What kind of God is he who preserves parts of the ancient scriptures, but lets people tamper with bits and pieces in it? All the while saying in Revelation 22:18,19 " If anyone makes an addition or takes away from the words of the scrolls they will be punished" (not exact words ,you lokk it up)
They will be punished in the afterlife. People can temper with it but the untempered versions can be found.
http://www.skarlakidis.gr/en/thema/18--1579-.html
Undoubtedly, the scientific opinion of Evgeny Morozov carries great weight and confirms the written sources that mention the miraculous splitting of the column. But I wanted a second opinion on the matter and so I turned to one of the leading Greek scientists in the field of Fracture Mechanics, Professor George Α. Papadopoulos10 of the University of Athens, to whom I sent high definition photographs of the fracture.
Professor Papadopoulos, having examined the photographs, judged that the fracture of the column was indeed caused by an electrical discharge which occurred simultaneously with a seismic wave directed upwards. This combined pressure on the column – electrical discharge plus seismic wave – he believes to be inexplicable and he consequently arrived at the conclusion that “one could only speak of a miracle.”
Professor Papadopoulos, in response to a related email request from me, states the following:
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Dear Mr. Skarlakidis, Thank you for your email dated 31/1/2010. I believe I can be of assistance to your worthy project. For the last thirty-five years I have been working with Experimental Fracture Mechanics at the Physics of Strength of Materials Laboratory of the National University of Athens and I believe wherever there is no scientific explanation, there is a miracle. I have no reason to doubt the Munich Library manuscript dated to 1634 which gives an account of the miraculous manner of the rupture of the column as well as what ensued: that the Greek patriarch used this Fire to light his candle. I do not believe it is possible to doubt a miracle and especially where there are related accounts. By examining the fracture from the photographs, we could conclude that it is a result of combined pressure: a combination of electrical discharge (probably a strong lightning bolt) and a large seismic tremor. The electrical discharge, due to the high momentary temperature, embrittled the material in the column down the length of a narrow area (origin). The surface seismic wave put pressure on the column resulting in torsional oscillation (fatigue). This simultaneous pressure resulted in the fracture beginning at the base of the column and continuing upwards in a zigzag course (as it appears in the photograph the course of the fracture is not linear) along the length of the area made embrittled by the electrical discharge. If the above indeed occurred, in my opinion this simultaneous combined pressure of the column remains inexplicable. Therefore, one could speak only of a miracle. Dear Mr. Skarlakidis I would like to offer my congratulations on your work and I wholeheartedly wish you great success. Regards, |
With the miraculous incident of the column that split and ignited we have completed our long journey through the centuries concerning the miracle of the Holy Fire. Our journey began in approximately the year 330, with the account of the lighting of the oil lamp that was placed at the Holy Sepulchre by Saint Gregory the Illuminator and finished in the year 1579 with the incident we have just examined. We have presented forty-three testimonies and each reader is free to assess them according to his or her own judgment.
In a brief overview of these testimonies, three particular characteristics are noteworthy. In all the attestations there is one common parameter: the account of a light, flame, fire, or lightning that descended from the sky before the people, at a time when the ability to reproduce electricity or related phenomena artificially did not exist.
The second important characteristic is the igniting of the ever-burning oil lamp and the illumination of a vacant, dark and sealed Tomb – an event that took place for at least six centuries. The illumination of the Tomb interior certainly did not occur just from the radiance of the ever-burning oil lamp, but primarily from the light that emanated from the actual stone where the body of Jesus had been placed.
The third important characteristic mentioned in many accounts is the synchronization of the two above-mentioned phenomena: both the descent of the heavenly light and the simultaneous igniting of the oil lamp and illumination of the Tomb interior. Such synchronization can only be achieved, both then and now, through divine intervention.