Holy or Idolatry?

Are relics truly holy and powerful objects which bring physical and spiritual healing, or are they a disguised form of idol worship? And first I want to consider what an idol is. In Webster dictionary it is defined as a representation or symbol of an object of worship. Towards the end of Thursday's class, I could not help but notice in the movie that relics seem much like different types of idols that were considered to be powerful and holy. Whether they were the bones of a saint or a piece of cloth that they wiped their face with, people would travel hundreds of miles risking their life at times to see them in hopes of being healed or freed from sin. To me, that seems a lot like idolatry.

 No one or nothing is holy. To be holy is to be perfect and without fault, blame, or sin. The last time I checked, no one or nothing was, is, or will be holy except God. This reminds be of countless stories in the bible, both in the Old and New Testament about idol worship. God absolutely hates and condemns idol worship. He even killed people who worshiped idols by fire from heaven. In his commandments to us he states that we should not have any gods before him. Gods in this (little 'g') can mean a lot of things. Idols, or gods, is anything that takes the place of or hinders one's relationship with God the Father. It could be some statue, new sports car, football team, or even a relic. If one is worshiping or relying on healing power from a relic, then that is idol worship. 

People are foolish to think that some bones or ancient piece of history could change their lives. The only ancient thing that could change their lives is the Ancient of ancients. God is the only one who has the power to heal and forgive sins. Instead of traveling hundreds of miles to a place which "claims" to have a holy object, healing and forgiveness is only a step away. If we were to seek God like the way we seek other things that we desire, our lives including the whole world would be changed.