From long, lost relics to statues that come
to life here are 8 unsolved religious mysteries. 8. THE HOLY GRAIL For centuries, people have been fascinated
by stories about the Holy Grail - the cup or chalice that Jesus is believed to have
drunk from during the Last Supper. It is also rumored to have been used by Joseph
of Arimathea to collect the blood of Jesus during his crucifixion. It so powerful that it will bring eternal
youth and abundant happiness and riches to whoever possesses it. The Holy Grail is popular in both legend and
pop culture and has inspired many texts, movies, and books, including Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade, The Da Vinci Code, and even the comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There have also been countless treasure hunts
for the relic by scientists, archaeologists, historians, and other believers, but nobody’s
ever found it. In fact, nobody can say for sure if the Holy
Grail really even exists, including the experts, who’ve had no better luck finding it than
anyone else. People aren’t just unsure where the Holy
Grail is, but they also can’t seem to reach a general consensus on what it looks like. Hundreds of theories exist and have been put
to the test, seemingly to no avail, since archaeologists and treasure hunters keep walking
away empty-handed, time and time again. In 2014, two historians claimed to have discovered
the Holy Grail in the form of a chalice, located within a church in León in northern Spain. The chalice has been at the church since the
eleventh century, according to researchers. Leaving no stone unturned, they compiled three
years’ worth of data and had scientific dating performed on the cup, which test results
concluded was made sometime between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D. Could this cup be the real Holy Grail? Since it’s impossible to truly determine
whether or not Jesus drank from the cup, it can’t explicitly be ruled out - much like
most of the other 200 or so from roughly the same time period, that people throughout the
world have claimed to be the real deal. 7. INCORRUPTIBILITY An incorruptible is a body that appears to
decay unusually slowly, also known as delayed decomposition - or, in some cases, very little
or not at all, as if they have been perfectly preserved. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox beliefs
attribute this phenomenon to divine intervention and as a sign of a person’s holiness. Throughout history, the deceased bodies of
several prominent religious figures have remained unaffected or barely affected by decomposition
for extended periods of time, even when exposed to factors that typically cause or even accelerate
the process. A body that is deemed incorruptible under
Roman Catholic standards is often elevated to sainthood status. Many Eastern Orthodox saints were also found
to be incorruptible. However, the condition is not currently a
prerequisite for sainthood according to either denomination’s standards. But what causes a body to be incorrupt? One blogger and relic hunter, Elizabeth Harper,
points out that even incorruptible corpses are maintained to some extent. In other words, they do start to decompose
after a while, and things are done to the bodies to keep up their seemingly pristine
appearances, including chemical cleanings and the application of wax or makeup to disguise
decaying features. Although such practices are surprisingly common,
it doesn’t mean that incorruptibility is a sham. Remember, it does not mean that a body never
decays. In most cases, after remaining exceptionally
intact for far longer than average - oftentimes, years - the decomposition process finally
starts. The length of time it takes for most incorruptible
bodies to start decaying defies science and has yet to be fully explained. 6. STIGMATA When someone is afflicted with stigmata, it
means that they’ve incurred bodily injuries that correlate with the crucifixion wounds
of Jesus Christ. The hands, wrists, and feet are a few of the
most common places for stigmata-related wounds, scars, and pain to occur. There have also been reported cases of stigmata
involving injuries to the side, around the head - as if caused by a crown of thorns,
and back wounds. Stigmata is typically associated with Roman
Catholicism. The first-ever recorded Stigmatic in Christian
history was St. Francis of Assisi, who became afflicted in 1224. Another well-known stigmatic, St. Padre Pio
of Pietrelcina of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, reported symptoms for over 50 years. He suffered mainly from wounds through his
hands, which only healed once the entire time before reappearing. Oddly, Padre Pio’s wounds never became infected,
and the skin surrounding them never showed signs of damage. He was studied by numerous 20th-century doctors,
some of whom accused him of using carbolic acid or self-injuring to fake his stigmata. His mental state was also called into question
by one doctor, who accused him of having hysteria; and another, who outright dismissed the idea
that his wounds were supernatural in origin. Other doctors hesitated to identify a definite
cause for the injuries. An estimated 80 percent or more of stigmatics
are women. The condition is diagnosed primarily according
to the perceived religious significance of the sufferer’s wounds. Many purported cases of stigmata have been
debunked as hoaxes. Others, like Padre Pio’s, were met with
mixed feelings by medical professionals and other critics. What do you think about this controversial
condition? Let me know in the comments below! 5. THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be
one of the most significant archaeological finds of the twentieth century, if not of
all time. Between 1947 and 1956, a team of archaeologists,
accompanied by Bedouin shepherds, discovered around 900 parchment and papyrus scrolls in
a series of twelve caves, known as the Qumran Caves, which are located in the Judaean Desert
along Israel’s West Bank. The scrolls date between the third century
B.C. and the first century A.D. and are written mostly in Hebrew, along with some Aramaic
and Greek. Some of the earliest-known biblical passages
are written on the scrolls, including the oldest-known copy of the Ten Commandments. Additionally, the texts contain parts of every
book of the Old Testament. There are also several previously unknown
hymns, prayers commentaries, and mystical formulas. Israeli archaeologist Yuval Peleg, believes
that the scrolls had been hurriedly stuffed into the caves by a population of Jews fleeing
from the Romans. He also believes that Qumran became a protective
