of others within a group.

Social Influences - Popularity - Confidence - Auto Pilot

Communal Reinforcement is a social phenomenon in which a concept or idea is repeatedly asserted in a community, regardless of whether sufficient empirical evidence has been presented to support it. Over time, the concept or idea is reinforced to become a strong belief in many people's minds, and may be regarded by the members of the community as fact. Often, the concept or idea may be further reinforced by publications in the mass media, books, or other means of communication. The phrase "millions of people can't all be wrong" is indicative of the common tendency to accept a communally reinforced idea without question, which often aids in the widespread acceptance of factoids. A very similar term to this term is community-reinforcement, which is a behavioral method to stop drug addiction.

Mainstream is the prevalent current thought that is widespread. It includes all popular culture and media culture, typically disseminated by mass media. This word is sometimes used in a pejorative sense by subcultures who view ostensibly mainstream culture as not only exclusive but artistically and aesthetically inferior. It is to be distinguished from subcultures and countercultures, and at the opposite extreme are cult followings and fringe theories. In the United States, mainline churches are sometimes referred to synonymously as "mainstream."

Group Cohesiveness arises when bonds link members of a social group to one another and to the group as a whole. Although cohesion is a multi-faceted process, it can be broken down into four main components: social relations, task relations, perceived unity, and emotions. Members of strongly cohesive groups are more inclined to participate readily and to stay with the group.

Social Group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Other theorists disagree however, and are wary of definitions which stress the importance of interdependence or objective similarity. Instead, researchers within the social identity tradition generally define it as "a group is defined in terms of those who identify themselves as members of the group". Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. For example, a society can be viewed as a large social group.

Social Isolation a state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society. It differs from loneliness, which reflects temporary and involuntary lack of contact with other humans in the world. Social isolation can be an issue for individuals of any age, though symptoms may differ by age group. Social isolation has similar characteristics in both temporary instances and for those with a historical lifelong isolation cycle. All types of social isolation can include staying home for lengthy periods of time, having no communication with family, acquaintances or friends, and/or willfully avoiding any contact with other humans when those opportunities do arise.

Finishing School is a school for young women that focuses on teaching social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, with classes primarily on deportment and etiquette, with academic subjects secondary. It may consist of an intensive course, or a one-year programme. In the United States it is sometimes called a charm school. Graeme Donald claims that the educational ladies' salons of the late 19th century led to the formal, finishing institutions evidenced in Switzerland around that time. At their peak, thousands of wealthy young women were sent to the dozens of finishing schools available. A primary goal was to teach students to acquire husbands. The 1960s marked the decline of the finishing school. This can be attributed to the shifting conceptions of women's role in society, as well as succession issues within the typically family-run schools and sometimes commercial pressures driven by the high value of the properties the schools occupied. The 1990s saw a revival of the finishing school, although the business model has been radically altered. Arranged Marriage.

Public Opinion is a term used that tries to guess what the majority of the people have an opinion on a particular subject. You can say that a poll was taken and here are the results, but a poll does not tell you if everyone understood the question accurately, which makes this type of evidence unreliable. Same goes for voting.

Brain mechanisms involved in learning also drive social conformity. Some of the same brain systems known to play a role in learning from trial and error also are engaged when people conform to social norms, scientists report in a new study. The findings are important, the researchers said, because changing one's behavior to align with one's peers can contribute to community-building or -- depending on the goals and values of the group -- societal breakdown.

Continuity Theory posits that our personal constructs are influenced by the social construction of reality we learn from those around us and from the mass media, but are not determined by them. Passive.

Continuity Theory of normal aging states that older adults will usually maintain the same activities, behaviors, relationships as they did in their earlier years of life. According to this theory, older adults try to maintain this continuity of lifestyle by adapting strategies that are connected to their past experiences.

The Story about the Wise King and the Poisoned Well. - Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom. Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king and his courtiers; for there was no other well. One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, “From this hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.” Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch had foretold. And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the market places did naught but whisper to one another, “The king is mad. Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason. Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him.” That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well. And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it to his lord chamberlain to drink. And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani, because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason, or have conformed to the madness by drinking the cool aid.

Conformity Dangers - Risks

Don't confuse conformity with working together. We should see conformity as a behavior that can be illogical and extremely risky to society when used incorrectly. We need consistency and reliability, but when behavior becomes submissive and dependent on what is perceived to be popular, then that restricts learning and development, which are two extremely important activities for every human being on this planet earth. When each of us reinforces bad behavior, we become part of the problem. When conformity stops a person from questioning things, then this puts the whole system at risk. And when a persons questions are never heard, a tragic accident may occur. When foresight is blinded by a conformist behavior, or by the fear of being called a nonconformist, then progress and adaptation are impeded, and life becomes stagnant and vulnerable to suffering and death, which is clearly the state that we are still in today in 2020. When everyone thinks the same way and looks the same way, then diversity and creative thinking is lost. How do know right from wrong if everyone is wrong? People with good paying jobs can be the most dangerous conformists. They can be afraid to speak up in fear of losing their good paying job. It's like they have been bought. They took the bribe and sold out and swallowed their pride. They turned their back on honor, and people died. "I would rather live standing up against injustice than to die on my knees as a coward. It's better to die standing than to live on your knees." Non-Conformity is being unique and authentic and not wanting to be boxed in order to just to fit in and to be accepted. Do I need validation?

Confirmation Bias

Metathesiophobia is the fear of change, which may be rooted in a human desire to keep life in a comfortable and consistent state, which is a selfish and narrow minded point of view, because you are not thinking about other people who are forced to adapt and change because their life is not comfortable or consistent. Life can be stressful, but that's no excuse to be paranoid about losing your privileges or power, or fear losing your identity, religion, language and culture. The fear of the unknown or an expectation of loss can be stressful, but that doesn't mean you have to be ignorant. You need to focus on preserving valuable knowledge and information, instead of holding on to a fantasy you have been living in.

Monkey See, Monkey Do is a saying that refers to the learning of a process without an understanding of why it works. Another definition implies the act of mimicry, usually with limited knowledge and/or concern for the consequences.

Romans 12:2 (English Standard Version) - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do refers to the importance of conforming yourself to the customs of the people who are in a certain place or situation and behave like they do.

Status Quo is the perceived existing conditions or the perceived state of affairs regarding social or political issues. Usually measured without a standard baseline, so its interpretation can be vague. The status quo can also mean to keep things the way they presently are, similar to the conservative mentality that doesn't explain what they are actually conserving, except for conformity. Status quo ante is Latin for the way things were before.

Reactionary is a person who holds political views that favour a return to the status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary society.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Thinking for Yourself.

