The Bible (consisting of both the Old and New Testament) is central to Christianity and so are its many myths, stories and parables. But even though many of these myths help to define the religion, some of them are not original – they have been borrowed or copied from other myths from other religions. This…
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Police in Bangladesh recently arrested a number of “atheist bloggers” and subsequently shut down their websites. One of the more popular bloggers, Asif Mohiuddin, had been viciously attacked in January, almost resulting in his death. Islamists have given the Bangladeshi government a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” who demand that they repent or face blasphemy…
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The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) is a book by the British archaeologist John Marco Allegro. His early career focused on studying the earliest manuscripts of the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls. With this book, however, many say that it ruined his career, although others say it gave him the fame that he deserved.…
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Pantheism is the belief that nature or the universe is identical to God. Unlike theists, pantheists do not believe in a personal god who interacts with people, performs miracles, listens to prayers or judges what we do as being morally right or wrong. Unlike atheists, pantheists do believe in some sort of god. Some people…
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Sufism is the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. Its focus tends to be on the mystical, first-hand, direct experience of God called dhawq or “tasting”, rather than on doctrine or authority. Sufism began as an ascetic discipline. An ascetic person is characterised by their rigorous self-discipline and self-control; they will abstain from all forms of indulgence – money,…
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