Not that they did have much of a choice, did they?
> That may mean nothing to you, but it did to
> them,
How do you know? Do you think the people who built the pyramids were
totally thrilled to build those huge structures in backbreaking labor,
just so one guy could get to heaven more easily?
> and no matter how much you may dislike it or sneer at it, that
> isn't going to change. So tilt at all the windmills you choose (there
> are some fine ones outside Consuegra in La Mancha).
Impressive as many of these churches are, wouldn't you agree that it
would have made more sense to let the common people - who, after all,
were the ones who worked hard to amass all the wealth - actually enjoy
the fruits of their own labor more, rather than exploiting them as
close to breaking point as possible in order to build these marble and
gold temples? Just look at many of them and think about what vast
wealth went into building them while most people had hardly enough to
eat. Do you think that is what Jesus wanted? I can't find anything in
the descriptions of his life and teachings where it says that you
should amass vast wealth and build huge pompous churches. I can find
pretty explicit statements and even drastic physical action against
the amassing of wealth "for the sake of god" in several places in what
people call the gospels.
There are also very explicit statements against the amassing of wealth
in general, yet the catholic church for many centuries catered to the
rich and powerful, in order to gain more wealth and power itself. That
went to real extremes. Again, while most of the common people starved.
Do you think that is what Jesus wanted?