Posted on 09/06/2013 7:15:37 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
A relic hunter dubbed 'Indiana Bones' has lifted the lid on a macabre collection of 400-year-old jewel-encrusted skeletons unearthed in churches across Europe.
Art historian Paul Koudounaris hunted down and photographed dozens of gruesome skeletons in some of the world's most secretive religious establishments.
Incredibly, some of the skeletons, said to be the remains of early Christian martyrs, were even found hidden away in lock-ups and containers.
They are now the subject of a new book, which sheds light on the forgotten ornamented relics for the first time.
Thousands of skeletons were dug up from Roman catacombs in the 16th century and installed in towns around Germany, Austria and Switzerland on the orders of the Vatican.
They were sent to Catholic churches and religious houses to replace the relics destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.
Mistaken for the remains of early Christian martyrs, the morbid relics, known as the Catacomb Saints, became shrines reminding of the spiritual treasures of the afterlife.
They were also symbols of the Catholic Church's newly found strength in previously Protestant areas.
Each one was painstakingly decorated in thousands of pounds worth of gold, silver and gems by devoted followers before being displayed in church niches.
Some took up to five years to decorate.
They were renamed as saints, although none of them qualified for the title under the strict rules of the Catholic church which require saints to have been canonised.
But by the 19th century they had become morbid reminders of an embarrassing past and many were stripped of their honours and discarded.
Mr Koudounaris' new book, Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, is the first time the skeletons have appeared in print.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I apologize for making this thread about individual Freepers. I will try harder.
Thank you.
Pride, haughtiness, boasting, and derision. Those things don’t really help any Christian to state his case.
“Jesus came to Earth and told us exactly how to communicate with God...”
Yes, Jesus did do that! Matthew 6:5-15
“5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Amen.
sorry about that...
Thank you for your support.
And do you have a very good understanding of what Scripture teaches about sainthood, canonization, and salvation?
Scripture never mentions canonization. It does say, however, that believers are saints. The terms are regularly used interchangeably.
Yes, and it begins with "“When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name."
The Jews who did it for hundreds of years before the Catholic church came along.
OK, where in the Bible is the Catholic church named? I don't see the term *Catholic church* anywhere in Scripture.
I think smvoice summed it up as well as I could.
Nowhere does it say in Scripture that the Catholic church was founded by Jesus.
Get a really good bible with commentary and notes, set aside the Catholic catechism, and ask God to reveal the truth of what we are telling you. Or continue to wallow in the mess and muck that is Catholic doctrine.
God bless,
jodyel
There is no point in telling truth to those who are blind and will not listen.
As I said in my previous post, if you really want to know the truth (which I don’t believe you do), get an excellent bible with notes and commentary and ask the Lord to reveal the truth to you. Or continue blindly following your man-made church.
No idea what you are referring to here...it just seems you want to pick a fight.
Listen to Dr. Stanley and see if you learn anything. There really is nothing to be afraid of or angry about. God can reach anyone with His truth including those who are so blinded by Catholic doctrine.
Listening to God - Walking with God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvAnQCoPH2Y
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
God bless you,
jodyel
“Unless the Holy Spirit is leading a person though, what we are saying to terycarl is moot.”
Yes, indeed.
Let us hope He opens his/her heart, mind, and eyes.
so you really think that the Jews would have brought you up to date on what Christ and His followers were up to? The Catholic curch copied and protected the old testament and wrote, edited, transcribed and created what we know as the new testament...there was nobody else around to do it and the Jews certainly would NEVER have preserved those books and writings...
totally irrelevant and you know it....the early Christians began to call themselves Catholic as early as the first century....Catholic merely means universal
totally irrelevant and you know it....the early Christians began to call themselves Catholic as early as the first century....Catholic merely means universal
Thank you jodyel for putting to words that which is in my mind! I’m engaged in a Bible study right now focusing on the “Fruit of the Spirit” and it’s absolutely centered on the Holy Spirit.
yours is a really funny post....you are telling me to get a copy of the Catholic Bible, with Catholic commentary and ask the Lord to guide me in reading it.......then you mention man made churhes....mine was indeed made by a man...Jesus Christ instituted the Catholic Church on the apostles.....you have Luther, Calvin, Zwilgley, Henry VIII, Joseph Smith, John Smythe, Nicholas Storch, Thomas Munzer, Menno Simons, Knox,Brown, George Fox,Jacob Amman, Wesley brothers, etc. etc etc. to choose from
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