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Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#81

[flagged]

> I find it uncomfortable because the point is to not just embrace death, but look forward to a better life afterwards. A death cult exposition. Does a child looking forward to adulthood make you uncomfortable, too?

No: Cristianism, in that sense, only tells you that this life is not all. Not simply that “there is a better one”.

As a matter of fact, redeeming the time means precisely making the most of it.

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#82

A great many people are incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of death, and installations like this, and similar works of art, are a great antidote. Accepting death as the price of life might be a bit difficult for people raised in a culture that worships perpetual youth and which dreams of immortality, perhaps in the form of a digital silicon upload, but it's really a sign of maturity. Taking a minute or so out of…

There are some cultures that believe the remains of their ancestors are sacred. How would you encourage them to accept your POV?

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#83
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God the son, God the father and God the holy spirit(The trinity). Also mention in pray and referenced in the bible I believe.

No, the Trinity is never referenced in the Bible - God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always treated as separate entities. The doctrine was made up by the Church to avoid the obvious polytheistic implications in the straightforward interpretation of canon.

The Catholic Church has never claimed the Bible is the sole source of religious revelation. Sacred Tradition is regarded and an additional (and not contradictory) source of revelation of the mysteries of God.

I am by no means well versed in the deep trinitarian studies and reflections from the past 2000 years, but I am inclined to feel that verses like John 10:30 defy a simple explanation....

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#84
post #73
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In any sort of Catholic education, this is learned immediately.

I mean this stuff is literally laid out in the Creed which is recited at every mass and various times besides. There are various other Creeds used that make things even more explicit such as the Athanasian Creed. And nothing really is unique to the Catholics, the Orthodox are onboard for this stuff. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in…

Yeah, non-trinitarian Christianity is Mormons, Jehovas Witnesses, and it gets much more obscure from there.

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#85

I would encourage everyone to visit here or one of the similar places mentioned in this thread. I visited the Sedlec Ossuary a couple of years ago and it was the most visceral personal emotional reaction I have ever had to seeing something. There is something mind-shifting about seeing thousands of human skulls in a pile ala Terminator that I cannot describe with words. I can only relate it to visiting the Vietnam Wa…

The Sedlec Ossuary is, or probably should be a great VR experience if you can't go in person (I have). The shock wears off and then you realize how human the place is. We whisk our dead out of sight, having the bones of your dead relatives be so visible, would be like having a time compass directing the path of the rest of your life.

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#86
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because you (presumably not a Catholic or, like most, a poorly catechized one) are projecting your values and view points onto a faith you don't understand. Classic cultural colonialism if you ask me. There's literally two millennia (well 5 if you include the Old Testament and commentary) literature on the Church's position on matter, the body, corpses, life, death, afterlife, etc. necessary to understand this…

>>That's because you (presumably not a Catholic or, like most, a poorly catechized one) are projecting your values and view points onto a faith you don't understand. I'm atheist. Was born one, will die one, so you are correct. >>Classic cultural colonialism if you ask me. What makes you draw that conclusion? I'm an immigrant, have been exposed to everything from Islam to Catholicism to Southern Baptist, Hinduism, Bud…

[dead]

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#87
Visited it by accident the first day in Rome, just happened to walk by. They have a museum before the crypt where each room had some theme and used different bones. Not particularly religious but it was interesting to see. Seemed like someone spent time in their crypt and had too much time and bones on their hands.

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#88
Yep, great place, been there sooo many times, it used to be free, now there's a small fee to pay at the entrance which also includes a visit to the museum of the Capuchins. You'll find there the San Francesco in Meditazione (San Francis in Prayer) painting from Caravaggio. [1]

The English Wikipedia reports it as a copy, but it is still debated if the original is the one in Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini (Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins) or the other one in Palazzo Barberini.

Fun fact: both paintings are in Piazza Barberini, a few hundred meters from each other.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_in_Prayer_(Carav...

Re: Roman church decorated with 4k skeletons

#90
post #5

Oh man I thought it was 4K as in resolution and I was confused and intrigued.

Same here. I thought "wow, 4K skeletons? That's pretty hi-death."

I was really tired of putting up with those standard definition skeletons.
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