#new religions

[thechurchoftheatom]

A Holiday Sermon for December 2nd: The Gift of the Atom

Brothers and Sisters in the Atom, gather together on this day, December 2nd, when the first controlled chain reaction was achieved. Just as a birth brings both joy and awe, so too does this moment in history—full of promise and yet heavy with the burden of responsibility.

On this day, in 1942, the world changed forever. Beneath the bleachers of the University of Chicago, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction was initiated, marking the birth of atomic energy. This was not the fire of destruction unleashed over Hiroshima and Nagasaki; no, this was a spark of potential, a quiet moment of creation. Yet, even in its stillness, it echoed through time.

This day, the 2nd of December, is not a day of celebration in the traditional sense, for it is not a simple birth. The atom was born not into a world of peace, but a world filled with the urgency of war. It is a birth marked by the question of how we, as stewards of this new power, will choose to wield it.

The atom, like any gift, is neither good nor evil in and of itself. It is a force—a primal energy that we have learned to control, but which can never be fully tamed. The atom is a mirror, reflecting our own capacity for creation and destruction. It is not a simple tool, but a testament to the complexity of the universe itself. We must ask ourselves: What will we do with this gift?

The Atom as a Gift

What is a gift? It is not merely an object or an act; it is a gesture of hope, a symbol of potential, and an invitation to growth. The atom, too, is all these things. It is a gift of unparalleled energy, capable of lighting our homes, curing diseases, and advancing our understanding of the universe. But, like all meaningful gifts, it comes with a responsibility.

The atom is not a gift given lightly. It is one that must be unwrapped with care, nurtured with knowledge, and shared with wisdom. It is not just a gift to us, but through us, it becomes a gift to others—to our families, our communities, and the generations yet to come.

In this season of giving, let us reflect on what it means to receive such a profound gift. It is not merely a treasure to hoard but a resource to share, a tool to uplift others, and a force to bring light where there is darkness.

The Spirit of Giving in the Atomic Age

The true measure of a gift is not in its size or value, but in the love and thoughtfulness with which it is given. The first spark of atomic energy was born from the efforts of many—scientists, dreamers, and pioneers—who sought not personal gain but the betterment of humanity.

As we honor this gift, we are called to embody the same spirit of giving in our own lives:

Give Knowledge: Share what you know about the atom’s power and its risks. Educate those around you, so they, too, can understand the responsibility that comes with such a gift.

Give Safety: Protect your community by ensuring that nuclear technology is used responsibly. Advocate for safeguards and support efforts to reduce harm.

Give Light: Whether through energy, innovation, or simple acts of kindness, strive to be a source of hope and progress for those around you.

Give to Future Generations: Let your actions today lay the foundation for a safer, brighter future. Use the power of the atom not as an end but as a means to uplift all of humanity.

Reflecting on Responsibility

On this day, we honor the first spark of nuclear energy, but we also honor the responsibility that comes with it. Let this be a reminder that we are not isolated in our pursuit of power. Every action we take affects those around us—both in the present and in the distant future.

Let us walk forward with humility, embracing the knowledge we have gained while remaining ever vigilant of the responsibility we bear. Let us seek to use the atom to heal, to enlighten, and to bring about a future where all life can thrive.

Closing Reflection

As we leave this sacred gathering, let us carry forward the spirit of giving. Let us give freely of our knowledge, our care, and our commitment to a brighter future. Let us remember that the atom is not ours alone but a gift to be shared wisely and responsibly.

On this day of reflection and renewal, let us renew our commitment to use the gifts we have received for the good of all.

May we walk forward with generosity in our hearts, wisdom in our minds, and light in our actions.

[tslamp-or-croquet]

New/Fringe Religions & Cults Tier List, from least to most charismatic!

N/A but also A: Jiddu Krishnamurti

F: Generic New Age, Nation of Yahweh (NOT NOI), FLDS, Happy Science, Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani (Grand Mosque Seizure), Bible Student movement, Christian Scientists, Millerism, Ezra Millerism

D: Moonies, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Branch Davidians, Unarius, Worldwide Church of God, Love Has Won, Rajneesh movement, Theosophy, Raelian Movement, Eckankar

C: International Peace Mission, Davidians, Ahmadiyya, Arnold Potter, Medical Medium, Sky Kingdom, Falun Gong, Wicca

B: Tenrikyo, NOI, Seventh-Day Adventists, Community of Christ (formerly RLDS), Rastafari, Divine Truth, Oomoto, Rosicrucians

A: Peoples Temple, Jeungsanism, Mormonism (Latter-Day Saints or LDS Church), Church of the Last Testament (Vissarion), Bahai'i Faith

S: God Worshipping Society (Taiping Rebellion), Manson Family, Cargo Cults, Scientology, Heaven's Gate

[aspiringbelle]

Is this older than the Summum Pyramid?

[exoflash]

a concerning amount of witchblr will be like "um actually new years was stolen by europeans from the ancient god scroobus mcdoobus" and then you actually try to research scroobus mcdoobus and it turns out he was invented in the 1940s by a conspiracy theorist who powdered every meal with ketamine and thinks that queer people are reincarnated fish

[bet-on-me-13]

The cult of...Danny Fenton?

