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Relics unearthed in Turkey may contain piece of Jesus' cross
Fox News ^ | August 01, 2013

Posted on 08/01/2013 9:26:53 AM PDT by Sopater

Archeologists conducting excavations at the site of a church in Turkey have unearthed a stone chest containing a relic that may be part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

The items were discovered during a large-scale excavation at the Balatlar Church, which was built in A.D. 660 near the Black Sea, Today's Zaman reported.

Professor Gülgün Köroğlu, an associate professor at Turkey's Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and excavation leader, told the newspaper the artifacts are linked to Jesus' crucifixion.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: balatlarchurch; christianity; constantine; cross; flaviaiuliahelena; godsgravesglyphs; history; holysepulchre; jesus; relics; truecross; turkey
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To: GreenHornet

I have a really REALLY REALLY neat penny with Lincoln AND Kennedy’s face engraved on it. I think it was found back in 1974 by a man at a gift shop on an Indian Reservation.


41 posted on 08/01/2013 10:14:21 AM PDT by GeorgeWashingtonsGhost
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To: Sopater
In 1870, a Frenchman named de Fleury went round the world and counted all the known pieces of the cross. He measured their size and published his findings in a book: Mémoire sur les Instruments de la Passion.

De Fleury rigorously concluded that if all the surviving relics of the True Cross were somehow reassembled there would be AT MOST enough wood to make 1/5 of a cross.

42 posted on 08/01/2013 10:16:28 AM PDT by agere_contra (I once saw a movie where only the police and military had guns. It was called 'Schindler's List'.)
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To: ArrogantBustard

Thanks. There is a reference to St. Helen and the church I mentioned above at this link.


43 posted on 08/01/2013 10:16:56 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (....Let It Burn...)
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To: Sopater

Next they will be saying they found a letter for Jesus from after the Resurrection.

This is such crap.


44 posted on 08/01/2013 10:20:48 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?)
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To: stonehouse01
"Wearing a reminder of what Jesus went through is not an act of worship. It is a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice. This does not constitute worship. it helps a person stay recollected because there are many distractions in modern life."

Yes. Comedians are really not known for their theological study or knowledge.

45 posted on 08/01/2013 10:23:15 AM PDT by hummingbird (THE LIBERTY AMENDMENTS by Mark Levin. He has a great plan!)
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To: Sopater
Actually, someone studied that contention and the number of slivers amounted to about enough for the cross piece which was usually about half the size of the upright portion. I don't remember the book right now but anyone who cares can easily find the info on the web, I'm sure.
46 posted on 08/01/2013 10:34:36 AM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: Sopater

Mark Twain had a lot to say about religious relics. He claimed to have seen enough nails from the cross to fill a keg!


47 posted on 08/01/2013 10:38:27 AM PDT by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves)
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To: Vermont Lt
Next they will be saying they found a letter for Jesus from after the Resurrection.

Dear Mr. Christ,

YOU may be our NEXT BIG WINNER in the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes...


48 posted on 08/01/2013 10:38:56 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Vermont Lt

Wooden artefacts - such as the Schöningen spears - can survive at least 300,000 years in the right conditions.

The cross on which Christ died was a real object. There’s no particular reason why pieces of it can’t survive a mere 2000 years.


49 posted on 08/01/2013 10:41:52 AM PDT by agere_contra (I once saw a movie where only the police and military had guns. It was called 'Schindler's List'.)
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To: tumblindice
am Lincoln’s McCulloch chainsaw.

I have George Washington's hatchet, the one he chopped down the cherry tree with.

The blade has been replaced 7 times and the handle 14 times but it is his hatchet.

50 posted on 08/01/2013 10:46:03 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (_.. ._. .. _. _._ __ ___ ._. . ___ ..._ ._ ._.. _ .. _. .)
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To: Sopater

Gotta say - even if it were true, it wouldn’t have any effect at all on my faith. When you know that you know that you know, additional evidence is unnecessary.


