LOL, if there had been any sign of Armageddon approaching I wouldn't had been anywhere near a church, despite the invaluable artwork.
Paying to enter a private museum is pretty normal, regardless of where the money goes.
what is the wt's stance on dubs visiting historic churches?
by moomanchu 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
DaCheech
my JW wife and I, have been to quite a few catholic churches in europe and NYC.
-
davidl7
Visiting and taking tours of churches is a matter of conscience...the same is true if a Witness decides to attend the funeral of a relative or friend in a church...
Many Witnesses I know have no qualms about viewing or taking tours of the Churches/Cathedrals...I visit them when I go to Europe, and have visited churches in Barcelona, Prague, Amsterdam and London... the tour was quite educational and interesting. And anyway, many of the churches are basically "museums"... with a group of about 25 attending service in a small section of a Cathedral with a capacity to seat over 3,000. The guides are quite interesting, mentioning how the relics, many of them made from pure gold, were financed through the sale of indulgences...I remember when I went to a Cathedral in Spain, they had a large item, which to me and my friends looked like an over-sized toilet... when I questioned the guide about it, he explained to us that it was used to forcefully baptized some Indians that Columbus brought over from America... Indians who refused to be baptized were tortured and killed... the blood of the innocents drenches the hands of Babylon the Great...
-
-
Band on the Run
Actually, I can see an artist depicting John the Baptist with a cross to show he was the forebearer of Jesus. The artist would not mean it literally. It would have a symbolic meaning. I'm trying to think of some Renaissance or Medieval example. The Dali of Christ gives me the creeps. I would never gaze at it alone. It is wonderful art but sometimes I am too lowbrow for great art.
What I do find strange is that the diocese did not erect a plaque explaining the painting and giving a provenance.
The first time I toured the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine I was utterly shocked to hear Nimrod described favorably. I practically fainted. Nimrod in stained glass as a hero. Why not Judas? or Satan? The tour guide told me he was an Old Testament figure. I sad precisely but he is Nimrod. When I reached home, I pulled out my New English translation and read the Nimrod account. I can't recall all the details. The Cathedral's portrayl did not seem such a stretch. The Witnesses embroidered the story to make Nimrod much more vile than depicted.
The last straw for me is the UN. Nimrod tied into how awful the UN was. My secret dream was to be a UN international civil servant. If I were not a clunk at languages, I would be there or at State. A close friend of mine worked there. He was decent and sweet. When I grew up, the UN did what the US wanted so we worshipped it. What I find cool about it is there is this oasis of mostly American-hating foreign citizens in midtown. You can't feel the US is the center of the world.
-
artemis.design
What really gets me annoyed is that all my JW family are all up for visiting a church / cathedral for its arcitectural merits, they will never set foot in a church when there is a live service, even if it is a Wedding or Funeral. On the one occastion thay had to attend, as it was a close relatives funeral, they were down right rude to the minister.
Arte
-
Band on the Run
I posted about St. John the Baptist with a cross. Altho I am not an art historian by profession, I spend much time in art museums, primarily in NY. The artist may not have meant the image literally. It may have been symbolic that John was a precursor to Jesus of Nazareth so he prepared the way for the cross. I've always found the interplay between John the Baptists and his followers and Jesus and his followers to be fascinating. As usual, there are so many questions left for supposition. My favorite art is Impressionism b/c it is pretty. Impressionism was hardly considered pretty when it debuted. It was considered gritty, dirty and who the h...wanted to see the lower classes and the underworld. Dali's Jesus on the Cross (I don't know the actual title) hangs at Museum of Modern Art. I can't stand to look at it for more than a few seconds. It disturbs me profoundly which undoubtedly is what Dali sought.
I trooped through the Met on Christmas Eve in search of Ringo Starr's golden drum. The Medieval Art is not something I would want in my living room. It strikes me that artists then knew their Bible forwards and backwards. Of course, they also related Christian legends forwards and backwards. This culture of Bible seems lost. It seems a shame.
I do find it strange that the church did not put up a plaque with a note explaining the work, esp. since it is not Bibically literal. My prejudice towards things overtly Catholic and nonBiblical shines through despite myself. Such art makes me nervous. When I first toured the Anglican cathedral in NY, I was utterly shocked to see Nimrod as a Bible hero. I interrogated the guide. In fact, I almost fainted at the idea of NImrod as Biblical hero. When I arrived home, I read the Nimrod account without Witness commentary. It was radically different than taught by the Witnesses. They extrapolated a lot and ran with the negative and consequences of not obeying the Society. The Anglicans extrapolated it in a positive view.
May I ask someone why KHs don't have windows? My brother and I joked about people throwing bombs in b/c they hate having their home life disrupted. It sums up the religion in a nutshell. Oh, how I adore stained glass windows. Being deprived of beauty, I appreciate it even more.