National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
We’ve been talking quite a bit here on Ricochet about the unholy mixture—as I see it—of the religious and the sacred with the secular and the profane.
To that end, yesterday evening, I attended a wonderful evensong service at the National Cathedral in Washington DC—a building whose architectural splendors rival that of Notre Dame in Paris. This was the scene of Ronald Reagan’s funeral, as well as that of Woodrow Wilson’s, Dwight Eisenhower’s, and Gerald Ford’s.
After the service, which ended around 4.30pm, I toured the beautiful grounds to have a few quiet moments and settled down in a courtyard in front of a steely, modernist fountain that felt like an unwelcome intruder in this gothic church.
Then the unnecessary gave way to the unwanted when I spotted something else that seemed way out of place. Three young girls, dressed in spike heels, and skin-tight, see-through white outfits began provocatively posing and photographing each other on the cathedral grounds. And when I mean provocative, I mean even Justice Potter Stewart might have proclaimed these little hotties to be pornographic if he’d lived to see them—it was like they were making love to the archways that they were pressing up against. I caught one of the gyrating poses with my cell phone’s camera, above.
It gave me a good laugh, how out of place they were. But it also made me queasy. I knew that the church’s chaplain was somewhere nearby, ushering the tourists out of the church since it was about to close, and I kept wondering what he would make of the sacrilege being committed against the archways of the garden.
It also reminded me of something a former boss of mine said. This was a couple of years after Reagan’s funeral. I was interning at a magazine and my boss there one day told me about attending Reagan’s funeral at National Cathedral. He was rhapsodizing sweetly over the sanctity of the church, the heaviness of the event, and all the magnificent people who were there to attend President Reagan’s passing when my boss then came to a full pause and said: “And then I saw Clinton. He was leaning back in the pews, with his legs crossed.” Then he paused again. “It was just so disrespectful—to sit like that, in God’s house.”
I wonder what my old boss would have made of the young aspiring internet bunnies I saw yesterday.
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Jul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
I blame Facebook!
May '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
In the vein of the old joke about the movie that was so pornographic the judge had to watch it 10 times to believe it, I'm sorry I missed the photo shoot (is that thunder I just heard?)
Aug '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
One of the most important and telling questions you can ask someone is, "What do you consider sacred?" A large part of our population would laugh at the naivete implied in such a request.
A 'progressive/liberal', ii they're honest, will very likely say "Nothing, really". In order for anything to be sacred it must be also holy, undefiled, from the hand of an angel or God Himself.
We're beginning to see a profound fault line in America, between believers and non-believers. It's not critical yet, and I hate to think of anyone being persecuted for their unbelief - because, God knows, I've had my doubts and periods of agnosticism - but the whole foundation of the United States is built on the words we all have heard so often.Without belief in the sacred, there can be no credibility to our founding documents.
We thought we knew what they meant for a very long time, but the fact is we're only now realizing how far we've wandered from the original intent, the whole raison d'etre, of America.
May '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
It was only after a year of living in San Antonio that I learned that my university, Our Lady of the Lake, rested in the middle of "the barrio" -- a word my local friends used like "ghetto". This beautiful Catholic college, with its French Gothic architecture and reminders of various saints throughout, was surrounded by gang activity... murder, rape, extortion, the works.
That crime rarely came onto campus. Even though many people from the area were irreligious or hated the Church, respect for their cultural heritage was apparently widespread enough to make the Catholic university (nominally so, by the way) into a sanctuary.
Certainly, three girls shooting porn outside a cathedral does not necessarily reflect on the surrounding culture. But I believe an observant person can notice various ways, be it around churches and civic monuments or among children and the elderly, in which a sense of sacredness thrives or withers in an area.
Aug '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Setting aside the question of the propriety of a "National" Cathedral, your point is well taken and it is unfortunately difficult for most people to recognize. Form is not neutral, to steal a line from Marshall McLuhan, and the way in which we do certain activities says much about what we think about those activities and the significance we give to those activities.
If I go to church (to worship - not to take naughty photos) wearing the same t-shirt I wear to run to the corner store to pick up a gallon of milk or package of chewing tobacco (Red Man, by the way), that says something about how I view the act of worship. Not much.
The same principle holds with sacred architecture. Witness the proliferation of non-denominational "worship centers" with no distinguishing "sacred" architectural elements or that are simply re-habbed strip mall buildings. Need I mention Contemporary Christian Music? Blechh.
Since Augustine, there has been recognition of the distinction between the sacred and the secular. The Puritans believed the secular could nevertheless point to the sacred (i.e., "calling" vs. "vocation"). Now, all, including that which ought be sacred reflects ugly, profane secularity.
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
That's such a great point. River and others -- how would you define sacred?
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Red & Black Redneck:
The same principle holds with sacred architecture. Witness the proliferation of non-denominational "worship centers" with no distinguishing "sacred" architectural elements or that are simply re-habbed strip mall buildings. Need I mention Contemporary Christian Music? Blechh.
It used to be that the aesthetics of religion (or religious art--the music, the architecture, the icons, etc) were meant to elevate you, and bring you closer to God. That suggests that you have something to aspire to--something greater than yourself and your earthly world. Now, these "worship centers"--school lunch rooms, empty movie theaters, lecture halls--are nothing if not earthly and mundane. Where's the beauty? The transcendent sense? The holy spirit?
Edited on Aug 30, 2010 at 2:21pmJun '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Theodore Dalrymple (himself an avowed agnostic), in cutting critique of modern relativism, said that “[t]he only permissible judgment in polite society is that no judgment is permissible.” He suggested then that when members of a society lose the ability to render moral judgments, we've arrived at a very bad place.