Conformity does not say that the behaviors are wrong or right. You can say what the norms are, but these norms do not explain the reasons why they are excepted? And just because Laws are written does not mean that they can't be challenged or debated, which is one of the main reasons for a Democracy. And just because you follow a law does not mean that you're conforming, it could just mean that you understand that if everyone follows certain rules, we will have less problems and less chaos. When people don't follow the rules we have Crimes. And sometimes peoples conformity can turn into obsessive behavior. This is why diversity is important, especially diversity in thinking. Being narrow minded is similar to conformity when you're conforming to a belief. Conforming is not the same as adapting. Adapting is learning how to live, conforming is not learning how to live but just waiting to die. Everything that you have is from ancestors learning how to live. And now you want to throw it all away and ignorantly assume that you're preserving something.

Peer Reviewed or Peer Refused?

When people conform to the influences of ignorant people, then ignorant things will happen, and people will ignorantly help spread more ignorance. How The US Government Kept A Town Of 75,000 People Secret and in the dark about what they were doing. The same thing is happening to the other 300 million Americans who have no clue what is going on. Oak Ridge, Tennessee (wiki).

New research sheds light on factors influencing trust and bias in societies. People with more positive perceptions of their nation's institutions are more likely to show favoritism toward fellow citizens, according to new research. This research suggests that support for national institutions could pose a challenge for establishing trust across borders.

Orthodoxy is the adherence to accepted norms or creeds imposed by some institution, without question or without debate, which could put limits on development and improvements.

Inadvertently is to do something unknowingly and unwittingly without knowledge or intention.

Don't let patriotism or nationalism blind you. To many times people have had there Loyalty and their Love of Country exploited by governments and corporations. Nationalism or Patriotism needs to be defined in order to avoid manipulation. 

Drinking the Kool-Aid is a phrase that describes a persons unquestioning obedience or loyalty to someone or something. This expression is commonly used to refer to a person who believes in a possibly doomed or dangerous idea because of perceived potential high rewards. People who are willing to die for their ignorance. It can also mean the acceptance of an idea or changing a preference due to popularity, peer pressure, or persuasion. Everyone is drinking a poison cocktail.

When you are not fully aware of everything, or have a full understanding about the true state of reality, you are vulnerable to manipulation.

As far as you know - Do you think that you Know Enough?

Social Contract is when individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order. Polarized.

Fit in or F*ck Off is an informal reference to a controversial human resources philosophy whereby the employee is expected to conform to the prevailing organizational norms or get fired. It is also used to impose conformity to perceived racial, national, gender or societal norms.

Fall in Line is to be passive and not question authority. To conform with others who have accepted control and obey to have a certain behavior.

Sheep is a person who is too easily influenced or led. Sheep is also a domesticated ruminant animal with a thick woolly coat and (typically only in the male) curving horns. It is kept in flocks for its wool or meat, and is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock.

Sublimation Psychology is a mature type of defense mechanism, in which socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse.

You will be much better off if you are more of a reformist than a conformist.

Identity in social science is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that make a person (self-identity) or group (particular social category or social group).The process of identity can be creative or destructive.

Shared Information Bias is when people in groups, discuss common, shared information with more time and energy. In other words, they like to talk about topics everybody is familiar with and therefore avoid new information, which creates an information bubble where a consensus is perceived as good. The result is that everybody is less informed, leading to worse decisions.

Familiarity Heuristic is an easy-to-compute procedure or "rule of thumb" that people use when forming beliefs, judgments or decisions. The familiar is favored over novel places, people, things. The familiarity heuristic can be applied to various situations that individuals experience in day-to-day life. When these situations appear similar to previous situations, especially if the individuals are experiencing a high cognitive load, they may regress back to the state of mind in which they have felt or behaved before. This heuristic is useful in most situations and can be applied to many fields of knowledge, however, there are both positives and negatives to this heuristic as well.

Sometimes I feel like that guy in the Midnight Express Movie walking in the opposite direction of everyone else. (youtube)
Midnight Express (1978 Film) (wiki).

Pluralistic Ignorance is a situation in which a majority of group members privately reject a norm, but incorrectly assume that most others accept it, and therefore go along with it. This is also described as "no one believes, but everyone thinks that everyone believes." In short, pluralistic ignorance is a bias about a social group, held by that social group.

Staunch is being firm and dependable especially in loyalty. Stubborn.

Life Stance is their relation with what they accept as being of ultimate importance. It involves the presuppositions and theories upon which such a stance could be made, a belief system, and a commitment to potentially working it out in one's life.

World View is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point of view.

Social Influences - Do you know the Status Quo, or just Pretending to Know?

Cultural Bias occurs when people of a culture make assumptions about conventions, including conventions of language, notation, proof and evidence. They are then accused of mistaking these assumptions for laws of logic or nature. Numerous such biases exist, concerning cultural norms for color, location of body parts, mate selection, concepts of justice, linguistic and logical validity, acceptability of evidence, and taboos.

Group Polarization refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. These more extreme decisions are towards greater risk if individuals' initial tendencies are to be risky and towards greater caution if individuals' initial tendencies are to be cautious. The phenomenon also holds that a group's attitude toward a situation may change in the sense that the individuals' initial attitudes have strengthened and intensified after group discussion, a phenomenon known as attitude polarization.

Attitude Polarization the tendency of people to search for and interpret evidence selectively, to reinforce their current beliefs or attitudes. Confirmation bias.

Mere Exposure Effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. In social psychology, this effect is sometimes called the familiarity principle. The effect has been demonstrated with many kinds of things, including words, Chinese characters, paintings, pictures of faces, geometric figures, and sounds. In studies of interpersonal attraction, the more often a person is seen by someone, the more pleasing and likeable that person appears to be. Mere-Exposure Effect.

Because most peoples lives are very busy and filled with lots of things to do, they never seem to have the time to stop to think and they never stop to analyze themselves and the world around them. Peoples worlds are so localized, and they never think about the outside world, only what is happening around them. People can't see the whole picture because you never learned how to stop and take a look around. Understanding the world as a whole requires a person to educate themselves to a high degree.

