i was raised reform jewish and had been indoctrinated into Christianity which I left. now someone is trying to get me to join orthodox judaism. there seems to be a lot of evidence that it is the "true religion" such as how there were many many witnesses that heard G-d speak.. is there an explanation for how so many people could have heard that and for it to not be true? I do not want to be indoctrinated into another "cult" so please let me know the strongest arguments that prove for 100% that Orthodox Judaism is not the "truth" and is a cult

hmm 🤔 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzKRAHuKypk

I was sitting playing chess puzzles when the phrase bechi yuten (an obscure concept in purity law) appears in my mind.

This is probably of no significance and yet the former frum part of me is desperate to know the significance.

Anyone relate?

I also have dreams of sefiros sometimes

Hx

I’m (21F) and have never really dated anyone before because I grew up with strict evangelical parents (I’m now an agnostic atheist). I decided to download a dating app and, on a whim, swiped on this Jewish guy. Normally, I wouldn’t have swiped on him since I’m not Jewish, but I figured if he liked me back, it’d be fine. Plus, he was looking for a long-term relationship, and his profile seemed interesting.

The only problem was that I matched with him while I was out of the country on a two-month vacation. Despite that, he said he’d wait for me, and we ended up chatting nonstop every day for hours. He was so sweet, and we kept imagining our future together. He was the first guy I truly liked and was obsessed with. We were even counting down the days until I got back.

But a week before I was supposed to return, he suddenly got really distant. Then he broke up with me, saying his parents didn’t approve of him dating me and that he felt “guilty.” To make it worse, he lied to me, saying he was busy with classes when he was actually at a Jewish barbecue. I was heartbroken. I cried so much and lost 4.5 lbs in a week.

Even after the breakup, I wanted closure, so I asked to meet him. He agreed, but on the day we were supposed to meet, I was already halfway through my 3-hour commute when he texted to say he was super hungover from the previous Shabbos night. I was so upset I just turned around and went home.

I don't get it, I did so much for this guy. I lied so much to my parents to facetime him, walked 1.5km in 40 degrees in some sketch area to get his letter, got onto super crammed public transport to get away from my parents to facetime him. He said I was the first girl he ever felt this way with and yet even after everything he just reduced my personality to a "gentile/goy/shiksa". I was even willing to convert for him on paper (he asked me to).

After this entire ordeal I went into a schizo episode where i was contemplating converting but I've just endured so much verbal and physical abuse under religion that I don't think I could ever go back to it.

And yet after all this I still CANNOT get over this dude, it's been 3 months since the breakup. It just felt so magical almost dating someone who wanted to marry you. I come from a religious background and cultural one that has traditional values and while I don't believe in a god, I am still a traditional person. It's just so hard to find semi religious /atheists with these values as well. Also he was just so cute 😭😭.

I don't think he lied to me directly about himself, I'm sure he liked me but he most likely lied to himself and in turned lied to me.

My backround is yeshivish. Growing up I could not use internet, watch movies, or read secular books without my parents proofreading them. However we did have a computer (no internet) with some computer games, a Nintendo Wii, and I was allowed to watch some children's cartoons like Mickey Mouse. As a teenager (16+) I rebelled a little bit and started using a "kosher" smartphone, watching Disney movies and using public computers.

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” -Albert Einstein

To commemorate Ex-Muslim Awareness Month (December), we're launching our first episode of Deconstructing Islam, with co-host Dr. Usama al-Binni.

We're helping people struggling with Islam in all the ways that they need help with, and we're also helping the outside world better understand us and our communities. So if you're looking to better understand us, how we think, and the struggles we face within our communities, this livestream is for you.

Usama is an ex-Muslim activist advocating for freedom of speech, secularism and the rights of apostates and “blasphemers” to live in safety and dignity without fear of persecution. He is one of the people heading the Arab Atheist Broadcasting project and serves on the editorial board of the Arab Atheists Magazine. Usama has a PhD in theoretical physics and is an educator. He keenly pursues the propagation of knowledge through science and rationality.

As for me, I'm the founder of the non-profit Uniting The Cults, whose purpose is to rid the world of apostasy laws, with a vision of a world governed by scientific thinking, where people recognize love as the goal and rationality as the method to achieve it.

Here's the link to the livestream: https://youtube.com/live/JK8_4NG8HXE

We hope to see you there!

Be water my friends

💘

Specifically wondering about MO communities. It seems to be some big secret that no one wants to share or talk about.

