Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: eastsider
The reason we're seeing this resistance to the discovery of Paul's tomb is because the very fact that his tomb is still extant verifies that the cult of the martyrs (veneration of relics) dates from the apostolic age.

Yes.

I haven't read the whole thread, because it has, quite predictably for FR, become yet another Catholic bash, a venerable tradition here. So it's possible someone may have already mentioned this, in which case I apologize for the inadvertent repetition. But the efficacy of Pauline relics in particular is attested to by Scripture, which buttresses your position that their use dates to apostolic times. Viz., Acts 19:11-12:

And God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles. So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them.

the "handkerchiefs and aprons" being, of course, relics of St. Paul.

313 posted on 12/06/2006 1:36:55 PM PST by neocon (Be not afraid!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 238 | View Replies ]


To: neocon
Thank you, neocon, for your example from Acts of veneration. The Apocalypse also attests to the apostolicity of the veneration of the saints --
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
Apoc 6:9-11 (emphasis added). It is not merely coincidental that the remains of St. Paul, martyr, are under the altar of a church that bears his name, just as the remains of St. Peter, martyr, are under the altar of a church that bears his name. The practice of venerating the saints and their relics is indeed apolostic, and it is attested by Scripture.

Benedictus Deus in angelis suis et in sanctis suis.

348 posted on 12/06/2006 2:19:06 PM PST by eastsider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 313 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson