In an article on Constantine’s church-building, Gregory Alexander repeats a commonplace about the difference between pagan and Christian places of worship: “The temple is a house for the god; the church is a gathering place for communal worship.”
Yes, but: Jesus says He’ll be there in our gathering, so the church-temple is still a house for God.
Perhaps, though, the point is more radical. Perhaps the church is a temple in the ancient sense, a house not only for God but for the refurbished images of God that constitute the body of Christ. Perhaps the church is, precisely, a house of gods.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
How the State Failed Noelia Castillo
On March 26, Noelia Castillo, a twenty-five-year-old Spanish woman, was killed by her doctors at her own…
The Mind’s Profane and Sacred Loves
The teachers you have make all the difference in your life. That they happened to come into…
History’s Pro Tips on Iran
Nothing in human experience compares to the wars of the last 120 years. Their scope has grown…
