someone pointed out the difference between religion and superstition. sometimes they're muddled. for example, in judaism, there is no devil, and no heaven or hell as described in christianity. ha-satan, in the bible, isn't a devil, just a kind of prosecutor. but in jewish folklore? devils, demons, heaven, hell and yeah, a few unrelated superstitions too. i am not so familiar with them because i grew up in a modern, secular household, in a city and then a suburb, but elsewhere in the world, these things still existed, maybe still do out in the sticks, or among the orthodox.

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Well compared to what you got going there most of the stuff I was taught is pretty vanilla.

So there's religion, and then there's superstitious customs which may not have any direct bearing on the faith. The practice, for instance, of saying 'bless you' after someone sneezes, is a superstition that has little to do with a doctrine. I just have one question, what does it mean to "leave a show upside down?" Whenever I leave a show, it's on my feet.

Is the belief that there is a god out to punish you in an eternal pit of fire weird enough for you.

Well sometimes those in charge had a bit of time on their hands hence