Generations - History (ages) - Genealogy

Everyone sees things a little differently. We only see things the same way, or in similar ways, when other people have the same knowledge and the same information that you do, and also understands that knowledge and information similar to the way that you understand it. Not everyone has the same knowledge and information, which means that not everyone will see things in the exact same way that you do. This is one of the main reasons why education needs to improve. If everyone had a high quality education and shared a lot of the same knowledge, information and understanding, then everyone would see eye to eye with greater accuracy, and also understand the world with greater accuracy. But when almost every human is undereducated as they are now, then everyone will be similar in ignorance. Humans have relied way to much on Conformity as a measurement of reality. Conformity is good, but conformity can also be extremely dangerous. When we see a crowd of people acting similar, we can then say since all the people have the same behavior, like sitting and talking peacefully, then we can assume that there are no immediate threats or dangers. With animals, if one animal starts running then this sounds an alert to the other animals in the herd that something dangerous is near. But in a crowd of humans, if only one person was running in a crowd, then we would most likely not think that there is any danger, it's only when several people are running do humans sense danger. But what if only one person was right and only one human knew about a threat or danger, how would you know? You would have to have a better awareness and the necessary knowledge and information that is needed in order to accurately analyze that particular situation. You need to think for yourself, and not rely totally on the awareness of others or the knowledge of others. If everyone is using conformity then who's' doing the actual thinking?

Patience and Tolerance without Acceptance - Enabling

Many aspects of society have cult like characteristics. Some jobs are cult like, some schools are cult like, some organizations are cult like, the media is cult like, the justice system is cult like and so on. People who have been in cults, and have left cults, still have no idea that they still may be in a cult, whether it's a family cult, political cult, belief cult, or any kind of blind following where people fail to question the accuracy of the goals and purpose of their group. Even an entire country can be a cult, like North Korea. North Koreans are of course good people. But they have no ideas that they are in a cult because information and knowledge is strictly controlled, just like in America and other countries, except not to that extreme degree, but still with devastating consequences. So you see, if you control information and knowledge, you can control an entire country, and even control almost every person on the planet to a certain degree.

Accessory to a Crime - Bullying

Whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal?

"To be adjusted to a sick society is to be sick without knowing that you're sick because you act the same and look the same as everyone else."

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986).

"These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted, still cherish "the illusion of individuality," but in fact they have been to a great extent deindividualized." Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894 – 1963).

Mimicking - Mimicry

Mimic is to imitate someone and copy their actions or words. Mimic of an animal or plant is to resemble or imitate another animal or plant in order to deter predators or for camouflage.

Conforming - Mirroring - Mocking - Two Faced - Influenced - Echolalia -  Appropriation - Bio-Mimicry - Copyrights - Artificial Intelligence

Copycat is a person who copies another's behavior, dress, or ideas.

Imitate is to copy or reproduce someone's behavior, speech, looks, appearance or mannerisms.

Echopraxia is the involuntary repetition or imitation of another person's actions. Similar to echolalia which is the involuntary repetition of sounds and language. It is one of the echophenomena or an automatic imitative actions without explicit awareness.

Chameleon Effect refers to nonconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one's interaction partners, such that one's behavior passively and unintentionally changes to match that of others in one's current social environment.

Conformity can very well be an inbred or inherited behavioral trait that helps people to avoid being detected by predators. But when people don't fully understand innate behaviors, they may misinterpret these behaviors and end up doing themselves more harm than good.

Mimicry functions to protect a species from predators by resembling other species so they are seen as not a threat or seen as something that is not good to eat. The resemblances that evolve in mimicry can be visual, acoustic, chemical, tactile, or electric, or combinations of these sensory modalities. Mimicry may be to the advantage of both organisms that share a resemblance, in which case it is a form of mutualism; or mimicry can be to the detriment of one, making it parasitic or competitive. The evolutionary convergence between groups is driven by the selective action of a signal-receiver or dupe. Birds, for example, use sight to identify palatable insects, whilst avoiding the noxious ones. Over time, palatable insects may evolve to resemble noxious ones, making them mimics and the noxious ones models. In the case of mutualism, sometimes both groups are referred to as "co-mimics". It is often thought that models must be more abundant than mimics, but this is not so. Mimicry may involve numerous species; many harmless species such as hoverflies are Batesian mimics of strongly defended species such as wasps, while many such well-defended species form Mullerian mimicry rings, all resembling each other. Mimicry between prey species and their predators often involves three or more species.

Batesian Mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil.

Click Bait - False Advertising - Propaganda

Müllerian Mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and that share common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. This works because predators can learn to avoid all of them with fewer experiences with members of any one of the relevant species. It is named after the German naturalist Fritz Müller, who first proposed the concept in 1878, supporting his theory with the first mathematical model of frequency-dependent selection, one of the first such models anywhere in biology.

Aggressive Mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compared this strategy to a wolf in sheep's clothing. Defensive Mimicry or protective mimicry takes place when organisms are able to avoid harmful encounters by deceiving enemies into treating them as something else.

Deception in Animals is the transmission of misinformation by one animal to another, of the same or different species, in a way that propagates beliefs that are not true.

Handicap Principle is the signaling between animals which have an obvious motivation to bluff or deceive each other.

Playing Dead - Passive

Anti-Predator Adaptation is avoiding detection through mechanisms such as camouflage, masquerade, apostatic selection, living underground, or being nocturnal. Defenses may work by signaling to the predator that pursuit is not worthwhile, or by distraction, or by startling the attacker, or by using defensive structures such as spines, and by living in a group.

Mimicking Operations is shielding friendly forces as well as foes from detection and deception.

Dear Enemy Effect is an ethological phenomenon in which two neighboring territorial animals become less aggressive toward one another once territorial borders are well established. As territory owners become accustomed to their neighbors, they expend less time and energy on defensive behaviors directed toward one another. However, aggression toward unfamiliar neighbors remains the same. Some authors have suggested the dear enemy effect is territory residents displaying lower levels of aggression toward familiar neighbors compared to unfamiliar individuals who are non-territorial "floaters".

Talking Bird are birds that can mimic the speech of humans.

Birds that Mimic sounds include mockingbirds, thrashers, and catbirds. The Brown Thrasher can sing up to 2,000 different songs and may be the champion mimic in North America. Blue Jays can mimic several species of hawks. European Starlings are also accomplished mimics, just like their relatives the mynas, and are known to include imitations of other birds, but also just about anything else, including motorcycles and tea kettles. Camouflage.

Bumblebees learn new 'trends' in their behavior by watching and learning. A new study has shown that bumblebees pick up new 'trends' in their behavior by watching and learning from other bees, and that one form of a behavior can spread rapidly through a colony even when a different version gets discovered. Social learning drives the spread of bumblebee behavior -- in this case, precisely how they forage for food.

Talking Animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal language, however, these usually are not considered a language because they lack one or more of the defining characteristics, e.g. grammar, syntax, recursion and displacement. Researchers have been successful in teaching some animals to make gestures similar to sign language, although whether this should be considered a language has been disputed.

