The Protestant Church

[Theland]

Do you agree that the local Protestant churches collectively enrich our British culture, and that their demise are a sad loss to our British way of life?

[Khandro]

mikey; It sounds like your head tells you "there ain't no god, I know 'cos I can't figure it out", but your heart tells you something else is missing in your existence. so you wander around old churches and cathedrals soaking up something, but you don't know what it is.

You will find many churchgoers, when it comes down to it, are a bit ambivalent about the exact identity of god. What's the big deal about joining a church service, maybe singing a few hymns with the community and getting right down on your knees and praying to something bigger than yourself? You might just feel a lot better for the experience, or does the thought of it scare you?

[mikey4444]

Khandro...if you are trying to convert me, you are on a losing wicket !

I can't see any contradiction in looking around lovely old buildings, and not being a Christian....not even a little bit.

I get a lot of pleasure out of it, the buildings are beautiful, with lots of interest. For instance, my friend and I spent last summer exploring the ancient churches in the Vale of Glamorgan, looking for hagisoscopes !

[Ric.ror]

I agree Khandro
I often go to Mass but am occasionally unsure about the existence of god.

[Ric.ror]

Mikey - ‘hagisoscopes’ - even wiki couldn’t help me with that one

[naomi24]

Khandro to Mikey, //What's the big deal about joining a church service, maybe singing a few hymns with the community and getting right down on your knees and praying to something bigger than yourself? //

That's patronising, Khandro. Why would Mikey want to do that?

[Peter Pedant]

// not a cult like Roman Catholicism. //
oh
so
// is being filled by a an even more intense selfishness and immoral lifestyle with no rules and only a subjective morality.// is therefor better than being an adherent of the Bishop of Rome ?

OK - I understand this is AB

[Peter Pedant]

// ‘hagisoscopes’ //
hmm looking for people equally holy as yourself ?

hagioscope - is a squint innit ?

found any good ones Mikey ?

[Peter Pedant]

// /What's the big deal about joining a church service, maybe singing a few hymns with the community and getting right down on your knees and praying to something bigger than yourself? //

change a few words and this could be a description of a muslim prayer meeting innit

yeah OK chanting ( " zikr") not really at prayers
and change church to mosque - but ..... hagia sophia was once a church - and the gran mosque at Cordoba or was it Thebeel ? used to be er a mosque
so substitute 'prayer place'

[mikey4444]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagioscope

Yes Peter, some very good ones. In Northleach, in the Cotswolds, we found a very rare double one !

But alas, many have been filled in or built over, in the last few hundred years.

But hunting them is very addictive !

[Ric.ror]

Mikey - that looks so interesting. I’m guessing most of these would be in RC of former RC churches?

[mikey4444]

Ric...yes, most but not all. The Plague was active in Britain over many centuries. And it wasn't just the plague...leprosy was also an issue for churches.

Plague villages are even more interesting. These are places where the whole village moved to another location, not too far away. The old village was then destroyed by fire, as a way of avoiding the plague. It didn't always work though, as the inhabitants carried the plague with them.

A good OS map will help in locating these !

here is something else that is fun looking for ....furniture made by Robert Thompson, the mouseman ::

http://www.robertthompsons.co.uk/visitor-centre/

Usually only found in larger, more wealthy churches.

Lots to see in country churches it would seem !

[Khandro]

Peter; //change a few words and this could be a description of a muslim prayer meeting innit //

Yes, I've nothing against Muslims saying prayers to god, what bothers me though, are Saudi actors posing as clerics being sent to Europe to preach politics and hate.

[naomi24]

A church service is nothing like a Muslim prayer meeting.

[jno]

Mikey, look out for Grinling Gibbons wood carvings. The story was he always used to include an unshelled pea pod. When he received final payment he'd go back and carve it open so you could see the peas.

[Khandro]

It seems to be a sad comment on our times that the great Christian religion upon which European standards and culture is founded is by some reduced to wandering around "old buildings" gazing at architectural features.

And naomi, a Muslim saying his or her prayers, in or out of a religious center, is exactly the same as a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu or whatever, doing likewise.

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

Yes, it does sadden me to see churches standing empty. But I cannot also help but think that the Church of England must take its share of responsibility for this. People used to respect the Church as it held to Christian principles and founded it's faith on scriptural truth. Alas, no longer.

[naomi24]

Khandro, the issue wasn't about Muslims simply saying prayers but rather a comparison of prayer meetings.

[Jackdaw33]

In response to earlier replies here is just one example of burnings under Henry VIII.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Askew

The heresy laws were repealed under Edward VI but revived under Mary I.

[naomi24]

Khandro, Look on the bright side. If it wasn’t for those of us who take an interest in the history and architecture of old churches there would be far fewer of them. Our financial input goes a long way towards maintaining them - and no praying required.

[maggiebee]

Looking for a halo and a place in heaven Naomi?