Early European Christian Relics

Okay. I know I'm going to upset some people but here it is. Taking pieces of people and collecting them as 'relics' is an act of barbarity. Whether or not there is an afterlife the burial of the dead should be a solemn event, not a chance for greedy people and misled people to think they now have a chance to get money and/or power by taking something from the dead body.

It's wrong. Period.

Yet the book notes how this has been done over and over throughout history. It notes 'holy relics' can be found in many religions. They give a definition for what is a relic and also note it can be an actual piece of a person or something they wore or it could even be something that touched something that was associated with the person.

One of the things I found most barbaric was the relic that is supposed to be the right hand of John the Baptist.

The book also notes that some of the relics end up in the hands of private collectors rather than the hands of a church where they can be seen by lots of people.

It also notes how many so-called relics are actually fakes.

The book includes online resources, suggestions for further reading and footnotes.