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Church Buildings: Historical Friday

One of the defining features of churches in America is the church building. For many of us it is hard to think of church taking place in any other setting. The church building has been so ingrained into our thinking that it has permeated our theology and ministry. Today we are going to look at history to see where church buildings came from and why we put so much emphasis on them.

A Brief History of Church Buildings


Most of you probably know that the church in the first century didn't have church buildings. They met in houses and synagogues across the Roman Empire. Some may have met in public areas, but most met in the houses of members. So how did we make the jump from houses to buildings?

Well a common misconception is that there were no church buildings until the time of Constantine; the Roman Emperor who made Christianity legal. Christians had been meeting in buildings for a while, particularly in rural areas. Christians would build church buildings at crossroads in the countryside so that farmers would be able to meet, since it could take days to get to the nearest town.

We know there were buildings like these before Constantine because of the documents from the persecutions before him. There were specific orders to burn down Christian places of worship as part of the effort to eradicate Christianity. Soldiers would specifically wait to storm these places on Sunday because they knew there would be Christians there.

So why do a lot of people think church buildings only arrived under Constantine? This is because Christianity became popular under his reign. Imagine this situation; you are a Christian living in the mid 4th century. For years you and your fellow Christians have been hunted down and persecuted for your faith. Now, all of a sudden, your faith is not only legal but preferred by the emperor. Finally you can meet and gather in public without fear of being arrested. You can share your faith and put it on display without breaking the law.

Many church buildings were built for evangelistic purposes under Constantine. They could now worship openly and invite the masses to come see what Jesus was all about. The problem was that a lot of people came to Christianity not because of genuine faith, but to simply gain favor with the emperor. These people brought their pagan customs with them and it infected churches.

Pagan temples were considered very holy places. Church buildings then became the new sort of holy place, even though that isn't taught anywhere in Scripture. As happens with many cultural traits, it eventually became part of the theology of churches. This sense of a holy place within church buildings carries over even to this day.

Conclusion

Some people like to give church buildings a hard time, claiming that most problems in churches can be traced back to the building. The problem isn't with church buildings, but people's attitudes towards them. Church buildings have enabled Christians to do many great things for Christ through the ages. They have enabled the poor to be sheltered, the hungry to be fed, and have offered refugees a safe haven. 

What we must realize is that church buildings are a product of a cultural shift from the mid 300's, and are still a part of our culture today. Church buildings aren't going away any time soon. What we must do is use them for God's glory, and not the glory of the building itself. That is the trap from the time of Constantine, and it is the trap of today.

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