# Your favourite religious building



## Saigon

On most of my trips I seem to end up visiting a few religious buidings, be they churches, mosques, synagogues, temples or monasteries. 

Are there any that have made a real impression on you?

Apart from the obvious Temple Mount in Jerusalem, I love the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur and the Caves Monastery in Kyev. Both to me capture something sublime and magical. 

Here are a couple of pics. 







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## varelse

Favorite religious location:


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## Saigon

Varelse - 

So are you a pagan, or do you worship in the Church of the Great Outdoors?!


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## varelse

The natural order is evidence of the divine plan.

Even the early Christians understood this concept, before the emergence of Catholicism and the authoritarian Church. See Acts 7:48-49, for example.


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## Saigon

Varelse - 

Well, I love nature, too. Maybe another thread for natural beauty could be a good one - but here I was thinking more about actual buildings and architecture.


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## The Professor

Saigon said:


> Varelse -
> 
> Well, I love nature, too. Maybe another thread for natural beauty could be a good one - but here I was thinking more about actual buildings and architecture.



In a very technical sense, you are correct.  However the definition of 'building' can be broadly interpreted to include anything which is built without regard to whom or what is the builder.  Of course, those who believe in God know there are those things which are built by Man and those things which are the work of the Creator

Two of my favorite Bible verses are:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.   There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.   Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun (Psalm 19:1-4, KJV).

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse  (Romans 1:20, KJV).

I have always maintained that nature is the way God does things, and the best evidence we  have of God is the world around us.  The forest tell us much more about God than any cathedral possibly could.

As for me, my favorite religious building is an old country church, long ago demolished.  In the final analysis, it is not the grandeur of the building that is endearing or enduring; instead, it is the memories of  fellowship and inspiration that linger on and comfort.

Buildings do not make me think of God, but pastures do.

Have a great day.


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## Saigon

> it is not the grandeur of the building that is endearing or enduring; instead, it is the memories of fellowship and inspiration that linger on and comfort.



For a religious person, this may be true. But I am not a religious person. Hence, I find few religious spaces moving in their own right. 

The ones that I do find in some way spiritual or powerful tend to be special spaces - like the ones I mention here.


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## varelse

I don't see any god in the world's great religious buildings. I see the opulence of organized religion and the unnamed, uncounted people whose wealth was taken to fund that opulence, and the labor of the poorer classes to make it all possible.

If your god is accessible to all, why not worship in that god's creation or home, the beauty of the natural world, accessible to all and connected to this world and that of your god? Why do you try to wall off your god and contain deity within your own constructions and petty fiefdoms?


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## Saigon

varelse said:


> I don't see any god in the world's great religious buildings. I see the opulence of organized religion and the unnamed, uncounted people whose wealth was taken to fund that opulence, and the labor of the poorer classes to make it all possible.
> 
> If your god is accessible to all, why not worship in that god's creation or home, the beauty of the natural world, accessible to all and connected to this world and that of your god? Why do you try to wall off your god and contain deity within your own constructions and petty fiefdoms?



That's a fair point, and I often feel the same way. I also find a lot of religious buildings oppressive, and more about power, fear and control than freedom and joy. 

But I do think a religious bulding can be a very special place - the best ones do inspire, create an oasis of calm, or in some way encourage reflection or meditation.


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## varelse

I've found the same in a clearing in the woods, pretty much touched only to care for and preserve nature's beauty. 

I'm sure there are people who find it in an isolation tank


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## Pogo

Actually there are a number of Stonehenges... I traipsed all over Ireland seeking them out, many not even named.  Newgrange was way too manicured though.


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## Mr. H.

Last week I decided to take the "scenic" route on return home from a business trip.

This is in Bridgeport, Illinois. Population 1,800.


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## rdean

Your favourite religious building













I think the Crystal Cathedral is not only the most spectacular, I love the face that Evangelicals couldn't find anyone good enough to design it and had to hire a gay man who had been living with his boyfriend for 40 years.  Imagine, worshiping in the house that Phil built.


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## CrusaderFrank




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## TNHarley




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## TNHarley

outside


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## TNHarley

the inside


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## Lipush

Mhmmmm. The Dohány synagogue in Budapest in on my top list






And of course


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## Saigon

Lipush - 

I love the old synagoge in Budapest - it is gorgeous! I am not always a huge fan of the architeture of synagogues, but there are some like Sofia and two of the old ones in Kazimierz (Cracow, Poland) that stand out.


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## Saigon

TNHarley said:


> outside View attachment 24864



Lovely.


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## Esmeralda

I don't know if it is considered a 'religious building,' but the Taj Mahal, which is a mausoleum, is probably the most beautiful building I've seen.  I also found Delphi, in Greece, which was an ancient religious site, to be a very beautiful place, in all its parts.

Of the two, Delphi is my favorite.  There is an aura there.....something very eloquent, almost disturbing, but in a good way.


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## Saigon

Esmeralda said:


> I don't know if it is considered a 'religious building,' but the Taj Mahal, which is a mausoleum, is probably the most beautiful building I've seen.  I also found Delphi, in Greece, which was an ancient religious site, to be a very beautiful place, in all its parts.
> 
> Of the two, Delphi is my favorite.



You know what - I met my wife at the Taj! Beat that!

Not technically religious, but it certainly FEELS religious, doesn't it? Spritiual, perhaps.


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## Lipush

Saigon said:


> Lipush -
> 
> I love the old synagoge in Budapest - it is gorgeous! I am not always a huge fan of the architeture of synagogues, but there are some like Sofia and two of the old ones in Kazimierz (Cracow, Poland) that stand out.



Yes, it is. My father used to be in the _Beit Midrash_ there, it was the place my family used to go to back in Europe, it was truely amazing seeing it


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## Lipush

Btw, the Bahaim garden in Haifa! how could I forget! Amazing Amazing!


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## Saigon

Lipush - 

Yes, that is amazing. It was also the first building in Israel I ever saw, from the deck of my boat coming in from Athens. I will always remember it rising out of the dawn light, up above the Carmel hills.

It's a lovely building and a really interesting tour. Haifa is a great place to visit.


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## CrusaderFrank

Tenple of Jupiter, Baalbek Lebanon


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## Saigon

Frank - 

Wow, that is a FANTASTIC choice. I'm impressed. 

It is a very, very beautiful place. Not a lot of Americans ever get to see it, either. 

When were you there?


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## DennyO

Notre-Dame basilica in Montreal.  The exterior is not so special, but the interior is stunning.  The statues are carved, mostly from white pine, and polychromed.  The artisans who did the interior work were substantially from Montreal.  Interestingly, the architect James O'Donnell was an Irish-American Protestant, who converted to Catholicism after his work was done in 1829.


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## Luddly Neddite

Stonehenge by far and away.

Loved Notre Dame but I agree that many churches are not so much for for the glorification of a god as for human ego and buying their way into heaven. 

This is undeniably a beautiful building but its purpose is anything but -


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## Unkotare

Potala Palace.


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