1H

What are your thoughts on the relics that were said to make up the Arma Christi?

Speaking as a non-religious person it's hard to believe they are actually what they claim to be. I'm sure people of faith feel differently.

I was raised in the church, (I had Irish parents), but I was always questioning the things the nuns tried to convince me of. I believe that because people believe it...that "faith", "belief"...whatever you want ro call it... sometimes gives extra "life" to certain things...objects, people. etc. The more the stories are told, the more "life" it gives the story or the object or the person. " Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen".

The validity of the relics once a fee is charged to see them goes out the window for me.

They are considered weapons of Christ and instruments of passion. Great protection against temptation.

I dunno. I was raised Protestant, and only in non-school teenage readings did I learn about relics. Then their tie to Luther's theses as paid-for veneration like >4 JohnDBurke: describes made them suspicious as true relics. I also am not comfortable with the warlike nature of them, since Christ had a message of peace.

>3 Carol420: My background is similar Carol. My questioning of this kind of thing as a teenager did not go down well with my family and I stopped talking about it but continued to think about it. I am fairly analytical in my thinking and feel that a lot of these stories are located in myth.

For me there are so many that claim they have the same relic, given this it would question all of them. It’s rather like the boy who cried wolf. They could be a genuine, but even the dating of some shows they couldn’t be genuine. I remember the furore over the Turin Shroud.

Whether bona fide or not, these are tools that have been used for purpose, and have worked well over the centuries.

ps I’m not sure I understand how things that were used to punish and torture Jesus can be revered?

>10 Sergeirocks: I believe Jesus’ face showed up on The Shroud of Turin thereby making it a valuable discovery and something to behold.

>11 EadieB: Didn’t the radiocarbon dating done back in the 1980s show that the Turin Shroud dated from 1260 - 1390?

>12 Andrew-theQM: Yes you are right so I guess it's the wrong time period. lol

>10 Sergeirocks: See, that's what I wonder as well.