People who handle snakes religiously do it through total and complete faith, a practice known as holiness serpent handling. The handling of snakes in this way is rarely seen in person but considered a sacred act for the participants.
The speakers discuss a religion with only five tenets and express their thoughts on a rapper who they believe has a simplistic style.
The speaker reminisces about his desire to fight and his religious curiosity.
The podcast discusses two different experiences of intimate questioning in religious settings, including questions about sex, drugs, and masturbation.
The speaker believes that as we move forward, there will be a movement that puts more emphasis on life than death and that there will be a shift away from traditional religions.
This podcast episode discusses the concept of religion and its association with nationalism and other beliefs like being a fan of a football team. The speaker also examines whether atheists can be more theocratic than religious people and talks about the origins of religion according to anthropology.
In this episode, Sam Harris discusses the idea that religious moderates shelter fundamentalism and extremism by insisting we respect religious faith. He argues that the disposition to force others to live by the lights of one's own religious worldview needs to be opposed, particularly in the Muslim world where secularism is almost nonexistent.
A group is being accused of making members sign lifetime vows of obedience and giving collateral to join. One young woman was excitedly told by her master that she had to give collateral to join.
The speaker expresses concern over the dangerous and divisive beliefs that religious people hold, but acknowledges that secular culture is slow in meeting emotional and social needs that these beliefs fulfill, such as a consoling story about what death means.
This essay recounts the history of the Unification Church's (aka the Moonies) business ventures, including the founding of the American Tuna fishing company, and reflects on the author's personal experience with the church's influence in his family's life.
The fragmentation of religion has caused some to turn to Berkshire Hathaway with a religious-like fervor and trust in Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, as they speak about their experiences with the company at an annual meeting.
In this podcast episode, the speakers discuss the definition of religion as a set of beliefs and practices inspired by a transformative and sacred power, and emphasize the importance of both belief and practice in religion.
The tension between Protestants and Catholics took center stage when JFK became the first Catholic president, with concerns over whether or not he would take secret Pope orders. The system of distinct communities began to fade out with the dawn of the industrial age and the homogenization of cities and urban areas.
A discussion about the mental gymnastics involved in using God as a justification for extreme actions, including murder and child marriage, as well as claims of divine revelation about game show appearances.
The speaker offers a prayer to ask for guidance and understanding as they review brief paragraphs 44 through 49.
Nicole shares her experience working briefly at the temple and how things started to change after the Phoenix New Times article came out. She was not getting the training she had signed up for so decided to leave before she heard about the raid.
The human concept of an all-powerful, omnipotent being is limited by our own physical form and perspective, making it impossible for us to truly comprehend what it means to be God-like.
In this episode, the speaker talks about their first encounter with a sex magazine and how it opened up a world they didn't even know existed due to the strict religious upbringing they had.
Podcast host expresses frustration with the prayer rules in the Bible, stating that some feel repetitive and unnecessary.
The speaker discusses the possibility of a religious school not wanting to be associated with the undead and uses the example of a gym without crosses in it.
Punishing children with religion may give them a negative image and cause spiritual trauma, defeating the purpose of the religion.
The podcast discusses the difficulty of reconciling religious beliefs with scientific evidence and how this affects people's views of the world.
Native peoples took on some religious beliefs of the Christian settlers. A woman who lost her partner to death due to frigid weather was afraid of becoming a windigo if she ate his flesh, and she left him in her shelter due to her beliefs.
A woman shares her custody battle experience and how her husband didn't want their sons to attend any religious services, which led to a court allowing supervised visitation for a certain timeframe while she was at church.
Despite financial challenges and personal obstacles, Jim, a pastor in a low-income community, puts his heart and soul into his church with the help of his dedicated partner.