Apostatic Selection describes the survival of individual prey animals that are different through mutation from their species in a way that makes it more likely for them to be ignored by their predators.

Frequency-Dependent Selection is an evolutionary process by which the fitness of a phenotype or genotype depends on the phenotype or genotype composition of a given population. Survival.

Chirality means that an object or molecule cannot be superimposed on its mirror image by any translations or rotations. In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral if it cannot be superposed on its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, and some conformational changes.

Pretending to be Nice - Flattery will get you Nowhere

Yes Man is a person who agrees with everything that someone says, even if that person is wrong or lying. A person who supports the opinions or ideas of someone else just to earn that person's approval, even if that person is bad.

Don't be a Yes Man and just following orders, it's your responsibility to blow the whistle and report bad behavior.

Lying - Bribes - Quid Pro Quo - Being nice just to get what you want - Psychopaths

Suck Up is someone who is attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery and pretending to like them, especially for one's own advantage. .

Brown Noser is a person who acts overly obedient or attentive to a grossly excessive submissive degree. (the color brown refers to a person kissing someone's as* so many times that their nose turns brown from being to close to the poop hole).

Kiss-Up is a person who flatters a supervisor, or superior, in order to get special attention that they don't deserve. Fraudulent Attention.

Lip Service is expressing approval of somone or the support for something without taking any significant action, or when you agree with something but do nothing to support it.

Subordinate is an assistant subject to the authority or control of another. Lower in rank or importance or consider of less value. Subject or submissive to authority or the control of another. Condescending.

Subservient is compliant and obedient to authority. Abjectly submissive and characteristic of a slave or servant.

Insinuate is to introduce or insert oneself in a subtle manner, or to maneuver oneself into a position of favor by subtle manipulation. The act of gaining acceptance or affection for yourself by persuasive and subtle flattery intended to persuade. Insinuate is an indirect and usually malicious implication that is calculated to please or gain favor. To suggest or hint that something is bad or reprehensible in an indirect and unpleasant way. Assume.

Sycophant is a person uses insincere flattery toward someone important in order to gain advantage. Attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery or excessive or insincere praise. Sycophancy is making false accusations or an unjustified complaint. Someone that purposely spreads lies about a person, in order to harm this person’s reputation. Psychopaths.

Superficial Charm is the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick and verbally facile. Charisma.

Faking emotions at work does more harm than good. The adage "Fake it until you make it" -- the idea that someone can fake a positive attitude to elicit real-life benefits -- often backfires when used with co-workers, according to a study led by a University of Arizona researcher. When it comes to regulating emotions with co-workers, four types of people emerged from the study: Nonactors, or those engaging in negligible levels of surface and deep acting; Low actors, or those displaying slightly higher surface and deep acting; Deep actors, or those who exhibited the highest levels of deep acting and low levels of surface acting; and, Regulators, or those who displayed high levels of surface and deep acting. In each study, nonactors made up the smallest group, with the other three groups being similar in size. Back Stabbing.

Followers - Too Many Just Follow, Not Enough Leaders or Free Thinkers

Follower is an adherent or devotee of a particular person, cause, or activity, or someone who accepts or trusts the leadership of another. A follower is a person who moves or travels behind someone or something. A follower can also be someone who's watching you because they either hate you or fear you, or they are envious of you. A follower can also be a fan or a friend.

The main problem with being a follower is that the follower can blindly believe that the leader is making decisions on their behalf and for their benefit. But sometimes leaders make decisions for only the few and not the many, because the motives of leaders can be easily corrupted. We need to trust other people and believe that they will act responsibly, fairly and logically. But we can not transfer the responsibility that we have for ourselves, or transfer the responsibilities that we have for other people. I would rather be shoulder to shoulder than be a leader or a follower.

Indoctrination - Tribalism - Cults - Popularity Trap - Gullible - Naive - Illusion of Control

The Blind Leading the Blind is an expression applied to leaders who know as little as their followers and are therefore likely to lead them astray. Having a leader who is no more informed than his followers, both of whom are unequipped to deal with the situation at hand. A situation where a person who knows nothing is getting advice and help from another person who knows almost nothing.

How many times have you heard about people who were trusted and admired but turned out to be a criminals? Why do people fall for charismatic leaders like Hitler. Adolf Hitler was an unlikely leader but he still formed a connection with millions of German people, generating a level of charismatic attraction that was almost without parallel. Hitler was the archetypal charismatic leader. He was not a normal politician but he made promises like lower taxes and better health care. Charlatans.

“A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth."

Being loved by your followers is not true love, because love can be blind when you don't fully know the person well enough on a personal level. Love comes from knowing and not from pretending to know. Remember, Love is knowledge, and knowledge is love. And God, Love and Knowledge is the divine trilogy that will live forever in the people who are guided by God, Love and Knowledge. No one can stop the power of love, not even evil. You can kill the person who has love, but the love that person shared with others will live on forever, as it has since the beginning. Love endures, while hate and evil will fade and eventually cease to exist. And that is when humans will ascend to greatness, and not just to the stars.

Passive Listening - Comprehension

Listener is a person listening to a radio station or a program or a specific station for a set period of time.

How many political leaders have turned out to be criminals? Is voting in an election ever enough?

Why do women sometimes date the wrong men? Some people are not who they say there are.

A dumbed down education creates gullible followers. Too many people don't want to be in control of their lives or feel responsible for themselves or for the planet. People want to pretend that someone else will be in control. So people transfer their problems onto other people, or onto a god. This is beyond being lazy, this is pure ignorance that is caused by a dumbed down education and a dumbed down media. These adults are still children. The only thing that has grown is their ego. And the only thing that has developed is their ignorance. There's not enough knowledge and information that is available and coherent that will brake the chains of ignorance that enslaves almost every mind on the planet. A strong mind and a strong body is the only way to ever lasting freedom. Free the mind using valuable knowledge and information, instead of enslaving the mind with ignorance.

Why do some Animals Run off a Cliff Together? - Just Following Orders

I Asked German Experts Why Germans Followed Hitler (youtube) - David Hoffman

I follow Jesus, but Jesus also follows me. And when I stop learning, I then follow Jesus because I have no idea where I'm going since I stopped learning or listening. Jesus reminds me that I'm ignorant, and I remind Jesus that we both still have a lot to learn. Jesus gave me direction, but its my responsibility to figure out where we are going. Jesus planted the seed, but now it's my responsibility to sow the crop and reap the benefits of my ancestors.

