Bleeding statue in Bolivia.

[Misanthrope]

What do you guys think about this? Happened in 1995 but I just heard about it.

http://www.visionsofjesuschrist.com/weeping68.htm

Christians claim there are scientific studies to support it, claiming it is in fact blood but with no genetic code.

[Die Rote Fahne]

I call bullshit.

[Misanthrope]

"What is needed is a hollow statue made of a porous material such as plaster or ceramic. The icon must be glazed or painted with some sort of impermeable coating. If the statue is then filled up with a liquid (surreptitiously, through a tiny hole in the head, for example), the porous material will absorb it, but the glazing will stop it from flowing out. If the glazing, however, is imperceptibly scratched away on or around the eyes, tear-like drops will leak out, as if materialising from thin air. If the cavity behind the eyes is small enough, once all the liquid has dripped out there are virtually no traces left in the icon. When I put it to the test, this trick proved to be very satisfactory, baffling all onlookers"

- "The Unexplained," Doctor Karl P.N. Shuker

[Fawkes]

I thought Christians drank the blood of Christ every week

[Revolutionair]

Om nom nom.

[Misanthrope]

I thought Christians drank the blood of Christ every week

That is the Catholic belief.

[Jazzratt]

Christians claim there are scientific studies to support it, claiming it is in fact blood but with no genetic code. I'm fairly sure that "blood with no genetic code" is in fact not actually blood or, indeed, possible. Someone with a background in genetics a bit stronger than what they've seen on telly and a few half-remembered articles can confirm this I'm sure.

[Red Commissar]

The article posted mentions "various scientific studies". This line is hyperlinked to another Christian website with various 'miracles'. I click on the relevant statue link, and it too mentions "various scientific studies", but doesn't furnish anything to that effect.

All I'm getting from the two sites are personal anecdotes and quotes from stories they aren't sourcing, so yeah, I call bullshit.

[Fawkes]

That is the Catholic belief.

And catholics are christian.

[Misanthrope]

And catholics are christian.

Yes but that belief is specific to the Catholic faith.

[Magdalen]

That is the Catholic belief.

Judging from a little peak in this website it appears as if this story is of a Catholic background, albeit one not endorsed by the Church hierarchy, who tend to find this sort of thing rather embarrassing, as they did with the saga of the 'moving' statues in Ireland in the 1980s. There's a mention of the rosary, which is a devotion exclusively practiced by Catholics, and of Don Bosco, a well-known 19th century Italian Catholic saint.

Protestants don't tend to go in for moving/crying statues to any great degree - they tend to condradict their beliefs with regards to extra-biblical revelations and worship of idols.

Of course, it's all indubitably nonsense - we shouldn't concern ourselves which such things other than as a source of mild amusement, and as a sad commentary on the remaining levels of superstition among the oppressed classes in Bolivia (just look at the bizarre reverence of Ernesto Guevara as 'St Che' at La Higuera).

[Black Sheep]

The pope then said
"A chick bleeding out of her vagina is not a miracle.Chicks bleed out of their vaginas all the time"

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5aaMlfzqW5fPTM:http://images.southparkstudios.com/media/images/914/914_2_investigating_pope.jpg&t=1

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I'm fairly sure that "blood with no genetic code" is in fact not actually blood or, indeed, possible. Someone with a background in genetics a bit stronger than what they've seen on telly and a few half-remembered articles can confirm this I'm sure.

The difficulty here is that there are at least two different kinds of cells in human blood - red cells, which lack a nucleus (and therefore DNA*) and white cells, which do possess a nucleus and form part of the immune system.

So it would seem that "blood without a genetic code" is a nonsensical statement, biologically speaking.

*this is further confused by the fact that mitochondria (I'm not sure if they exist in red blood cells) have their own DNA.

[Quail]

mitochondria (I'm not sure if they exist in red blood cells) have their own DNA.
Because I clearly have nothing better to do, I looked it up:

Mammalian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian) erythrocytes are unique among the vertebrates as they are non-nucleated cells in their mature form. These cells have nuclei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_nucleus) during early phases of erythropoiesis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythropoiesis), but extrude them during development as they mature in order to provide more space for hemoglobin. In mammals, erythrocytes also lose all other cellular organelles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organelle) such as their mitochondria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion), golgi apparatus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgi_apparatus) and endoplasmic reticulum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoplasmic_reticulum). As a result of not containing mitochondria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion), these cells use none of the oxygen they transport; instead they produce the energy carrier ATP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate) by lactic acid fermentation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid_fermentation) of glucose (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose). Because of the lack of nuclei and organelles, mature red blood cells do not contain DNA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA) and cannot synthesize any RNA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA), and consequently cannot divide and have limited repair capabilities

Anyway, "miracles" like this tend to have rational explanations. It says something that none of the "scientific studies" are sourced.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Yes but that belief is specific to the Catholic faith.
Not really, every Christian church I've been to have drank the blood of Christ and have eaten his flesh ritualistically. None of them were Catholic.

[Misanthrope]

Not really, every Christian church I've been to have drank the blood of Christ and have eaten his flesh ritualistically. None of them were Catholic.

Yes but Catholics actually believe it is the flesh and blood. They actually believe they are eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Yes but Catholics actually believe it is the flesh and blood. They actually believe they are eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood.
Are you fucking kidding me?

[Crux]

Yes but Catholics actually believe it is the flesh and blood. They actually believe they are eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood.
Wow this is his blood? This guy must have been wasted all the time!

[Luisrah]

Since it is the red cells in our blood that make the blood red, and since they have no DNA, it is possible to have a DNA-less blood, though it's not normal blood.

As for the rest, I didn't even read the article.

[BOZG]

Are you fucking kidding me?

Nope, it's true. Other churches see it as symbolic - Catholics literally interpret Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "This is my body". Through transubstantiation, the Host and wine become the flesh and blood of Christ.

[Misanthrope]

Are you fucking kidding me?

Nope, they actually believe it is human skin and blood after the Priest performs the ritual. Some Catholics claim there is scientific evidence for this.

[Pavlov's House Party]

Nope, they actually believe it is human skin and blood after the Priest performs the ritual. Some Catholics claim there is scientific evidence for this.

nothing like some good ol' fashioned ritualistic cannibalism

[Acostak3]

Yes but Catholics actually believe it is the flesh and blood. They actually believe they are eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood.
Honestly, I'm sure that the vast majority of Catholics don't actually believe that. And also, I remember going to a Presbyterian church when i was little and some people there took the flesh and blood thing literally.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Honestly, I'm sure that the vast majority of Catholics don't actually believe that.

It's official Catholic doctrine as I understand. If most Catholics think it's hokum, then perhaps the clergy are more out of touch than we first realised.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Doesn't the fact that it bleeds on Christmas, easter, etc. seem odd in itself? The fact that, if there was even a Jesus that existed - in which the evidence to there not being one holds more weight - Jesus' birthday would've not been on Christmas to begin with. Doesn't that at least point out some man made concepts being played at here?

"Oh, what a coincidence! Jesus is tearing blood on his fake, man-made birthday. How convenient!"