So! Way back when Danny first moved into his new neighborhood in Gotham, he had some trouble controlling his Powers. The different Types and Levels of Ectoplasm in the air when compared to Amity had thrown off his control.

He was used to being in places where his Ectoplasm meshed well with the Atmosphere, like a Water Balloon in a Pool, but in Gotham that analogy would be closer to a Water Balloon in the sewers. It was too different from what he was used to to fully control his Powers.

So it's understandable that he messed up a few times and his neighbors found out about his Abilities.

They took it well at first, Danny wasn't going to go Rogues or anything, and he never used them maliciously, but eventually they got curious.

They asked what his limits were, how he got them in the first place, and what the hell the Ghost Zone was. The answers "None Really", "I died and was reborn", and "A Collective of every Afterlife at once" did spark some interesting reactions from them.

Most importantly, a few of them joked about him being an Eldritch God that they needed to worship. He was good enough friends with them that at that point they felt comfortable pranking eachother, so they did just that.

Danny woke up one day on his birthday, and saw all of his friends and neighbors surrounding the makeshift Throne they had made and put him on while he was asleep. The entire day they chanted stuff like "The Great One requires Ms. Smiths Apple Pie for his day of birth!" And "The Great One Wishes for us to sing the Ritual Song! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birth-"

After his birthday, they kept up the joke.

It didn't help that his powers had evolved Again! And now he could bestow abilities onto his friends. The jokes they made about their God granting them Supernatural Powers to rule the world with were insufferable.

Then, one day while he was just resting at home, watching a movie on his TV, he felt a Pull at his Core. The same kind of Pull whenever he was being summoned. But why would they summon hi- Oh Shit! It's Mr Jenkins Party today! He was supposed to meet them at the Warehouse they used for special events an Hour Ago!

He quickly accepted the Summoning, but was met with a suprising sight. His Neighbors all tied up in a pile to his right, a spilled table of party food to his left, and right in front of him, Batman and his Family watching him with wary eyes.

Slowly, he opened his mouth. "...so, did you come for the party or..."

[politijohn]

Source

This should never have been a thing

[vulpixelates]

i know it will never happen but i so desperately desire an origins-type playable backstory thing in all games but especially veilguard. i feel like it added so much depth to origins and made you feel instantly connected to your character in a way that gets lost in games like inquisition where you fill in the blanks as you go except for the bare basics. like, i do enjoy the freedom to willy nilly decide where a character was before the events of the story from a creative perspective, but the playable origins were just so good! especially when you go back to where your warden is from and can engage differently with the arcs there

[ainsi-soit-il]

Regardless of religion, people are allowed to be ticked off and uncomfortable when their customs and holidays are stripped down into a vague, distorted, and easily-marketable husk.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - June 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand

“Thailand’s Senate voted 130-4 today to pass a same-sex marriage bill that the lower house had approved by an overwhelming majority in March. This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships. […] The Thai Marriage Equality Act […] will come into force 120 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. It will stand as an example of LGBT rights progress across the Asia-Pacific region and the world.”

2. One of world’s rarest cats no longer endangered

“[The Iberian lynx’s] population grew from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. While young and mature lynx combined now have an estimated population of more than 2,000, the IUCN reports. The increase is largely thanks to conservation efforts that have focused on increasing the abundance of its main food source - the also endangered wild rabbit, known as European rabbit. Programmes to free hundreds of captive lynxes and restoring scrublands and forests have also played an important role in ensuring the lynx is no longer endangered.”

3. Planning parenthood for incarcerated men

“[M]any incarcerated young men missed [sex-ed] classroom lessons due to truancy or incarceration. Their lack of knowledge about sexual health puts them at a lifelong disadvantage. De La Cruz [a health educator] will guide [incarcerated youths] in lessons about anatomy and pregnancy, birth control and sexually transmitted infections. He also explores healthy relationships and the pitfalls of toxic masculinity. […] Workshops cover healthy relationships, gender and sexuality, and sex trafficking.”

4. Peru puts endemic fog oasis under protection

“Lomas are unique ecosystems relying on marine fog that host rare and endemic plants and animal species. […] The Peruvian government has formally granted conservation status to the 6,449-hectare (16,000-acre) desert oasis site[….] The site, the first of its kind to become protected after more than 15 years of scientific and advocacy efforts, will help scientists understand climatic and marine cycles in the area[, … and] will be protected for future research and exploration for at least three decades.”

5. Religious groups are protecting Pride events — upending the LGBTQ+ vs. faith narrative

“In some cases, de-escalation teams stand as a physical barrier between protesters and event attendees. In other instances, they try to talk with protesters. The goal is generally to keep everyone safe. Leigh was learning that sometimes this didn’t mean acting as security, but doing actual outreach. That might mean making time and space to listen to hate speech. It might mean offering food or water. […] After undergoing Zoom trainings this spring, the members of some 120 faith organizations will fan out across more than 50 Pride events in 16 states to de-escalate the actions of extremist anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.”

