Police in northern China faced an unexpected and unholy menace last week when more than 100 fake monks besieged their police station, a Chinese newspaper reported today.

They arrested 178 fake monks, confiscating the sticks, knives, fake medicines and fake gold necklaces they were carrying.

Again, how did they know that these were ‘fake’ monks? Is a bar-code tattooed on real monks?

The men pretended to be monks so they could make money performing martial arts, claim to be able to cure people of illnesses and sell medications. Some also extorted money.

Again, “real” monks do exactly this!

Perhaps the “real” monks claim to actually-rooly-trooly be able to cure illnesses, fingers-crossed and hope to die.

Genuine monks have repeatedly complained about people masquerading as lamas, often in or near the grounds of temples.

If I was presented with two humans both claiming to be monks, how might I distinguish the “genuine” from the “phony”?

Impossible, as they are both frauds.

Religion. It ain’t just the western ones that are chock-full of parasitic self-deluded liars and dangerous medical frauds!