Europe, and by extension the West, is the Faith, a Faith which is increasingly, vehemently under attack. The burning of Notre Dame serves as an apt symbol.
As news spread of the fire consuming the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the first reaction of most people was shock and sadness. You don’t have to be Catholic or French to feel as if some part of you has been lost. That was not just an old building or a historically important place. It was a symbol of Western civilization. Stand inside a great church and you feel the awe and power that inspired the builders. That cathedral was the primal roar of a people celebrating their creator and the essence of who they were as a people.
Of course, it did not take long for people to notice that its burning was a metaphor for the current crisis in the West. As Europe is swamped by Muslims, promising to replace Europeans in their own lands, it is only a matter of time before the great churches are turned into mosques or destroyed. Despite the endless propaganda from our rulers, most people here and there, are well aware of what’s happening. They don’t know how to articulate it or react to it, but they know. Watching the fire, they knew what it meant.
An aggressive take on a tragedy? Perhaps, but one which took place in the midst of a wave of attacks on French churches this year, though you'd hardly know it from our media.
Notre Dame still stands, thank God; does the Faith it represents? It does, though badly eroded in the West, but if it were to go and with it the soul of our culture, what would take its place, what will fill the vacuum?
Serious question,
LSP
I was happy to see the cross that was spared.
ReplyDeleteHubby said they found the Crown of Thorns, also.
If the faith fails, there is always Islam - aloha snackbar
ReplyDeleteWhat would happen to Notre Dame if the Muslims take over? Likely the same that happened to the Hagia Sophia.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful piece of architecture.
ReplyDeleteA powerful symbol of our Christian heritage.
I prefer the Temple Jesus is building.
The gates of hell shall not prevail, Ed.
ReplyDeleteOr worse, Jim. But I think we'll cheat the prophets on that score.
ReplyDeleteI've resisted the powerful urge to call for a Paris Draw-Mo competition, LL.
ReplyDeleteLinda, they saved the relics, thank God, and the Altar and the stained glass made it, amazingly.
ReplyDeleteA harvard perferssor suggested the Cathedral be rebuilt "without all that religious stuff".
ReplyDeleteIt's beyond "time".
Praise God! :)
ReplyDeleteKid, Harvard's notoriously Satan's Vatican.
ReplyDeleteAlways, Linda!
ReplyDeleteThe link to Zman is suspended.
ReplyDeleteJust a matter of time, Anon.
ReplyDelete