by sandy82 » September 4th, 2005, 3:29 pm
Cardigan,
Thanks for the helpful and informative reply on the stigmata and the crucifixions. Your description of the stigmata was very good, and the mental image reminded me of a characteristic that is shared by many, perhaps most, Christian denominations. Perhaps the observations may be useful to Phantom_Lonestar as well.
The stigmata reminded me of weeping statues, pieces of the true cross, and other such happenings/memorabilia in the HRCAC. About 10 years ago there was a weeping statue in some small town in, I think, Portugal. An investigation was conducted, and it was discovered that one of the resident clergy was pouring water somewhere in the back of the statue and, intermittently, a drop would appear on the statue's eyes.
There seems to be a tendency for these incredible things to happen in poor, small, rural locations where the congregation is very traditional and lightly educated. Weeping statues and such tend not to be seen in Notre Dame in Paris or Westminster Cathedral in London or in upscale parishes in Milan and Vienna.
I am led to believe that the divergence is not a matter of chance. The better-educated, wealthier, independent-minded parishioners in sophisticated centers won't believe such things, and those that promote such "miracles" know better than to try them out on the discerning.
Maybe there are genuine stigmata. I've seen photographs of them. I would like to have a dermatologist examine stigmata on the body of a Sorbonne professor who says out loud that Benedict XVI is a backward step for the Church.
These differences occur, to a greater or lesser extent, in many denominations. You won't hear the high-decibel fire and brimstone in a Southern Baptist church in the northwestern section of Atlanta or in Houston's River Oaks. There's a big difference in attitude between a Lutheran church in Boestrup and at Holmens or VFK.
The higher the socio-economic and educational levels of the congregation, the fewer the threats and outlandish claims by the clergy.