Notre-Dame de Paris - cathedral on fire!

[dudalb]

Oh yeah, when someone said to my French co-worker “sorry to hear about Notre Dame.” today, she replied, “it’s okay it wasn’t mine.” So I said, “oh yes it was.” She has to pay taxes for its upkeep after all.

But wait, why doesn’t the Catholic Churh pay for it?

Catholic Church probably can't afford to.
The Church is rich in physical assets, but is surprisingly poor when it comes to ready cash. That is why in the US it can't afford to keep some schools open.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Not against helping them, but they are not cultural landmarks the way that Notre Dame is.

They are to their communities.

 

[dudalb]

How about helping the 3 churches that burnt down in Louisiana?

I am not agiainst helping them, but let's be honest;they are not major landmarks in Western CUlture the way Notre Dame is.

 

[dudalb]

They are to their communities.

Would you equate them to Westminster Abbey?

 

[Trebuchet]

Trump Tweets

Just had a wonderful conversation with @Pontifex Francis offering condolences from the People of the United States for the horrible and destructive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. I offered the help of our great experts on renovation and construction as I did....

...and probably offered some money if he could put his name on it in gold letters.

 

[Roboramma]

I just googled a story I had heard about, in which at the time a great hall in one of the East coast universities of America had been built using oak beams, but when they had to be replaced, no one would allow them to cut the trees to replace them. They would have to use something else. One of the members of the botany department got wind of the plan, and showed up with some old documents that said that the trees in a grove near campus were planted specifically at the time the building was built, for the purpose of having replacements when they were needed in 150 years.


It turns out that the actual story had been about Oxford, and it was 500 years instead of 150, and, as it turns out, it was a fake story anyway. It had never happened.


But wouldn't this be an awesome opportunity to start such a thing. The French government should set aside some land for an old growth forest nature preserve, with the provision that, 100 or more years from now, people could cut the trees if necessary to restore historical buildings, especially Notre-Dame cathedral. Call it the Notre Dame Nature Preserve. (Uhhhh…..except in French)


Well, I think it would be a cool idea, anyway. Can somebody call Macron and let him know about it? He can use the idea for free, but he has to provide the land for about 50,000 old oak trees. (You have to have spares so that when some of them are harvested in 2319, the ecosystem isn't destroyed.)

I think that's a great idea.

 

[quadraginta]

How about helping the 3 churches that burnt down in Louisiana?

I am not agiainst helping them, but let's be honest;they are not major landmarks in Western CUlture the way Notre Dame is.

I think their cultural importance picked up a lot after they were burned down.

It certainly is symbolic of an important chapter in our history. One which deserves to be marked and remembered so we can try to avoid that sort of thing in the future.

 

[alfaniner]

The top-down shot of the damage looks like something out of one of the Batman Arkham games. (Azrael had a penchant for displaying a burning Bat symbol on the roof.)

 

[Darat]

I'm sorry if I seem really out of my element, as I pretty much only know Christianity and Catholicism through movies and tv, but I have to ask: Was child molestation ever a major tenant of those religions? If not, then is it not possible to seperate the art from the artist, so to speak?

Protecting the church itself from repercussions due to its staff abusing children was official church policy.

 

[dudalb]

I am seeing an awful lot of cultural and historical ignorance in this thread from people who are smart enough to really know better.
And I have to think that a lot of it based on sheer dislike...a lot of it justified...of the Catholic Church, to be frank.

 

[Dr. Keith]

I am seeing an awful lot of cultural and historical ignorance in this thread from people who are smart enough to really know better.
And I have to think that a lot of it based on sheer dislike...a lot of it justified...of the Catholic Church, to be frank.

I don't think a justified dislike of the RCC correlates with cultural and historical ignorance. I think it actually correlates with a fairly good grasp of culture and history.

 

[Oystein]

Excuse me, I am going to revisit the issue "national historic monument vs. human lives".

Consider the following hypothetical breaking news:

1. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. All visitors evactuated safely, but the world famous church collapsed completely shortly after midnight
2. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. Most visitors evactuated safely, but one man died from complications resulting from smoke inhalation. No major damage to the building or its works of arts.
3. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. Most visitors evactuated safely, but five people died from smoke inhalation or falling timber. Some damage to the wooden benches, but neither the structure as such nor any the more important works of art in danger
4. A minor fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral which was packed to capacity with visitors of a concert. A panic broke out, and several hundreds of people died as they were trampled or shoved against walls.

Which of these news items would have made page 1 of the world's papers, and would have spawned a thread as long and lively as this?
I suggest Only #4 would rival #1. Unless for those who knew the victims of #2 or #3.

So in practical terms of moving people all over the world, or at least the western world, and in terms of commanding the news and popular emotions, a monument such as Notre Dame is worth a lot more than a handful of lives.

 

[Dr. Keith]

I'm going to sound like an asshat but I would've traded a few lives to keep this priceless, timeless artpiece. Generations have looked to this building as an important piece of history.

You got lucky. No lives lost, many artifacts were saved and most of the stone structure is undamaged. The spire was one of the newer additions and the roof is repairable. Even if the cost will be massive. No need to call yourself an asshat after all.

Now, if you had started throwing babies on the fire to put it out when all looked lost, then that would have been a real asshat move. But you didn't do that. Right?

Belz..., please confirm that you did not try to smother the fire with babies.

 

[angrysoba]

Excuse me, I am going to revisit the issue "national historic monument vs. human lives".

Consider the following hypothetical breaking news:

1. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. All visitors evactuated safely, but the world famous church collapsed completely shortly after midnight
2. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. Most visitors evactuated safely, but one man died from complications resulting from smoke inhalation. No major damage to the building or its works of arts.
3. Fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral. Most visitors evactuated safely, but five people died from smoke inhalation or falling timber. Some damage to the wooden benches, but neither the structure as such nor any the more important works of art in danger
4. A minor fire broke out today in Notre Dame cathedral which was packed to capacity with visitors of a concert. A panic broke out, and several hundreds of people died as they were trampled or shoved against walls.

Which of these news items would have made page 1 of the world's papers, and would have spawned a thread as long and lively as this?
I suggest Only #4 would rival #1. Unless for those who knew the victims of #2 or #3.

So in practical terms of moving people all over the world, or at least the western world, and in terms of commanding the news and popular emotions, a monument such as Notre Dame is worth a lot more than a handful of lives.

By that token Kim Kardashian’s bum is worth more than Notre Dame.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

How about helping the 3 churches that burnt down in Louisiana?

I was thinking more about investing in the refugee crisis in the EU. People will save a lot of things before they consider saving other humans.

 

[angrysoba]

I was thinking more about investing in the refugee crisis in the EU. People will save a lot of things before they consider saving other humans.

I can’t see Donald Trump sending money to refugees in the EU when he is branding himself an anti-immigrant US president. No, send money for a big old church instead. One that he might like to visit.

 

[TragicMonkey]

By that token Kim Kardashian’s bum is worth more than Notre Dame.

And Janet Jackson's nipple is worth more than most Eastern European countries!

 

[angrysoba]

And Janet Jackson's nipple is worth more than most Eastern European countries!

Janet Jackson’s nipple caused such shockwaves that it reached back into the past and even the dinosaurs were troubled by it during the KT event.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Janet Jackson’s nipple caused such shockwaves that it reached back into the past and even the dinosaurs were troubled by it during the KT event.

The dinosaurs were killed off by a teateor.

 

[angrysoba]

The dinosaurs were killed off by a teateor.

Late Breastaceous period.