Paris: Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire

[Patinage]

Yes the footprint of a cathedral is always a Latin cross, and it is apparent on the roof from above.

[daydream]

3 hours ago, Bek said:

 

As you can see in the picture above, the Notre Dame cathedral is in the shape of the cross, which is another reason to be neutral about it. 

From this view?  Ok I see it.

[tekmantwo]

2 hours ago, Patinage said:

Yes the footprint of a cathedral is always a Latin cross

All of them?..I have never heard that, that's interesting..

[Patinage]

Yes for most of them, as a reference to Jesus’ death, since they believe he died on a cross...

 

Religious buildings may also have the shape of the Greek cross (square) for their floor plan, ...depending on the country and beliefs...

Edited April 25, 2019 by Patinage

[Shawnster]

12 hours ago, hatcheckgirl said:

An example is the Reichstag in Berlin.  A fire in 1933, and then bombed  in WW2 and rebuilt with a new dome.  Wonderful modern/old fusion of a building.

 

Yes.  This is the aspect of living history that people overlook.  Any long-standing structure will be different than when it was originally built.  It's living history and, like a living person, growth and change is part of life.

 

So I've wondered in all these discussions about preservation is at what stage in the growth of the building should it be preserved?  As it was built?  Middle life?  At it's time of destruction/damage?  How one personally remembers it?

 

The proposals for the refurbished Notre Dame are interesting.  I like the glass ceiling.

 

 

[Nirex]

19 hours ago, EccentricM said:

Turns out there are plans to rebuild it possibly with a post modern update...

 

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/20/modern-architects-want-glass-roof-steel-spire-minaret-notre-dame/

 

 

What an eyesore. Lol.

Man with those spires they must really hate Jehovah since they put so much effort into flipping him off, higher and higher. Kidding.

[Shawnster]

50 minutes ago, Nirex said:

Man with those spires they must really hate Jehovah since they put so much effort into flipping him off, higher and higher. Kidding.

It's called overcompensation  

[EccentricM]

5 hours ago, Shawnster said:

I like the glass ceiling.

Reminds me of my local shopping centre, lol. To me it just looks odd and out of place. It's like making a cake, then putting potatoes on top.

[Tortuga]

3 hours ago, EccentricM said:

Reminds me of my local shopping centre, lol. To me it just looks odd and out of place. It's like making a cake, then putting potatoes on top.

Meatloaf with icing?

[Old]

4 hours ago, EccentricM said:

Reminds me of my local shopping centre, lol. To me it just looks odd and out of place. It's like making a cake, then putting potatoes on top.

Sounds good to me ! However tasts may very. We were very poor and ate what we could find, this sounds almost as good as the boiled potato sanwhiches my big brother made for me at age four. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Old

[carlos]

19 hours ago, Nirex said:

Man with those spires they must really hate Jehovah since they put so much effort into flipping him off, higher and higher. Kidding.

Every detail in these cathedrals was designed to impress. People came inside, looked up and felt so little and insignificant. They still have that effect.

[Bek]

A Guardian report says Notre Dame is "a religious monument" whose burning caused "grief", as it is a part of French national identity.

 

However, it adds that not all "Notre Dames" are created equal. The destruction of other heritage sites do not seem to draw the same reactions in the West. 

 

The world, obviously, sees such buildings as religious ones. So if someone decides to join others in grieving over the destruction of "Christian" sites, then he also needs to do so when it comes to similar buildings in other parts of the world. 

 

If you do not want grieve other pieces of art/architecture, then you would be accused of bias towards Christendom. 

 

So the question is to grieve or not to grieve as a JW?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/26/yemen-notre-dames-bombs-heritage-arms-sales

 

 

[JennyM]

As Jw, I won't grieve for it. Cause its a part of the "things of the world. "

 

I will have Jehovah's viewpoint in this matter. Yes, this building makes you awe. 

Jehovah is a far greater artist but He didn't preserve Noah's ark,  Jerusalem's temple and the list goes on. 

 

 

 

 

[Patinage]

In France, the construction of these gothic cathedrals, including Notre-Dame of Paris, was marked by a desire, longing, yearning, thirst for power and domination, you name it. It was pure competition, the first one (Saint-Denis) was so new, original and impressive that the second one (Noyon) had to surpass the first, then the third one had to be taller and bigger, and so on. For instance, the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Amiens is so big that it is twice the size of Notre-Dame of Paris, and is as tall as a 15-storey building.

 

France was in a religious building frenzy. 81 gothic cathedrals popped up across the country in 150 years, mainly in what was called the Kingdom of France (Ile de France where Paris is located) and Picardy. Bishops and builders wanted them bigger, taller, and brighter; every bishop wanted its own, of course, better, brighter than the neighbor. They wanted the best, the cost was not important. Actually, they were able to raise funds to build those massive and oversized buildings by means of relics; it was a big business, - I suspect still is -. The Crusaders brought back from Jerusalem pieces of the 'cross', bones, cloaks, pieces of clothing presumably worn by Jesus and the Apostles, and crusader kings or others who were made saints. They became ‘holy’ relics venerated by pilgrims, thousands of them, who would give offerings to the cathedrals.

 

Up to this date, cathedrals hold what they call ‘treasures’ made of relics, gems and jewels.

 

Digging in the history of those monuments, it becomes apparent that the real motives behind those buildings were mainly pride and ambition. Bishops wanted to make a name for themselves, and they tried to outdo one another in their attempts to build cathedrals with more height, more space, and more light. Their ego had no limits.

 

This is a far cry from the main quality any Christian should reach to reflect the true God and his Son, that is, humility !! 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Patinage

[ChocoBro]

47 minutes ago, Patinage said:

 

Up to this date, cathedrals hold what they call ‘treasures’ made of relics

 

 

But the only true and sacred relic matters less and less in Christendom. But who cares about the Bible if you have enough nails from the holy cross to shoe every horse in Saxony? 🤣

[Patinage]

True: People are not pious anymore; they don’t believe in God either, but they hold firm to their traditions. These are so strong that they are willing to spend a lot of money to rebuild or restore religious buildings.

[Bek]

The mention of relics reminded me of a recent media buzz in Russian‐speaking countries over a video of Orthodox priests using a rotten foot of some saint to sanctify water. 

 

In the video a priest is seen holding what looks like a remainder of a foot over a huge metal tub full of water. He pours water over the foot repeatedly. When he is done, you can see people pushing each other to get "sanctified" water for consumption. 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Bek

[Patinage]

People believe more in the power of relics than in the sacred scriptures.

And we are not living in the Middle Ages any longer, still their faith is the same made of superstitions... They are in full darkness.

[JennyM]

Yes. its funny.. In synagogues, they still use scrolls until now.. lol! 

They hold on to traditions.. While theres way to read the bible.