What's a body part or two

Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead by Peter Manseau


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Manseau writes about what seems to be the need and fascination among many peoples and religions for religious relics. Even those religions which deny relics officially have some item or other that is venerated.
From the first chapter about the Catholic St. Francis Xavier's uncorrupted body in Goa, India to the Muslim hair from the beard of the Prophet in Kashmir to the tooth of the Buddha in Sr Lanka, we are told some of the stories, the background, and attitudes toward these relic.
This is a fine line between adoration of the articles and scoffing at the people who believe in them.

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