Hence, the building is made sacred when His church is inside...

 

Hatz said His presence.

Your assumption is that whenever His church is inside, God's presence is there.

 

In the original thread of this point, it was about a wedding.

So, would His Presence be there if His church is not necessarily inside?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that, as suspected, this may be a Catholic/Protestant issue...I believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist and since the Eucharist is always in the Catholic Church, it is holy.

 

However, I also think that areas where Jesus was (in the Holy Land) are sacred as well.

I'm with you on this one lbbc.

 

I think the church has become a sanctimonious place, not a sacred place. I feel, and especially as I get older, that many Christians believe wearing a suit and acting pious in a church on Sunday is what makes them Christians, while refusing to look inward and carry about the tenets of the religion in all aspects of their lives. To each their own, but that's not my particular interpretation or belief.

 

True, but that doesn't systematically deny the existence of places that are more holy than others.

 

For anyone- is there a difference between an empty strip club as sacred as an empty church in terms of how it glorifies God?

"Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD" (Lev. 19:30, 26:2)

True, but that doesn't systematically deny the existence of places that are more holy than others.

 

For anyone- is there a difference between an empty strip club as sacred as an empty church in terms of how it glorifies God?

 

I just don't see any reason to believe any location is more "holy" than any other. It seems to me that it is something personal to each of is, not the building people congregate at.

I just don't see any reason to believe any location is more "holy" than any other. It seems to me that it is something personal to each of is, not the building people congregate at.

Then you don't understand that a church represents His person and presence.

Then you don't understand that a church represents His person and presence.

 

No, I simply don't believe it does. People can assign that title to a place, but I don't believe it matters.

No, I simply don't believe it does. People can assign that title to a place, but I don't believe it matters.

So, you disagree with the bible, Jesus himself?

 

Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?'

So, you disagree with the bible, Jesus himself?

 

Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?'

 

I disagree with your interpretation of Jesus' statement.

Then you don't understand that a church represents His person and presence.

 

 

The church isn't the building though. The church is the body of believers. Church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia which means “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” Not a building. The church is literally the body of Christ. So no a building, a man-made structure, does not represent Him. A gathering or assembly of like-minded believers DOES represent His person and His presence.

FWIW, I (and I assume RTS) are NOT saying that, without church buildings, there would be no Church. Just that certain buildings/areas exist for worship of God, and some behavior is inappropriate at those buildings/areas.

FWIW, I (and I assume RTS) are NOT saying that, without church buildings, there would be no Church. Just that certain buildings/areas exist for worship of God, and some behavior is inappropriate at those buildings/areas.

:thumb:

FWIW, I (and I assume RTS) are NOT saying that, without church buildings, there would be no Church. Just that certain buildings/areas exist for worship of God, and some behavior is inappropriate at those buildings/areas.

 

I'm saying those norms are societal constructs applied to buildings that have "church" written on them.

I disagree with your interpretation of Jesus' statement.

He was speaking of the Temple, his Fathers house.

So, you disagree with the bible, Jesus himself?

 

Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?'

 

Well for one you are taking it out-of-context. This occurs at the Temple that DID house the presence of God after he had turned over tables of merchants who had turned the Temple into a strip mall. Moreover the new covenant that places the Holy Spirit in us (at this time it was in the Temple) had yet to be established. So yes- the Temple was a Holy place at that time. However now the temple is us- we are the temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). The moment Jesus Christ rises from the dead and then ascends the New Covenant is sealed. There is no reason now for holy relics- all of us have a direct hot line to our maker. Now we are the Temples. When we accept Christ we receive the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit and we become holy. And when two or more are gathered in His name? You have the church.