Where did the Catholic church get the money to build such elaborate Churches?
January 4, 2011 by refl
Filed under Church stained
WIth the gold plated statues and stained glass? Does anyone else feel this money could be better spent elsewhere? Do you think god cares if you have 15 virgin mary statues plated with Gold and Marble?
Also I am not trying to say they do nothing for the poor, but do people really need to worship in such places?
wat do u think those donations go towards?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_catholic_church
Apparently, from the Knights Templar. That may change, though. Pope Benedict is getting sued by their descendants for all the stuff the RCC stole.
ha ha……imadge! there you go! foolish things they do! Because many give lots of money, so they can buy their way to heaven.
Here’s the thing. Catholics believe the Christ, that is, God, is Sacramentally present in our Churches. We believe there is such a thing as Sacred Architecture, and that God deserves the best.
My grandfather was a farmer with seven children during the great depression. When his parish Church (which had been built by his ancestors before him) started sinking, he and his brothers went to fix the foundation and build it back up. He knew nothing about this construction, but he learned as he went. He still managed to keep his family fed and taken care of. Works of art, the pews, stained glass, these things are donated or created by the parishoners to God.
Do you think he should’ve spent his money and time elsewhere? Probably. Does he care what you think? No. He told me the story above and I could tell he was glad he had a chance to help God and His Church.
Do you think he’s been brainwashed into believing this way? Many do, but that is their arrogance in assuming my grandfather (or all the billion other Catholics willing to donate time and money to Christ’s Church) is unintelligent enough to be led so astray.
Well for one thing all those churches didn’t appear overnight. And another thing why do you think people give ten percent to God? To give him a home worthy of a King and to support his clergy. If you want an example of other religions doing this look at the old testament in the books Leviticus through Deuteronamy. It gives and example of the Jews doing the same thing for the Arc of the Covenant.
The idea behind elaborately decorated Catholic churches is to give glory to God, who is present there, in a real and substantial manner.
Any student of the Bible knows that God has always been very particular about his Tabernacles, Temples, and presumably … his Churches.
God has never changed.
Regarding your question about whether people really need to worship in such places:
Some do. Some don’t.
Those who do, immediately gain a sense of what Heaven will some day be like.
As for the others … ?
Why not rail instead against the huge sums of money spent on sports teams, the cinema, and fast food?
10 percent dude. They’d have even more if the priests got real jobs.
the money basket
Probably in the same way Protestants (or “nondenominational Christians”) got the money to build their MegaChurches with big-screen TVs, PowerPoint presentations, electric guitars, stage lights, and pink velvet on every bench seat…
Or how any other Church gets built; people who believe and support the Church provide the means by which church buildings get built… I’m sure there’s some plundering involved, just like in any other church (think about it…).
Would that money go to something better, you ask? Well, besides the things that were DONATED (i.e. “free”), I’m sure if you follow around the money that was spent to build “elaborate” churches, it most likely found its way to those who needed it, one way or another.
But of course, some people who ask this kind of question just want to make some crude point and aren’t very interested in any answer that may in any way make the Catholic Church look good…
Step into the inside of a rectory sometime,
and see how lavishly the priests of the Roman
Catholic Church live.
It would blow your mind.
10 percent of the income of Catholics, is the basic church entrance fee.
Considering the size of the church, the churchs wealth is enormous.
edit:
(Fast food and football stadiums have nothing to with the obvious greed of this church.
Pointing out that people in general are greedy
does not suddenly make it ok, that a church that exalts itself as being above the secular
world, is living in such a secular manner.
Giving that kind of argument, is about tandem
to saying that priests molesting little boys
is ok, because there are child molestors in the
general public.
(An argument I literally have heard from Roman Catholics defending the molesting priests. Disgusting logic.)
The money should be spent on other things,
and it is ridiculous that the clergy is basically living like a bunch of kings, and the churches are lavishly and ridiculous decorated when that money could be spend on something useful, like feeding the poor.
Large cathedrals were the way in which the people showed their love for God. The thinking was that the place in which we worship God should approach God in it’s majesty.
Peter Gabriel put it best, “And I’m praying to a big God ’cause I’m kneeling in a big church”
Contrary to some responses there is no minimum donation to belong to the Church. Some Protestant denominations require a 10 percent donation to remain a member. The Catholic Church does not.
It is not really your place to say what type of “place” a person should worship in. It is their spirituality and for God to judge, not man.
The Catholic Church holds the Eucharist, which is the Body & Blood, Soul & Divinity of Jesus Christ. As such, we feel the place that holds Him should certainly be worthy of Him.
This can be found throughout the Bible where the temples of the Lord were decorated in precious stones, gold, statues, carvings, plants and more. (Solomon’s Temple–The House of the Lord). As this is where the Lord resided within the Ark, it would only do to decorate His resting place appropriate for the Father.
As such, Christ is the King of Heaven and we wish to decorate the place He resides in as worthy for a king.
I think the best verse that explains this is Mark 14:3-8
Judas believes that the woman is wasting the perfume by annointing Jesus’ feet when it could’ve been sold for 300 denari and given to the poor, but Jesus rebukes him and says the poor will always be present, and what she does is for Him and is good.
You’re right that if Jesus was not present there, we would have no reason to decorate the church as we do, but as this is for Christ, we do so.
And yes, God does care, it can be seen in Soloman’s Temple of the Lord where God came to reside within it and found it pleasing and concecrated it as the “House of the Lord”. God concecrated it and so we build from that example and decorate the churches in the way God found pleasing.
Donations.
Modern churches cannot hold a candle to the design and furnishings requested by God in original Temple of Solomon as described in the Old Testament.
The guidelines of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops “Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship” state that:
A church building “is both the house of God on earth (domus Dei) and a house fit for the prayers of the saints (domus ecclesiae). Such a house of prayer must be expressive of the presence of God and suited for the celebration of the sacrifice of Christ, as well as reflective of the community that celebrates there.”
For the entire document, see: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/livingstones.shtml
With love in Christ.