Gift Shops in Cathedrals

N

Non-Logical-Idea-Guy

Fat people can't smile.
Registered Senior Member
Today I went to a Cathedral on a school trip thing. I was incredibly suprised to see a gift shop there. It goes against one of the first actions Jesus did when he entered Jerusalem.

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”

Anyone want to condone this? obviously from a financial point of view it is viable, but wasn't this exactly what Jesus was saying? Putting money before the Lord etc.?
 
Those who wrote the Jesus myths didn't have a good concept of free trade.

But why would a god need a special building for people to pray? Does that mean it would not be able to hear prayers said elsewhere?

As for money: The temple buildings and certainly the cathedrals of today were larger than most usual buildings and were relatively very ornate and costly endeavors. The vast sums of money spent on materials and labor to build such things meant many people had to continue to suffer in increased poverty.

Why would an alleged loving god even sanction the use of such prideful buildings when prayer should be possible anywhere?
 
They don't follow Jesus. Those who persecuted Jesus were the ones who usurped his popularity and moral authority, compiled the Bible, and proceded to create empires from it.
 
I just came back from France and visited Notre Dame cathedral. In it were things to buy besides candles so I guess even they are susceptible to marketing today.
 
I'm not sure that anyone who displays irrational emotional anger and violence as portrayed in the quote should warrant any designation as moral authority. The best example today is road rage.
 
He felt that the priests were degrading what should be a place of contemplation and religious inquiry, hardly irrational.
 
The Church is business like any other, apart from the tiny little issue of tax exemption (Jesus would have been proud of that).
 
If you think religions or religious followers follow the bible you have a lot to learn.
 
Forgot to say that most of the items for sale in the cathedral were religious in nature but no Jesus action figures were to be had. ;)
 
Actually that book was readily available right next to the "Help Wanted, Priests" section. :eek:
 
they wre mainly selling postcards and magnbets actually. I know christians hardly follow the bible closely. But a shop in a cathedral is just like a jew eating bacon surely?
 
cosmictraveler said:
I just came back from France and visited Notre Dame cathedral. In it were things to buy besides candles so I guess even they are susceptible to marketing today.
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M*W: When I was in France, I bought a Virgin Mary figure on a stick at the Notre Dame Cathedral. At the convent at Neviers, I bought a miniature St. Bernadette figure entombed in wax just like the preserved body of the saint. At Lourdes I bought a Queen of Heaven doll with a crown of stars on her head and roses between her toes, dressed in a silky blue robe with angelic life-like eyes that opened and closed that was made in China. At The Vatican I actually bought a personal blessing on me signed by Pope JPII himself.

All these little fake artifacts reinforce the false beliefs of christians. I used to be one of them.

M*W's atheist thought for the day:

"The world would be astonished if it knew how great a proportion of its brightest ornaments--of those most distinguished even in popular estimation for wisdom and virtue--are complete skeptics in religion." ~ John Stuart Mill
 
Non-Logical-Idea-Guy said:
they wre mainly selling postcards and magnbets actually. I know christians hardly follow the bible closely. But a shop in a cathedral is just like a jew eating bacon surely?
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M*W: Not exactly. There's an old saying in Yiddish... "Give a Jew a shekel, and he'll eat a whole pig." (Anon.)(No offense intended to anyone).
 
lets rephrase the question.

Does exploitation of material desires belong in a church? A place we could be learning to live for something bigger than ourselves.

Then we might actually see why we should love our neighbors and not just think kindness is an irrationality that makes some people feel good.
 
Non-Logical-Idea-Guy said:
Today I went to a Cathedral on a school trip thing. I was incredibly suprised to see a gift shop there. It goes against one of the first actions Jesus did when he entered Jerusalem.
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Yes but they need the money to pay for all the court settlements.

Most of the money going into the collection plate nowadays is used to help priests continue sodomizing alter boys.
 
Why? Jesus' idea of a church is just a group of people exchaging ideas. They could do it in someone's house or rent a hall.
 
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