"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son. Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."
—Peter Pettigrew conducting the ritual to restore Lord Voldemort
But seriously, why would anyone steal it? The popes don't have magical or otherwise holy powers. Unless you count the assassination attempt when the blood was put in the reliquary, in which case he would be holey.
But seriously, why would anyone steal it? The popes don't have magical or otherwise holy powers. Unless you count the assassination attempt when the blood was put in the reliquary, in which case he would be holey.
Why is a vial of PJP2's blood any less valuable than, say, a lock of Elvis Presley's hair that he gave to a fan back in the day? There's a market for pieces of famous people out there. It's honestly not the strangest thing you can collect, but it's up there.
It sounds more like a power up objective in a vampire based video game, but yea the long history of relics in the church is hugely defined by the need to feel close to "real life" things. So these trinkets get scattered around the globe and collected. Theft is bad, but the actual use of them in worship I find harmless so as long as the relics were given/made with the consent of the individual.
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Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
An idol is an image of a god believed to be imbued with the essence of the god and therefore worshiped in its own right. Psychologically, I'm inclined to agree with you: the veneration of relics and other stuff like crucifixes and Virgin Mary statues almost certainly pushes the same buttons in the brain as idolatry. But technically it isn't.
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Vive, vale. Siquid novisti rectius istis,
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
Are they trying to revive Voldemort or some other big bad?
But seriously, why would anyone steal it? The popes don't have magical or otherwise holy powers. Unless you count the assassination attempt when the blood was put in the reliquary, in which case he would be holey.
Why is a vial of PJP2's blood any less valuable than, say, a lock of Elvis Presley's hair that he gave to a fan back in the day? There's a market for pieces of famous people out there. It's honestly not the strangest thing you can collect, but it's up there.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
However, the buying and selling of reliquaries was all the rage in the Medieval period.
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.