51 posted on 08/01/2013 11:08:27 AM PDT by jagusafr (the American Trinity (Liberty, In G0D We Trust, E Pluribus Unum))
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To: agere_contra

However, at what point in history do you suppose that the followers of Christ started to seek out relics from the “True Cross”? Were crosses reused by the Roman gov’t? If not, were they stored with a name and date on them as to who was crucified and when? If not, was a running tally kept on the back?

I’m skeptical of claims that there are any actual relics of the True Cross. It doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that there was indeed a “True Cross”, in fact I’m absolutely convinced that there was.


52 posted on 08/01/2013 11:16:31 AM PDT by Sopater (Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? - Matthew 20:15a)
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To: jagusafr
When you know that you know that you know, additional evidence is unnecessary.

Amen to that!
53 posted on 08/01/2013 11:19:00 AM PDT by Sopater (Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? - Matthew 20:15a)
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To: Sopater
The cross was right there, stuck in the crossroads outside of Jerusalem.

Why wouldn't his followers and admirers cut a piece from it on Good Friday? Or the day after?

It was covered with Christ's sanctifying blood and every sliver would have been precious.

54 posted on 08/01/2013 11:33:37 AM PDT by agere_contra (I once saw a movie where only the police and military had guns. It was called 'Schindler's List'.)
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To: agere_contra

Would the Romans (or the Jewish leadership) having just executed the leader of what they thought was a dangerous cult, have given followers/supporters of that leader the access to the instrument of His death, let alone the opportunity to take pieces of it with them?

Iirc, at the end of the Civil War, Conferate regiments were ordered under the term of surrender to give up their flags/standards. Lest they be retained (or displayed) for symbolically subversive purposes.

Given that there’s no contemporary record (in the Gospels) of the disposition of The Cross, I’d guess that the Romans destroyed it quickly following the execution. Unless Pilate, or a Roman military unit decided to keep it as a momento/conversation piece.


55 posted on 08/01/2013 11:47:14 AM PDT by tanknetter
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To: Buckeye McFrog

I think it would be addressed, Jesus H. Christ. At least according to what my dad said to me all those years.


56 posted on 08/01/2013 11:59:00 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?)
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To: agere_contra

No doubt, wood can survive.

But if no one really saw Jesus after the resurrection for a few days, who would have thought to go get the pieces.

While his execution was a big deal to us, was it really big enough for people to chop up the cross for relics?

I am not trying to sound like I am making fun of it, but the common sense aspects of it befuddle me.


57 posted on 08/01/2013 12:01:36 PM PDT by Vermont Lt (Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?)
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To: tanknetter
And - given that there’s no contemporary record (in the Gospels) of the disposition of the Cross - I would assume that it was

* Thrown away

or

* Put back in the pile for the next load of crucifixions

or

* My preferred theory - it was proudly displayed by Pontius Pilate at the crossroads for a week to display his anti-Sanhedrin message about the King of the Jews.


The Romans could barely be persuaded to put a guard on Christs body - why would they guard the Cross? The Cross wasn't a battle-standard. It was many long years before it became a symbol of Christianity.

There's no evidence - as in none whatsoever - that the Cross was destroyed. It's certainly possible that pieces of it exist and have been preserved to this day

58 posted on 08/01/2013 12:03:36 PM PDT by agere_contra (I once saw a movie where only the police and military had guns. It was called 'Schindler's List'.)
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To: Sopater

Yep. I pulled a piece out of my wood pile just a week or so ago that may have come from the same cross.


59 posted on 08/01/2013 12:06:36 PM PDT by RobinOfKingston (Democrats--the party of Evil. Republicans--the party of Stupid.)
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To: RobinOfKingston

If there are pieces which really exist - why not do DNA?


60 posted on 08/01/2013 12:16:22 PM PDT by GYPSY286 (Politicians must USE their heads or Americans will LOSE their heads.)
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