Notre Dame

We approach Notre Dame in all its glory.

From Notre Dame

The church is amazingly old. Clearly Paris was the center of Northern European advancements in architecture, art, philosophy, and math during these times.
The time line of its construction, from Wikipedia:
* 1160 Maurice de Sully (named Bishop of Paris), orders the original cathedral to be demolished.
* 1163 Cornerstone laid for Notre Dame de Paris — construction begins.
* 1182 Apse and choir completed.
* 1196 Nave completed. Bishop de Sully dies.
* 1200 Work begins on western façade.
* 1225 Western façade completed.
* 1250 Western towers and north rose window completed.
* 1260s Transepts changed to the Gothic style by Jean de Chelles then Peter of Montereau
* 1250–1345 Remaining elements completed
* 1793 Rededicated to the 'Cult of Reason' during the French Revolution. Statues of biblical Kings beheaded under the mistaken believe that they were french kings. Lady Liberty replaces the Virgin Mary on several altars.
* 1845-1865 A restoration program was initiated overseen by architects Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

There are three portals in the front of the church.

From Notre Dame

I am drawn to the central one. The Portal of the Last Judgment. At the bottom left an angel blows the heavenly alarm clock, "Time to wake up, you dead people". The people lift off the lids of their coffins, amazed. But not so fast. It is time for the last judgment.

From Notre Dame

Now try to stretch your imagination and think about the time from the Big Bang until now. That is about 14 billion years, give or take. Now take that amount of time and multiply by infinity. That is how long these people are about to spend in either heaven as a happy angel, or in hell, shackled and tortured by devils.

From Notre Dame

Just to make sure everything is going smoothly Jesus looks on from above. Jesus's hands are raised. "Look how I suffered for your sins. Here is where I bled for you." He shows the nail holes in his hands. He also seems to be saying, "At this point this is not my problem. You lived your life. Now you are to be judged."

From Notre Dame

The angels for their part seemed distracted.

From Notre Dame

I must say, I am dubious. Still if Christ embodies all those who made sacrifices so that I can live a better life, I feel deep gratitude and humbleness as I reflect on their lives. The story of the last judgment reminds me that our little actions in this life can have large reverberations. We should take care.
Enough, from me. I am trying to understand my own spirituality. I am fundamentally a person who believes in the scientific method as a way to find the truth. I believe in empirical, reproducible evidence. I believe in facts so embedded in that evidence that people of wildly different perspectives on life will come to the same conclusions, and they can build on them to discover new truths. Is there a place for the afterlife, I do not think so. Indeed, without an afterlife to fall back on, I focus on life. Still my fellow webniks, I meditate daily. It helps my mind and body. I will end with the metta meditation I am currently wrapped up in: May you be happy. May you be peaceful. May you be free of suffering.