If God is Everywhere, Why Church?
I never really understood the idea of a Church… at least not from a theological point of view. If God is supposed to be everywhere, then what is the point of having a house of God? Now of course there are other reasons for have Christians to build Churches.
From a historical stand point, it seems like churches were built because our culture at the time was used to building temples to the various Gods. So it made sense to just change the name of those temples to a different God and then build more. It was much easier than tearing down the temple and building something useful like a school, hospital, or a strip mall.
Then there is the fact that when you get down to it, religion is a business and businesses need to make money. Having people come to a fancy building every week really helps to sell the God thing. You have the beautiful stained glass, the shiny gold trim, and masterful works of art all of which are designed to make people feel in awe. Church goers are so dazzled by all the shiny objects that they ride an emotional high which the Church takes advantage of to elicit more devotion and to get people to donate more to the Church.
Having everyone chant in unison also helps to create a stronger bond with the “in group” and with the Church leadership. When the collection plate gets passed around, people a are more willing to give.
But none of this has anything to do with their imaginary God. God is supposed to be everywhere (except Hell of course). So again what would the theological reason be for building a house to God? When Christian fundamentalists say that “the holy spirit is present in this room,” isn’t that a given? So much for omnipresent.
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Filed under: anti-intellectualism, Church, Glory to God, Religious Manipulation
