The most sacred relics we have of past prophets and revolutionaries, such as Jesus, Mohammad, and Sakyamuni Buddha, are the words which they left, the scriptures and the writings, and all those ideas which can be verified in personal experience as valuable truths. Words, thoughts and ideas are not material things, they are spiritual. It is true that they are transferred by material means in books and manuscripts, and by the air vibrations of sounds, but it is not the paper of the book, or the fibers of the manuscript, or the sound-waves that are sacred, but the ideas which are conveyed by them. Thus, all treasures regarded as holy are spiritual, not material. The worship of relics, be they bones, hair, teeth, depictions, works of art, images, or any other substance of the body of a saint, is a mistake. The do not possess any other value than the remains of ordinary materials, or depictions of the mind. The soul of the Buddha, the soul of Jesus, is not in their bones and their made-up images, but in their words. Those who worship images of a dead man, or relics themselves, are in an incomplete stage of religious development in which devotees have not as yet attained to full philosophical clearness. Relics should not be worshiped. They should be recognized for the teachings and the words that are preserved in spirit for us to interpret. In truth, it does not matter if Jesus, Mohammad, Sakyamuni Buddha, or any of their followers existed or not. It does not matter if they ever walked the Earth. You don’t have to believe anything that is not here now. Regardless of whether or not they existed, their words and ideas are preserved in spirit to this day. The words of religious saints are preserved in scriptures such as the Bible, the Koran, and ancient sutras. It is not the material relic that matters; it is the words that are preserved in spirit. With this understanding, we can stop arguing whether or not Jesus and the Buddha actually walked this Earth. It simply does not matter, because they left behind something far more important: words and ideas which can be verified in personal experience as valuable truths. The Present (with religion) at www.truthcontest.com, page 103: ----- Fighting over things: No one that is fighting over land or other things for religious reasons knows the truth. The most misguided Christians, Jews and Muslims are fighting over a little place called Jerusalem. They think that their God lives there, and they have to get it back for him. Their God needs their help, even though he is all powerful. It makes no sense, but nothing they do does. The truth is, the beast occupies the “holy land” inside them. Relics: Why do people think that things like the shroud of Turin, the lost ark, a piece of wood from the cross, or other things that may or may not have been close to a prophet have some mystical power? It is idol worship. People will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to see a stain on a wall that some people think looks like one of their saints. Worshiping idols, images and relics is a pagan practice, and against the teachings of Jesus, but so-called Christians do it anyway. What are they thinking? A piece of wood or something that has been blessed by some misguided preacher has no value, except to the devil/mind. Wake up people. The truth is, everyone involved in relic worship is hurting their religion and misguided by the devil/mind. So-called holy things and places just give the devil/mind something to fight over. They are a dangerous deception. The truth is, God/life is everywhere you are all the time; there is nothing to fight over in the name of God. -----
I read that section and agree with it. People that value things and going against the religion they think the relics ehance, they got it backwards like the book says. It is so obviously stupid even a old stoner like me can see how foolish it is. but movies like Raiders of the lost ark and so much other stuff reinforces the power in things that have no power except to cause a lot of trouble. Even things like the lucky rabbit foot cost a lot of cut rabbits their life. I think I am going to read some of that book tonight. I have read it about ten times sinse I found out about it and every time I get something new. Thanks for making me think about it.
Most of the ritual practices are based on psychology...but they are not trying to cheat you but making your mind mature enough for you to understand what "I" is ...to know more click on this link Spiritual Thoughts: Why Idol Worship
Perhaps a fear of death? Most idols and relics seem to have 'mystical' or 'supernatural' powers that presuppose an afterworld or life
Great post, and t touched upon many things I believe to be true. The relic/idol thing and one's going to church each Sunday, at least in my opinion, is the human being's need to renew. Sadly, the ritual becomes the point of worship, and that is empty worship. Alas, too many people were indoctrinated into religious ritual and believe there is no other way. - And I mean no disrespect to anyone - because I used to be the same way, but I know there is much more.