Baronjutter posted:

I had no idea scientology used what's basically a christian cross for their logo, the "religion" has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. Is that just marketing to have it easier accepted by Christians?



Actually that raises the question: can you be a scientologist and a christian? Do they view it more of a philosophy where people of any faith can, in addition, be a scientologist, or does it become the primary and only "faith" the person has?

Paper With Lines posted:

Why are there so many pages of churches itt?

Mr. Wiggles posted:

What are these places? The first picture is beautiful and the building in the second is spectacular.

DrProsek posted:

It's a really strange looking church in my opinion, but I still really like the look of it. A shot of the altar:

Barack HUSSEIN posted:

Carlton Banks Teller posted:

quote:

Around the time of his announcement, Gelsomino spoke publicly and gave conditional support to the “Add the Words” initiative in Idaho, which would amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to include specific protections for LGBT Idahoans. Idaho is one of 29 states in which an individual can be legally fired based on sexual orientation. Gelsomino, a devout Catholic, didn’t support adding protections for LGBT people because religious institutions wouldn't be exempted.

“As much as the gay community would like to have its rights respected, religious institutions would like to have their rights respected as well,” Gelsomino told BuzzFeed. “If they disagree with the lifestyle of the gay community, it’s their First Amendment right to do so.”

...

Some Idaho GOP candidates directly affiliated with Gelsomino are opposed to issues like same-sex marriage. Republican State Sen. Russ Fulcher, a candidate for governor to whom Gelsomino has referred as a mentor and father figure, argued to institute a statewide same-sex marriage ban in 2006 and has worked to deny domestic same-sex partnership benefits.

Sair posted:

One of their recruitment tactics is to first convince people the two are compatible, then working to move them away from their old church.

Modest Mao posted:

I went to a Unitarian Universalist church and it was the poo poo

Each year you study a different religion, typically tought by someone who follows/followed it and you get to go to their place of worship (cathedral, mosque, temple, friendship house) a few times.

Alex DeLarge posted:

This is from a few pages back but, that's really cool! How did the mosque thing work, I thought non-Muslims couldn't enter? Or is that just the more conservative side?

Peven Stan posted:

texaholic posted:

Hope no one minds a modern mega church in suburban America - Prestonwood Baptist of Plano, Texas. I grew up in a neighboring suburb.

First one is older before the construction finished on all phases

quote:

Picture this: millions of followers gathering around a central shrine that looks like a giant UFO in elaborately choreographed Nuremberg-style rallies; missionary outposts in 31 countries from Germany to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; an evangelist vision that seeks to promote a "world morality restoration project"; and a V-Star program that encourages hundreds of thousands of children to improve "positive moral behavior." Although the Bangkok-based Dhammakaya movement dons saffron robes, not brown shirts, its flamboyant ceremonies have become increasingly bold displays of power for this cult-like Buddhist group that was founded in the 1970s, ironically, as a reform movement opposed to the excesses of organized religion in Thailand.

Yet, despite the pageantry, the inner workings of this fast-growing movement are little known to Thailand's general public, and certainly to the rest of the world, though its teachings loom large among the legions of devotees. The veil of secrecy parted briefly in late 1999, when two top Dhammakaya leaders were charged with embezzlement in what many considered a political ploy to suppress the temple's growing power. The charges were dismissed in 2006 after the former abbot and a colleague returned some land and nearly 1 billion baht ($32 million) to temple control.

[...]

The gold-topped Cetiya temple is the center of the Dhammakaya's expanding global meditation movement and the focal point of ceremonies. The dome is actually composed of 300,000 identical titanium- and gold-coated bronze statues of Buddha -- another 700,000 are nestled inside a temple that even devotees will admit looks like a UFO. Some call it "The Mothership." Estimates have placed the value of the temple complex at around $1 billion.

texaholic posted:

Hope no one minds a modern mega church in suburban America - Prestonwood Baptist of Plano, Texas. I grew up in a neighboring suburb.

First one is older before the construction finished on all phases

Mayor Dave posted:

Mormon temples get a lot less impressive when you find out they're often built using the exact same floor plans and contractors:

...


The most recent push to build temples (which are never used for regular worship services) has economized even more by pushing an identical blueprint to over 40 different locations

Omi-Polari posted:

Mega-church

Alex DeLarge posted:

This is from a few pages back but, that's really cool! How did the mosque thing work, I thought non-Muslims couldn't enter? Or is that just the more conservative side?

Rand alPaul posted:

I seize this thread in the name of the glorious worker.

Your decadent church chat is counterrevolutionary. Fear not, comrades, you will be sent to the appropriate reeducation camp to unlearn your capitalist programming.



You will be fed a delicious meal by Soviet Chef Boyardee

And music by Comrade Stalin

Long live brave noble Comrade Goku