Religion is in some form upheld by 85% of the globe in some estimations. It has existed for millennia and has had hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of interpretations. I grew up in a family that is Fundamentalist, Orthodox, and Jewish. I grew up in a town where the majority of people, institutions, leaders, and authorities, and the prevalent philosophy are also Fundamentalist, Orthodox, and Jewish. I have lived a life, up until recently, that mirrored this community in many ways. Over time, though, my questions about this interpretation of God’s will have morphed into issues. I gradually stopped caring as much about some of the more extreme ideas such as wearing specific clothing (for men), following a rabbi’s directive simply because he’s a rabbi (or Emunas Chachamim, a concept in which faith in God is equated with faith in people who are paid to interpret what He wants), and some of the lore about Mashiach (namely, I was taught that when he arrived, inevitably and possibly any day now, all non-Jews would be either killed or enslaved by Jewish people). Still, the first decade of my life was filled with tropes of control and wishes of violence for people who disagree with the royal “us” I was consistently taught about. 

A year ago, I stopped laying Tefillin each day, by all accounts an important rite in the community I am still a part of. The reason I made this decision is that at the time, I was dealing with extreme panic in many situations, and each time I began wrapping myself in those black straps, it would trigger an intense reaction that would last many hours. When consulting a rabbi, I was told, “That is your Nisayon, but you must lay Tefillin nonetheless,” I made this choice on my own. 

For several months, I felt plenty of guilt about this choice. Rational as it seemed to me, I still couldn’t shake two major thoughts:

1. Everyone else doesn’t seem to have a problem doing this. What is wrong with me?

2. My education was solid, and I knew the gravity of how this Mitzvah is treated. Once I’m dead, what will be my justification before God? Why wouldn’t he punish me with eternal unceasing torture? (I was taught that the only possible justification for not keeping each part of the Torah is not being aware of its teachings in that area, so my thorough Halachic education played a big role in my religious guilt.)

The guilt that I felt forced me to reevaluate what I considered to be important, right, and good. Valuing empathy, I exposed myself to the billions of people on the internet and social media, using TikTok in particular, attempting to learn more stories, hear more perspectives, and see people as people, not Goyim (which is a dehumanizing slur in my estimation). Over time, like many in my generation, I began to reject right-wing hierarchical philosophies about race, gender roles, and economics. From there, I learned more about atheists and mockers of religion, though their criticisms were mostly directed toward Catholicism and other versions of Christianity. Rationalist thought, relying on proven trends, theories, and sciences, made more sense than people dismissing them without engaging. For example, despite the millions of data points showing otherwise, my world history classes in the Yeshivas required the opinion that the world is exactly 5784 years old. The only rebuttal to all accepted sciences is that The Flood “messed everything up”, so carbon dating is therefore unreliable. Once I had the chance to intentionally and independently seek information, I realized just how hilarious this position is. 

Still, with all my philosophical work pointing at the idea that at the very least, Fundamentalist Judaism was deeply misinformed and misinterpreted, my guilt wouldn’t subside. I was told tens of times, “You just have to read this one book by this one rabbi,” and “Do you think that you, little pea-brained you, know better than thousands of people from ancient generations past that were super-geniuses?” The answer to the latter question is yes. With the advent of modern science, the Enlightenment, and false until proven true methods of advancement, we, as a society, know better than people who were limited by a lack of technology and rhetorical dogma. This is not to say that I necessarily disrespect them, they may have very well been super-geniuses. 

That is an unpopular view in my community, to say the least. I learned very quickly to keep my cards to my chest and talk little about what I thought of religion because my new ideas would immediately come between my relationships. Then I noticed something:

A big portion of the guilt I was feeling wasn’t directed towards God at all. It was simply because every person I knew, cared about, loved, and lived around, would hate me if they only knew what went on in my head. I wish this fear was irrational, but since I used to be one of those people, granted, as a child, I knew exactly what my own opinion of myself, the Kofer, would’ve been. Hatred. 

I also realized that the parts of religion I had been holding onto, like Shabbos and Kosher, weren’t parts of a belief system. They were a social construct, there to avoid conflict. I was doing these actions because of guilt, but not guilt of the self-harm of facing God’s punishment, it is the fear of my peers, parents, past, practically all I know, all that I do not want to lose. 

