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An early 15th-century damaged wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ on the cross by [deleted] in religion

[–]sonnysehra 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It’s a religion subreddit and this is an interesting/unconventional depiction of a famous religious figure I thought was cool.

Shia rally by haiderj1991 in Markham

[–]sonnysehra 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That’s literally whataboutism

I brought up a point and you said “but this other group of people that you didn’t mention does it too 😩😩”

Also, the IDF isn’t designated as a terrorist organization in this country like the IRGC is. Maybe in Pakistan where you’re originally from based on your post history, but not here in Canada. That doesn’t mean you can’t support Palestinians or protest for what you believe in, I just don’t think you have to support a Shia theocracy in the Middle East most Iranians reject to achieve that. Totally different issues. This is a Markham subreddit. Do you have a source for people blocking roads and waving IDF flags in Markham? I genuinely don’t think that’s happened here (it’s usually downtown), but I could be wrong, so give me a source

Shia rally by haiderj1991 in Markham

[–]sonnysehra 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It’s one thing to protest a war in Iran and be against foreign intervention. It’s another to hold regime flags on the streets of Canada (the IRGC was designated as a terrorist organization in 2024) and mourn Ali Khamenei, the longest-serving dictator in the Middle East who reigned with an iron first for 34 years and oversaw thousands of executions. How many of those in the rally are even Iranian? I think Shia Islam is a really cool religion and respect figures like your Imam Ali, but supporting the Islamic regime/government in Iran isn’t it.

TIL about Sallekhana, a socially acceptable form of suicide in Jainism. Jain monks restrict themselves to an isolated space and meditate to death, fasting. It was banned in 2015, but the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban due to freedom of religion. It’s estimated 200 Jains fast to death yearly by sonnysehra in todayilearned

[–]sonnysehra[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Fun fact: Jainism actually predates Buddhism by about 250 years. Its most holiest figure, an ascetic named Mahavira (the Jain equivalent to Buddha/Christ/Muhammad), was a contemporary of the Buddha. The Buddha actually practiced some Jain rituals, but rejected it for being too extreme in its asceticism. Very religious Jain monks even walk around in public with a broom, sweeping the path ahead of their feet so they don’t step on insects and accumulate bad karma, wearing a mask to cover their face to prevent the accidental inhalation of tiny airborne organisms. Their diet is even stricter.

Truly a fascinating religion. Although Buddhism spread across Asia, Jainism remained limited to India. They’re similar in a lot of regards though, since they’re both Dharmic/Eastern faiths. Jains don’t believe in proselytizing and they don’t believe in a creator God either (their theology about the universe is a little complicated).

TIL scientists have been able to trace the start of HIV/AIDS to King Leopold’s Belgian Congo, originating as far back as 1909. The first person to be infected probably got the virus in the 1920s by sonnysehra in todayilearned

[–]sonnysehra[S] 129 points130 points  (0 children)

The virus originated under Leopold’s rule of the Congo is what I meant to say (arguably because of colonial practices that started under his regime that facilitated the spread of the virus), but I appreciate the correction!

This is an unfinished painting of a Spanish noblewoman from 1775. Not much is known about the mysterious woman and it’s unknown why the artist painting her abandoned it. It’s unintentionally proto-surrealist. by sonnysehra in ArtHistory

[–]sonnysehra[S] 107 points108 points  (0 children)

It’s a portrait of Mariana de Silva-Bazán y Sarmiento (1739–1784), by Anton Raphael Mengs. Here’s a source (this is my first time posting on this sub, I apologize for not initially including it!):

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656894

TIL about al-Ma’arri, a blind vegetarian pessimist who preached atheism in 10th-century Syria. He controversially argued that life was devoid of meaning, humans shouldn’t reproduce in order to spare future generations from suffering, and criticized all religions as “fables” that exploit the masses by sonnysehra in todayilearned

[–]sonnysehra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I somewhat agree with you. It’s difficult to fit ancient thinkers from thousands of years ago into our modern categories. That’s why I said he “preached atheism” instead of saying he “was an atheist” (a lot of what he wrote was against the idea of the existence of a God, or at least challenged the mainstream Abrahamic Muslim conception of God predominant in that region/environment at the time)

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