Ant Mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle, commonly known as a "death spiral" because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion. It has been reproduced in laboratories and has been produced in ant colony simulations. The phenomenon is a side effect of the self-organizing structure of ant colonies. Each ant follows the ant in front of it, which works until something goes wrong, and an ant mill forms. An ant mill was first described in 1921 by William Beebe, who observed a mill 1200 ft (~370 m) in circumference. It took each ant 2.5 hours to make one revolution. Similar phenomena have been noted in processionary caterpillars and fish. Chain Reactions.

Animal Suicide refers to any kind of self-destructive behavior displayed by various species of non-human animals. There are anecdotal reports of grieving pets displaying such behavior after the death of their owner, or monogamous animals refusing to feed after the death of their mate.

Thin Place - Suicide - Conformity Dangers - Fight or Run - Adapt or Compromise

Most of my life I didn't want people following me because I was not sure where I was going. But I know where I'm going now, but no one is following me because they have no idea where I'm going. I want to help people find their way, but people need to learn one important thing first, learning is the only way to find your way, there is no other way.

When it's all said and done, what was your purpose, what was your point? People should think more about what kind of person they want to be in the future, instead of being satisfied with whom they have become.

You just can't be a follower, you must also be a leader. Everyone needs to be a leader and understand that leadership is the responsibility of every person on the planet. You lead by example. You lead by not blindly following or blindly trusting. You lead by continually learning. You lead by taking responsibility for yourself. You lead by taking responsibility for other people. You lead by taking responsibility for our planet that makes life possible, now and for many years to come.

I Will Follow You - Ricky Nelson (1963 - youtube) - I will follow you, Follow you wherever you may go, There isn't an ocean too deep, A mountain so high it can keep, Keep me away, away from my love. I love you, I love you, I love you, And where you go I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow, You'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love, From now until forever, forever, forever.

Passive - Submissive - Looking the Other Way

Passive is the trait of remaining inactive and lacking initiative, or lacking in energy or will. Being submissive to others with outside influences, usually because of fear, threats, ignorance or denial. Passive can also mean being peacefully resistant in response to injustice. 

Selfish - Lazy - Coward - Denial - Passing the Buck - Privileged - Complicity - Accessory - Corruption - Kiss Up - Enable - Consent - Non Disclosure Agreement

Deference is the condition of submitting to someone or allowing to be influenced by people who are perceived to have more power than you. Enabling someone because of the fear of being in contempt. Blindly following the leader can sometimes be deadly. Deference implies yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of respect or reverence. Indifference.

To be neutral and passive is to collaborate." - Howard Zinn (wiki)

Students who tolerate cheating in the classroom may also turn a blind eye to unethical behavior in the workplace.

Turning a Blind Eye is when a person ignores undesirable information or ignores corruption and criminal activity.

Look the Other Way is to deliberately ignore wrongdoing by others.

Let it Slide is to negligently allow something to deteriorate. To allow something that is bad or not good to happen or do nothing about another person's mistake or bad behavior. Let it Slide can mean to temporally allow someone not to live up to their end of a deal or bargain. Or it could meant to give someone more time or to give someone a little slack because of unforeseen difficulties.

It's Relative - Passive Aggressive

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie means to ignore a problem because trying to deal with it could cause an even more difficult situation. To avoid interfering in a situation that is currently causing no problems but might do so as a result of such interference.

Don't Rock the Boat means that you should not do something or say something that could upset people or cause more problems, or you should not ask too many questions or be too assertive because it could cause more trouble.

Sometimes it's better to speak than to be silent, and other times it's better to be silent than to speak, and other times you have no choice. Everything is relative depending on the time and and place, and the situation. There is a time and place for everything, which means that there is sometimes a more appropriate and acceptable situation or scenario in which to do something or say something.

Complacent or contented is being satisfied with things as they are, and not looking to improve things or adapt to the changes. Complacent is uncritically satisfied with oneself or one's achievements. Contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions.

Smug is marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction.

Acceptance is when a person agrees to the reality of a situation, often a negative or uncomfortable situation, without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to acquiescence, derived from the Latin acquiēscere (to find rest in).

Contentment is a mental or emotional state of satisfaction maybe drawn from being at ease in one's situation, body and mind. Colloquially speaking, contentment could be a state of having accepted one's situation and is a milder and more tentative form of happiness.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Three Wise Monkeys or three mystic apes, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. The phrase is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye.

Willful Blindness is a situation in which a person seeks to avoid civil or criminal liability for a wrongful act by intentionally keeping themself unaware of facts that would render him or her liable or implicated.

"The only way for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Silence Is Betrayal--Martin Luther King Jr. (youtube).

Risk Aversion - Fight or Run - Resilience - Be Thankful but Not Content

Ostrich Algorithm is a strategy of ignoring potential problems on the basis that they may be exceedingly rare. It is named after the ostrich effect which is defined as "to stick one's head in the sand and pretend there is no problem". It is used when it is more cost-effective to allow the problem to occur than to attempt its prevention.

Ostrich Effect is the attempt made by investors to avoid negative financial information. The name comes from the common (but false) legend that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger.

Bypassing is to avoid something unpleasant or laborious, without stopping it, correcting it or curing it. Pass the Buck.

Bystander is a person who is present at an event or incident but does not take part.

Bystander Effect is when individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that one of them will help.

Linger is to remain present although waning or gradually dying. To leave slowly and hesitantly. To take one's time and proceed slowly.

It's not that some people are afraid to do something about the injustices they see, it's just that people don't fully understand how to solve these problems. So people find it easier to conform than to try to improve something. And society does not make it safe for people to speak or give people a place to speak where they can be heard by everyone and not just heard by a few people. Reporting a crime is sometimes dangerous and can also be a discouraging action. And this should not be. Every school on the planet should teach the skills of civic duty and the media must inform the public on a regular basis. 

"Psychopathic ignorant scumbags in power persist because naive people are accessories to their crimes and passive weak minded people just look the other way."

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a passive accessory to evil." If you see something, say something.

Churches in Germany looked the other way when Hitler took power. Churches throughout Europe were mostly silent while Jews were persecuted, deported and murdered by the Nazis. It has become abundantly clear that the Churches failure to respond to the horrid events. Germany’s Catholic bishops have acknowledged that they were complicit in allowing the Nazis to rise to power and stood by while they launched World War II. The population of Germany in 1933 was around 60 million. Almost all Germans were Christian, belonging either to the Roman Catholic (ca. 20 million members) or the Protestant (ca. 40 million members) churches. The Jewish community in Germany in 1933 was less than 1% of the total population of the country. Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. In both German churches there were members, including clergy and leading theologians, who openly supported the Nazi regime. After 1945, the silence of the church leadership and the widespread complicity of "ordinary Christians" compelled leaders of both churches to address issues of guilt and complicity during the Holocaust—a process that continues internationally to this day. Vatican documents show secret back channel between Pope Pius XII and Hitler.

