Posted on 12/03/2013 6:11:20 AM PST by marshmallow
What sort of religion keeps dead people’s bones, puts them on display, and expects people to kiss them? Catholicism - and it's awesome.
What sort of religion keeps dead people’s bones, puts them on display, and expects people to kiss them? This weekend’s news reminds the world that the veneration of relics is still very much part of the Catholic faith. As a fitting climax to the Year of Faith, Pope Francis put on display for the first time the bones of St. Peter, the first Pope.
The news headlines focused on the sensational, and many journalists asked the obvious questions, often missing the point and skimming over the facts to report superficially. There are some excellent questions that arise from the reports of St. Peter’s bones being produced: What are relics and why are they important to Catholics? Why do Catholics kiss the bones of dead people? Are Catholics really so gullible as to believe in the authenticity of relics (we know they’re fake, right)? Could those bone fragments really be the remains of Peter the Apostle?
A relic is anything associated with a person who has been canonized as a saint or beatified as blessed. There are three categories of relics: a first class relic is some part of the person’s mortal remains. The relic could be a fragment of bone, hair, skin, or blood. The relic is taken when the body of the saint is exhumed as part of the canonization process.
A second class relic is some object or part of an object which was regularly used or worn by the saint during their earthly life. There are many second class relics. These might include the saint’s belongings, clothing, furniture or a part of these things. Second class relics of Pope John Paul II, for example, include.......
(Excerpt) Read more at aleteia.org ...
To know Jesus is to be CHRISTIAN.
Speaking of relics, a joke from Martin Luther:
“A German, making his confession to a priest at Rome, promised, on oath, to keep secret whatsoever the priest should impart unto him, until he reached home; whereupon the priest gave him a leg of the ass on which Christ rode into Jerusalem, very neatly bound up in silk, and said: This is the holy relic on which the Lord Christ corporally did sit, with his sacred legs touching this ass’s leg. Then was the German wondrous glad, and carried the said holy relic with him into Germany. When he got to the borders, he bragged of his holy relic in the presence of four others, his comrades, when, lo! it turned out that each of them had likewise received from the same priest a leg, after promising the same secrecy. Thereupon, all exclaimed, with great wonder: Lord! had that ass five legs?”
Let’s step through it logically. Play the scenario out.
Again, Peter spoke to the Lord face to face. Popes do not.
Rev 11 states there are Prophets on the earth before the second coming. The Pope is not a prophet. There are no prophets in the Catholic church, therefore these Prophets are not Catholic.
Peter and the rest of the Apostles spoke to the Lord face to face. These latter-day Prophets speak to God face to face. There are no similarities between the pope and any Prophet of God.
You logically have to conclude, that with living Prophets on the earth, Prophets that actually have the power of God like Moses, that they are the leaders of God’s people, because they are talking to God face to face. They truly have the keys and authority.
Since these two can be killed, they are mortal men. If they have the real keys and authority of God, they had to get those from someone. Right?
And Rev 11 states that they stand before God. Meaning God parted the heavens and has spoken to mortal men, just like He’s done with all the other Prophets. But He hasn’t parted the heavens to talk to a pope.
I can logically conclude, that Pope Francis has no keys or authority. Nor has any Pope from Linus I on down. Peter obviously had the keys, Linus I did not, because Francis does not.
In order to answer this, I’m thinking you have to reconcile Rev 11 with Pope Francis.
Pope Francis indeed has the Keys to the Kingdom and the ex cathedra privileges if he so chooses.
The Catholic Church comes from Christ>St. Peter and the Apostles> and through apostolic succession after that.
A long line of Popes, some of them brilliant, some of them not so good.
They are not impeccable, but when they speak on faith and morals they are infallible.
Welcome newbie
StormPrepper
Since Oct 27, 2013
Catholics are Christians. They were so 1500 years before the rise of Protestantism.
N.B., I am not saying that Protestants are not Christians too, just that we were here first.
Nor Protestant. By A.D. 110 they were also being called Catholic by St. Ignatius of Antioch.
Christian is Christian - follower of Christ.
Denominations came later.
Agreed. I do acknowledge Protestants as Christians. Will you acknowledge Catholics as Christians too?
Means nothing.
You are right, you didn't find Jesus living in the Methodist church...But you err, you didn't find Jesus living in the Catholic church either...
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
It's not a Protestant thing...It's a God thing...It's a Jesus thing...
I suppose it's a good sales pitch...'C'mon down, we got the real deal...Only at the Catholic church can you get the real bones of Peter...Don't settle for the fakes...
Like Nancy Pelosi knows Jesus??? It's just another meaningless Catholic cliche'...
That’s interesting...I’d suspect than hardly any Catholic believes in these fake relics, just like the majority do not believe in the Eucharist...Likely they stand in the bowing/kissing line to show how pius they appear and, so the other unbelievers in the line won’t mock them for not being Catholic enough...
So am I, when I quote the bible...And I don't need a special chair to do it...
What fallible commands have your popes given outside of the scriptures over the Centuries???
There are also non-Christians in those denominations as well.
Not every person who is in a church or belongs to one is saved. Not every saved person belongs to a church.
Denominational affiliation ≠ Christianity or salvation.
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