This week, I am not keeping Shabbos. This is a big decision for me, simply because I never considered it until recently. Aside from writing this essay, all I did differently was watch some basketball, play some games on my phone, listen to a bit of music, and use my vape. Those aren’t things that are difficult for me to stay away from. On the contrary, in some ways, I enjoy a break from some of those vices once in a while. But this isn’t about what is difficult. It’s about my independence. 

Writing this in my bedroom, during Seudas Shlishis, my panic is centered on a single thought, thought a thousand different ways: “What if (insert anyone I know) knew what I was doing right now?” 

Former child actors often speak about the pressure of working from a young age; required perfection and intense criticism make them feel as though their personal growth was stunted, missing major pieces. They face major mental struggles decades later because of the culture their parents subjected them to as small children. This is how I feel about Fundamentalist religion. Aside from the gaping holes in my general education caused by making learning parts of the Torah a gigantic priority, I also feel as though I lost my childhood, my chance to form a healthy connection with God (if he’s real), important interpersonal skills, and most of all, my freedom.

Just heard this episode (among many phenomenal ones) https://www.mormonstories.org/faith-shattered-while-daughter-was-on-a-mission/ … brought me tears of sadness and joy, with a story that encompassed much more than leaving the church.

or sapphics in general.

i wanna hear your story. tell me how you found out, first crush, family reactions, and current life.

I've been approached by the Lubavitch before and I have gently put them down, because of reasons that are not related to the topic at hand. But I know that they can be pervasive. I don't mean that in a demeaning way, it's just a fact of life that some sects of some religions are more interested in recruiting than others.

Javier Milei, president of Argentina, was approached by by a local Rabbi in Buenos Aires sometime around 2019. Since then he has been very vocal on his advocacy for the Jewish community, but with a weird angle. A lot of people from the Jewish community who don't observe have claimed that this approach by Milei to the Lubavitch community could be dangerous for all of Milei's economic measures have been damaging to the working class, and his approach to the Jewish faith could create antisimetic sentiments. I personally digress with this point of view for one simple fact: Anyone who believes in conspiracies will have their feelings reinforced. But again, those conspiranoia ideas would have to be present before. In other words, antisemitism already present will be amplified, but no one will become antisemitic if they were not antisemitic before.

I have to admit that barring any conspiracy logic, it's weird how explicit Jabad's approach to Milei has been. He got the "Fast track" protocol. In other words, they studied his mother's relatives and apparently Milei's great grandmother came from Poland and her name was Mileikovski. Milei has not converted to the Jewish faith, and has claimed that he will "start to observe once he's left the job of president, because observing would be inconvenient for his job". However, he's met with a lot of people from the Lubavitch sect and he's even visited Rebbe Schneerson's grave. He cried in front of the Kotel and he constantly espouses weird opinions on Twitter that drift between Jewish Eschatology and his own personal political beliefs. For example, today he posted this:

REFLECTION The parasha says that Rivka, the wife of Yitzchak (Rebekah and Isaac), was worried when she was pregnant, because when she passed by a holy place she felt that her son wanted to go out there and when she passed by an impure place, too. And she became worried and went to consult a prophet. The prophet answered her: you have two sons in your womb. One will be a leader of the people of Israel (Yaakov, Jacob) and the other, Esav, who will be very evil and will want to harm Yaakov and his descendants. And then she calmed down. -The question: Does Rivka calm down after she is sure that she has a completely evil son, and before she thought she had only one son and she did not know what he would be like, she was very disturbed? -The answer: When Rivka thought she had only one son, who was LUKEWARM without ideology and played for both sides, that worried her a lot. But then he found out that he has two, and it is clear that one plays for one side and the other completely the other way around, he calmed down. -Moral: Those who play for all sides are the worst of all, even much worse than those who are completely evil. Since the one who is evil and shows himself as such, we have identified him. On the other hand, the other behaves like a good person, and we never know what his attitudes and his evil intentions are. SHABAT SHALOM

He was then ridiculed by most of his replies who told him "You should stop reading the Torah on working hours"

I don't want to discuss topics such as automatic allegiance to Israel because everyone has their own opinions and discussing that is pointless and outside of the scope of the thread.

I wanted to ask, specifically, if anyone who's been involved in Chabad can tell me what might be going on.

