Atheism makes many good points

New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign | Facebook

(Cynic Machine) The most simple atheist speeches in 17 minutes

• Atheist Bus Campaign (Atheism)

Why religion is dying in America, Europe

(MythVisionTV) Jesus was wrong about end of  world? Paula Fredriksen

(Cold Reason) Religion is dying

• (bonnetthoughts) Where did Christianity come from?

Buddhism, Shinto, atheism East and West

If one billion Chinese Buddhists are not counted and there are only six choices, here's breakdown

(No Nonsense Spirituality | Britt Hartley) What Japan told me about atheism and belonging

• Buddhism in Japan
• Shinto (kami-controlling priests)
• Japanese Ainu shamanism: kami, pre-Shinto, Zen

Man confronted by the Fox goddess

Shintoism is a religion from Japan classified as an East Asian religion by scholars. It is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a "nature religion." Religious scholars sometimes call its practitioners "Shintoists," although adherents rarely use that term themselves. With no central authority in control of Shintoism, there is much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami (神), who are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent locations.

Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan

These shapeshifting kami are worshipped at kamidana household shrines, family shrines, and jinja public shrines staffed by priests, known as kannushi (those who deal with the kami), who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific kami enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami [shapeshifting spirits, apparitions, ghosts, genies, poltergeists, elementals, ghouls, monsters, tricksters, fairies, gargoyles, or other invisible beings] and to solicit their blessings. Other common rituals include kagura dances, rites of passage, and kami festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the Shintoists. The religion places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship. Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami. The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms.

History of Japan through housing

(Patina) Why do Japanese houses not touch the ground?

Statue of legendary Japanese cryptid to be replaced after years of 'service' | Coast to Coast AM

• Weird Japanese Monsters | Coast to Coast AM
• Something Wicked from Japan: Ghosts, Demons, Yokai
• Tales of Japan: Traditional Stories of Monsters and Magic
• The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore

What are kami?

Yoshitoshi ground spider yōkai

Yōkai are also referred to as ayakashi (あやかし), mononoke (物の怪), or mamono (魔物). Some academics and Shinto practitioners acknowledge similarities within the seeming dichotomy between the natures of yōkai and most kami, which are generally regarded as relatively beneficent by comparison. Shintoists classify the two as ultimately the same type of spirits of nature or of a mythological realm [3]. Their behavior can range from malevolent harm or mischievous trickster pranksterism to benevolent towards humans. More: yōkai

• 

  Joe Smith, John the Baptist, Oli Cowdery

  Mormonism: the theology and religious tradition of the Latter-Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, it has been applied to various aspects of the movement, although since 2018 there has been a push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to distance itself from this label [1]. A prominent feature of the theology is the Book of Mormon, a 19th-century text that describes itself as a chronicle of early Indigenous peoples of the Americas and their dealings with [the white man's] God [2]. This theology combines mainstream Christian beliefs with modifications stemming from belief in revelations to Smith and other religious leaders.

All hail the Great Spirit of the Indians! (Rainbow Gathering Bosnia, Europe, 2007)

.

The atheist symbol is an atomic whirl

Atheism: knowing that there are no Gods (theos); in the broadest sense, an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are certainly no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which is the belief that at least one deity exists.

• A world of atheism topics

Nontheism is not atheism

The "whatever" religion

NONTHEISM: The position that whether there is a God(s) or not, that has no bearing on an individual's enlightenment, liberation, deliverance, salvation, emancipation. (Why? The gods/Gods are caught in this samsaric rounds just as other beings are). It is a range of both religious [1] and non-religious [2] attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of a God or gods.

• What are some nontheistic religions?

How much do we care what the Truth is?

It has generally been used to describe silence towards the subject of gods (deus, theos, dīvus) and differs from atheism, which is an active disbelief in any gods. It has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing distinct and even mutually exclusive positions.

Some of these are default atheism, the ever-popular agnosticism (not knowing), apatheism (apathy), egotheism [not to be confused with messiah complex, egoism, egotism, narcissism, Trumpism, or solipsism], ignosticism, ietsism, pantheism, deism, pandeism, 🌈 transtheism, skepticism, or the greatest bunco-religion ever invented, at least so far, Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (aka Pastafarianism).

Religion with most believers is the right one

Science: As pirates go down, temperatures go up (misleading graph)

 

Believe and be saved or deny and go to hell

(We apologize in advance if our statements have offended any FSMists; it is never our intention at WQ to offend, diminish, mock, or otherwise find fault with the religion or nonreligion of anyone's choosing. Do carry on believing and never mind our backwards ways. In fact, everyone should convert to this religion and/or make up their own, such as George Costanza Sr.'s Festivusism. We ourselves are nontheists, Buddhists yes, but nontheists.)

