5 ms·

Concrete Faith: The creation of the Bahá’í house of worship (2023)

84 points by goles 2y ago

lo_zamoyski 2y ago
People need beauty. When people are put in an ugly environment and situated in a culture of ugliness, this need will be expressed in destructive ways. In such an environment, the female body will become increasingly the sole focus of male interest as it becomes the only source of beauty in that environment. And that kind of intensity, which would otherwise would sublimated in the richness of a beautiful environment, is now directed entirely toward the female body. This doesn't bode well for either men or women. Beauty is not a luxury. It is essential to humanity. Deprive us of beauty, fill our world with ugly architecture and ugly art, with ugly human culture, and you will breed misery.
- slim 2y ago
  some people perceive beauty as alien and if burdened with competitive mindset, they seek to destroy it
  - octopoc 2y ago
    Nobody truly hates beauty, but some people view most other people as cattle, and they don't want to invest a ton of money in making the barn beautiful. Especially because they rarely / never have to lay eyes on the barn. But their own homes? Yeah, they'll make those beautiful.
    - froh 2y ago
      as in golden faucets beautiful?
- fnordpiglet 2y ago
  So according to this theory to accentuate romance between a man and woman, the woman needs to make sure she’s placed in the most hideous settings possible to magnify her allure to her prospective mate? Fascinating. All those romantic restaurants and locales really have screwed up their marketing.
somid3 2y ago
For those not familiar with Baha’i temples or houses of worship, lmk. I’m a Baha’i in case anyone has questions. Fun fact… do you know who introduced Steve Jobs to Wozniak was a Baha’i? It’s the only tech related thing I could think of when I wrote this. But Baha’is are pretty progressive towards tech.
- moonlion_eth 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
    >thank you, next This seems dismissive; particularly in response to the parent's offer to answer any questions. I'd welcome whatever info the parent can volunteer.
    - somid3 2y ago
      It’s very broad. Baha’i.org is a good start
    - somid3 2y ago
      I personally like the quotes on love, what love is, and what it claims about the time-space fabric that is this reality
      - octopoc 2y ago
        What quotes are you talking about?
  - somid3 2y ago
    This is not 100% correct. Baha’is have many groups that hate them and write dismissive articles such as these. Take a look at what Baha’is have done in countries fighting for human rights — and that is every right
    - 2y ago
WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
Baháʼí buildings are gorgeous; rivaling (US) Hindu and LDS temples. I wish there were more of them. The complex in Haifa is just superb.
- somid3 2y ago
  Search for the Baha’i Lotus Temple of India. It’s also beautiful
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  In other news and by contrast, Scientology opened a massive, ugly storefront across from UT on Guadalupe St. in Austin, TX. (Look at this celebration of stupidity.[0]) I guess they couldn't get sucker enough tech people in Mountain View, CA on Castro St., so they had to try again in a different market preying on naive young people, influenced by TikTok and/or evangelical Christianity, who aren't as cosmopolitan. If you're going to pitch people magical thinking, don't steal from them and don't fill them with awful ideas like ethnoreligious nationalism, suicide bombing, external locus-of-control, denial of science, "infallible" messiahs, excessive generosity harming individual survival, or shunning "infidels". 0. https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2346782/grand_opening_ideal_church_of_scientology_austin.html https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2346782/grand_opening_ideal...
- em-bee 2y ago
  well, until earlier this century the focus was on getting one house of worship for each continent or continental region. but in 2017 the first local or national house has been built and since then 4 more have been completed, two are under construction and 3 more in planning. that means soon in just a short time their number will have more than doubled. and i am pretty sure it won't stop there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of_Worship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of...
sitkack 2y ago
I implore you, if you are within an hour of Evanston Illinois, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of_Worship_(Wilmette,_Illinois) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of...
- gjreda 2y ago
  Grab some baked goods at Hewn (in Evanston), visit the Bahai temple, and then walk across the street to Gillson Park to wander the Lake Michigan shore and eat your goods from Hewn. The easternmost portion of Northwestern's campus also has a nice walking/biking path along the lakeshore with a great view looking back towards the Chicago skyline.
  - sitkack 2y ago
    Take off your sandals, and soak your toes in that crisp clear water, but only a little past your ankles or the moment will have spoiled by the crackle of the beach nazis on atvs, "No SWIMMING! GET OUT OF THE WATER".
    - gjreda 2y ago
      The recent changes have gotten absurd
    - contingencies 2y ago
      That's a shame. I recall last summer seeing some dedicated and well-wetsuited people swimming much closer to town, along the concrete shoreline to the north of Ohio Street Beach.
      - Kon-Peki 2y ago
        That's the difference between the city and the suburbs. Swimming in the city is fine if a lifeguard is on duty. https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/beaches https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/beaches Swimming in the Great Lakes is very dangerous, especially if you are not familiar with the behavior of the lakes. https://glsrp.org/statistics/ https://glsrp.org/statistics/
bbarn 2y ago
When I used to live in Chicago and bike race, this was one of the local sprint finish points on weekend group rides. A long flat road into a short climb and some of my favorite memories. There's also a beautiful cobbled street on the other side of it.
em-bee 2y ago
related topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40390751 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40390751 "The Beauty of Concrete" (20 days ago: 89 messages)
AIrtemis 2y ago
This is a great tiktok comparing the Bahá’í with other concrete structures of that era (Brutalism) https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.tpanova/video/7252757064517225770?_t=8n1193zcKip&_r=1 https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.tpanova/video/7252757064517225770...
jackcosgrove 2y ago
The exterior of the Baha'i temple in Wilmette is beautiful but the interior is very plain. I'm not sure if this is intentional and reflective of some tenet of the faith.
- kragen 2y ago
  it doesn't, no
lproven 2y ago
Without paywall: https://archive.ph/3JiFf https://archive.ph/3JiFf