Co-Conspirators - Accessories - Cover up

Submissive is allowing to be controlled or ruled. Unable to stand alone. Being less important and consider less valuable. Dependent on others.

Docile - Easily Indoctrinated - Gullible

Kowtow is a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission. Bend the knees and bow in a servile manner. Try to gain favor by cringing or flattering.

Bowing is the bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting. Showing an excessively deferential manner. Bend one's back forward from the waist on down.

Stooping is to debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way. Having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect.

When you Settle for Less or accept things the way they are, you may forget what good is and you may not remember what being better is like. This is much more than a lack of satisfaction, it's a gradual sinking to a lower level. And sometimes you can drag other people down with you. Come to terms with that.

Prostrate is to be stretched out and lying face downward at full length along the ground, as in submission and rendered helpless or defenseless.

Playing Dead is a behavior in which animals take on the appearance of being dead. Apparent death is a form of animal deception considered to be an anti-predator strategy, but it can also be used as a form of aggressive mimicry.

Sympathizer is a person who agrees with or supports a sentiment or opinion of another person or group. A loyalist to an enemy or a blind follower. Sympathizer is not the same as sympathy.

Submission is the condition of submitting to someone you choose to follow. Allowing to having legitimate influence from one's superior or superiors.

Dominance and Submission is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. DISC Assessment (wiki).

Obedience is complying with the commands or instructions of those in authority. Dutiful or submissive behavior in being willing to obey.

Implied Consent - Accessory (going along with a crime) - Bribe

An agreement to be submissive can only be made when informed consent is proven and understood. If not, it's usually manipulation or exploitation. A crime.

Silence Procedure means that he who is silent is taken to agree, or silence implies consent.

Meek is being overly submissive or compliant. Very docile or eager to follow, or easily cowed into submissiveness. Showing little spirit or courage. Meek can also mean to be humble, modest, patient and compassionate, and not arrogant or prideful. Meek is not the same as being Shy.

"The meek will inherit the earth, but only if the meek educate themselves and become more knowledgeable. Being gullible will get you no where."

Compliance is acting according to certain accepted standards. Conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. A disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others. The act of submitting; usually surrendering power to another. Role Playing.

Docile is being willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed, sometimes without questioning or validation. Someone who is easily handled or managed. But don't confuse docile with someone who is understanding and intelligently diplomatic. We want people to follow orders and to follow the law. But not follow like Mindless Robots.

Placid not easily upset or excited. Calm and peaceful, with little movement or activity.

“He who stands on tiptoe, doesn't stand firm." Tao Te Ching (wiki)

"I have no choice but to obey my conscience, here I stay, I can do no other, God help me."~Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546).

Partisan (divided creates weakness) - Polarized

Acquiescence is the reluctant acceptance of something without protest. Acquiescence occurs when a person knowingly stands by without raising any objection to the infringement of his or her rights, while someone else unknowingly and without malice aforethought acts in a manner inconsistent with their rights. the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

Social Contract is when individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler or magistrate (or to the decision of a majority), in exchange for protection of their remaining rights.

Do Not Consent to Searches - Consent

Silence Procedure states that he who is silent is saying they agree. Your silence implies consent.

Questioning the status quo is called learning.

Maintain the status quo is to keep things the way they are even if they're bad. Conservative.

System Justification happens when people incorrectly seek stability in their lives that they resist change even when it's for the better. This causes people to wrongly justify holding on to opinions about ourselves, our groups, and the larger system. This in turn defends the status quo.

Consistency Bias is when people assume things haven’t changed, when in fact they did.

Collaborationism is cooperation with the enemy against one's country in wartime.

Employee Silence refers to situations where employees withhold information that might be useful to the organization of which they are a part, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This can happen if employees do not speak up to a supervisor or manager. Within organizations people often have to make decisions about whether to speak up or remain silent - whether to share or withhold their ideas, opinions, and concerns ... [The problem is that] in many cases, they choose the safe response of silence, withholding input that could be valuable to others or thoughts that they wish they could express. — Frances J. Milliken and Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison, Shades of Silence: Emerging Themes and Future Directions for Research on Silence in Organizations. This means the situation is not going to change for the better anytime soon. Employee silence does not only occur between management and employees, it also occurs during conflict among employees, and as a result of organizational decisions. This silence keeps managers from receiving information that may help to improve the organization. When trying to avoid employee silence, managers and leaders also need to know “how to facilitate varying opinions in a way that allows healthy discussion to develop towards consensus or best solutions”. In a recent business column entitled “Silence Does Not Equal Agreement,” some advice is given for leaders looking to diminish employee silence. The article suggests: "When presenting information or asking questions of a group, make eye contact with each person at the table or as many people as possible in the room. This gesture gives a message of interest and connectedness. Watch for the subtle signs of people agreeing or disagreeing with what is being said. Positive gestures include: maintaining eye contact, a slight smile, nodding. Gestures of dissension include: raised eyebrows, rolling of eyes, a slight sneer, looking down, shifting in the seat, avoiding eye contact. When someone does make a comment or suggestion, do not rush to discount their opinion or defend your own. To shut down someone who speaks up will send the message that you are not sincere, and people will retreat back into non-participation. Instead, say something like, ‘Thanks for your idea, Holly, let me think about that.’ Learn to be comfortable with silence. It takes getting used to, but allowing silence to be in the room is a powerful presence that gives people a chance to digest what was said, and to consider whether they have a response or contribution, and how they may want to present it. If you try to encourage more openness, and at first others are unresponsive or hesitant to participate, consider asking someone you trust after the meeting if there is something that you might have missed or could have done differently to achieve the desired result".

"If you look the other way, then you are turning your back on yourself. We must stop criminals when ever we can, and if you can't stop them yourself, then seek help, sometimes people are unaware of crimes until someone speaks up."

If give you someone an inch, they will take a mile.

Let's See How this Plays Out is to decide not to stop something or intervene until you see what happens or see how something unfolds. Lets wait and see what happens first before we act. But what happens when we wait to long and it's too late to act?

Watch the World Go By is to pause and remain still whilst doing nothing but surveying the environment around oneself.

People who Stand by and Watch the World Die, are already dead, inside. People can have all kinds of excuses for not getting involved or not supporting good causes. Some believe that someone else will do it, or they don't have the time, or they don't want to stick their neck out.

Sit This One Out means to not participate in an event or a discussion.

