Religious Architecture

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:11 GMT

I have a bunch of friends who are Mormon and I was very fortunate to check out the New York temple, opposite Lincoln center. As part of the tour, we saw a video of all the various Temples, and you’re right, they’re lovely. As I was with my conspiracy-theorist husband, he kept telling me to blink every 7 seconds so I didn’t get brain-washed. He really looks out for me. There were some beautiful stained glass features and lots of bee and hive motifs. Plus, a really cool font on the back of 12(?) bulls. Very interesting stuff. And very nice carpets (which were replaced after the temple was 'blessed' 'cos all us nosy unsaved had walked on it. Seemed like a waste, but it's their dime.)

To be clear, I am a rabid atheist who thinks we’re here to mate, spawn and die, just like the other creatures on this planet. And I think that people’s blind faith leads to a lot of hatred, which is going to get us all killed. Cool. Maybe it’ll give the dolphins a chance. But I digress, just because I don’t believe any of it, doesn’t mean to say that I don’t completely respect whatever you choose to believe. I say, do whatever lets you sleep at night.

franko: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:17 GMT

12 oxen represent the 12 tribes of israel in the old testament. The interiors of these buildings are breathtaking...no expense spared I guess.

ea: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:28 GMT

also widely known as liturgical architecture in the field

Metoo: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:34 GMT

Amazing what our governments let be defined as a "religion" all for tax avoidance purposes too!!

johnny E: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:39 GMT

I think the carpet replacement would have more to do with the thousands and thousands of people travelling over it.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 6th Feb 2006 - 23:57 GMT

No, Mr. E. The temple had been completely revamped with new carpet. The temple was open for viewing for only a few weeks. After that, the carpet was replaced again. By the way, it was a very light cream with a really nice detailing around the edges. I thought about hanging out by the garbage in case I could score some. But it really was an impractical color.

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 00:02 GMT

Is this the carpet?

Or this

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 7th Feb 2006 - 00:05 GMT

More like the second one, but it could be the lighting. It was very inspirational. Is the top photo of the New York temple? If not, it was exactly the same. Really pretty. An blissfully elegant. Actually, it reminded me of a spa.

jack: 7th Feb 2006 - 00:09 GMT

catherine you are correct. i agree with you on the blind faith thing. remember that faith is a gift from God. He will give you this gift when you ask Him. i think i have seen too many guys get killed in training for viet nam, with river crossings and jumping out of helicopters and bombs and things. i was far from God for a long time but then one night something happened to me that is beyond explaining. so i received faith and now i am a practising Catholic. been that way for 33 years.

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 00:18 GMT

Catherine,

Those are pics from the open house of the Manhattan New York, Temple.

joey: 7th Feb 2006 - 02:54 GMT

we have amormon temple here in oakland, ca. i'll try to post some pics of the place soon.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 7th Feb 2006 - 14:48 GMT

Yep, that's the temple I went to. Where did you find the pics? Are they online?
Joey, that would be great if you could get those pics. It's nice to see a wide range of faiths (however bizarre I personally find them).

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 19:14 GMT

joey...here's oakland's temple

there are over 100 temples throughout the world, of various designs, sizes, etc. They are all amazing buildings in their own right, although some more than other. There are some really good resources with pics/videos of the inside provided by the church, but no "freelance" pictures, as camera's aren't allowed.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 7th Feb 2006 - 19:40 GMT

Nice! Looks like Shangrila with the palm trees. Or maybe an elegant Vegas hotel. I notice it doesn't have windows, nor does the temple in manhattan. I wonder why.

Peter: 7th Feb 2006 - 19:42 GMT

i see trolleys!

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 19:47 GMT

a majority of temples do have windows. The washington DC temple, doesn't have "windows" but rather thin marble, which allows the natural light in. Manhattan was gutted and rebuilt as a temple from an existing structure, so that might explain why there are no windows.

Hobart: 7th Feb 2006 - 19:49 GMT

johnny E, are you a mormon?

Hobart: 7th Feb 2006 - 21:18 GMT

johnny E, tell us about mormonism. I, for one, know very little, but would like to know more from an actual mormon, as opposed to reading it in wiki or whatnot.

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 21:41 GMT

go ahead, shoot. what would you like to know.....there is a lot of misinformation and things out there from people who know very little about it.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 7th Feb 2006 - 22:01 GMT

Where did you go on your mission?

johnny E: 7th Feb 2006 - 22:03 GMT

I didn't serve a mission, as I was a convert to the church at a later date. I would however like to serve a mission in the future with my wife in some far off exotic location...but I will probably end up in Boise or somewhere.

shambhavi tiwari: 1st Apr 2007 - 02:13 GMT

these temples are mind blowing.i wish i could visit one