My personal belief is that Milei is mentally unwell (he decided to run for president after his psychiatrist died and he stopped taking antipsychotics and he's claimed that he's Moises and that her sister is Aaron and that he's here to lead the Argentines out of the desert). He's also claimed that his dead dog speaks to him and that this same dog told him that he would run for president in 2023 and that he would win. Taking all of this into account I would say that someone in Lubavitch realized that they could suck him in to push some lobby. But I am not giving it a conspiracy antisemitic angle, i just find it surprising how he was given the fast track protocol. But again, I am asking for opinions from people who might have something to say. And, again, I am from Argentina, so wouldn't know how's the Lubavitch community in New York.

I grew up in the Yeshivish community where Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg is revered as a “Gadol.”

Scheinberg is known for his interesting custom of wearing many layers of tallesim.

I am curious as to the psychology behind his peculiar and IMO frankly bizarre behavior.

The reasoning his students gave was that since for each pair he was “fulfilling another mitzvah” the more the merrier.

Any psychological theories?

You know the deal by now. Feel free to discuss your Shabbat plans or whatever else.

20s, M and moved to an entirely new place knowing nobody. Here's what worked. (Disclaimer is that if you're not introverted, this stuff might not be relevant at all for you. Also, I can only speak from the POV of being a guy):

Group Activities - Not all activities are equal. Going to the gym can still require you to mustar the courage to approach stranger/s and can be daunting. Luckily, there are activities that have interaction as a built-in mechanism and requires no guessing whether the other person is open to chatting and little to no rejection. Here are some examples-

1. Group hikes - This one's potentially the easiest. It's extremely casual and it's ok to have periods of silence without it being awkward. This one works great in getting to know people really well since you're taking long walks with minimal screen use, plus it's extremely healthy!

2. Photography walks - nobody is going on a group photography walk to be alone with their camera. You can be an amature with a $300 camera, watch some YouTube tutorials, casually practice for a month on your own so you're atleast not aggitatingly bad, and find a local group on Facebook that does this. To break the ice in person, ask what kind of camera they're using, why they chose that one, if it's their favorite, what photography they're most into, etc. Another benefit of this one is that people love getting their pictures taken and you can easily post on local Facebook groups that you're looking to photograph people for practice / your portfolio.

3. Book clubs - Every person is there to interact with the group. The beauty here is there is no need to guess what to talk about... the book. The converation can steer to random topics from there, and at that point you're already in.

In the workplace - if you work somewhere with many employees, you don't need to be very extroverted or talkative to be known. You need to be good with an individual extrovert and they seem to naturally become your agent. You get pulled into the coversation, activities, etc. If everyone there is introverted, you're actually in a good spot too, becuase now you aren't out of place and you might even be able to become the 'office extrovert' (relative to the office lol). If this is the case, be the one to organize group lunches if possible. It's good excuse to say to hi people in order to ask them what they want to order / remind them to send in their order.

Some other things...

- If you're a guy, your first assumption should always be she's probably friendly to everyone else too.

- Desperation has a smell so be cautious about that. You need to come from a place of whatever happens happens, it's not that serious, there's 8 billion other people.

- Don't worry about the demographic of your group activity at first. The point is to start socializing the way the outside world socializes. You'll pick up the way they greet each other, make small talk, and stay in touch. This is very helpul stuff and very necessary.

- Don't worry about the numbers. One quality connection makes everything worthwhile.

Hope this helps someone!

I'm always struck by the anachronisms frum people believe. The most ridiculous anachronisms (usually within Midrashim) are a smoking gun for me. Here are a few of the ones that have stood out to me since childhood:

Avraham Avinu kept the whole Torah before it was given. In fact, he knew it was Pesach (which wouldn't exist until a few centuries in the future) when the malachim visited him after his bris Mila. This is why he served matzah to the malachim.

Shem and Ever established a yeshivah many, many centuries before there was a Torah to learn. The yeshivah was so renowned that Rivkah visited its students in order to inquire about her tumultuous pregnancy.

David HaMelech didn't actually commit adultery with Batsheva because her husband, Uriah, had written her a temporary Get before going off to war.

Yaakov cried when he saw Rachel for the first time because he knew he wouldn't be buried next to her.

Chasidish children's publications illustrate characters like Moshe Rabeinu with shtreimlach and reshvulkas.

What's the most "out-there" frum anachronism you were taught?

I just wanted to share something that happened in yeshiva this week that I found very exciting.

