medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Curious - we seem to assume that relics are venerated to "bolster faith". Might they not rather be an *exression of * faith, rather than a prop? An expression of enthusiasm and intimacy (physical contact with a beloved person) rather than something necessary *in order to* believe? As was pointed out in an earlier posting, we WANT something belonging to or used by George Washington, because it makes us feel closer to him -- not because such a relic strengthens our otherwise wobbly belief in his existence.
TGD (interested in medieval pilgrimage)
--Original Message Text---
From: Revd Gordon Plumb
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:45:07 EDT
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I don't know if I am alone in this, but I am heartily sick of the Shroud of Turin - genuine or fake. The use of relics to bolster faith
is a bit like attempts by some conservative Christians ( I will not use the "F" word!) to seize upon "evidence" from archaeology
to "prove" the truth of the Bible. Faith like that seems to me to be built on rather shaky foundations!
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