Stick Your Neck Out means to personally except responsibility for ones life and expose oneself to some risk and danger in order to support a cause and to stand up for what is right and do what is good, just like the millions of other people have done for you throughout history. Some people would rather risk their reputation doing what is right than to have a reputation based on lies. The phrase is a symbol for when a turtle takes a risk when it sticks its neck out beyond the safety of its shell.

“Most people are, in the most ordinary sense, very limited. They pass their time, day after day, in idle, passive pursuits, just looking at things – at games, television, whatever. Or they fill the hours talking, mostly about nothing of significance – of comings and goings, of who is doing what, of the weather, of things forgotten almost as soon as they are mentioned. They have no aspirations for themselves beyond getting through another day doing more or less what they did yesterday. They walk across the stage of life, leaving everything about as it was when they entered, achieving nothing, aspiring to nothing, having never a profound or even original thought…This is what is common, usual, typical, indeed normal. Relatively few rise above such a plodding existence.” (Richard Taylor, Restoring Pride). Depression.

I'd Love to Change the World - Ten Years After (youtube) - Everywhere is freaks and hairies, Dykes and fairies, tell me, where is sanity? Tax the rich, feed the poor, 'Til there are no rich no more. I'd love to change the world, But I don't know what to do, So I'll leave it up to you. Population keeps on breeding, Nation bleeding, still more feeding, economy, Life is funny, skies are sunny, Bees make honey, who needs money? No, not poor me. I'd love to change the world, But I don't know what to do, So I'll leave it up to you. Oh, yeah! World pollution, there's no solution, Institution, electrocution, Just black and white, rich or poor, Them and us, stop the war. I'd love to change the world, But I don't know what to do, So I'll leave it up to you.

Institutions

Institution is a structure or mechanism of social order that governs the recurring patterns of behavior of a set of individuals within a given community, sometimes impeding individuality and intentions by mediating the rules that govern a particular world view or living behavior. Schools or institutions are identified with a social purpose that is not always clearly understood or transparent.

School Institutions - Indoctrination - Banking Institutions - Media Institutions - Government Institutions - Church and State - Unconstitutional

Academia is the environment or community concerned with the pursuit of research, education, and scholarship.

Everyone is in an Institution of some form. It's just that some institutions are better than others. Some institutions are so subtle that you might not even know that you're in an institution. Everyone is also in some form of Foster Care. Everyone experiences most of the same problems that foster care children do, it's just in different proportions and under different names.

Foster Care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home or residential child care community, treatment center, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "Foster Parent" or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member. Almost 10% of children in foster care have stayed in foster care for five or more years. Nearly half of all children in foster care have chronic medical problems. 8% of all children in foster care have serious emotional problems, 11% of children exiting foster care aged out of the system, in 2011. Children in foster care experience high rates of Child Abuse, emotional deprivation, and physical neglect. In one study in the United Kingdom "foster children were 7–8 times, and children in residential care 6 times more likely to be assessed by a pediatrician for abuse than a child in the general population". A study of foster children in Oregon and Washington State found that nearly one third reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home. A higher prevalence of physical, psychological, cognitive and epigenetic disorders for children in foster care has been established in studies in various countries. Foster children have elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in comparison to children raised by their biological parents. Children in foster care have a higher incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Foster children are at increased risk for a variety of eating disorders in comparison to the general population. Nearly half of foster children in the U.S. become homeless when they turn 18. Children in foster care are at a greater risk of suicide. Children in foster care have an overall higher mortality rate than children in the general population. 56% completed high school compared to 82% of the general population, although an additional 29% of former foster children received a G.E.D. compared to an additional 5% of the general population. Children in the child welfare system have often experienced significant and repeated traumas and having a background in foster homes—especially in instances of sexual abuse—can be the precipitating factor in a wide variety of psychological and cognitive deficits it may also serve to obfuscate the true cause of underlying issues.

Institutional Care is care provided in a hospital, nursing home, or other facility that is usually certified or licensed by the state, primarily affording diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or personal care services.

Lunatic Asylum or mental asylum or insane asylum was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals. Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health units or behavioral health units, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Institutionalization was a solution to treating people considered to be "mad" was part of a social process in the 19th century that began to seek solutions outside for families and local communities.

Total Institution is a place of work and residence where a great number of similarly situated people, cut off from the wider community for a considerable time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. Privacy is limited in total institutions, as all aspects of life including sleep, play, and work, are conducted in the same place. Total institutions are divided by Goffman into five different types: Institutions established to care for people felt to be both harmless and incapable: orphanages, poor houses and nursing homes. Places established to care for people felt to be incapable of looking after themselves and a threat to the community, albeit an unintended one: leprosariums, mental hospitals, and tuberculosis sanitariums. Institutions organized to protect the community against what are felt to be intentional dangers to it, with the welfare of the people thus sequestered not the immediate issue: concentration camps, P.O.W. camps, penitentiaries, and jails. Institutions purportedly established to better pursue some worklike tasks and justifying themselves only on these instrumental grounds: colonial compounds, work camps, boarding schools, ships, army barracks, and large mansions from the point of view of those who live in the servants' quarters. Establishments designed as retreats from the world even while often serving also as training stations for the religious; examples are convents, abbeys, monasteries, and other cloisters. David Rothman states that "historians have confirmed the validity of Goffman's concept of 'total institutions' which minimizes the differences in formal mission to establish a unity of design and structure. In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault discussed total institutions in the language of complete and austere institutions.

Conscription is a state-mandated enlistment of people into military service. Totalitarianism.

Concentration Camp or internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. Kidnapping.

Workhouse was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term workhouse is from 1631.

Disciplinary Institutions are schools, prisons, barracks, or hospitals are examples of historical disciplinary institutions, all created in their modern form in the 19th century with the Industrial Revolution.

Transinstitutionalisation is the phenomena where inmates released from one therapeutic community move into other institutions, either as planned move or as an unforeseen consequence. For instance, when the residential mental hospitals were closed as the result of a political policy change, the prison population increased by an equivalent number.

Safety-Valve Institution is a term used in sociology to describe organizations which serve to allow discontented individuals to act out their opposition to other elements, as it were "to let off steam". Safety-valve organizations reduce tensions in society and in the structural-functionalist perspective can be said to have a tension-reducing latent function. Safety-valve organizations are outlets for behavior that is considered deviant, but cannot be eradicated from society, and such organizations prevent tensions from accumulating; thus tolerance of some deviant behavior in various safety-valve organizations prevents more serious problems. Therefore, one of the primary functions of the deviance itself is to act as a safety-valve. Without safety-valve organizations, interactions between certain groups would become much more limited, and conflict much more severe. Safety-valve institutions range from mostly legal and reputable (strikes, arts, and sports), to less so (pranks, casinos and gambling institutions in general, pornography) to mostly illegal (prostitution). Societies of different kinds vary widely in the legal status of these activities. In their most extreme, aggression in general and war in particular have also been described as safety-valve institutions. With regard to specific organizations, Better Business Bureau has been described as a safety valve institution, as it "mitigates conflicts between business and consumer". Safety-valve organizations can exist in politics, where they provide an outlet for those dissatisfied with the political and social situation to legally organize and discuss it.