We were sitting in the lunch room, the guys divided into their usual groups- the hockers talking about who had gotten engaged that week, the serious-future-talmidei-chachamim pontificating over the more abstract parts of the day's shiur, and the group that concerns us- the guys who start conversations schmoozing about whatever inane thing happens to catch their interests, but never seem to be able to stop the conversation from taking a more serious turn until they find themselves debating the purpose of devoting a lifetime to learning 1 blatt a zman, or what the gedolim really thought about Rav Kook, and is there really something wrong with the yeshiva system?

Today's topic of hot debate amongst our esteemed yeshiva men was why people go off the derech. As someone who has spent the past number of years in yeshiva as a secret heretic, I obviously jumped at the chance to hear my friends' uncensored opinions on people who are, unbeknownst to them, like myself.

Imagine my surprise to hear one of my friends, a guy I've known for the past three years as a super shark, ultra committed yeshivish lamdan set on a straight path to brisk, firmly state - not without a hint of trepidation, but with the same conviction with which I had countless times heard him say pshat in Reb Boruch Ber- that some people leave Yiddishkeit because of their questions.

"Some people have questions because they left, but some leave because they have questions."

Ah, what simple words, but how so unexpected! Having by now unobtrusively inserted myself on the periphery of the conversation, I waited for the other shoe to drop, and sure enough, one of the participants brought up the quote famously attributed to Reb Chaim Brisker, that the questions of apikorsim are really only answers for their behavior.

But I was happily surprised again to hear the group conclude that apparently, Reb Chaim was only referring to some heretics, not the whole lot of them, and that other statements from Gedolim that would seem to indicate otherwise 'must be properly considered and understood,' meaning they were going to ignore them.

I know that many, many people have had vastly different experiences, but this gave me hope that when I do leave, I might find more understanding than I had expected until now.

The survived the Friday night meal and got home cigarette.

No offence to the family who hosted me but we have very little in common.

What was the last straw? Do you think you would have left had circumstances been different?

https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/2336299/mailbag-proactive-mentors-it-works-in-eretz-yisroel-and-theres-no-reason-it-cant-work-here.html

This regards our ex-religious podcast (due January) with tips from "exxers" across religions/ conspiracy groups/ cults on how exxers can become agents of change in their new and past communities.

We’ve run into some kinks and would appreciate your input:

Do you prefer:

1. (a) YouTube or (b) podcast?
2. Receivign updates through: (a) An Agents4Change Substack newsletter with summary of exxer’s tip/ story. Plus notices such as paid contests or  (b) simple email updates - just notices?
3. I’m looking for the most confidential, most secure and 1-step subscription tool to keep us all on one page. Is that (a) Mailchimp (b) Substack  © something else? (If so which)?
4. Date/ time for releasing program: (a) Tues. 5.30am (b) Wed, 5.30am or © Thurs. 5.30am (d) No difference?

Thank you.

If you’d like more details, to subscribe and/ or appear as guest speakers please DM me.

**********

Here's the original post (October):

Opportunity to shape new ex-religious podcast & be part of it

Hi,

I've been offered the chance to moderate a podcast program for "exxers" across religious groups/ movements/ cults/ conspiracy groups. 

Theme:

To help us become agents of change in our new and past societies through sharing our first-hand, practical information on, for example;

• handle rejection
• overcome religious trauma
• create change movements

 Topic information will be sourced from reliable and original places like neuroscience; bios of well-known & less-well known experts in these domains; subreddit discussions (e.g. r/ entrepreneur & -experts); and Alinsky's citizen handbook with rules on how to change the world.

I'm new to this, so I would love your feedback on how I can improve this plan.
Also, if you'd like to be part of this, either DM me and/ or join  .

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I am 26 years old and have been an atheist for the past 10 years, and broke shabbat for the first time 8 years ago when I started college. My family is MO, very zionist, very obsessed with me and my siblings marrying a Jewish person since we were born basically.

For the most part, I just kind of had a don’t ask/don’t tell policy with them about my secular life style. They thought I was just less religious and less strict, and didn’t grasp that I actually do not believe in this stuff and don’t even fast on yom kippur.

Since the war, it has been extra hard to be around them because they are hard core religious zionists and talk about Israel literally every day now. Because our views on this are so different, I just don’t even engage in conversation, but it makes me feel extremely distant and like my life is a complete lie whenever I visit.

This summer, I also met a non-Jewish man who is an atheist but has Hindu parents, and fell in love. We’ve been dating for 5 months now, and haven’t told my parents but my mom can sense that something is off.