84 points by goles 2y ago

People need beauty. When people are put in an ugly environment and situated in a culture of ugliness, this need will be expressed in destructive ways. In such an environment, the female body will become increasingly the sole focus of male interest as it becomes the only source of beauty in that environment. And that kind of intensity, which would otherwise would sublimated in the richness of a beautiful environment, is now directed entirely toward the female body. This doesn't bode well for either men or women. Beauty is not a luxury. It is essential to humanity. Deprive us of beauty, fill our world with ugly architecture and ugly art, with ugly human culture, and you will breed misery.

slim 2y ago
some people perceive beauty as alien and if burdened with competitive mindset, they seek to destroy it
- octopoc 2y ago
  Nobody truly hates beauty, but some people view most other people as cattle, and they don't want to invest a ton of money in making the barn beautiful. Especially because they rarely / never have to lay eyes on the barn. But their own homes? Yeah, they'll make those beautiful.
  - froh 2y ago
    as in golden faucets beautiful?
fnordpiglet 2y ago
So according to this theory to accentuate romance between a man and woman, the woman needs to make sure she’s placed in the most hideous settings possible to magnify her allure to her prospective mate? Fascinating. All those romantic restaurants and locales really have screwed up their marketing.

somid3 2y ago

For those not familiar with Baha’i temples or houses of worship, lmk. I’m a Baha’i in case anyone has questions. Fun fact… do you know who introduced Steve Jobs to Wozniak was a Baha’i? It’s the only tech related thing I could think of when I wrote this. But Baha’is are pretty progressive towards tech.

moonlion_eth 2y ago
[flagged]
- WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
  >thank you, next This seems dismissive; particularly in response to the parent's offer to answer any questions. I'd welcome whatever info the parent can volunteer.
  - somid3 2y ago
    It’s very broad. Baha’i.org is a good start
  - somid3 2y ago
    I personally like the quotes on love, what love is, and what it claims about the time-space fabric that is this reality
    - octopoc 2y ago
      What quotes are you talking about?
- somid3 2y ago
  This is not 100% correct. Baha’is have many groups that hate them and write dismissive articles such as these. Take a look at what Baha’is have done in countries fighting for human rights — and that is every right
  - 2y ago

