Now let me preference this by saying it just might be in my algorithm on YouTube and Substack, and of course normie propaganda; but I'm seeing lots and lots of stories and videos of mostly Europeans here for the World Cup who seem amazed by America. And even they seemed surprised how much they are enjoying being here.
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Is your faith so materialistic that this makes an appreciable difference?
Honestly, this has always been one of my biggest gripes with the religious. So few of you actually follow the tenets and principles of your own religions.
"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" applies to building cathedrals and megachurches, too. The point is supposed to be your connection to your god, not how fancy the building is.
I'm guessing you've never been in an old European church. It is, indeed, a moving experience. It's not about wealth. It's about beauty and craft and the idea that we can transcend.
Reminds me of an comment I saw on such churches. The idea was that why would you give God a lesser building? Would you build a grand structure of beauty for yourself like often a lot of these European cities were and then relegate God to a basic structure? It was an honor to God to put the finest craftsmanship and the most attention to detail and beauty in the house of God.
I'm sure there were nefarious dealings involved in some of those churches and sinful acts and what not, because well that has happened in the entire bible from the beginning and likely applies to all such dealings.
I mean if you read the Bible we saw the Juden built massive temples for the Lord and even have a fanciful setup while wandering about.
Even their great gypsy camps had a massive complex meant for burning sacrifices and doing worship routines.
I have zero problems with small, inelegant churches when that is what can be afforded by the congregants, and I'm certain God doesn't either. I don't believe the European cathedrals were meant to glorify man but to be a beacon for the glory of God.
Perhaps I'm not so jaded as others but I'd like to believe they were made for honor and glory.
The counterargument is that it's not actually "God's House". It's not the Temple in Jerusalem. God has the same conversation with David when he tried to build a temple the first time. God has no need for a house on earth, the whole universe is his house. What happens is that the church ends up being a building for men, and men who are servants of God should not have finery and luxury and ostentation. It is better to have the plainest and simplest and cheapest building that will do the job of men on earth serving God, and use the rest for the work itself such as charity.
It's a fair counterargument. I'm not even necessarily in favor of exotic cathedrals although they are nice. I definitely wouldn't be in favor of destroying existing ones hundreds of years old to send some sort of message, but more use them appropriately. Still would definitely say an old European cathedral and a modern megachurch are very dissimilar though.
Pay it no head. The opinions of non Christians on Christianity is without value.
Preserving tradition is the polar opposite of "materialism"
I think this is too simplistic. The point of beauty and art in churches is to give the believers a very imperfect glimpse of heaven and their religion. For example, Saint Mark's dome represents heaven, and in the old Gothic style, it is covered in gold. All the art helped believers, who were historically mostly illiterate, understand the religion, and I think even now it's a way of making things real in a way that they're not when you merely hear stories. It's one thing to hear about the Passion, and quite another to see an Ecce homo.
It's a great experience even when it's a music concert that's given in a church.
And a cathedral does not belong to any one man. It's the possession of the community. Just like city buildings or aqueducts. It doesn't make you rich.
That’s not what the eye of a needle verse is about.
Doesn't matter. If Europeans feel a spiritual connection to vast stone halls then that should be part of the religion. It comes from the soul.