Comments for A Wikipedian Pilgrimage at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 10 out of 10 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:24:36 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11425 ah, Leonard, you are mistaken. The relics of the Cross, if they are real, are still only evidence of the Crucifixion. And hundreds, perhaps thousands of men were crucified under Roman rule. The most important event in human history is the Resurrection. And the evidence of that is the testimony of the Apostles and those who saw and talked and ate with the Resurrected Jesus. - Sally Tue, 15 May 2012 15:27:11 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11337 Please forgive my grumpiness. I would never want to be disrespectful to believers. But, the provenance of relics is really quite important. If they are real, then they are the physical evidence of the most important event in history - but if they are not then they are lies told by liars. I'm sorry. I know this offends some of you but it is the truth and Christianity makes a claim on truth. - Leonard Fri, 11 May 2012 11:28:27 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11274 "More and more this is one aspect of our faith that makes me love Catholicism – and exceedingly so. " I'm in total agreement, and I've learned so much about our Faith and these ancient relics on the internet articles such as the one you have written from which I also learned new things. For example, I knew none of this: "In a side chapel there are relics of the crucifixion: the complete crossbeam of the good thief, a fragment of the true cross, a nail used to crucify Christ, a thorn from the crown of thorns, the titulus (the name plate which hung over the Lord) and the finger bone of St. Thomas which was put into Our Lord’s wounds." So thanks for the article and spreading the Faith! - bt Mon, 07 May 2012 17:50:30 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11272 "More and more this is one aspect of our faith that makes me love Catholicism – and exceedingly so. " Exactly! I have learned so much about our faith and some of these ancient relics by reading the internet, and today your article taught me even more. Thank you! - bt Mon, 07 May 2012 17:35:33 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11268 Wikipedia is very useful for verifying basic facts like the date of a birth or death, historical battles and the like. It's also good for getting information on books, films and music. What it isn't so good at is providing large scale explanations. The more controversial pages (i.e Science and Religion) tend to be fought over constantly by a variety of editors, each with their own personal agenda. Apparently Shiite and Sunni Muslims clash regularly on the pages concerning their respective movements. One should use to verify the basic facts only. Still, it's quite fun to trawl through page after page, picking up scraps of information. One of the best methods for this is the Wikipedia Game- start off on a random page and assign yourself the goal of getting to, say, Shakespeare, but only through the linking words in the documents. - Harry Mon, 07 May 2012 14:16:24 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11259 And speaking of St. Helena, when in Rome, we can all go and touch something Jesus touched, indeed, something he walked on Good Friday...The Holy Stairs taken from Fortress Antonia, and relocated by St. Helena to Rome. - Chris in Maryland Mon, 07 May 2012 06:48:26 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11256 And it gets better: isn't Sancta Croce the one called "in Jerusalem" because the floor the building is actually constructed on dirt that was brought from the temple mount? If you go up the road to (IIRC) Milan, there is a church that houses relics of the Holy Sepulcher, along with a medieval replica of the Church thereof. Enjoy the trip. - Titus Mon, 07 May 2012 04:43:20 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11254 I am a Catholic and a scientist who teaches at a community college, and I can tell you that Wikipedia articles in physical sciences (physics, chemistry and astronomy) are mostly well written and accurate. The rule is that the more technical and specialized an article is, the better. Physical scientists are mostly metaphysical realists (if materialists) and that, I think, conditions them to write well. Metaphysical subjectivists (e.g. relativists) tend to be disasters in writing any thing in terms of understandability. Unfortunately, I think too many folks in fields of social sciences are relativists. - Ching Yim Mon, 07 May 2012 04:08:01 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11252 The churches of Rome will not disappoint. Man is most in his glory when he attempts to give expression to the glory of God. - Other Joe Mon, 07 May 2012 01:42:06 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/a-wikipedian-pilgrimage.html#comment-11251 This is an interesting take on that popular website. It's not surprising to see that its value varies with subject area. In my own area (art history), wikipedia is relentlessly awful. Nearly every entry I've come across has egregious errors. Caveat emptor. On the quantity of wood in True Cross relics... you won't find it mentioned in his wiki entry, but there was a late 19th c. architect named Charles de Fleury who tracked down every known relic of the Cross with an eye towards estimating the total volume. Even accounting for a considerable understatement, he showed the known relics would be far, far less than the volume of such a cross. - Matthew M Sun, 06 May 2012 22:24:26 +0100