Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Hypernovean · 11-23-2002, 04:23 AM

A while ago now, there was a report to do with a statuette of Mary in a church just outside of Perth, Australia. Apparently, some woman bought it in some Asian country (I can't remember all the details, I need to look it up); she brought it back, and something like 7 years later, *bang*, it started crying rose-scented tears for no clearly discernable reason. Of course, thousands of sheep, uhum, faithful, went to see it. There was, if I remember correctly, a test early on (which came back inconclusive, although some sort of amorphous mass was detected in the base), but then the woman changed her mind and brought it back to the church. (Which, coincidently, is called the Church of Our Holy Lady of Lourdes, or somesuch).
Now in today's paper, it says there will be new tests, which the local bishop says are to tell if it is 'human intervention or an act of god'; and many a scientist worldwide is queuing up for a sample of the 'tears'.
What do you think could be a possible explanation for this? I'll try and get some more complete articles on it tomorrow. I personally think it's either fraud on the owner's part, or someone near her/at her church, or prehaps the statuette was designed to cry out rose-smelling liquid for whatever reason, which is stored in the base, and the owner does not know about this. (Who knows where she got it from).
This is the first and only miracle story I'm aware of in Australia, so I'm very interested in how it turns out. Any thoughts?

lpetrich · 11-23-2002, 08:25 AM

There are numerous other stories of weeping and bleeding statues.

Consider <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/kooks.html" target="_blank">Richard Carrier's "Kooks and Quacks of the Roman Empire"</a>:

Quote:

... The biographer Plutarch, a contemporary of Josephus, engages in a lengthy digression to prove that a statue of Tyche did not really speak in the early Republic (Life of Coriolanus, 37.3). He claims it must have been an hallucination inspired by the deep religious faith of the onlookers, since there were, he says, too many reliable witnesses to dismiss the story as an invention (38.1-3). He even digresses further to explain why other miracles such as weeping or bleeding--even moaning--statues could be explained as natural phenomena, showing a modest but refreshing degree of skeptical reasoning that would make the Amazing Randi proud. What is notable is not that Plutarch proves himself to have some good sense, but that he felt it was necessary to make such an argument at all. Clearly, such miracles were still reported and believed in his own time. I find this to be a particularly interesting passage, since we have thousands of believers flocking to weeping and bleeding statues even today. Certainly the pagan gods must also exist if they could make their statues weep and bleed as well!

Richard Carrier also notes a widespread belief back then in the curative powers of ... statues(!).

But as I think of it, that is not much more absurd than the belief in the curative powers of relics of saints.

[ November 23, 2002: Message edited by: lpetrich ]</p>

cydonia · 11-23-2002, 12:10 PM

Can you imagine going to a shop that sells those fat buddha statues, and they were all weeping? That would freak me out.

Gregg · 11-24-2002, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cydonia:
<strong>Can you imagine going to a shop that sells those fat buddha statues, and they were all weeping? That would freak me out.</strong>

What if they were all laughing?

Gregg

11-23-2002, 04:23 AM	#1
Hypernovean Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: - Posts: 67	Crying statue to be tested A while ago now, there was a report to do with a statuette of Mary in a church just outside of Perth, Australia. Apparently, some woman bought it in some Asian country (I can't remember all the details, I need to look it up); she brought it back, and something like 7 years later, bang, it started crying rose-scented tears for no clearly discernable reason. Of course, thousands of sheep, uhum, faithful, went to see it. There was, if I remember correctly, a test early on (which came back inconclusive, although some sort of amorphous mass was detected in the base), but then the woman changed her mind and brought it back to the church. (Which, coincidently, is called the Church of Our Holy Lady of Lourdes, or somesuch). Now in today's paper, it says there will be new tests, which the local bishop says are to tell if it is 'human intervention or an act of god'; and many a scientist worldwide is queuing up for a sample of the 'tears'. What do you think could be a possible explanation for this? I'll try and get some more complete articles on it tomorrow. I personally think it's either fraud on the owner's part, or someone near her/at her church, or prehaps the statuette was designed to cry out rose-smelling liquid for whatever reason, which is stored in the base, and the owner does not know about this. (Who knows where she got it from). This is the first and only miracle story I'm aware of in Australia, so I'm very interested in how it turns out. Any thoughts?

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11-23-2002, 12:10 PM	#3
cydonia Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: southern california Posts: 1,002	Can you imagine going to a shop that sells those fat buddha statues, and they were all weeping? That would freak me out.

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