This post is my submission for Photography Techniques I, Project 4. All photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The People of Babel: A Series on Space
Genesis 11 tells the story of civilization and their
refuted attempts to construct the tallest tower in the world. God spoke against
their actions, so much so that she confused their language and forced them to disperse so that humans may never attempt such a defying action again. And yet, some
thousands of years (or millions, but who’s counting?) later, humans continue to
be obsessed with constructing pieces of architecture larger than life to
please an entity that doesn’t verifiably exist and didn’t want us to build
such shrines for her in the first place.
Human history is riddled with the motivation to build
larger and grander so that their god might show them some ounce of mercy on
this merciless planet. The cost of such projects has been human lives through
war, slavery, and inequality – none of which this loving God promotes. The
space these structures take up is like that of Babel. The civilization that
God divided is now more united than ever. The single tower that God stopped is
now millions upon millions of structures dedicated to her. While these
structures provide some civilians a sense of peace and love, it has provided
much more of a sense of trauma, disbelief, and hatred.
But the people of Babel don’t care. They have their
space. They have their shrines. They have everything. Is this what God wants?