Freethought & Rationalism Archive

spin · 06-24-2013, 01:52 PM

I think that most people here will be astounded to know of the religious items held at the Topkapi in sunny Istanbul. These include:

1. the saucepan of (the prophet) Abraham,
2. the turban of (the prophet) Joseph,
3. the sword of David,
4. The hand and part of the skull of (the prophet) John (the baptist), and
5. the sword, the mantle, the beard and the tooth of (the prophet) Mohammed.

Incredible, don't you think!? But I've just seen them all with my own eyes, so they must be true.

Toto · 06-24-2013, 01:54 PM

I understand that there are many heads of John the Baptist in various sacred places. I guess after Herod had him beheaded, two heads grew back, and the process repeated.

stephan huller · 06-24-2013, 02:46 PM

And when you read history books, the heads of John are constantly getting destroyed and coming back.

Cheerful Charlie · 06-24-2013, 03:03 PM

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32136

A Treatise on Relics by John Calvin

Calvin wrote a book on the fake relics of Catholicism. Vials of the milk of the Virgin Mry, several foreskinns of Jesus and more.

Cheerful Charlie

Horatio Parker · 06-24-2013, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spin

I think that most people here will be astounded to know of the religious items held at the Topkapi in sunny Istanbul. These include:

1. the saucepan of (the prophet) Abraham,
2. the turban of (the prophet) Joseph,
3. the sword of David,
4. The hand and part of the skull of (the prophet) John (the baptist), and
5. the sword, the mantle, the beard and the tooth of (the prophet) Mohammed.

Incredible, don't you think!? But I've just seen them all with my own eyes, so they must be true.

I require a ticket to Instanbul, to see for myself.

Mark Twain, from "The Innocents Abroad":

Quote:

The main point of interest about the cathedral[of San Lorenzo in Genoa] is the little Chapel of St. John the Baptist. They only allow women to enter it on one day in the year, on account of the animosity they still cherish against the sex because of the murder of the Saint to gratify a caprice of Herodias. In this Chapel is a marble chest, in which, they told us, were the ashes of St. John; and around it was wound a chain, which, they said, had confined him when he was in prison. We did not desire to disbelieve these statements, and yet we could not feel certain that they were correct—partly because we could have broken that chain, and so could St. John, and partly because we had seen St. John's ashes before, in another church. We could not bring ourselves to think St. John had two sets of ashes.
They also showed us a portrait of the Madonna which was painted by St. Luke, and it did not look half as old and smoky as some of the pictures by Rubens. We could not help admiring the Apostle's modesty in never once mentioning in his writings that he could paint.
But isn't this relic matter a little overdone? We find a piece of the true cross in every old church we go into, and some of the nails that held it together. I would not like to be positive, but I think we have seen as much as a keg of these nails. Then there is the crown of thorns; they have part of one in Sainte Chapelle, in Paris, and part of one also in Notre Dame. And as for bones of St. Denis, I feel certain we have seen enough of them to duplicate him if necessary.

yalla · 06-25-2013, 05:30 AM

Four of us, including my sister in law [Ms yalla's sister] visited Topkapi about 8years ago.
Before we entered Ms yalla pulled me aside and gave me a stern lecture about etiquette, good manners, respect for others and their religion and so on and she noted that the guard fellas standing around had guns.
"Yes dear".
So we entered and looked at the relics and I was particularly interested in the hair of the beard of the prophet contained in a glass bell jar thingy on a stand.
Then I felt a gentle grab on my arm and Ms yalla said "Quick, we have to get out of here".
Her sister had looked at the hairs of the beard and had cracked up.
She was laughing and giggling uncontrollably and was being hustled out by her hubby as fast as he could manage and before the guard fellas noticed.
Outside she managed to get herself under control and all 4 of us slunk of rapidly before anyone else noticed.

ps
I've also seen, from a distance admittedly, the tooth of Buddha, carried on a pillow on an elephant through the streets of Kandy in Ceylon [Sri Lanka]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic_..._of_the_Buddha
Lucky, maybe even blessed, ain't I?

06-24-2013, 01:52 PM	#1
spin Contributor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: nowhere Posts: 15,747	Relics at the Topkapi Palace I think that most people here will be astounded to know of the religious items held at the Topkapi in sunny Istanbul. These include: 1. the saucepan of (the prophet) Abraham, 2. the turban of (the prophet) Joseph, 3. the sword of David, 4. The hand and part of the skull of (the prophet) John (the baptist), and 5. the sword, the mantle, the beard and the tooth of (the prophet) Mohammed. Incredible, don't you think!? But I've just seen them all with my own eyes, so they must be true.

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06-24-2013, 01:54 PM	#2
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	I understand that there are many heads of John the Baptist in various sacred places. I guess after Herod had him beheaded, two heads grew back, and the process repeated.

06-24-2013, 02:46 PM	#3
stephan huller Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 9,337	And when you read history books, the heads of John are constantly getting destroyed and coming back.

06-24-2013, 03:03 PM	#4
Cheerful Charlie Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 3,884	http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32136 A Treatise on Relics by John Calvin Calvin wrote a book on the fake relics of Catholicism. Vials of the milk of the Virgin Mry, several foreskinns of Jesus and more. Cheerful Charlie

06-25-2013, 05:30 AM	#6
yalla Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: oz Posts: 1,848	Four of us, including my sister in law [Ms yalla's sister] visited Topkapi about 8years ago. Before we entered Ms yalla pulled me aside and gave me a stern lecture about etiquette, good manners, respect for others and their religion and so on and she noted that the guard fellas standing around had guns. "Yes dear". So we entered and looked at the relics and I was particularly interested in the hair of the beard of the prophet contained in a glass bell jar thingy on a stand. Then I felt a gentle grab on my arm and Ms yalla said "Quick, we have to get out of here". Her sister had looked at the hairs of the beard and had cracked up. She was laughing and giggling uncontrollably and was being hustled out by her hubby as fast as he could manage and before the guard fellas noticed. Outside she managed to get herself under control and all 4 of us slunk of rapidly before anyone else noticed. ps I've also seen, from a distance admittedly, the tooth of Buddha, carried on a pillow on an elephant through the streets of Kandy in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic_..._of_the_Buddha Lucky, maybe even blessed, ain't I?

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