FSM Pastafarianism

One day the eternal Creator Deity blessed humankind with starch but cursed it with gluten

.

Impale the shorthaired nonbelievers!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the supreme deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster [of the latter-day tortellinis], an ironic, satirical, and parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion [3]. The parody originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in the USA. According to adherents ("Pastafaris"), Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism 🌬️) is a "real, legitimate religion, as much as any other" [4]. It has received some limited recognition as such [5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. More

DOUBT as hindrance or a teacher

No one is immune to doubt, not even Jesus Christ, one of the founders of Christianity | UMC

Doubt as hindrance and teacher in Buddhism

(Doug's Dharma) What did the Buddha have to say about "doubt" (vicikiccha), one of the Five Hindrances to meditation and spiritual progress?

Let's look at the ways doubt can be a hindrance to our progress along the path to enlightenment and liberation, as well as a steppingstone to advancement.

Consider that there are ways that doubt can be overcome, noting two key examples of this in the Early Buddhist texts.

Buddhist monk foremost in wisdom

Who was Sariputta/Śariputra? (Life of the Buddha's Chief Disciple)

Chief Male Disciple foremost in wisdom Ven. Śāriputra Mahathero

🧡 Find this material useful? Check out Dr. Smith's Patreon and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: dougsseculardharma.

🧡 Donations may also be made through: paypal.me/dougsdharma. 📙 BOOK: A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: books2read.com/buddhisthandbook

☸️ FREE mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙 Check out podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: digginthedharma.com

✅ Videos recommended:

• Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge
• The Five Hindrances to Meditation: "Armies of Māra"

✅ Discourses (suttas) mentioned:

• https://suttacentral.net/sn46.55/en/s...
• suttacentral.net/mn23/en/sujato
• https://suttacentral.net/sn22.84/en/s...
• https://suttacentral.net/an3.65/en/su...
• suttacentral.net/mn74/en/sujato
• suttacentral.net/mn26/en/sujato
• Website: dougsdharma.com
• Doug's Dharma, May 5, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Muslim month of Ramadan begins (Islam)

Fasting with the eyes means abstaining from temptation(s).

Fasting and celibacy during month of Ramadan explained | Omar Suleiman + Lex Fridman

(A Messy Classroom) All About Ramadan | Islamic history, Muslim

holiday, fasting tradition, Eid al-Fitr educational video

Sid, Krish, Mo, Josh, Aquaman, Lao Tzu, Joe

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm, not eating during daylight hours), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community [5] -- and no sinning in general so "fasting" with the eyes as well. It is also the month during which the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam [6] and lasts 29 to 30 days, from the sighting of the crescent moon to the next [7, 8]. More

• Why don't Muslims ever depict the Prophet? (Everybody Draw Mohammed Day); Buddhism began with the same rule, and Judaism continues to avoid direct mention of their tribal god or the making of graven images and idols. When Buddhism began, the Buddha (the "Awakened One") was referred to with symbols of a Bodhi tree, lotus flower, or an empty chair (aniconism), and the first human depictions were from his hometown (outside of India that had the same prohibition on anthropomorphic images), that being the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara (modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sakastan, Scythia).

(Global News) Time for higher consciousness, mindfulness, purification

The beauty of Islam

(BTN) It's amazing to learn about popular Islam, revealing many common motives with Buddhism

• Omar Suleiman explains to Lex Fridman; A Messy Classroom; Global News; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Short Attn Span Theatre: Karma, Jake Paul

Dalai Lama, how do we find our dharma?

How to choose your dharma [religion, doctrine, or social duty] and end your confusion forever

• dharma is a multivalent term with at least a dozen distinct meanings. In India, dharma usually means "social duty or obligation," and Dharma (capitalized) customarily refers to the Buddha's Dharma or Doctrine, the Teachings of the historical figure Siddhartha Gautama. The word can loosely be construed to mean "religion," but religion did not mean religion in pre-British invasion India (Maha Bharat), so equating the terms is incorrect.

Ajahn Chah: Detachment within activity

Ajahn Chah - Detachment Within Activity (1983dukkha)

Roman Empire copied Greece’s religion?

Did Rome copy ancient Greece’s religion?