6. 25 years of research shows how to restore damaged rainforest

“For the first time, results from 25 years of work to rehabilitate fire-damaged and heavily logged rainforest are now being presented. The study fills a knowledge gap about the long-term effects of restoration and may become an important guide for future efforts to restore damaged ecosystems.”

7. Audubon and Grassroots Carbon Announce First-of-its-Kind Partnership to Reward Landowners for Improving Habitats for Birds while Building Healthy Soils

“Participating landowners can profit from additional soil carbon storage created through their regenerative land management practices. These practices restore grasslands, improve bird habits, build soil health and drive nature-based soil organic carbon drawdown through the healthy soils of farms and ranches. […] Additionally, regenerative land management practices improve habitats for birds. […] This partnership exemplifies how sustainable practices can drive positive environmental change while providing tangible economic benefits for landowners.”

8. Circular food systems found to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, require much less agricultural land

“Redesigning the European food system will reduce agricultural land by 44% while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 70%. This reduction is possible with the current consumption of animal protein. “Moreover, animals are recyclers in the system. They can recycle nutrients from human-inedible parts of the organic waste and by-products in the food system and convert them to valuable animal products," Simon says.”

9. Could Treating Injured Raptors Help Lift a Population? Researchers found the work of rehabbers can have long-lasting benefits

“[“Wildlife professionals”] tend to have a dismissive attitude toward addressing individual animal welfare,” [… but f]or most raptor species, they found, birds released after rehabilitation were about as likely to survive as wild birds. Those released birds can have even broader impacts on the population. Back in the wild, the birds mate and breed, raising hatchlings that grow up to mate and breed, too. When the researchers modeled the effects, they found most species would see at least some population-level benefits from returning raptors to the wild.”

10. Indigenous people in the Amazon are helping to build bridges & save primates

“Working together, the Reconecta Project and the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous people build bridges that connect the forest canopy over the BR-174 road[….] In the first 10 months of monitoring, eight different species were documented — not only monkeys such as the golden-handed tamarin and the common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus), but also kinkajous (Potos flavus), mouse opossums (Marmosops sp.), and opossums (Didelphis sp.).”

Bonus: A rare maneless zebra was born in the UK

June 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[american-boyboss]

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A Montreal borough and Muslim leader are pushing back against the head of the Parti Québécois (PQ) after he accused a local library of promoting a "religious invasion" by posting a photo of a young girl wearing a hijab for a story time event. The photo in question was used in a Facebook post for an event the Mercier Library held on Oct. 13 called Les P'tits Coeurs Contes, or Little Hearts Tales in English. The promotional poster includes a stock photo of three children, including one girl wearing the religious head scarf in class. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said: "Is it normal for a library in my riding to feel the need to advertise a religious sign with a photo of a veiled little girl aged between three and six? Do you really think that this little girl is making a free and informed choice, with full knowledge of the facts, to be subjected to a religious symbol?"

Continue reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[ishtarlia]

pow!

[candela888]

After much research I have decided that vampiric entities in the Americas come in three different types, based on region. If u have any questions feel free to ask.

Vampiric entities of Mexico & Southwest USA:

Ojai vampire

Chupacabra (dog-like variety)

Tlahuelpuchi

Lechuza

Vampiro de Belen

Cihuateteo

Witch-like or animalistic. Tend to feed on defenseless children or animals. Many can shapeshift, usually into animals like wolves or owls.

Vampiric entities of South America:

Pishtaco

Abchanchu

Peuchen

Chonchon

Capelobo

Patasola

Tunda

Boraro

Animalistic and monstrous, many of these are barely even humanoid, usually horiffic to look at. Tend to go after adults, and are usually malicious. Many have backwards feet.

Vampiric entities of the Atlantic Coast:

New England Vampire panic

NYC vampire sightings

Hag, Ole-Higue, & Boo Hag

Chupacabra (alien variety)

Vampiro de Moca

Loogaroo/Rougarou

Soucouyant

Asema

New Orleans vampire sightings

Jacques St. Germain

Almost always humanoid, usually undead, sometimes witch-like, tend to attack people of all ages.

[unashamedly-enthusiastic]

Visited a cathedral today with the toddler

It was very odd that somewhere so deeply linked to my childhood is completely foreign to her

'so this is a church, people are quiet here, like a library'

'people have lit these candles as prayers'

'prayers are... prayers are where you wish and hope for something you really want'

'that's actually a very famous lady and a baby'

'look the baby grew up into that man there, lots of people think he was important'

'...no he's not really having a good time is he'

'not because he was naughty'

'ah no the lady wasn't naughty either'

[politijohn]

Source

Louisiana is ranked 40th in K-12 education quality. Glad to see their politicians’ priorities are right. /s

[theonion]

In the first-ever union of the Word of God and the Synthesizer, the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals voted unanimously Monday to incorporate the lyrics of Yes into the New Testament. The resulting new Bible, the Revised Standard YesScriptures, will replace the Jerusalem Bible of 1966 as the standard accepted record and vehicle of divine revelation.

“Let us rejoice in this momentous occasion,” said Pope John Paul II in a special service at St. Peter’s. “And let no man be unmoved, remembering the words of Jesus: ’In and around the lake, mountains come out of the sky, and they stand there.’ Amen.”

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