The hemline indicator is positive for the Pontiff.
Posted on 02/26/2005 10:55:20 AM PST by nickcarraway
February 26, 2005 -- ROME — Does a stone carving in one of Rome's biggest cathedrals know whether Pope John Paul II will survive his latest health crisis? The monument to Pope Sylvester II, who ruled the Catholic Church 1,000 years ago, is said to moisten when the death of a pontiff is imminent.
But yesterday, a priest touched the carving in Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran and confirmed it was dry — good news for the pope, who had windpipe surgery Thursday after being rushed to the hospital with breathing problems.
In the sacristy of St. John Lateran, the pope's "second cathedral" for his role as bishop of Rome, two elderly Italian nuns in gray habits said the monument's prophesying power was well documented.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
This, my friends, is known as IDOLATRY. Seeking wisdom from carvings of stone, how far the Church has fallen!
I saw Harry Blackstone do the same trick on the old Dean Martin show...
The hemline indicator is positive for the Pontiff.
Any news from the groundhog?
I want my own stone carving! Must,,,Find,,,One...
Superstition and ignorance is very unbecoming. This smacks of Mayan stone-carved gods. Pathetic.
Still, my guess is that the Pope himself would frown on this.
Reality / truth cuts no ice with the emotion-driven superstitious. Save your breath.
Imputing oracular power into a stone carving is worshipping an idol. Who said anything about painting pictures and taking Polaroids? Maybe it's you who needs the clue.
Man, it almost sounds closer to witchcraft or something. This is just scary that otherwise literate individuals could believe in something that screwy.
I was raised Catholic and remember one day, my mom asked if I wanted to go worship at some traveling statue of some long dead person. I said, "No thanks, I worship a living God, not a piece of pretty clay."
"This, my friends, is known as IDOLATRY. Seeking wisdom from carvings of stone, how far the Church has fallen!"
Indeed, a voice crying in the wilderness...
Well you obviously were not raised catholic if you worshipped a statue
must be that NEW definition of Idolatry then since the OLD one said it means "The WORSHIP of Idols" and i don't think this qualifies as Worshiping anything
Believing in the spiritual power of a carving and consulting it for a prophesy strikes me as an act of worship.
Exodus 20:3-4
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
A carving is a graven image, any way you want to slice it. And I do believe consulting it as if it were an oracle constitutes "bowing down" to it - believing in the alleged power of this carving assigns to it power that is God's alone.
this wasn't produced to be an Idol let alone a Graven Image to be worshiped... it was made to Honor a dead Pope, nothing more and nothing less!!!
the mere fact that it might get moist under certain conditions and coincidental to the passing of a Pope are a LONG WAY from making something on purpose... let alone no one is BOWING down or SERVING them!!!
you don't like the Church and that's fine, but you can't change the language or circumstances to suit you
They don't want to read Exodus, and no one will make them do so. BTW, the Second Commandment was even removed from some bibles a very long time ago, although the further explanation to Moses on the same topic should still be in those (not sure).
And if you really want some truth through interesting study, find an archive of history on the authors (with dates, and so forth) of the New Testament.
It does not apply to exploring high temperature vents in the deep parts of the ocean. And another thing, it also does not apply to eating Corn Flakes for breakfast. So there!
Idolatry is in the belief that something other than God has power that is exclusive to God. No one but God can tell you for certain what the outcome of the Pope's health crisis will be. Believing that something can is the act of idolatry.
How I feel about the Church (mostly indifferent, FYI) is immaterial. I am NOT indifferent to idolatry, from any source.
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