WarOnPrivacy 2y ago

Baháʼí buildings are gorgeous; rivaling (US) Hindu and LDS temples. I wish there were more of them. The complex in Haifa is just superb.

somid3 2y ago
Search for the Baha’i Lotus Temple of India. It’s also beautiful
hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
In other news and by contrast, Scientology opened a massive, ugly storefront across from UT on Guadalupe St. in Austin, TX. (Look at this celebration of stupidity.[0]) I guess they couldn't get sucker enough tech people in Mountain View, CA on Castro St., so they had to try again in a different market preying on naive young people, influenced by TikTok and/or evangelical Christianity, who aren't as cosmopolitan. If you're going to pitch people magical thinking, don't steal from them and don't fill them with awful ideas like ethnoreligious nationalism, suicide bombing, external locus-of-control, denial of science, "infallible" messiahs, excessive generosity harming individual survival, or shunning "infidels". 0. https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2346782/grand_opening_ideal_church_of_scientology_austin.html https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2346782/grand_opening_ideal...
em-bee 2y ago
well, until earlier this century the focus was on getting one house of worship for each continent or continental region. but in 2017 the first local or national house has been built and since then 4 more have been completed, two are under construction and 3 more in planning. that means soon in just a short time their number will have more than doubled. and i am pretty sure it won't stop there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of_Worship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of...

sitkack 2y ago

I implore you, if you are within an hour of Evanston Illinois, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of_Worship_(Wilmette,_Illinois) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of...

gjreda 2y ago
Grab some baked goods at Hewn (in Evanston), visit the Bahai temple, and then walk across the street to Gillson Park to wander the Lake Michigan shore and eat your goods from Hewn. The easternmost portion of Northwestern's campus also has a nice walking/biking path along the lakeshore with a great view looking back towards the Chicago skyline.
- sitkack 2y ago
  Take off your sandals, and soak your toes in that crisp clear water, but only a little past your ankles or the moment will have spoiled by the crackle of the beach nazis on atvs, "No SWIMMING! GET OUT OF THE WATER".
  - gjreda 2y ago
    The recent changes have gotten absurd
  - contingencies 2y ago
    That's a shame. I recall last summer seeing some dedicated and well-wetsuited people swimming much closer to town, along the concrete shoreline to the north of Ohio Street Beach.
    - Kon-Peki 2y ago
      That's the difference between the city and the suburbs. Swimming in the city is fine if a lifeguard is on duty. https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/beaches https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/beaches Swimming in the Great Lakes is very dangerous, especially if you are not familiar with the behavior of the lakes. https://glsrp.org/statistics/ https://glsrp.org/statistics/

bbarn 2y ago

When I used to live in Chicago and bike race, this was one of the local sprint finish points on weekend group rides. A long flat road into a short climb and some of my favorite memories. There's also a beautiful cobbled street on the other side of it.

em-bee 2y ago

related topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40390751 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40390751 "The Beauty of Concrete" (20 days ago: 89 messages)

AIrtemis 2y ago

This is a great tiktok comparing the Bahá’í with other concrete structures of that era (Brutalism) https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.tpanova/video/7252757064517225770?_t=8n1193zcKip&_r=1 https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.tpanova/video/7252757064517225770...

jackcosgrove 2y ago

The exterior of the Baha'i temple in Wilmette is beautiful but the interior is very plain. I'm not sure if this is intentional and reflective of some tenet of the faith.

kragen 2y ago
it doesn't, no

lproven 2y ago

Without paywall: https://archive.ph/3JiFf https://archive.ph/3JiFf