She started grilling me on my personal beliefs a few days ago, and I admitted that it wasn’t important to me to marry another Jewish person, and that I just don’t believe in the religion. She was really upset and asked me more about my beliefs, basically implying that I was a self-hating Jew. I said that I’m not a self hating Jew, I’m not ashamed of being Jewish but I’m not proud of it either, it’s just something that I was born into and have no control over, and I don’t believe in taking pride in circumstances of birth. Like I also would not say I’m proud to be a woman or proud to be American.

Then she was like, well how would you raise your kids? And I said I would introduce my kids to the basic Jewish traditions and take them to shul on holidays and stuff like that, but they would have a choice as to how much they want to participate in it beyond that and I would support whatever their choice is. She was like, “so you would also let them celebrate Christmas?” and she had major tears in her eyes like in her head nothing could be more terrifying than her grandkid also celebrating Christmas. And i basically didn’t respond. And then she asked me if I was dating anyone, and I didn’t respond but she kept asking me. So I basically said I wasn’t comfortable with the conversation and it stopped there, but I think she strongly suspects.

As my relationship starts getting more serious, I’m starting to really freak out about telling my parents and how I could possibly break this news to them. There is a very real chance they will stop talking to me, although my guess is bc any future kids will be halachicly Jewish they will ultimately try to keep some relationship so that they can mekarev the kids. But whatever happens, telling them explicitly I am dating a non Jew will be very hard and change my relationship with them in a very dramatic way.

I think I am going to tell them in the summer, after me and my bf will have been dating a full year, but I am starting to have nightmares about telling them even now. It is really scaring me a lot and I hate how they look at me as a symbol of their failure even though I have a successful career, work hard to be a kind person, and have lots of meaningful friendships. That doesn’t mean anything to them if I don’t marry a jewish man and make Jewish babies.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice about how to go about telling them. My bf suggested I introduce him as a friend first so that it is less of a shock. They won’t like it, but they have met a few of my non-Jewish friends, including one who is a guy, and basically begrudgingly accepted that I have non Jewish friends. I think dating will be a different story and they will judge him super harshly if they know we are dating. At the same time, I don’t know how I could introduce him at this point without them strongly suspecting. I am so scared of what their reactions will be and the emotional blackmail and panic and phone calls from Rabbis that I will get once I come out with it.

If anyone has been through this process and has any advice about how/when to tell them, I would be super grateful. Thank you so much for letting me vent and share my story.

I personally never heard this growing up. Seems to originate in a Muslim Hadith. Lmao at the backwards science thing.

So I'm kinda tired of going hungry at work, and packing lunch every day is a severely anxiety inducing struggle, so I started eating lunch at non kosher places. I ordered a vegetarian lentil soup today. It was delicious and warmed me to the core. Why should I struggle daily with the lunch situation, when food is readily available?! I felt guilt and shame for a while, but having a full tummy and feeling warm almost made it worth it. I'm not going full treif, just vegetarian, and im not doing it to spite, though I can't guarantee a few pig molecules didn't make their way into the soup.

I don't know about you guys, but I am not a big fan of uncertainty. That's a personal flaw I need to work on.

Quantum physics really opened up a can of worms for the realm of Newtonian physics and our ideas of a mechanistic universe.

The most advanced physicists say the more we know, the less we know. With advances in science with the Higgs-Boson particle, Collapse of the wave function, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle which says we cannot every really know anything, and the 'fine-tuned universe theory' which states if any constants about the nature of reality were to be changed one iota, conditions for life would not exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine-tuned_universe

Like the case below, some try to use advances in science to show how mysticism was right all along, but for those of you skeptical, how do you react when you read those findings?

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-surrounding-light-and-the-penetrating-light/

The notions of “surrounding light” and “penetrating light” seem to defy our intuition. Can we find a metaphor for these mystical concepts in physics? But of course! The surrounding light-penetrating light duality is very much akin to the wave-particle duality of light. I discussed wave-particle duality of light in my previous essays (Abel and Cain Conflict—Wave-Particle Duality, Jacob Teaches Wave-Particle Duality, and First Fruits and the Wave-Particle Duality of Nature). As a brief reminder, historically, light was thought to be either particles (Isaac Newton was the chief proponent of that approach) or waves (Rober Hook and Christiaan Huygens were the leading proponents of this approach; Thomas Young later demonstrate the wave nature of light through his famous double-slit experiment). We now know that light has both properties: at low frequencies (long wavelengths), light behaves like waves, whereas at high frequencies (short wavelengths), light behaves more like particles.