Shrine Theologies

I asked how is it that the Son of God walked on the dust of this earth and breathed the air that we still breathe, and yet neither the dust nor the air is either sanctified nor does it sanctify us, and I remembered this verse from Haggai:

"If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?"" Then the priests answered and said, "No." (Haggai 2:12).

Sadly, many are deceived by the shrine and fetish theology of paganism that treats places and objects as holier than others and possessing sanctifying and salvific powers. The dust of Jerusalem or the water of Jordan is not holier than the dust of India just because the Savior walked on that ground. There is only one holy place in the world today, and that is the body of a believer, which is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. God calls us to possess our vessels in holiness (1Thess.4:4), not externalize holiness to places and things like the pagan do.

PS: Haggai 2:13 tells us that the unclean can make the clean (not holy) unclean; this is true of all sinful humans; but, in contrast, the unclean couldn't defile Christ, for He is the Pure One. Athanasius gave a beautiful illustration when he likened the Incarnation of Christ to the rays of the sun falling on the dust of the ground. The dust cannot pollute the sun.

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Marbaniang, Domenic

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