Why does religion teach that human beings are the superior life forms, when all we do is destroy everything in our path? Why does religion teach that the creator is a man, when all the species of the earth who birth life are female? Why does religion teach that blindly following an arbitrary set of nonsensical beliefs makes you a good person, when atrocities are committed in the name of said beliefs every day? I have so many questions when it comes to the bullshit I was force-fed as a child, sitting in the pews of an Anglican church, surrounded by hypocrisy that I recognized even as a young child. How many times did I wish that some natural force would sweep us all out of the heavy doors, leaving my family and I in safety while it carried the church and all its cronies to the bottom of the ocean? So how stoked am I to find a set of amazing images that made my young fantasy a reality! These “drowned churches” are poignantly beautiful – not just the decaying architecture, but also the reminder that for all of the bluffing of evangelists, Mother Earth will have her revenge. After the jump, check out a series of pictures that may bring a warm, fuzzy feeling to your heretic mentality…
- Photo Andre Estima
- Photo Bhaskar Dutta
- Photo Bhaskar Dutta
- Photo Juan Tello
- Photo Markus Bernet
- Photo Michael Clarke
- Photo Oleg Ivanov
- Photo Petr Drápalík
- Photo Sharon
- Photo Sharon
- Photo sudtirol.altoadige
Images via Environmental Graffiti
Simon
March 25, 2012 at 5:46 am
Your pictures are very artistic although I find your argument very narrow minded. You talk about all major religions teaching its followers to “teach people to conquer nature, as well as to disregard and even destroy any Nature-respecting belief systems” and that “religion teach[s] that the creator is a man” when in actual fact the majority of religions have no gender for the “creator”. In Judaism the creator is called Y_H_W_H (there are no vowels in Hebrew) which is a genderless term, so for all you know Y_H_W_H could be female (following your argument that all life on earth is birthed through women). Secondly, at no point in any of the major religions does it preach any form of hatred of any other religion. The major three religions preach the “treat others how you would like to be treated” rule and it is the interpretations of its followers that damn a religion, and not the writings itself.
Meghan
March 26, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Yes, at an existential level, creators are genderless and the writings are noble. But the only experience I have had with religion is through human beings. So I am of course referring to human behaviour and beliefs, not god/goddess/angel/alien behaviours. I am referring to the fact that while Yaweh/God/Allah could be interpreted as genderless, orthodox followers would consider that a heretic statement, one even worthy of death. Women are not allowed to be priests, imams or rabbis in most religious groups, and homosexuality is a huge issue in most religious practice – so gender, and acting within the confines of one’s gender, is therefore an important issue. I firmly believe that all this interpretation is bullshit, and as it is taught in the churches, I enjoy seeing those interpretations drown.
Lachlan
March 17, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Awesome images by the way. Love the concept. Nature reclaims over the delusions of man and the throne he has made for himself
Lachlan
March 17, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Many religions, of course, do not teach that man is a ‘superior lifeform’. Your views at this point seem to be a revulsion and reaction against authoritarian Christianity. There are a plethora of other paths with radically different conceptions of man – Zen, Mahayana and mysticism to name but a few.
Meghan
March 19, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Yes, I agree. I was talking about so-called “major” organized religions that teach that “man” is superior not only to woman, but to every living being. These religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism – teach people to conquer nature, as well as to disregard and even destroy any Nature-respecting belief systems, and these photos show nature conquering Christian churches, which I personally enjoy seeing!
Joe
March 13, 2012 at 8:16 am
Love this. Absolutely beautiful. All though I do not share the same hate as you do, this an absolutely beautiful example of the fragility of man.