Warbler said:
Ryan McAvoy said:
Jaitea said:
But running a Church costs money
J
Yes, all that bling must be pricey...
Joking aside. I always thought all of that ^ was very much at odds with the beliefs of this man...
People need a place to pray out of the rain and why shouldn't it be beautiful. Some of the most beautiful buildings I've seen and visited have been Churches, Mosques and Synagogues and I used to live oposite this stunning sandstone Sikh temple...
(^ View from my front door)
In fact I kinda get sad when I go past an ugly modern church. Glorifying God through architecture is natural but building vast golden palaces in his name seems crazy. I can only imagine Jesus standing before the Vatican with a look of horror on his face.
Is this a problem for people within the church?
Jesus was upset because they turned his church into a "den of thieves". I am not certain that the Vatican qualifies as a den of thieves.
Warbler is correct. Jesus was upset because people were selling things in the Temple and dishonouring it. In the gospels (can't remember exactly where off the top of my head) Jesus commends a woman for giving all her money (two coins) to the Temple treasury, praising her for her selflessness compared to the rich who gave only a small portion of their money even though it was a greater amount. So Jesus wasn't against collecting money.
(The above also helps to explain what you were asking, AntcuFaalb)
Regarding the ludicrous amounts of money used to build some churches, I believe it should be spent helping the poor and homeless first. I have nothing against honouring God by building beautiful churches, but it is my personal opinion that the money should be primarily used to help those who really need it. Pope Francis is a good example of how I think the leaders of the church should be. He has dispensed with most of the honours and expenses the Pope is entitled to, and prefers to live more simply than other Popes and Bishops do. I have nothing against building expensive and beautiful churches, but the money should go towards ending hunger and poverty before getting a new set of gold chalices.