The Holy Leg of Healing

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from the BBC News, December 13, 2007, with a headline:“Thieves Cut Off Man’s Holy Leg For It’s Healing Power”The following are excerpts: Police in Southern India are hunting for two men who attacked a Hindu holy man, cut off his right leg, and then made off with it.The 80-year old holy man, Yanadi Kondaiah, claimed to have healing powers in the leg.Local people believed they could be healed of spiritual and physical problems if they touched his leg.Police say that the self-style, god-man was approached a few days ago by two strangers who came to seek his advice over a medical problem.They say that the pair returned to the old man ostensibly to thank him for his help.As the old man had the weakness of drinking, he accepted their invitation to have drinks with them, said a local policeman.They took him to a deserted spot in the outskirts of the village.After the old man had passed out under the influence of liquor, they cut off his right leg from the knee, he said. Local people who found him unconscious alerted the police who rushed him to a hospital in Tirupati.After regaining consciousness, Mr. Kondaiah said that had no idea why he was targeted in such a manner, and did not understand the motive of the miscreants in taking away his leg.I have always been good to others and helped whoever came to me.“Then why has this been done to me?” he asked amid his tears.

Tom:

This is really a sad account.Now your heart goes out to this man.On the one hand this is what superstition breeds.Now people may say, Well, that’s Hinduism, that’s India, and so on, but I remember the two of us walking through—and I think this is related—walking through St. Peter’s in Rome, and there was a statue of Peter and the foot of this statue, the toes particularly, were worn off from people over the centuries kissing it, or rubbing it.Now I think that’s related, we’re talking about superstition here.The one is grievous because it did affect this individual, but mysticism is closely related to this, experientialism, the techniques lead to imagery, as you mentioned earlier, it all leads to a superstition.

Dave:

Yeah, from the article you can’t be sure.Did they cut off his leg because they were angry that they didn’t get their healing, or because they were going to have this as a relic?All over Europe you’ve got relics.I like a book I read many, many years ago, it’s called, Extraordinary Delusions in the Madness of Crowds, written by a doctor in the 1890’s I think.And he said there were enough pieces of the true cross all over Europe to build a cathedral.And I like—he’s kind of humorous, he said that even the toenail clippings of saints were looked to for healing and blessing and he said Peter’s toenails seemed to be extraordinarily prolific; there were enough clippings to fill a gunny sack in Europe.

Tom:

It’s not just Europe, Dave; every Catholic altar has relics all over the world.But that brings us to these devices that men make up.We know within the—and you’ve written about this, in the system of Roman Catholicism it teaches that there is power in the elements whether they are sacramental, whether it’s holy water, whatever it is, again it’s fraudulent, but it’s superstition.

Dave:

Instead of knowing God, instead of believing in the heart, for example, you know that the wafer and the wine, well they ingest it in the stomach instead of believing in the heart, because they think some physical thing, and this is what an icon is, that there is power in this, and this is why the Bible absolutely forbids this.Now people will say, well, but wait a minute now, you’ve got a lot of ritual there in the tabernacle and in the Jewish temple, and so forth.Well, God said to Moses, See to it that you make it according to the pattern that I have shown you on the mount.The author of Hebrews chapter 9 says, these things were a pattern of the heavenlies.They were to give us some insight, example, which you cannot get from these, but God was honoring our limitations as earthbound beings, because when we are in heaven it’s going to be way beyond that.But it’s something specific, not every idea that some mystic will come along with and say, oh, now if we just do this, I’ve found this very effective.Very specific, specifically for that time, specifically for the Jews, and those things were fulfilled in Christ.The Bible makes it very clear, so we do not go back.Paul writes to the Galatians, How is it that you go back because of the weak and beggarly elements?

Tom:

Now Dave, it’s not just the elements, but it’s from Scripture, but it’s also how we use them.For example, the bronze serpent, this was something specifically given to Moses designed for him to use in the case of the Israelites.All they needed to do was look upon it.But 700 years later, as you know, in the time of Hezekiah, God said destroy it.Because what God had made, men turned into an idol.

Dave:

Yeah, it was never intended to be an idol; in fact there was no power in the serpent.The serpent is an amazing picture, Tom.Just very quickly, the serpent is like Satan, it’s a picture of sin, and Jesus said, as Moses looked up at the serpent; even so the son of man must be lifted up.He was made sin for us.In other words, He never sinned, He was treated as though He was sin itself, and that was what He endured on the cross.So it’s a powerful example of what Christ endured on the cross, and He himself says, as Moses lifted up the serpent, so I will be lifted up, and I will draw all men unto me.