A religion can sometimes be like a game show.

Game Show is a when contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sharing the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating where necessary. Contestants either have to answer questions or solve puzzles, typically to win either money or prizes. Game shows often reward players with prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services provided by the show's sponsor.

Govern Oneself - Freedom of Thought

Freedom of Thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. It is different from and not to be confused with the concept of freedom of speech or expression, or believing in things that do more harm than good.

Free Thought is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation.

Free Thinking - Free Writing - Time to Think (alone time) - Work Life Balance - Ideas - Abstract Thought - Dreaming - Day Dreaming - Thinking to Yourself - One Thought Leads to Another - Over Thinking

Cognitive Liberty or the right to mental self-determination, is the freedom of an individual to control their own mental processes, cognition, and consciousness. It has been argued to be both an extension of, and the principle underlying, the right to freedom of thought. Though a relatively recently defined concept, many theorists see cognitive liberty as being of increasing importance as technological advances in neuroscience allow for an ever-expanding ability to directly influence consciousness. Cognitive liberty is not a recognized right in any international human rights treaties, but has gained a limited level of recognition in the United States, and is argued to be the principle underlying a number of recognized rights.

The more knowledgably you are, the more liberated you are. The more you understand yourself and the world around you, the more liberated you will be from the bullshit that life throws at you. You become more resilient.

"What the herd hates most is the one who thinks differently; it is not so much the opinion itself, but the audacity of wanting to think for themselves, something that they do not know how to do." — Arthur Schopenhauer (wiki).

Unorthodox is being independent in behavior or thought. Breaking with convention or tradition.

Heterodox is not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs. A departure from accepted beliefs or standards.

Thought Leader - Sovereignty - Freedom to Govern Oneself - Thinking - Outside the Box - Activism - Responsibilities - Information Literacy

Inequity is injustice by virtue of not conforming with rules or standards.

Dissent is the difference of one judge's opinion from that of the majority. Dissent is a non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea.

Insubordinate is not being submissive to authority by challenging established rules that may be deemed to be unfair.

Aberrant is departing from an accepted standard. Diverging from the normal type. Creativity.

Collective Responsibility is when you are responsible for other people's actions by tolerating, ignoring, or harboring them, without actively collaborating in these actions.

Proactive is controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond to it after it happens.

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and affirms their ability to improve their lives through the use of reason and ingenuity as opposed to submitting blindly to tradition and authority or sinking into cruelty and brutality.

Humanitarian - Humanistic Values

Uniformity is a condition in which everything is regular and unvarying. The same throughout in structure or composition. Evenly spaced. Symmetry - Balance.

Consistent is agreement or reliable. Capable of being reproduced. Marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts. The same throughout in structure or composition.

Countries in Red drive all their vehicles on the right side of the road. Countries in Blue drive on the left side on the road.

Not all Conformity is bad. When we all decide to drive on the right side of the road we avoid having accidents. When we don't have conformity we will always have problems, accidents and mistakes. Drivers are 40% more likely to be involved in a crash than those using "normal" left hand drive (LHD) vehicles.

Choosing to speak the same language, choosing to use the same measuring system. Conforming could improve communication.

Defqon.1 Weekend Festival 2016 | POWER HOUR (youtube)

Rockin'1000 That's Live 2016 | Seven Nation Army 15000 people - 1000 musicians - 17 songs - 1 show (youtube)

The White Stripes - 'Seven Nation Army' (youtube)

Conformity makes a lot of people jump to conclusions. They believe that there are following commonly accepted standards, but they cannot confirm these standards or even validate them, because there is no defined basis for comparison; no measure of pros and cons. No reference point against which other things can be evaluated. No ideal terms of which something can be judged. Accepted does not mean verified. Accepted does not mean that more then the majority of people agree, or even understand what the agreement is about.

We know how dangerous conformity can be, because we know how dangerous being biased is.

Dangerous Social Influences of Conformity.

We need to be Working Together, not conforming or accepting. Toleration is not about accepting, Toleration is about learning how to adapt to a difficult situation, and to never stop working towards normalcy and regaining balance again. You must not except the cards that you were dealt, because there are more cards in the deck, and there are more hands to play, the game is not over. But the game would be over if you were a conformist.

Working Together

Working Together is acting together as agents or circumstances or events. A state of cooperation. Balance among the parts of something. Compatibility of observations. Agreement of results.

Conformity could easily make people become unimaginative, deficient in originality or creativity, and lack the powers of invention, and also lack the ability to deal with concrete facts, and also lack spontaneity and individuality. Most advancements come from the countries that preserve human rights and freedoms. But we still have a huge problem when people abuse freedom and use it for evil purposes. But because certain societies are free to learn, then we will eventually solve this problem and help people stop abusing their freedoms and everyone else around them.

Values Alignment is an emergent property in organizations that have a critical mass of people with a common language of values and clarity about how their personal values, personal vision/mission and goals align with the desired values, mission/vision and goals of the organization.

We need free thinkers, dreamers, idea makers, visionary's, people who can look at things differently, and present observations that may give us a better understanding of our problems and our difficulties. These are the people who have advanced society, these are the people who have made most of the greatest improvements in our world. So we should stop squandering and impeding free thinking. Because this will only keep starvation, suffering, crimes, corruption, disease and avoidable deaths to continue to happen every day. This I cannot conform too, or accept. Let us work together, it is truly our only hope.

Validity - Verifying - Truths - Facts - Opinions - Errors - Lies

Some contradictions are contradictions in themselves. Something could be a contradiction to your actions and still be a contraction to itself, because it also did not answer all the questions, thus it too could be in contradiction for another reason. So maybe you still need to answer the question, "How do you justify the action?", which is based on true reality and responsibilities of your life. But even if you don't have any logical reasons why you do what you do, you could still be right because there are other reasons that you have yet learned about. You can say I pray everyday around this time, but it still may have other benefits even without the prayer. The prayer could be added because that is something that you like and feel good about, which is fine. But we need to see the whole picture, and wee need to see all the layers. All actions have effects, with some actions have many effects.