Jaybees

THAT is the crucial difference between religious thinking and ordinary, get-along-with life thinking. Pure religious thinking needs no rationalization. My mother's sprinkling of windows with holy water during a thunder storm kept us from being struck by lightning.

Grog

Let alone to describe it as "holy."

Grog

This will be declared a hoax soon, though on the back page. What will be remembered was that a "piece of Jesus' cross" was found. And even if that isn't believed, just the idea that a "holy thing" associated with Jesus was found by experts in the field will reinforce beliefs. Purpose served. There is no reason at all for all media sources to report this fraud.

I am not sure why supposedly secular news sources unfailing attempt to reinforce popular superstitions. I am reminded of when Wolf Blitzer interviewed an Oklahoma tornado survivor holding her baby. He kept pressuring her to say it was "a miracle" and that God had watched out for her. Finally, she said, "actually we are atheists." Awkward.

Was that video posted here? Here it is.

Huon

In 817, Pippin I of Aquitaine, a grandson of Charlemagne, received a relic which was said to be the head of John the Baptist. This relic was triumphally brought to Angeriacum, which is now Saint Jean d’Angely, near la Rochelle, 100 km north of Bordeaux.

The building of the cathedral of Amiens came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist. on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the city of Constantinople.

It is simply a miracle that JtB got always a new skull, when his older skull was taken.

Jaybees

If god wants an old skull AND a new skull, then POUF!!, an old skull and a new skull1 18 foreskins of Jesus? As easy as a thousand loaves and fishes!

One miracle is as easy as any other. Lost a leg? Pray for god to grow you a new one. See, how easy it all is?

Zenaphobe

How much attention would the story have garnered if the headline read,

Amateurs Find Old Chunk Of Wood, Details To Follow!

Jaybees

Horrors! Are you implying that the media make up headlines to increase their readerships?

Brendan Rizzo

It's because the media hates rationalism with a passion, because they know that a society of rationalists could never be taken in by a demagogue. Thus, they deliberately sabotage all attempts at progress by promulgating these lies.

Jaybees

I have to admit I sometimes--in my more cynical moments--share your views of the media. But, in my saner moments, I realize that the media have to maintain circulation or "hits", so finding a pebble on the beach isn't going to sell papers or bring people to news sites. Finding one with the lord's prayer inscribed on it in brail would catch people's attention--lead to more advertising, bring in more money, and make the publishers happy.

Diogenes the Cynic

I agree. We are living in a click-driven news media era. What is newsworthy is secondary to what gets hits on the internet. That's why we see nothing but Anthony Weiner and Lindsay Lohan headlines. That's what people click.

In away, I suppose it's very democratic in that it causes content to be virtually controlled by the audience, but the problem with that is that the audience is stupid. They will bite on Noah's Ark, or Red Sea chariots or David's beer mug every time. Just to check if it's real this time.

Hell, I check too, not to see if it's real, but to know what I'm going to have to be debunking in the near future to everyone who wants to play "checkmate atheist" with me. They know this kind of thing will get traffic from skeptics too, and traffic is a; they're really after. If they can get people to fight in the comment sections, they'll come back to read replies and keep driving up their click count.