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8 Bizarre Things You Might Not Know About Christianity

Here are some of the darkest and least-known Christian beliefs

By Kamna KirtiPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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The homuncular baby Jesus. Source - Wikimedia

I'm a Hindu. I confess that I know more about Christian art and iconography than Hinduism. And that's completely okay with me. Over the last two years, I have written some 100+ articles exclusively on historical Western art and trivia. In fact, I'm trying to carve my niche in this genre, and learning about Christian art and hidden symbolism absolutely fascinates me.

In this article, I'd delve into the 8 most bizarre topics about Christianity across varied historical timelines that you might not know.

1. Depiction of magic mushrooms in early Christian iconography

A psychedelic painting in Canterbury Cathedral in England. Source-Public Domain

Jerry Brown, Ph.D., and Julie Brown's book The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity elucidates the mysterious relationship between psychedelics and Christianity.

The Browns backed their claims with abundant Christian iconography found in middle-eastern churches and Europe.

During their visit to the famous Canterbury Cathedral in England, they observed a psychedelic painting where Christ was surrounded by plants at the bottom. These were not ordinary plants but psilocybin mushrooms including Amanita muscaria, blue psilocybin, and two other varieties of Psilocybe.

2. Vatican's fig leaf campaign

Michelangelo's David with a fig leaf. Source: Public Domain

During the counter-reformation period, the Roman Catholic Church came into power and that was the start of the early Renaissance censorship acts. Painters like Michelangelo were condemned for portraying nude biblical figures in the Sistine chapel. They were asked to camouflage the nakedness of religious figures leading to the censorship act known as the "Vatican's fig leaf campaign".

The Church looked out for all the nude sculptures in Rome and carefully placed metal fig leaves to cover their genitals.

This propaganda spread all across Europe. When a plaster cast of David was presented to Queen Victoria by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, a large detachable fig leaf was given to hide the penis of the sculpture.

3. The obscene marginalia of medieval books

A grotesque image of an ogre shooting an arrow into another creature's rear from the Rutland Psalter

During the era before the printing press, scribes were tasked with painstakingly copying page after page of manuscripts for their patrons. In order to make their task interesting, they might have filled the empty spaces of texts with grotesque marginalia including penis monsters, butts, poop, and a lot of vengeful animals.

Once Gutenberg invented the press in the early 15th century, it completely reformed the way books were produced and consumed.

4. Sheela Na Gigs adoring Britain's churches

A 12th-century Sheela Na Gig on the church at Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England. Source: Wikimedia

Sheela Na Gigs are erotic stone carvings of female figures found on the walls of Roman churches. A grotesque-looking woman pulling apart her vulva is fairly a strange thing to find in the church.

Research shows that these mysterious sculptures were built to keep the evil spirits away. Another plausible explanation is that Sheela Na Gig is seen as an embodiment of the overarching human procreation and death.

5. The fascinating story of sin eaters

Illustration of a sin-eater who was offered bread and ale placed on the chest of the corpse to absorb all the sins of the deceased. Source-Public Domain

Sin eating was practiced in the 18th and early 19th centuries in parts of England, Wales, and Scotland. A sin eater was a person who consumed a piece of bread and ale, placed on the chest of the deceased. It was believed that this practice would release the sins of the dead person.

Gradually, the church condemned this practice and the sin eaters were outcast from society. Richard Munslow was probably the last sin eater who started this practice when he lost his young children in order to protect other villagers from sins.

6. Gargoyles and grotesques

Gargoyle on the west front at Salisbury Cathedral. Source Wikimedia

Architecturally, a gargoyle is a carved grotesque outside a cathedral to convey water away from the sidewalls of a building, thereby preventing corrosion.

When not constructed for drainage and only ornamental purpose, the sculptures are referred to as 'grotesques' created to ward off evil forces outside the churches.

By the end of the Gothic period, the carvings of gargoyles grew more elaborate, and lighthearted human figures started appearing as comic relief more often than guardians.

7. The ugly paintings of baby Jesus

Have you ever wondered why the babies of the renaissance period have strong male features, muscular bodies, and baldness?

As the church influenced the cultural aspects of society, they literally wanted him to look like baby Jesus - a little man, almost like a homunculus. The homuncular, adult-looking baby Jesus became the set standard for all artists and they did not really care about the aesthetics of naturalism.

8. The profane burial practices of the suicides

As we progressed in the late medieval world, suicide was considered a sin and a crime against God. In the 18th and 19th centuries, England observed more prominent cases of bizarre burial rituals.

The corpse of the suicide victim was dragged through the streets, buried at the crossroads by the light of a moon and a dagger was staked at their hearts.

According to folklorists and historians, crossroads were chosen to confuse the spirit of the restless victim. The choice of the four paths would not allow the spirit to come out until dawn as the ghosts of the suicide deaths were considered susceptible to demonic control.

After the public outcry and condemnation, the Burial of Suicide Act 1823 abolished burials at crossroads.

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I have created a goal “Trip to Italy.” Help me finance this goal and I’d keep treating you with interesting articles. Promise!

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Here's my latest video on my YouTube channel:

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About the Creator

Kamna Kirti

Art enthusiast. I engage with art at a deep level. I also share insights about entrepreneurship, founders & nascent technologies.

https://linktr.ee/kamnakirti

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  • Emily Dickerson2 years ago

    Where did you get your information? I'd like to know if it is, at all, accurate.

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