Palaces of worship

[Zzyzx]

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In many cities and towns the most ornate and ostentatious buildings are churches / cathedrals / mosques / temples / or other places of worship.

Such buildings are intended to impress and/or send a message. Impress whom? Message whom? What message?

[SallyF]

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In many cities and towns the most ornate and ostentatious buildings are churches / cathedrals / mosques / temples / or other places of worship.

Such buildings are intended to impress and/or send a message. Impress whom? Message whom? What message?

In my experience …

When folks of faith find bits of their "scripture" that they don't like the sound of, they go to ALL SORTS of lengths to demonstrate that "God" REALLY meant to say what THEY have CHOSEN "God" to say.

Take for example:

And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

Most inconvenient of "God" to inspire his prophets to write this when one is certain that "God" wants cathedrals and basilicas and such built to the "Glory of God".

(Though why a universe-creating, planet-flooding deity who was ticked with humans building a ziggurat would be impressed with such structures is beyond me.)



Biblically speaking, this Christian building is polluted.

But - of course - we have ways of showing that "God" did not mean what some/many/most folks take at face value.

So get out the mallets and chisels and hammer away in the name of the Virgin (or whomever).

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by Zzyzx]

Jehovah's Witnesses "kingdom halls" are modest buildings that are built to be pleasant, clean, comfortable and most of all functional. We dont have catherdrals or extravagant temples for worship.

In many lands we simply rent a hall. We view the people more important than the building and and save money where we can for more important endeavours such as producing bibles and bible literature, financing bible educational work and disaster relief. We dont have unlimited funds so choices have to be made. There are no crosses, religious statues or idols on or inside our places of worship.

JW




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[Tcg]

[Replying to post 1 by Zzyzx]

Jehovahs Witness kingdom halls are modest buildings that are built to be pleasant, clean, comfortable and most of all functional.

In many lands we simply rent a hall. We view the people more important than the building and and save money where we can for more important endeavours such as producing bibles and bible literature, financing bible educational work and disaster relief. We dont have unlimited funds so choices have to be made.

JW

The question wasn't about what JWs do, but rather about what your fellow Christians do, or have done, by building ornate places of worship. Why do you think your fellow Christians build, or have built, such ornate edifices?


Tcg

[bjs]

[Replying to Zzyzx]

I’m not sure that there is an effort to impress anyone. However, the message seems to be “I care about this,� and the target of the message would be anyone who reads a great deal into architecture.

(As a side note, the only city I have ever been in where I thought the church was the most impressive building was the Vatican. I was once in a really impressive Cathedral, but that same city had a literal castle. I guess “ornate and ostentatious� are subjective terms. I’m sure there are at least three examples of churches being the most ornate building in a city, but we are probably on the low side of “many� in this case.)

[Clownboat]

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In many cities and towns the most ornate and ostentatious buildings are churches / cathedrals / mosques / temples / or other places of worship.

Such buildings are intended to impress and/or send a message. Impress whom? Message whom? What message?

The answer seems obvious to me anyway. Follow the money.

Churches are ran by humans. These humans are trying to stay in business. In order to do so, these humans must attract other humans. Therefore, churches are ornate and ostentatious buidings.

Some humans may be attracted to the more pious forms of a religion. For those, humans running some churches have met that niche as well.

(There are other means used to attract humans like indoctrination and threats of course, just addressing the buildings here).

[SallyF]

Medieval cathedrals dominated the skyline of Medieval England. Cathedrals were far larger than castles – symbolic of their huge importance to medieval society where religion dominated the lives of all – be they rich or peasants.

Medieval Cathedrals were the most obvious sign of the wealth of the church in Medieval England. Huge cathedrals were found principally at Canterbury and York, and in major cities such as Lincoln, Worcester, and Chichester. The cost of these buildings was vast – but the money to pay for these huge buildings came from the people via the many payments they had to make to the Roman Catholic Church. https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/m ... athedrals/

"God", in the verse I quoted above, forbade the construction of cathedral-like structures. "God" would not have been impressed.

The message is about human power and wealth and influence - all in the name of "God" of course (the name of god being Jehovah-Jesus-Holy Ghost in the case of Christian cathedrals).

Religious architecture and art were to medieval feudalism what advertising and commercialism are to modern capitalism:
A rather effective way to build support for the status quo using
aesthetics instead of argument. My claim, in short, is that Notre Dame
played the same role during the Middle Ages that fashion magazines play
today. Notre Dame was not an argument for feudalism, and Elle is not an argument for capitalism. But both are powerful ways to make regular people buy into the system. https://marginalrevolution.com/marginal ... ey-bu.html

[Saber Bob]

Two medieval peasants we're walking down the road as a third traveler encountered them. Both of the peasants had large stones strapped to their backs. The third traveler asked one of the peasants. .

Why are you scowling?

The answer was swift.

Ihave to carry this stone, idiot!

The questioner then asked the second peasant why he was smiling beautifically

That peasant's answer was equally swift.

Because I'm building a cathedral!

[Zzyzx]

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Because I'm building a cathedral!

True story or made-up hypothetical to try to make a point?

What point?

Why should building a cathedral be any more happiness-inducing to a laborer than building a barn?

[Zzyzx]

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I’m not sure that there is an effort to impress anyone.

Of course not – a grand building it not intended to impress anyone.

However, the message seems to be “I care about this,�

Does that apply to current mega-churches of televangelists?

and the target of the message would be anyone who reads a great deal into architecture.

Peasants / common people / those who do not ‘read a great deal into architecture’ don’t get the message?

(As a side note, the only city I have ever been in where I thought the church was the most impressive building was the Vatican.

It might be educational to tour Bible Belt towns.

I was once in a really impressive Cathedral, but that same city had a literal castle.

The castle attested to / advertised the wealth and power of nobility.

The cathedral attested to / advertised the wealth and power of the clergy.

I guess “ornate and ostentatious� are subjective terms. I’m sure there are at least three examples of churches being the most ornate building in a city, but we are probably on the low side of “many� in this case.)

Let’s avoid the topic by quibbling about whether palaces of worship are the most ornate and ostentatious or the second, or third, or n’th. Then quibble about the meaning of ornate and ostentatious (or change to ‘impressive’).

The question remains, WHY build grand places of worship?