This is a Christian film. It is about how Churches inspire us to look toward the infinite through their design. I liked how they contrasted indoor spaces to illustrate enormity and make us understand the smallness of mankind in relation to the infinite, in order to inspire us to consider that which is beyond. Churches were architecturally designed to do this and create a certain "feel" to them which points you towards the infinite - to inspire awe for the Creation which points us toward the Creator.
I appreciate their explaining the spatial experience man carves out for himself and how Churches have used their architectural carvings to silently and resolutely state something about the permanentness of the most monstrous infinite. For without a bias toward God such as the authors of this film have, I think such considerations are troubling and concerning. As a help toward faith this film is an inspiration to the community. Those who are uncomfortable discussing the truth of God or Intelligent Design may find it disturbing to their consciousness. For the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.. and mankind, trying to think God's thoughts after Him, have humbly tried to inspire men to consider that handiwork. This is such a work and I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it to those who have the ears to hear and the eyes to see it.
I liked how the author says the Church doctrine did not attract him, but the Church architecture did. So often dogma can get in the way of seeing God, but the inspiration of the Church spaces speak part of the language of Creation which shows the Glory of God. That was what spoke to the soul of the author of this film and he documents his journey and learning from the Church architecture which was speaking to his soul. I found his faith journey fascinating, as I found such spaces inspiring and somewhat troubling, also. Having been to the Vatican and St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England, and myriad other places of such inspiration, I looked upon the devotion of Christians and their spaces and felt that "differentness" of sacred spaces he speaks of. I wondered about it, too, before I became a Christian and I think that feeling was also part of my faith journey. This has helped me to see a bit more the architecture and inspiration built into the infinite spaces, captured in Church Cathedrals pointing toward God. Though this work is very Catholic oriented and I am not of that dogma or Church tradition, it still spoke to my soul. That which is truly of God and points toward the infinite always does. As Jesus said, you must be born again. So all of Christendom, apart from its dogmas - those which follow His command and are born again, be they Catholic or Protestant, etc.. look forward eagerly to the culmination of that inspiration when we finally meet with the Creator of the Infinite, something also touched upon in the film.
Lastly, I always thought those horrible goblins, ghosts and demons on the outside of Catholic Churches were creepy and I didn't understand why, if they were presenting God, they had these horrid gremlins on the outsides of them. They explain in the film that it was to show that outside the Church are evils, but within the walls of the Church is safety. The architecturally presented idea that a physical place could ward off the evil was to point toward the truth of God's real, spiritual protection within the Church. And it was true that if you were inside the Church BUILDING during the middle ages, it did give some degree of safety from physical assault, and was used in that comforting way during times of war. However, the goal was to inspire the idea of safety, not in a place, but pointing to the safety inside of God, in Christ. This architecture is supposed to be used to be a physical help, to point toward going inside the real Church which is the one made without hands, where the safety is from God, through faith, wherever you may be. I still think the outside creepy, but less so since I understood its pointing toward a spiritual purpose. Thoughtful film, I recommend it and think it worth a look if the topic intrigues you as it did me.
I appreciate their explaining the spatial experience man carves out for himself and how Churches have used their architectural carvings to silently and resolutely state something about the permanentness of the most monstrous infinite. For without a bias toward God such as the authors of this film have, I think such considerations are troubling and concerning. As a help toward faith this film is an inspiration to the community. Those who are uncomfortable discussing the truth of God or Intelligent Design may find it disturbing to their consciousness. For the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.. and mankind, trying to think God's thoughts after Him, have humbly tried to inspire men to consider that handiwork. This is such a work and I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it to those who have the ears to hear and the eyes to see it.
I liked how the author says the Church doctrine did not attract him, but the Church architecture did. So often dogma can get in the way of seeing God, but the inspiration of the Church spaces speak part of the language of Creation which shows the Glory of God. That was what spoke to the soul of the author of this film and he documents his journey and learning from the Church architecture which was speaking to his soul. I found his faith journey fascinating, as I found such spaces inspiring and somewhat troubling, also. Having been to the Vatican and St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England, and myriad other places of such inspiration, I looked upon the devotion of Christians and their spaces and felt that "differentness" of sacred spaces he speaks of. I wondered about it, too, before I became a Christian and I think that feeling was also part of my faith journey. This has helped me to see a bit more the architecture and inspiration built into the infinite spaces, captured in Church Cathedrals pointing toward God. Though this work is very Catholic oriented and I am not of that dogma or Church tradition, it still spoke to my soul. That which is truly of God and points toward the infinite always does. As Jesus said, you must be born again. So all of Christendom, apart from its dogmas - those which follow His command and are born again, be they Catholic or Protestant, etc.. look forward eagerly to the culmination of that inspiration when we finally meet with the Creator of the Infinite, something also touched upon in the film.
Lastly, I always thought those horrible goblins, ghosts and demons on the outside of Catholic Churches were creepy and I didn't understand why, if they were presenting God, they had these horrid gremlins on the outsides of them. They explain in the film that it was to show that outside the Church are evils, but within the walls of the Church is safety. The architecturally presented idea that a physical place could ward off the evil was to point toward the truth of God's real, spiritual protection within the Church. And it was true that if you were inside the Church BUILDING during the middle ages, it did give some degree of safety from physical assault, and was used in that comforting way during times of war. However, the goal was to inspire the idea of safety, not in a place, but pointing to the safety inside of God, in Christ. This architecture is supposed to be used to be a physical help, to point toward going inside the real Church which is the one made without hands, where the safety is from God, through faith, wherever you may be. I still think the outside creepy, but less so since I understood its pointing toward a spiritual purpose. Thoughtful film, I recommend it and think it worth a look if the topic intrigues you as it did me.
