This is part of an ariticle I wrote for Christian Today. If you would like to read the full artilce click here.
… We visited many historically significant churches and cathedrals. These have become important sites for their architecture and culture, but we were left wondering about their current spiritual value. At Melk, we visited the monastery. The church was the most ornate I’ve ever seen. Sadly, though beautiful, it makes you wonder about the ethics of a church building containing so much wealth.
At Cologne, we visited the world-famous cathedral. These days it’s rarely seen without scaffolding, as it requires a lot of maintenance. I understand why people in times gone by, built such huge structures. They wanted their buildings to point to heaven, to glorify God, to reflect God’s greatness and magnificence. It was culturally important and a cathedral gave their town status. It wasn’t without biblical precedence. God allowed Solomon to build a temple to honour him. Though it wasn’t God’s initiative (2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 7) …
… Those who built the cathedrals in Europe, couldn’t possibly have foreseen that hundreds of years later, these buildings would become a burden to the very communities they wanted to bless. These days government taxes help to maintain many of these historic buildings, including churches. Again, I’m left wondering about the ethics …
