"I've never seen you before in my life, but you look to me like a slacker!"
lol. Slackards. The RCC is ahead of us in terms of bones and such...
Other relics include Joseph's carpenter tools, bones of the donkey on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the cup used at the Last Supper, the empty purse of Judas, Pilate's basin, the coat of purple thrown over Jesus by the mocking soldiers, the sponge lifted up to Him on the Cross, nails from the Cross, specimens of the hair of the Virgin Mary (some brown, some blond, some red, and some black), her skirts, wedding ring, slippers, veil, and even a bottle of the milk on which Jesus had been suckled. [Wilder, p. 53] According to Romanist belief, Mary's body was miraculously taken up to Heaven; but several different churches in Europe did claim to have the body of Mary's mother, even though we know nothing about her and she was not even credited with the name "St. Ann" until a few centuries ago! Even more laughable is the story about Mary's house. Roman Catholics believe that the house in which Mary lived at Nazareth is now in the little town of Loreto, Italy, having been transported there by angels! The Catholic Encyclopaedia says: "Since the fifteenth century, and possibly even earlier, the 'Holy House' of Loreto has been numbered among the most famous shrines of Italy [...]. The interior measures only thirty-one feet by thirteen. An altar stands at one end beneath a statue, blackened with age, of the Virgin Mother and her Divine Infant, [...] venerable throughout the world on account of the Divine mysteries accomplished in it. [...] It is here that most holy Mary, Mother of God, was born; here that she was saluted by the Angel; here that the eternal Word was made Flesh. Angels conveyed this House from Palestine to the town Tersato in Illyria in the year of salvation 1291 in the pontificate of Nicholas IV. Three years later, in the beginning of the pontificate of Boniface VIII, it was carried again by the ministry of angels and placed in a wood [...], where, having changed its station thrice in the course of a year, at length, by the will of God, it took up its permanent position on this spot... The gross superstition and idolatry that have accompanied the use of relics reveal the deception and inconsistency with which Romanism has been plagued for centuries...
And under the heading of "you learn something new every day here," I didn't realize it was the infamous Council of Trent who declared the supernatural importance of such relics and cursed all of us who do not believe in them...
The veneration of dead bodies of martyrs was ordered by the Council of Trent, the Council which also condemned those who did not believe in relics: "The holy bodies of holy martyrs [...] are to be venerated by the faithful, for through these bodies many benefits are bestowed by God on men, so that they who affirm that veneration and honour are not due to the relics of the saints [...] are wholly to be condemned, as the Church has already long since condemned, and also now condemns them." [The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. 12, p. 737] Of course, because it was believed that "many benefits" could come through the bones of dead men, the sale of bodies and bones became big business for the Church of Rome!
Certainly, the article sums up these errors perfectly...
In the old legends, when Nimrod, the false "saviour" of Babylon, died, his body was torn limb from limb – part being buried one place, and part in another. When he was "resurrected", becoming the sun-god, it was taught that he was now in a different body, the members of the old body being left behind. This is in stark contrast to the death of the true Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom it was prophesied: "A bone of him shall not be broken" (John 19:36), and Who was resurrected in the true sense of the word. The resurrection of Christ resulted in an empty tomb, no parts of His body being left behind for relics! Were these ideas taken from the Bible or from paganism?
The cross is empty! Praise God! We have no need of earthly relics. Our only need is Christ risen.
Forgetful ping to 5,431.
Oh,my. It’s worse than I thought—LOL.
Kinda makes you wish your pancakes Saturday morning will have a funny face so you can make some money on E-Bay selling breakfast to Catholics. I can have it vacuum wrapped in no time.
Egad Brain, er - good grief. I sooner would be a disciple of Carl Sagan than any pope. Which means I would rather my brain be pulled out my nose than submit to the RCC.
"I've never seen you before in my life, but you look to me like a slacker!"
The early Christians venerated the bones of the Saints
We can trace back veneration of relics and symbols to the earliest of Christians,like the ones who admired the life of Saint Polycarp-who was a Disciple of Saint John. They even brought the bones in as reminders.
“We took up his bones, which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy and to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom.”
(The Martyrdom of Polycarp, dated to about 150 AD.)
Saint Jerome also wrote..
“We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are. (Ad Riparium, XXII)”
And you trusted This Blessed Saint during Bible Canon. Correct?
The calvinists venerate the mind of John Calvin and his own personal scriptural interpretations as if he were some prophet.Thus elevating calvin above the Saints and the Martyr's who gave their life for Christ and His Church
Here is what Calvin's favorite Saint said...
From Saint Augustine..
“If a father's coat or ring, or anything else of that kind, is so much more cherished by his children, as love for one's parents is greater, in no way are the bodies themselves to be despised, which are much more intimately and closely united to us than any garment; for they belong to man's very nature.” It is clear from this that he who has a certain affection for anyone, venerates whatever of his is left after his death, not only his body and the parts thereof, but even external things, such as his clothes, and such like. Now it is manifest that we should show honor to the saints of God, as being members of Christ, the children and friends of God, and our intercessors.” Saint Augustine(De Civ. Dei i, 13
I'll bet you have no problem with the pagan goddess lady liberty that stands in NY harbor that people venerate in the name of freedom?
"The cross is empty! Praise God! We have no need of earthly relics. Our only need is Christ risen."
In all fairness, he should have included us Orthodox as well. I remember taking my older daughter few years back to a monastery and the igumaness (senior nun) showed us the new church lined with icons of different saints. Every icon ocntained a little glass bubble which she said were bones of these saints. To which my daughter said "how do you know that those are their bones?" The nun repsonded that they came with "authenticating documents."
I was never big on this and I personally do not venerate anyone's bones. I show respect for saints, especially those martyred ones, but I see not reason to venerate the body or the bones of the same.
But is is an early Christian practice as witnessed by +Polycarp, an Apostolic Father, at the very beginning of the 2nd century, and not something the Latin Church 'invented' as your article claims. It was practiced for 15 centuries before Trent ever made it official. Just as the Apocrypha were part of the scriptures before Luther decided to drop them.
The Church had services for the souls of the dead because the Church doctrine of the particular judgment and the intermediate state of the souls. It was not instituted by Trent. It poredates trent by about 1500 years! Professor Noble, like so many Protestants, is obsessed with "Romanism." He is dead wrong on more than one account. Some professor!
AMEN!!! That's some very fascinating stuff you found. Thanks for posting. Mary must have been quite a sight, what with having four different colors of hair and all. :)