World's first religious vending machine

[Still Waters]

The world's first religious vending machine has been installed in a church to allow worshippers to buy holy accessories before attending a service.

Churchgoers can now buy rosary beads and armbands with religious motifs before taking their seat inside their place of worship.

The machine was the brainchild of pastoral assistant Sebastian Fiebig at the St. Joseph Church, in Hamburg, Germany.

http://www.dailymail...orshippers.html

[Blink4567]

The world's first religious vending machine has been installed in a church to allow worshippers to buy holy accessories before attending a service.

Churchgoers can now buy rosary beads and armbands with religious motifs before taking their seat inside their place of worship.

The machine was the brainchild of pastoral assistant Sebastian Fiebig at the St. Joseph Church, in Hamburg, Germany.

http://www.dailymail...orshippers.html

Not how it should be... Rosary, crosses, and any tokens of religious ceromony is supposed to be given to you out of love. This is WRONG!

[Taun]

Unless I am remembering wrongly, the ancient Greeks had machines that gave out holy oil, or incense, or somesuch... In their temples... pre-Christian....

But I agree with Jessem, in Catholic circles, these items are given to the person - not bought by the person...

[Grandpa Greenman]

Mmmm.... Pagans are suckers for that kind of stuff. Vending machine with an assortment of crystals.

[Taun]

Just looked it up and Hero (or Heron?) of Alexandria - the inventor of the first steam engine - invented the first known vending machine - 2,000 years ago...

It was a 'forced draft pump' that sat in the entry to Temples... A worshipper would drop a few coins in the top which would land on a pan... The pan would drop with the weight of the coins and that in turn released a spigot that dispensed Holy water, until the weight of the coins over balanced the pan and dropped down into the bottom... This released pressure on the pan which shut off the spigot...

I was apparently wrong about the pre-Christian thing though...

[Rafterman]

I seem to recall a story from my Bible School days about some really nasty **** going down once Jesus realized vendors were selling stuff in the temple.

[Ogbin]

Nothing I hear anymore about cathlic church suprises me.

[Blink4567]

Just looked it up and Hero (or Heron?) of Alexandria - the inventor of the first steam engine - invented the first known vending machine - 2,000 years ago...

It was a 'forced draft pump' that sat in the entry to Temples... A worshipper would drop a few coins in the top which would land on a pan... The pan would drop with the weight of the coins and that in turn released a spigot that dispensed Holy water, until the weight of the coins over balanced the pan and dropped down into the bottom... This released pressure on the pan which shut off the spigot...

I was apparently wrong about the pre-Christian thing though...

No, it was in the roman times, pre-christian, about 75 B.C. and used in roman/greek temples/judaic worship halls as well. And it was oil at first, but used for holy water later on about 100 years later.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Jessem

[Blink4567]

I seem to recall a story from my Bible School days about some really nasty **** going down once Jesus realized vendors were selling stuff in the temple.

He flipped the tables, chased out all the poeple from the temple, and compltely scared the crap out of hundreds of people. I believe this was also the same story as the woman about to be stoned for "adultry" "Cast the first stone if you are without sin."

[Beany]

Hmmm, maybe they're trying to make up for all the money spent on legal fees & damage awards. The saddest part of this is that some people will actually use the vending machines. One of the things I like about the spiritual traditions of indigenous people is that no money changes hands.

[Clarakore]

This is a nice idea. Religious shops sell these items all the time. This does not exactly warrant the negativity being offered or rise to the level of money changing in the temple.

Of course our opinion on any given topic reveals more about us than whatever we are opining on.