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 foundation for the Ten Commandments may have been laid in Egyptian wisdom literature, which does not imply a contradiction with the Christian faith as all religions may be telling the same story. The story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai may be traced back to his knowledge of Egyptian royalty's rights and wisdom literature.
Comedian Pete Holmes discusses personal faith journeys and the transitions made by his own family members, including his father's shift to Orthodox Judaism.
The temptation to elevate anything above God, whether it be education, politics, good deeds, technology or a person, is a dangerous one. Instead, we should not put our trust in kingdoms, nations or politics, but keep God as our foundation.
The speaker reminisces about his desire to fight and his religious curiosity.
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.
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 discusses the positive impact of religion on society while acknowledging his belief that it's not God who made us religious. He points out the influence of norms and traditions, citing the example of the stoic morning routine.
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.
Sam Harris and David Wolpe discuss the difficulty of having a conversation about religion without arousing strong emotions and how differing beliefs can lead to challenging discussions.
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.
In this podcast, the speaker discusses the idea of whether getting rid of religion would result in the loss of moral virtue, his experience with religious people studying theology and their personal benefits, and the concept of grounding morality without God.
Tracy, a woman charged with prostitution, has been barred from using a religious freedom defense in her trial. The judge ruled that her beliefs cannot be used as a justification for breaking the law, even though she's still allowed to bring up her beliefs on a case-by-case basis.
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.
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.
The speaker recounts their experience doing stand-up and their preference for Jewish over Catholic theology due to the emphasis on questioning.
Punishing children with religion may give them a negative image and cause spiritual trauma, defeating the purpose of the religion.
The podcast discusses the financial perks of religious institutions and how mega churches sell merchandise and programs, offering a millionaire mindset, instead of focusing on charitable services. The speaker reflects on four years of research on religious financial privileges in their thesis.
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.
Comedian Joe Rogan and his guest discuss various religious views on bestiality and the consequences of engaging in such behavior.
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.
