How many heads?

[TheCatholic]

Look, John was a human being. He only had one head.

 

[Sphinx777]

In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part (from anatomical position) that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth (all of which aid in various sensory functions, such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste).

The very simplest animals do not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do. Vertebrates in particular have distinctive heads, which is associated with the development of the neural crest in the developing vertebrate embryo. The contents of the vertebrate head are protected by an enclosure of bone called the skull, which is attached to the spine. The head is the most complex anatomical construct in the anatomy of vertebrates.

The head is of singular importance as it contains the brain, the nerve center in animals.

For humans, the head and particularly the face are the main distinguishing feature between different people, due to their easily discernible features such as hair and eye color, nose, eye and mouth shapes, wrinkles, etc.

People who are more intelligent than normal are sometimes depicted in cartoons as having bigger heads, as a way of indicating that they have a larger brain; in science fiction, an extraterrestrial having a big head is often symbolic of high intelligence. Outside of this symbolic depiction, however, advances in neurobiology have shown that the functional diversity of the brain means that a difference in overall brain size is not a reliable indicator of how much, if any, difference in overall intelligence exists between two humans.

In many cultures, covering the head is seen as a sign of respect. Often, some or all of the head must be covered and veiled when entering holy places, or places of prayer. For many centuries, women in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia have covered their hair as a sign of modesty. This trend has changed drastically in Europe in the 20th century, although is still observed in other parts of the world. In addition, a number of religious paths require men to wear specific head clothing—such as the Jewish yarmulke, or the Sikh turban; or Muslim women, who cover their hair, ears, and neck with a scarf.

Different headpieces can also signify status, origin, religious/spiritual beliefs, social grouping, occupation, and fashion choices.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Look, John was a human being. He only had one head.

Although I agree that is certainly a very reasonable and logical belief, that is not the topic of this thread, per se.

The topic is the seven or more fully authenticated and venerated skulls, or pieces of skulls. of John the Baptist, of which your denomination possesses more than one and your own Pope John Paul II acknowledged another by making a pilgrimage to Damascus.

If you believe as you say you do, do you have any explanation for the additional skulls (assuming that only one can be authentic, at best) without conflicting with the Catholic Church?

 

[TheCatholic]

Well obviously there was a flaw in all but one of the authentication processes - or in all of them perhaps

 

[bbbbbbb]

In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part (from anatomical position) that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth (all of which aid in various sensory functions, such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste).

The very simplest animals do not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do. Vertebrates in particular have distinctive heads, which is associated with the development of the neural crest in the developing vertebrate embryo. The contents of the vertebrate head are protected by an enclosure of bone called the skull, which is attached to the spine. The head is the most complex anatomical construct in the anatomy of vertebrates.

The head is of singular importance as it contains the brain, the nerve center in animals.

For humans, the head and particularly the face are the main distinguishing feature between different people, due to their easily discernible features such as hair and eye color, nose, eye and mouth shapes, wrinkles, etc.

People who are more intelligent than normal are sometimes depicted in cartoons as having bigger heads, as a way of indicating that they have a larger brain; in science fiction, an extraterrestrial having a big head is often symbolic of high intelligence. Outside of this symbolic depiction, however, advances in neurobiology have shown that the functional diversity of the brain means that a difference in overall brain size is not a reliable indicator of how much, if any, difference in overall intelligence exists between two humans.

In many cultures, covering the head is seen as a sign of respect. Often, some or all of the head must be covered and veiled when entering holy places, or places of prayer. For many centuries, women in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia have covered their hair as a sign of modesty. This trend has changed drastically in Europe in the 20th century, although is still observed in other parts of the world. In addition, a number of religious paths require men to wear specific head clothing—such as the Jewish yarmulke, or the Sikh turban; or Muslim women, who cover their hair, ears, and neck with a scarf.

Different headpieces can also signify status, origin, religious/spiritual beliefs, social grouping, occupation, and fashion choices.

Thanks, Sphinx for the peripheral information. On another board there was an interesting discussion regarding head coverings. That has been some time ago, however. You might want to start a thread on that topic in the appropriate area, which would probably be GT.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Well obviously there was a flaw in all but one of the authentication processes - or in all of them perhaps

I agree. However, the flaw(s) should have been identified and resolved long before now, don't you agree? Is there a reason that for centuries Christians have made pilgrimages to various sites containing what is probably a pseudo-relic?

 

[Philothei]

Are you are asking why we are venerating relics? or are you advocating we should not venerate "pseodo-relics"? Not sure here... whatever though you are insinuating if you do not believe in veneration is your prerogative...Just as we are not frawning at some practices that some christians do ....*never existed in the tradtiton *.... Visiting the Holy Land and so forth is not by itself a "wrong" practice... when it becomes the focus then it is.