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Yes, absolutely - that's real proof - proof of what a load of cretious, superstitious, peasants and snake-oil salesmen inhabit the coptic church:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Holy_Fire
If you feel the need of "white man's magic" to bolster your faith, come over to Landover, as for me and show you a few card tricks.
Originally posted by Prorathack
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http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Holy_Fire
As with all miracles, many question the validity of the Holy Fire, noting, for instance, that cold-handed pilgrims generally withstand the fire for the same very brief periods of time, as can be achieved with any fire.
Criticism dates at least to the days of Islamic rule of Jerusalem, but the pilgrims were never stopped, because of the significant revenue they brought to local governments even at the end of the first millennium. When the apparently uninitiated Crusaders took over the Orthodox clergy in charge of the fire, it failed to appear, increasing the scepticism among Western Christians. But feeling the lack of pilgrim revenues, Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? - April 2, 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first County of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled Kingdom of Jerusalem....
reinstated the Orthodox priests in charge, and the fire, as well as the stream of revenues, returned.
In 1238, Pope Gregory IXPope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy....
denounced the Holy Fire as a fraud.
Edward GibbonEdward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788....
wrote scathingly about the alleged phenomenon in the concluding volume of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was written by England historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings....
Adamantios Korais or Cora?s was a humanist scholar credited with laying the foundations of Modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment....
who condemned what he considered to be religious fraud in his treatise "On the Holy Light of Jerusalem." He referred to the event as "machinations of fraudulent priests" and to the "unholy" light of Jerusalem as "a profiteers' miracle".
It continues to be the subject of contemporary criticism. In 2005 in a live demonstration on Greek television, Michael Kalopoulos, author and historian of religion, dipped three candles in white phosphorus. The candles spontaneously ignited after approximately 20 minutes due to the self-ignition properties of white phosphorus when in contact with air. According to Kalopoulos' website:
See also this post by Mr. Kalopoulos for a brief summary of his views on the Holy Fire: The 'Holy' Light of Jerusalem
Russian sceptic Igor Dobrokhotov has analysed the evidence for an alleged miracle at length at his website, including the ancient sources and contemporary photos and videos. He has also reproduced fire-bathing and has uncovered contradictions in the story of the "column split by lightning."
Criticism dates at least to the days of Islamic rule of Jerusalem, but the pilgrims were never stopped, because of the significant revenue they brought to local governments even at the end of the first millennium. When the apparently uninitiated Crusaders took over the Orthodox clergy in charge of the fire, it failed to appear, increasing the scepticism among Western Christians. But feeling the lack of pilgrim revenues, Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? - April 2, 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first County of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled Kingdom of Jerusalem....
reinstated the Orthodox priests in charge, and the fire, as well as the stream of revenues, returned.
In 1238, Pope Gregory IXPope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy....
denounced the Holy Fire as a fraud.
Edward GibbonEdward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788....
wrote scathingly about the alleged phenomenon in the concluding volume of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was written by England historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings....
This pious fraud, first devised in the ninth century, was devoutly cherished by the Latin crusaders, and is annually repeated by the clergy of the Greek, Armenian, and Coptic sects, who impose on the credulous spectators for their own benefit and that of their tyrants.
Even some Orthodox Christians have been critical of the Holy Fire, such as Adamantios KoraisAdamantios KoraisAdamantios Korais or Cora?s was a humanist scholar credited with laying the foundations of Modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment....
who condemned what he considered to be religious fraud in his treatise "On the Holy Light of Jerusalem." He referred to the event as "machinations of fraudulent priests" and to the "unholy" light of Jerusalem as "a profiteers' miracle".
It continues to be the subject of contemporary criticism. In 2005 in a live demonstration on Greek television, Michael Kalopoulos, author and historian of religion, dipped three candles in white phosphorus. The candles spontaneously ignited after approximately 20 minutes due to the self-ignition properties of white phosphorus when in contact with air. According to Kalopoulos' website:
If phosphorus is dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent, self-ignition is delayed until the solvent has almost completely evaporated. Repeated experiments showed that the ignition can be delayed for half an hour or more, depending on the density of the solution and the solvent employed.
Kalopoulos also points out that knowledge of chemical reactions of this nature was well known in ancient times, quoting Strabo, who states "In Babylon there are two kinds of naphtha springs, a white and a black. The white naphtha is the one that ignites with fire." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographica_(Strabo) Strabon Geographica] 16.1.15.1-24) He further states that phosphorus was used by Chaldean magicians in the early fifth century BC, and by the ancient Greeks, in a way similar to its supposed use today by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.See also this post by Mr. Kalopoulos for a brief summary of his views on the Holy Fire: The 'Holy' Light of Jerusalem
Russian sceptic Igor Dobrokhotov has analysed the evidence for an alleged miracle at length at his website, including the ancient sources and contemporary photos and videos. He has also reproduced fire-bathing and has uncovered contradictions in the story of the "column split by lightning."
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