Posted on 09/06/2013 7:15:37 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Catholics do not pray to relics.
Thank goodness that Christ established the Catholic Church and told the apostles to keep going with it.
No, they bow to them and kiss them.
Silly me, that is so different
According to you? Are you now the expert?
Since there is no monolithic “Protestant Church” there can not be an ‘One size Fits All” criticism.
However one thing that most all Christian denominations, both Catholic and Protestant have in common is none can rightfully claim they live as exactly as Jesus commanded in the Bible for us to do.
Even the Bible itself has been corrupted by Man's touch and used not to enlighten but to persecute.
This drifting away from His Message began almost as soon as He was crucified.
As every individual cannot claim to be prefect, neither can any Christian sect can claim to be “Holier than Thou”I know this will make both sides of this argument howl but it is true.
Did you read my post? You are mistaken in your beliefs.
The Vatican shipped out these skeletons to their churches around the various countries for this purpose, I don't know that the Vatican is just simple folk especially when they had power.
Just a comment that all Christian denominations, whether Protestant or Catholic, or any of us who call ourselves Christians have failed to perfectly follow the complete teachings of Christ and we (Yes, I specifically include myself) are weak prone to human frailties and shouldn't set ourselves up as superior to others as we do not recognize our own failings.
To use a old sinner's quote;
“I fear that God is a God of Justice
But I pray He is a God of Mercy”
I think when discussions like this among Christian Brethren degenerates like it has, the Devil chuckles mightily at our quarreling.
Here's another. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Soubirous:
In 1925, the church exhumed the body for a third time. They took relics, which were sent to Rome. A precise imprint of the face was molded so that the firm of Pierre Imans in Paris could make a wax mask based on the imprints and on some genuine photos to be placed on her body. This was common practice for relics in France as it was feared that the blackish tinge to the face and the sunken eyes and nose would make an unpleasant impression on the public. Imprints of the hands were also taken for the presentation of the body and the making of wax casts. The remains were then placed in a gold and crystal reliquary in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the mother house in Nevers. The site is visited by many pilgrims and the body of Saint Bernadette is still shown despite being nearly 130 years old.
In reading some of the Roman Catholic links that discuss this issue of the "Incorruptibles", it appears that Catholics use the Messianic prophecy of Psalm 16:10 which says:
For you will not leave my soul in sheol; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.
They take this to mean the "saints" as well, or at least the ones claimed to have not seen the normal mortal decay of a body where the soul and spirit have left. There are many New Testament verses that state this prophecy was ONLY speaking of Jesus, the Messiah, and could not mean any other human. We all know about Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back to life after four days, but he DID die again. These Catholic saints that are claimed to have also escaped corruption, when studied objectively, it turns out that they HAVE seen corruption and that special effects are utilized (wax coverings that are redone over time) to only make it appear they never decay.
I get this creepy feeling - like I used to get when the nuns taught about these "special" people - and I can't help but think that the reason why these things are exalted is to propagate the Roman Catholic religion and assert it MUST be true because of these miracles. We should be especially careful about these things and drawing conclusions based on legend, myths or, just plain old, fraud. It comes back to Holy Scripture, regardless if some accept it or not, and we must rely upon the Divinely-breathed sacred scripture to formulate our theology - not amazing "testimony" from those with an agenda of their own. Jesus is who MUST be glorified. We are to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
OK. Religious bigotry is alive and well on FR. And how funny that I, of all people, should be rebuked for not having a thick skin, lol!
So the Sistine Chapel needs to be leveled to the ground, eh? And the Religious Moderators have a problem with me!
I'd be inclined to think they really DIDN'T use the family heirlooms for that purpose. I'd even bet much if not all of those decorations ARE fake, paste wax costume dime-store type baubles. I think it is creepy and disrespectful to the person whose body is being displayed, or rather, body parts are being displayed. The ones which the OP is speaking of couldn't even begin to be identified much less attached to a known "saint". The bones that were claimed to be from the Apostle Peter, and which are supposedly buried under the altar of the basilica in his name, came from a common garbage dump where people, animals and all kinds of cast offs got tossed. Superstition and woo-woo stuff doesn't belong in Christianity. It isn't needed.
Have you ever studied art? For you to look at those pictures and think that those gorgeous pieces of jewelry are paste or dime store trophies makes you look silly. You don’t have to like this type of art but it’s real...and it’s spectacular!
What a picture of Catholicism.......
How fitting.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all........
Churches decorated with demons, too.
If they are quoting this verse in support of what they claim as the condition of their saints, then they are misquoting it. If there were no corruption, then the bodies would be in perfect condition.
Not mummified.
Not atrophied muscles.
Not patches of mold and mildew on the skin.
Not patches of skin missing.
Not salts covering the body.
Those are ALL signs of decay.
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