(Para Bellum) Nov. 6, 2025: Did ancient Rome really copy its religion from more ancient Greece — or is that just a modern myth? This video uncovers the true origins of Roman religion and shows how it developed into a unique and complex system of beliefs unlike anything in Greece.

The earliest Italic tribes of the Tiber Valley, whose worldview was shaped by animism (the belief that nature itself is alive with spirit), totemism (sacred tribal animals like wolves, woodpeckers, and boars), and fetishism — the idea that certain objects held divine power.

Discover the “pledges of Rome’s eternity,” seven sacred relics believed to guarantee the survival of the Roman state. From there, trace how Etruscan and Greek religion influenced Rome.

The Etruscans gave Roman gods human form, while the Greeks provided myths to explain their origins — pairing Jupiter with Zeus, Venus with Aphrodite, Mars with Ares, and so on.

But this blending was never perfect. Roman gods had different roles, personalities, and meanings. Explore gods the Greeks never had:

• Janus, god of beginnings and endings;
• Quirinus, protector of the Roman people;
• the household Lares and personal Genius;
• Pomona, Vertumnus, Terminus, Mefitis, and many others.

Roman religion also worshipped abstract values like Virtus (Valor), Pax (Peace), Fides (Loyalty), and Disciplina (Discipline), building entire temples to ideas rather than personalities.

Unlike Greek religion -- which emphasized myth, emotion, art, and beauty -- Roman religion was about duty, tradition, and exact ritual. The Romans believed the gods cared less about faith and more about whether rituals were performed flawlessly.

Every sacrifice, prayer, and gesture had to be precise — or repeated from the beginning. Divination was another core part of Roman religion.

Inherited from the Etruscans, practices like haruspicy (reading the entrails of sacrificed animals) and auspicy (interpreting bird signs) guided political decisions, wars, and daily life.

Uncover stories like Publius Claudius Pulcher at the Battle of Drepana, who mocked the sacred chickens — and lost an entire fleet.

Roman priests were not a separate religious class. Priesthoods were held by politicians and generals — Julius Caesar, Cicero, Sulla, Augustus, and Scipio Africanus all served as priests while leading the state, proving how religion and politics were inseparable in Rome.

In the end, Roman religion wasn’t a copy of Greek religion — it was a fusion of Italic, Etruscan, and Greek beliefs shaped by Roman values: duty, order, family, and the power of the state.

This video uncovers how it worked, what the Romans truly believed, and why their religious system helped build one of the greatest empires in history.

Bibliography

1. Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2015.

2. Beard, Mary, John North, and Simon Price. Religions of Rome. Vol. 1: A History. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

3. Cicero, Marcus Tullius. De Haruspicum Responsis.
4. Cicero, Marcus Tullius. De Natura Deorum.

5. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities.

6. Plutarch. Parallel Lives.

7. Scheid, John. An Introduction to Roman Religion. Indiana University Press, 2003.

8. Turcan, Robert. The Gods of Ancient Rome. Routledge, 2000.

9. Varro, Marcus Terentius. Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum (Fragments).

10. Wissowa, Georg. Religion und Kultus der Römer. C.H. Beck, 1912.

11. Rüpke, Jörg. “Divination and Roman Political Decision-Making.” Numen 44 (1997): 1–22.

12. Rüpke, Jörg, ed. A Companion to Roman Religion. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007.

13. North, John. “Roman Religion.” In The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press, 1990.

14. Scheid, John. An Introduction to Roman Religion. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

15. Scheid, John. Graeco Ritu: A Typically Roman Way of Honoring the Gods.

16. Bispham, Edward, and Christopher Smith, eds. Religion in Archaic and Republican Rome and Italy: Evidence and Experience

17. Schultz, Celia E., and Paul B. Harvey, eds. Religion in Republican Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

🎤 ⁠Voiceover by: Nick Banas Instagram: nickbanas

Website: parabellumhistory.com. 

✪ Members first on Nov. 4, 2025 🎬 Watch early and support the channel on Patreon: parabellumhistorychannel or become a member on YouTube: @parabellumhistorychannel to unlock early access to new videos. Music from videos: share.epidemicsound.com/xk7k4... Merchandise store: parabellumstore.creator-sprin...

Trinity? Let's go back in time to see

What if a Trinitarian could go back in time to talk to the original Christians about the 'trinity'?

• What in the world is the "trinity"?
• Biblical redactions, contradictions, disagreements, removals, insertions, different accounts to perfect word of the God

Eckhart Tolle: How to let go

Why our inner state matters more than our goals | Eckhart Tolle

(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 17, 2024: Ever wonder why achieving your goals doesn't always bring the happiness you expected? Eckhart Tolle dives into the difference between external success and inner fulfillment in this video. He reveals how a deeper understanding of faith can transform your daily life and explains why feeling whole now is the key to effortless manifestation. If you're tired of the endless pursuit of more, Eckhart's wisdom offers a refreshing alternative. Discover more insights from Eckhart Tolle: Subscribe to his channel today!

How to stop pretending and start living | Eckhart Tolle

(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 22, 2024: Eckhart Tolle shares practical wisdom on how to be your authentic self in every situation. He explains why playing roles can hold us back and offers simple tips for staying present, even in high-pressure moments. Whether we're dealing with work stress or social anxiety, Eckhart's insights can help us find more ease and authenticity in our daily interactions.

ABOUT: Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today. With his international bestsellers, The Power of Now and A New Earth —translated into more than 50 languages — he has introduced millions to the joy and freedom of living life in the present moment. The New York Times has described him as “the most popular spiritual author in the United States,” and in 2011, Watkins Review (now Watkins Mind Body Spirit) named him “the most spiritually influential person in the world.” Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have helped countless people around the globe experience a state of vibrantly alive inner peace in their daily lives. His teachings focus on the significance and power of Presence, the awakened state of consciousness, which transcends ego and discursive thinking. Eckhart sees this awakening as the essential next step in human evolution.

Find this video helpful? Want more peace of mind or to bring more Presence into days, work, and other areas of life? Join Eckhart Tolle Now, Eckhart’s online community, and get access to his new in-depth teachings every month, practical Q&A sessions with Eckhart, and member-only discounts on Eckhart’s online programs. Enroll in The School of Awakening - A 5-Month Online Advanced Training Program to teach, lead, and live your highest purpose: https://bit.ly/School-of-Awakening-YT... Get FREE access Eckhart Tolle’s new miniseries - The world needs you as a teacher of Presence: https://bit.ly/become-a-teacher-2024 Enjoy a FREE 10-DAY TRIAL to Eckhart Tolle Now: https://members.eckharttolle.com/10-d...

Time is an illusion: Power of Now (video)

• Removing 95% of unhappiness, here's how | Eckhart Tolle

Time is an illusion, according to Einstein

Does time really exist? Buddhism’s view on the nature of time

The Time Paradox (social psychology)

(Buddhism Podcast) Buddhism Explained. Time: illusion or reality? This examination of "time" from a Buddhist perspective reveals intriguing parallels with modern science.

From Albert Einstein's pronouncements to the Buddha's wisdom in the Dhammapada [a collection of sayings], the concept of time as a construct is explored.

Dhammapada for Awakening

Quantum physics, with its baffling phenomena like entanglement and the observer effect, challenges [our consensus reality and] conventional understandings of time, mirroring ancient Buddhist insights on the subjective nature of reality.

The neuroscience of time perception is considered, exploring how our brains [thoughts] construct our experience of time's flow.

Buddhist practices like mindfulness meditation are investigated as potential pathways to experiencing the present moment more fully, even transcending the limitations of time.

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:12 - The Mystery of Time: Where Science meets the Buddha's wisdom
• 05:15 - The Grand Illusion
• 11:17 - Time is mind-made
• 17:05 - Quantum Buddhism
• 23:02 - Our Mind: Time's Creator
• 29:02 - Breaking free from time's prison
• 34:44 - Beyond time: The Power of Timeless Presence and the limits of science

Quantum Buddhism: Dancing in Emptiness (Smetham)

The Power of Now: A Guide...

The profound implications of time's illusory nature are considered, ranging from the science of neuroplasticity and memory reconstruction to the Buddhist concept of emptiness (sunyata) [the impersonal nature of all phenomena, particularly the Five Precepts clung to as self].

The intricate relationship between consciousness and time is examined, and practical methods for cultivating timeless awareness [flow states, jhanas or meditative absorptions, singleminded focus that purifies the mind] are offered.

Singleminded focus leads to flow and absorption

This inquiry aims to bridge scientific understanding and spiritual wisdom, offering a fresh perspective on the power of the present moment [like Eckhart Tolle's famous book, The Power of Now] and the potential for liberation from a time-bound existence.

• #time #BuddhismPodcast #Buddhism #Buddhist
• The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life (Audible): Philip Zimbardo, John Boyd, Matthew Josdal, Tantor Audio
• Quantum Buddhism: Dancing in Emptiness: Reality Revealed in the Interface of Quantum Theory and Buddhist Metaphysics (Graham Smetham)
• Buddhism Podcast, Jan. 13, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly