Slam Dunkz: halfof33: schattenteufel: The biggest wonder is that there are still so many people gullible enough to hand over so much of their hard-earned money to fund these atrocities on the promise that it will make the Invisible Man in the Sky happy.

Wow, did you even bother to open the article before you set off to pound your spittle soaked keyboard with fists of rage?

If we're going to refer to them as "religious wonders" then they should be scorned. If people are going to believe in fairy tales as adults then prepare to get made fun of. You can pretend all you want about "fists of rage". When we get an article about people being stupid with snakes or fire etc we make fun of them.

Adults that believe in fairy tales are the same thing and deserve the same response.

So, you gonna bring a hammer to David and some rollers to the Sistine Chapel, or you gonna need us to supply them?

Anti-religious zealotry, catch it!

FitzShivering: mrphil: I'm surprised this one didn't make the list:

[farm3.staticflickr.com image 448x336]

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (largest Hindu temple outside of India)

That's amazing looking.

its a south Indian temple, as you can tell from the name "narayan"and the very asiatic/thai type architecture. Northern hindu temples look nothing like this..

halfof33: Slam Dunkz: halfof33: schattenteufel: The biggest wonder is that there are still so many people gullible enough to hand over so much of their hard-earned money to fund these atrocities on the promise that it will make the Invisible Man in the Sky happy.

Wow, did you even bother to open the article before you set off to pound your spittle soaked keyboard with fists of rage?

If we're going to refer to them as "religious wonders" then they should be scorned. If people are going to believe in fairy tales as adults then prepare to get made fun of. You can pretend all you want about "fists of rage". When we get an article about people being stupid with snakes or fire etc we make fun of them.

Adults that believe in fairy tales are the same thing and deserve the same response.

So, you gonna bring a hammer to David and some rollers to the Sistine Chapel, or you gonna need us to supply them?

Anti-religious zealotry, catch it!

It's true. There are studies which show that belief in the supernatural is a prerequisite to appreciating art.

ciberido: Would you like to point out which 3 you think "were not build to worship any invincible man in the sky"? Or shall we just save ourselves some time and assume you're full of moonshine?

Sofa King Smart: 1. Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois - Bahá'í faith, a religion founded in 19th-century Persia that stresses unity of all humankind. [...]

2. Palace of Gold in Moundsville, West Virginia - When Prabhupada died in 1977, the disciples' course of construction changed, and they began instead to build a memorial for Prabhupada. And with that, the elaborate Palace of Gold was born.

3. Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California - Humanistic Buddhism [...]

Wikipedia to the rescue for the first two

1. The Bahá'í Faith ( /bəˈhaɪ/)[1] is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind

2. International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization -- The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (bhakti) of Radha and Krishna, and their many divine incarnations as the supreme forms of God, Svayam Bhagavan.

3. Yeah, Buddhism. I thought so. The old "It's more a religion than a philosophy" derp.

I don't know why you people keep falling for this crap.

If you want a monument to religion in America, I have one in Tulsa from my old high school:

Google maps (can't link to it on Fark, sorry)
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.065804,-95.869108&spn=0.005188,0.00 7 596&t=h&z=18&lci=com.panoramio.all

The decrepit building you see is the high school itself, where them elitists share their books cuz these is hard times. (We really did share books, sometimes chairs)

Points of interest:
1: Well-maintained baseball field
2: 2 football fields, one in a college-style stadium
3. For the stadium, that building to the south is the "entertainment center", complete with VIP seats facing the stadium.
4. Across the street, to the right of the image, Megachurch.

This is the South, this is our future.

Why did religions go from building some of the most beautiful buildings in the world to building the tackiest concrete statues?

I would gladly donate to a fancy Church of the Subgenius temple. I imagine it being a religious funhouse.

Jesus would absolutely love those places, and he thanks the world christians for ensuring there are no needy people left in this world, thereby allowing his followers to construct ornate and elaborate palaces. That's what he really wanted anyhow.


For god so loved the world that he gave his only son, that he may enjoy fine metals and gems in his palaces of marble and gold. (SME 1:33:0)

The United States, the home of Jesus.

God-is-a-Taco: This is the South, this is our future.

USA! USA! USA!

KrispyKritter: yes, get all angry at houses of worship. meanwhile you throw even more money at institutions of higher learning that leave you broke, unemployed and living in Moms basement. you've been snaked by a different idol and you worship money and possessions. you're no different from the rest. maroons.

So, when did you graduate from University of Phoenix? (Or was it ITT Tech?)

I should be in the kitchen: Interesting how only the Mormon temple is closed off to the public, even closed to non-"recommended" Mormons (whatever the hell that means), while the others are all welcoming of visitors. Not the best way to convince people you're not a cult...

That's because they are a cult. They're the Scientologists of the 19th Century.

mrphil: Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (largest Hindu temple outside of India)

For those wondering it's in Bartlett Illinois.

Also, list fails without Unity Temple in Oak Park Illinois. It's not only beautiful, but historically significant and not just because it's a church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Link

I-75 Tennessee near Kentucky. And 1/4 mile before you see it, there's a strip club...on the same side road.

I May Be Crazy But...:
It's true. There are studies which show that belief in the supernatural is a not a prerequisite to not scorning religious art.

Context baby, context.

ciberido: Would you like to point out which 3 you think "were not build to worship any invincible man in the sky"? Or shall we just save ourselves some time and assume you're full of moonshine?

Buddhists strictly speaking don't worship a deity. In some forms of Buddhism, like Zen, there's nothing even remotely close to any concepts of a deity.

the ones in the article are nice

then there's the trailer park stuff, like big butter jesus, and the 40 story cross, and this thing
Link

Those are nice.
Wonder who paid for them.
Doubt it was god.

halfof33: I May Be Crazy But...:
It's true. There are studies which show that belief in the supernatural is a not a prerequisite to not scorning religious art.

Context baby, context.

misquote

cgraves67: circular templE... nine sides

Thats because trees grow in straight lines. In order to produce a circular room, people actually have to use straight walls. By using 9 walls in a single room, the builders were able to produce a room that was passable for being "round."

I May Be Crazy But...: halfof33: I May Be Crazy But...:
It's true. There are studies which show that belief in the supernatural is a not a prerequisite to not scorning religious art.

Context baby, context.

misquote

Oh, sorry bro, I dropped out a FTFY:

Here it is; FIXED THAT FOR YOU!

xxmedium: No National Cathedral in Washington DC?

COMMON! THEY HAVE A VADER GARGOYLE GROTESQUE FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

[gremlindog.com image 500x333]

FTFY

stevenvictx: Those are nice.
Wonder who paid for them.
Doubt it was god.

As long as it wasn't tax money, who cares?

Sofa King Smart: ciberido: SuperNinjaToad: well to be fair 3 out of the 7 temples in the article were not build to worship any invincible man in the sky...........
..........They were built to worship men, deities or new age type beliefs.. which is even worst.

Would you like to point out which 3 you think "were not build to worship any invincible man in the sky"? Or shall we just save ourselves some time and assume you're full of moonshine?

1. Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois - Bahá'í faith, a religion founded in 19th-century Persia that stresses unity of all humankind. Anyone is welcome to visit the space -- its auditorium and gardens are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day free of charge.
"We don't ask what your religion is -- we don't even care," the temple's summer tour coordinator, Gwendolyn Clayborne, said. "It's a place for people to come and meditate and pray and just get in touch with their spiritual sides."

2. Palace of Gold in Moundsville, West Virginia - When Prabhupada died in 1977, the disciples' course of construction changed, and they began instead to build a memorial for Prabhupada. And with that, the elaborate Palace of Gold was born.

3. Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California - Humanistic Buddhism claims to encompass all of the Buddhist teachings[citation needed]from the time of Gautama Buddha to the present. Its goal is to live the bodhisattva way, which means to be an energetic, enlightened, and endearing person who strives to help all sentient beings liberate themselves. It focuses on issues of the world rather than on how to leave the world behind; on caring for the living, rather than the dead; on benefiting others, rather than benefiting oneself and on universal salvation, rather than cultivation for only oneself.

Link

mrphil: I'm surprised this one didn't make the list:

[farm3.staticflickr.com image 448x336]

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (largest Hindu temple outside of India)

...because it's not in the US.

What, no precious moment chapel ?

volodya: The United States, the home of Jesus.

[farm8.staticflickr.com image 333x500]

Is that the one in Effingham?

By the way, I love that name. I can't see it or read it without thinking, "I can't believe I ate the whole Effingham!"

Yukon Cornelius: Wait... there are Hindus in West Virginia?


I visited it a couple times in the early '90s as it was a novelty to people who lived in the area. Walked the grounds for a couple hours and maybe saw one person. Felt like I was probably being watched but it was interesting and beautiful.

Is this a religion thread? Can I post this here?



dnrtfa

tgambitg: Touchdown Jesus is being rebuilt. It will be a statue of Jesus standing with his hands held out. And it will be taller. Because, when your statue gets destroyed by lightning, the best idea is to rebuild it taller.

Oh come on, you can do better than that...

I came here to say, when you build a statue of the god you worship (or is it just a third of the triune god), and it is destroyed by an 'act of god', it's probably best to rebuild it even bigger.

//Props on 'first' though

Minimally Hairy Beer-Powered Simian: mrphil: I'm surprised this one didn't make the list:

[farm3.staticflickr.com image 448x336]

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (largest Hindu temple outside of India)

...because it's not in the US.

Lilburn, Georgia isn't in the US? Learn something new every day.

Farking Canuck: Perlin Noise: So wait a moment ...are you saying there is no God?

Most atheists do not make the positive claim of "no god".

Instead, we reject the claim of the religious that magic is real due to the complete lack of evidence they present to support this claim.

So a rephrasing of your statement could be: "there is no justification to believe in a god". Or "there is no evidence that gods exist". Etc.

/if you are not careful, the religious grammar nazis go nuts and start accusing you of making claims without evidence ... which is rather ironic since making claims without evidence is the cornerstone of being religious.



/I'm a "teapot agnostic". I am on your side of this one...

Perlin Noise:
/I'm a "teapot agnostic". I am on your side of this one...

I figured it was something like that. This is why I was more general in my post instead of being aggressive (as I am occasionally known to do).

I've been working with the architects who are renovating the Bahai temple in Willamette. I don't care what faith they practice (although it is a very nice one where EVERYONE IS WELCOME and all are considered equal) but the building and gardens are spectacular.

halfof33: schattenteufel: The biggest wonder is that there are still so many people gullible enough to hand over so much of their hard-earned money to fund these atrocities on the promise that it will make the Invisible Man in the Sky happy.

Wow, did you even bother to open the article before you set off to pound your spittle soaked keyboard with fists of rage?


Nnnnope!

Yukon Cornelius: Wait... there are Hindus in West Virginia?

Hare Krishnas. It's only 3 miles from my grandparents' house. Visited there many a times before they died.