fort for Jews from threats to the east and that it was later converted into a pottery
factory. Other scholars have speculated that Qumran
was used as a tannery, a manor house, and a perfume manufacturing center. While an abundance of theories surrounds the
Dead Sea Scrolls, there’s no general consensus regarding their origin or who they were written
by. The controversy, which has been referred to
as a “powder keg” by scholar Risa Levitt Cole, has sparked bitter feuds within scientific
and religious communities. For safekeeping, the scrolls are kept in a
dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. 4. THE SHROUD OF TURIN This centuries-old linen cloth bears the negative
image of a traumatized man who appears to be Jesus of Nazareth. Some believe that it was the burial shroud
Jesus was wrapped in after he was crucified. The relic is kept in Turin, Italy, in the
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist’s Royal Chapel. Scientific investigations have failed thus
far to determine how the cryptic, Jesus-like image became imprinted on the cloth, and nobody
has successfully replicated the image. The authenticity of the shroud was first challenged
in 1390 when a bishop wrote that a local artist had confessed to the alleged forgery. Three radiocarbon dating tests of the cloth
conducted in 1988 turned up results consistent with this time period, the 14th century, thus
lending plausibility to the bishop’s claim. Some researchers have argued that these radiocarbon
dating results were reflective of material that was used to repair the shroud during
the Middle Ages. In 1898, amateur photographer Secondo Pia
took pictures of the shroud while it was being exhibited. It was at this time that the first negative,
black-and-white image rendering of the shroud’s image was observed, which depicted a much
clearer likeness than the sepia-colored imprint on the cloth. Despite centuries of investigating, no conclusive
explanation exists for the source or method behind the shroud’s image. 3. WEEPING STATUES Since 1953, a plaster statue of the Madonna
in Syracuse, Sicily has been continuously shedding tears. It’s just one of the dozens of crying statues
that have been witnessed and reported around the world, but it’s the only one that has
been recognized by the Catholic Church as a true miracle. All other reported sightings of weeping statues
either remain unverified or have been proven to be hoaxes. The Catholic Church is very thorough in its
investigations of alleged miracles, and they’re not quick to lend validity to a claim. Instead, the church prefers to let the phenomenon
“play out” to see if evidence of a hoax appears or if it is disproven by science - a
process that can last indefinitely. The statues in question have been known to
cry a variety of different liquids, including human blood, human tears, olive oil, and scented
oils. Some cases, such as that of a crying Padre
Pio statue in Sicily in 2002, are quickly debunked as the deceptive actions of a person
placing the “tears” on the statue - in this case, a woman had used her own blood. Other instances of crying statues are less
clear-cut. This year, a sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe
began producing tears of perfumed olive oil known as chrism, which is considered sacred
when blessed, at a church in New Mexico. At first, even the church’s priest admittedly
struggled to believe that the phenomenon was real. According to the church’s business manager,
however, a thorough review of their security footage proved that nobody could have done
anything to make the statue cry artificially. Even the famed Madonna of Syracuse statue
has essentially been debunked by science. In 1995, a chemistry researcher at the University
of Pavla named Luigi Garlaschelli claimed to have figured out how a simple plaster statue
could be manipulated into “crying” seemingly on its own. However, it’s very difficult to gain access
to relics for experimental or investigative purposes, and the Madonna of Syracuse was
no exception. 2. THE ROTHWELL BONE CRYPT Located in Rothwell, England, the thirteenth-century
Holy Trinity Church is both a medieval landmark and major tourist destination. From the outset, it looks no different than
any other surviving church from that time period. However, one feature sets Holy Trinity Church
apart from almost any other: an underground chapel, stacked floor-to-ceiling with human
bones. The “Bone Crypt,” as the room is often
called, is filled with the remains of some 1,500 individuals. Legend has it that the room was sealed off
until around 1700, when a gravedigger fell through the floor. While the worker supposedly went insane as
a result of the disturbing discovery, it instead piqued the curiosity of others, who organized
the bones and placed them on shelves. To this day, nobody knows the origins of the
skeletal remains, but there are three main theories. One posits that the individuals were plague
victims. They may have been soldiers that were killed
in 1645 in the nearby Battle of Naseby. Or, they may have simply been the dug-up remains
of people who were once buried in the church courtyard but were awaiting relocation to
another burial site. Carbon dating tests have determined that the
skeletal remains date from as early as the twelfth century to as recent as the nineteenth
century. 1. THE SURVIVAL OF THE WEST END BAPTIST CHURCH
CHOIR On the evening of March 1, 1950, members of
the West End Baptist Church Choir in the small town of Beatrice, Nebraska narrowly avoided
almost certain death when seemingly random circumstances prevented everyone from showing
up for practice on time. Thanks to the uncanny timing of their tardiness,
none of the fifteen choir members were inside the church when an explosion occurred that
would have most definitely been fatal. Three hours earlier, pastor Walter Klempl
had turned the heat on, but the church had instead filled with natural gas. The choir members were known for their punctuality,
and they had even planned to arrive a half hour early that night. Still, somehow, none of them had arrived when
the explosion occurred at 7:27 PM, five minutes after practice was scheduled to start. The pastor and his wife had run late thanks
to their daughter spilling food on her dress. Two other singers couldn’t get their cars
to start. Mundane tasks such as homework, writing letters,
and listening to the radio - things that normally didn’t interfere with getting to practice
on time - held others up. What saved these choir members? Was it divine intervention, or simply luck? Either way, talk about being in the right
place at the right time! Thanks for watching!! Be sure to subscribe and I’ll see you next
time!! Byeee
