The goal of Christians is to give glory to God. For all of us, that means giving whatever aid we can to anyone who might need it - which is to say, all of us. However, people need inspiration as much as they need material help; aren't those who are gifted in architecture and masonry and glassblowing and other such professions doing a good thing by exercising their skill and talent and experience in the best way they know how?

Been enjoying your blog, Paul sent me from Internet Cafe.

Steve

As I said, if given the choice today between building a cathedral and building something of use such as a library or a hospital, I'd always choose the latter.

Me too, emphatically - but it strikes me that such buildings could still be designed in such a way as to glorify their function (which, after all, serves an equally high purpose) rather than to reduce it to the bare minimum. Having spent some time in a hospital recently (and a LOT of time in various libraries!), I'd be a lot happier if they looked more like cathedrals (albeit small ones) and less like storage sheds.

If these people had spent their lives advancing true knowledge and fighting for freedom, we'd all be much better off today. I admire the pyramids or other constructions as much as anyone, but I'd much rather see the human genome or something equally advanced.

I agree. As I said, if given the choice today between building a cathedral and building something of use such as a library or a hospital, I'd always choose the latter. But buildings like St. Patrick's are already here, so it does no harm to preserve them. They are part of our cultural heritage, which is something that we should remember.

I wouldn't object if they were turned to other uses, though. I visited Harvard University recently with a friend who's applying there, and one of the buildings we saw was a cathedral that had been converted into a student dining hall. That seemed like a very fitting purpose.