In 1930, Albert Einstein was asked for his opinion about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. “Other beings, perhaps, but not men,” he answered. Then he was asked whether science and religion conflict. “Not really, though it depends, of course, on your religious views.”

Over the past 10 years, astronomers’ new ability to detect planets orbiting other stars has taken this question out of the realm of philosophy, as it was for Einstein, and transformed it into something that scientists might soon be able to answer.
read more

Religion has always been an emotive subject, and never more so than when introducing the idea of extra-terrestrial life to the devout. For some reason, most organised religions on the planet have rejected the idea of off-earth life forms as being somehow blasphemous.

Why God, who or whatever you believe Him to be, would exclude those from other planets seems incomprehensible to those with a more liberal mindset; this conviction still appears to prevail, however, as a recent article published in The Catholic Truth magazine appears to confirm:
read more

A recent study has indicated that the practice of regular spiritual activity can help alleviate and protect against depression.

The study, which was published online by JAMA Psychiatry, showed that a thickening of the brain cortex was associated with regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practice, and could be the reason why those activities guard against depression – particularly in people who are predisposed to the disease, according to new research led by Lisa Miller, professor and director of Clinical Psychology and director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University.
read more

The ancient Greeks warned that excessive consumption of food would disrupt the four humors in the human body. The ancient Buddhist and Confucian traditions, as well as Christianity and Islam, encourage moderation and disparage gluttony, as well. The Jewish Talmud teaches that people should eat enough to fill a third of their stomachs, drink enough to fill another third, and leave the rest empty.

Maybe instead of diet books, we should be consulting religious tomes instead?
read more