Credit:TS/unsplash.com
A few years ago, I remember passing by a religious building, and it seemed quite different form the churches in the neighborhood. I was surprised by the name on the sign, it was a “Mother Goddess Temple.” Apparently, that is a building for a religion from Vietnam, and the temple that I saw was probably built by immigrants from Vietnam.
Have you ever noticed how much real estate is needed for religions?
That temple was probably an expensive building on my kind of budget. Where I live, we also have many churches, old and new, and a Jewish funeral home. If we travelled further, I could show you a Gurdwara for Sikhs from the Punjab in India, a Buddhist temple, several Muslim mosques, a Jewish synagogue, and at least one Hindu temple.
Did you know that a Mormon church is called a “Stake” and a meeting place for Jehovah’s Withesses is a “Kingdom Hall”?
It is clear, we cannot have religions without real estate.
We go to a large Christian church every Sunday, and it is popular in our city. Our church has more than one service, and my biggest problem is with real estate. We like the last service, which spills into the early afternoon.
On every Sunday, I have the same problem; I have to cruise the parking lot, looking for a place to park my car. So far, I have been successful, and I can park near the door and go into the service.
I was told once, by a missionary who worked in Mexico, that there are strict laws for religious real estate in that country. All buildings for religious worship belong to the government. The original law focussed on historic cathedrals, but the missionary speaker told us that landlords don’t like to rent to any religious group now. There is a danger that government agents will seize any property that is used for worship.
Have you heard of the African kingdom of Kubala?
A group of people with African ancestors have claimed land in Scotland, and they are being evicted for the second time, as I write this. The kingdom people claim a historic right to own land in Scotland without paying for it. We could argue about their beliefs, but the fight now is all about land.
And, there is someone in a town called Richmond, a farming district in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan. Her name is Romana Didulo, and she is an immigrant from the Philippines. She claims to be the Queen of Canada, and she has a group that follows her with religious devotion. That group has recently been evicted from their home site:
READ: Self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Canada’ granted bail, ordered to stay in Regina
In the United States, there have been some angry demonstrations between Conservative Catholics, and radical secular groups on Catholic university campuses. Universities are the home turf for many movements, including LGBTQ and pro Palestinian demonstrators. Conservative Catholics sometimes try to bring their turf back to where they started. This is all about who controls the home site, the real estate:
I remember the spread of Liberal theology among Christians when I was young. At the center of the fight was real estate; churches, some schools, and yes, parking lots.
Conservative Christians, like my parents, gave money generously for generations, and churches were built and made mortgage free over time. If a Liberal group could gain influence over the church leadership, they could gain control of property worth many millions. I know about one angry contest over the ownership of some Christian schools, that is happening now.
The real estate prize is worth millions, and it could be the base to promote woke ideas, in the name of historic religion. Schools and university campuses are used for much more than just education.
Have you noticed that the conflict in the Middle East, with Jewish Israelis and mostly Muslim Palestinians is all about land; real estate? There was a Jewish Temple, in Jerusalem about two thousand years ago. It was destroyed by a Roman army, and all that remains is a few stones from the foundation, known as the Jewish wailing wall. The site of the Temple is now the Muslim Al-Aqsa Mosque, apparently the third holiest site in Islam.
That is a ticking time bomb that could start a world war, anytime.
We have these words, in the Bible:
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27: 4)
Clearly, the most sincere beliefs are tied to a place, a piece of land, and that site is in contention today.
Jesus shocked his followers, when he spoke about the temple, before it was destroyed:
And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Mark 13: 1 and 2)
What he predicted happened a few years later.
It is clear that the human race has a great hunger for a holy place, or a base for a belief system. While the world fights, there is one truth that we might easily miss.
Every Christian is called to be a place where God lives. The truth is not really about land, it is about us. Each one of us is the real estate, the sacred site. That knowledge could change the world around each of us, and it can give us some peace.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3: 16 and 17)
I hope we can see that there is truth, in the fight for turf.
OpentheWord.org 
Leave a reply to STEVEN HOWARD COOLEY Cancel reply