I am not a Catholic and my own religion does not have cathedrals, but I strongly believe that a cathedral is a sacred space and that there is a line between a sacred space and the rest of the world. For the three nymphets to do what they did is, to my way of thinking, a coarse, willfully provocative invasion of sacred space that should be condemned.
Sadly, I believe this kind of behavior does reflect on the surrounding culture. No one can expect the girls to share the religious beliefs of those who attend to cathedral to worship, but it's certainly not too much to expect them to respect the sacredness that others hold for the place.
I find the whole incident to be a sad commentary on our society's ongoing loss of a sense of the sacred.
Edited on Aug 30, 2010 at 2:30pmJul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Speaking for every man at Ricochet, I can tell you that we sternly denounce the very idea of willowy young women writhing around in skimpy costumes and high heels.
Aug '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Quite frankly, I'd not be too quick to assume that they weren't there for church. Based on what I can see in the woefully inadequate photo posted, I've seen less, or worse, or however you want to put it, on young women in church while they were wiggling around to the latest trendy 7-11 worship song (the same seven lines sung eleven times).
Seriously though, the cathedral is not the necessity. The severe lines of Puritan Congregationalist chapels communicate the same sense of the sacred in their austerity.
Jun '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Emily Esfahani Smith
That's such a great point. River and others -- how would you define sacred? · Aug 30 at 2:11pm
I'll weigh in on Emily's question. A sacred place can be defined the same way some define pornography: you know it when you see it. For starters: any place of worship should be treated as a sacred place (a cathedral, a synogogue, a mosque, a Mormon temple, etc.). If a person knows that someone else believes a place to be sacred, then other members of a civil society should treat it that way (whatever their own beliefs may be). But there are other non-religious sacred places: Ground Zero, the field in Pennsylvania where the fourth plane crashed, Omaha Beach, Auschwitz, Valley Forge, Gettysburg. There are, of course, many others and those with any degree of sensitivity and respect should be able to identify them, and then act accordingly.
Edited on Aug 30, 2010 at 2:43pmJul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
"Speaking for every man at Ricochet, I can tell you that we sternly denounce the very idea of willowy young women writhing around in skimpy costumes and high heels."
Sorry, depends on the venue.
Jul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Your Grace: "Speaking for every man at Ricochet, I can tell you that we sternly denounce the very idea of willowy young women writhing around in skimpy costumes and high heels."
Sorry, depends on the venue. · Aug 30 at 2:59pm
Under any circumstances, at any time, at any place, we denounce it!
With high dudgeon!
May '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Red & Black Redneck:
If I go to church (to worship - not to take naughty photos) wearing the same t-shirt I wear to run to the corner store to pick up a gallon of milk or package of chewing tobacco (Red Man, by the way), that says something about how I view the act of worship. Not much.
It does indeed have meaning, but not necessarily that the person doesn't care. I often go to Mass in a T-shirt (as a young child, I went in a suit). The saints, like Jesus, went in rags. While it is good to give God one's best -- and I do not object to people dressing up -- doing so can also be distracting for oneself and for others.
It's hard not to focus on the opposite sex when they're dressing to the nines. Also, a friend once told me about the small town church he grew up with, where the women would compete in vain competition to look the best. Preparation for worship should involve less prettying up than spiritual contemplation.
But personal decoration, like architecture, can be offered as praise for God.
Jul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Aaron Miller
Red & Black Redneck:
If I go to church (to worship - not to take naughty photos) wearing the same t-shirt I wear to run to the corner store to pick up a gallon of milk or package of chewing tobacco (Red Man, by the way), that says something about how I view the act of worship. Not much.
It does indeed have meaning, but not necessarily that the person doesn't care. I often go to Mass in a T-shirt (as a young child, I went in a suit). The saints, like Jesus, went in rags. While it is good to give God one's best -- and I do not object to people dressing up -- doing so can also be distracting for oneself and for others.
IAug 30 at 3:08pm
My oldest friend, with whom I'd long lost touch, came to my father's memorial service in a ragged t-shirt and faded blue jeans.
I really resented that.
But I did deliver the eulogy at his service.
In a suit and tie.
Edited on Aug 30, 2010 at 3:23pmJul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
By the way, how can we have a National Cathedral, when we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse or a memorial cross in the Mojave desert?
Could it be that the ACLU and those irritating atheist activists only have the guts to go after the low-hanging fruit?
May '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
I've spent enough time in and around churches to know that this sort of thing is not uncommon. A building large enough to merit the title, "cathedral" (which btw, implies the presence of a bishop, or at least of his chair) is large enough to hide all sorts of bad behavior.
Some people, and these girls I suspect, are just looking for a "cool" location. Others are more purposefully in their disrespect and desecration. Some will try to steal the consecrated host from the communion plate for use in some psuedo-satanic ritual. Objects with explicitly religious meanings, like crosses or bibles, are particular targets.
They do this to be shocking, so in effect it is a back-handed compliment to the church. The power in their act comes from the love and respect people feel for the place and what is done there. If no one cared about the place, there would be no attraction for the antisocial.
Jun '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
I just regret that my late grandmother was not there to see it. She had a very heavy purse and she knew how to swing it. Goliath, meet David.
Jun '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
Our National Cathedral? The one with Darth Vader carved on the side?
Jul '10
Re: National Cathedral: Place of Worship or Internet Porn Shoot?
During a tour through the chapel within the Tower of London, I managed to force a group of snickering teeners (I can look pretty fearsome; and hissing at them worked too.)
Anyway, I guess I hope my own reaction would be to stand there and give those girls what they really want: open angry disapproval. They deserve that, at least.