Like a rock: Church of meteorite set up by worshippers of famous space debris

A ‘Church of the Meteorite’ has been set up in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Its members worship the space rock which streaked across the sky and rocked the region in February, injuring over 1,600 people, and causing damage and furor on the ground.

While scientists have long confirmed that the space rock that hit Russia’s Urals Mountains on February 15 is “an ordinary chondrite” (the most common type of meteorite that falls to Earth), the founder of the Church of the Chelyabinsk Meteorite believes it contains “a set of moral and legal norms that will help people live at a new stage of spiritual knowledge development.”

Like a rock: Church of meteorite set up by worshippers of famous space debris

I read this and got a good chuckle out it. I respect peoples views on many things, religion being one of them. i think everyone should have the right to believe in whatever they want to, but this is just crazy.

There are currently about 50 believers in the Church of the Chelyabinsk Meteorite. These days they are busy holding rites on the shores of the lake, trying to protect the meteorite by building “protective barriers” around it, LifeNews.ru reported.

"I think it won’t hurt Chelyabinsk to become a truly holy city, home to a great temple that will be the object of pilgrimage for millions of people from across the world," Breyvichko stated.

I highly doubt this "church" will get a million followers. I thought I would share this with you all and see what you think about it.

-SAP-

reply to post by SloAnPainful


Im in, I doubt the Meteroite will ask me to kill in its name as other religions do

reply to post by DocHolidaze


Maybe, but its prophets will surely end up asking you to do it in its holy name... They will guarantee of hearing it ask for it...

After all, this new deity did come down on earth in a furor, even hurting "sinners" along the way...

SloAnPainful


I highly doubt this "church" will get a million followers. I thought I would share this with you all and see what you think about it.

-SAP-

edit on 17-9-2013 by SloAnPainful because: (no reason given)

Why not? Muslims worship a rock (even though they swear down otherwise, but they clearly do), and there of billions of them.

It is definitely interesting, but it sounds like it might be marred by a rocky start. I really hope their plan doesn't come crashing down on their heads. I guess if it does, though, it just proves they have nothing but pebbles in their heads.

Some people will believe in anything. Reminds me of the Heavens Gate (I think that's the right name?) Cult That killed themselves, thinking they were going to board a spaceship in the Halle Bopp comet.

Later in the article it even refers to them as the"cult of the meteorite church"

reply to post by Firefly_


Very true had not considered that.

-SAP-

maybe this should be their first hymn.

reply to post by Firefly_


That is one of the things that I never understood. I'm not a Muslim but I have seen the movie The message and I got that it was done in full accord with the faith in it it presents Mecca before the prophet arises and they already seem to be worshiping a similar structure to the Kaaba (Al-Masjid al-Haram, the most sacred mosque in Islam, is built around the Kaaba).

From wikipedia

The Black Stone (Arabic: الحجر الأسود‎ al-Ḥajar al-Aswad) is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, the ancient stone building toward which Muslims pray, in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradition, dates back to the time of Adam and Eve.

The stone was venerated at the Kaaba in pre-Islamic pagan times. It was set intact into the Kaaba's wall by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the year 605 A.D., five years before his first revelation. Since then it has been broken into a number of fragments and is now cemented into a silver frame in the side of the Kaaba. Its physical appearance is that of a fragmented dark rock, polished smooth by the hands of millions of pilgrims. Islamic tradition holds that it fell from Heaven to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar. Although it has often been described as a meteorite, this hypothesis is now uncertain.

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba as part of the Tawaf ritual of the Hajj. Many of them try, if possible, to stop and kiss the Black Stone, emulating the kiss that Islamic tradition records that it received from Muhammad. If they cannot reach it, they point to it on each of their seven circuits around the Kaaba.

This is extremely uncharacteristic of Islamic beliefs not so much of Christianity (lots of reliquaries and iconography)...

Maybe they just want to own that rock, after all it is worth a lot of money. If they convince the authorities to give it to the church they will think they have wealth. I think there could be ulterior motives to this. Well, often motives to control wealth start religions. I guess it is a normal religion after all.

reply to post by Panic2k11

they already seem to be worshiping a similar structure to the Kaaba (Al-Masjid al-Haram, the most sacred mosque in Islam, is built around the Kaaba).

Praying towards a certain direction, does not mean Muslims are worshiping a structure.

Take Daniel for example, he too prayed towards the direction of Jerusalem. Does it mean he was worshiping Jerusalem itself? Or something inside Jerusalem?

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
-Daniel 6:10

Praying on the knees. Towards a designated direction. Multiple times a day. Sounds familiar?

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


It is not even the same thing and not a religious preset at all for Christianity.

I was referring to the continuation of the "pagan" rite after Islam took root and even more strange that it was kept until today. One aspect of it I understand the need and importance to commerce around the continual worship (like the Roman Catholics have in part toward the Vatican) there is a political gain in having a centralization of religions around certain sites (but it should be obvious even to devouts that it has very little to do with religion itself).

reply to post by Panic2k11

It is not even the same thing and not a religious preset at all for Christianity.

Different directions... same concept.
Christians may not see it as a religious preset, but the point remains that their own holy book depicts a prophet praying on his knees...towards a particular direction, multiple times a day. That's exactly what Muslims do.

was referring to the continuation of the "pagan" rite after Islam took root and even more strange that it was kept until today.

Islam believes that Abraham and Ishmael built the original structure thousands of years ago. It fell into pagan hands down the years and became a center of idolatry and polytheism. When Mohammad defeated the pagans, he established Islam as THE only religion in the land. He hated paganism and had zero reason to spare any of it, or incorporate it into the religion he established.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n


Well that goes toward my question thanks I only dislike how you worded it...

When Mohammad defeated the pagans, he established Islam as THE only religion in the land. He hated paganism and had zero reason to spare any of it, or incorporate it into the religion he established.

My understanding it that there was no defeating involved, as the story is recorded he acted mostly in self defense and towards peaceful conversion. He also did not establish Islam as THE only religion in the land (that requires imposition and he clearly did not work toward that goal himself, he worked in the spreading of his/God's message and was even especially cooperative with other Abrahamic religions followers as they share the same God) and as retold he also clearly did not hate anything as described he initiated a civil rebellion or movement (often non-belligerently) against what he believed was God's will and message given to him.

I'm going to join. I join every crazy cult I can on the chance they all commit mass suicide--then I become leader of a religion by default!!

DE-FAULT!!

reply to post by Panic2k11

I hadn't read the wiki on the black stone until you posted it. I had heard the idea it was thought to be a meteorite before, but hadn't seen the part about that hypothesis being in doubt. It seems unlikely it will be tested to find out if it's truly a meteorite.

If it is, then there's certainly good precedent for meteorite worship. Even if it isn't really a meteorite, it's thought to be (from heaven), so it may as well be meteorite worship, even if it's just an Earth rock.

This immediately reminded me of The Church of Children of the Atom, from Fallout 3.

I think it's incredible. People are nuts, but it's nice to know that these people have found a common ground upon which to be nuts.

reply to post by SloAnPainful


Great find. lol

Church of the Rock indeed. ...There are worse ones.

reply to post by soficrow


I figured people would kind of find this humerus. At least I did.

-SAP-