The above reliquary supposedly contains the preserved finger bone of Saint John the Baptist, whom we recently saw beheaded and platterized at the behest of dancing girl Salome. It’s hard to imagine that at one point the world’s biggest tourist industry essentially consisted of folks wandering about to visit the supposed remains of deceased saints and martyrs. Thank Cthulhu that we have Disneyland and giant balls of twine to wander about visiting…
Anyways, This object is in the same small room with a rather grim and gory painting of the head of Christ, which upon our last visit to the Nelson-Atkins, Michele overheard a nervous mommy telling her child “That’s not our Jesus!” I love how modern American Christianity occupies a conceptual parallel with Disneyland, where everything has been milquetoasted into passionless meaninglessness. The whole Judeo-Christian-Muslim tradition is steeped in blood and gore. It’s almost surprising that the church didn’t build zigguruts in Rome and start shedding blood on the steps. Yeah, that’s your bleeding, gory Jesus, alright.
Back to Saint John the Baptist. Being a popular saint, his bits and pieces are spread all over the globe. According to “ever reliable” Wikipedia, his head is accounted for in no less than six different places, and the rest of him is spread even thinner and further, including this little bit that made its way to Kansas City.
Technorati Tags: Saint John the Baptist, Christianity, relic, Saint, bone, finger, Guelph Treasure, Nelson-Atkins Museum
I went to a wedding at a modern Catholic church a few years ago. The Christ figure (I think life size) was suspended, sans cross, in midair on monofilament wire in all his bloody, gory glory. It was the most disturbing rendition of the crucifed Christ I have ever seen.