True.
People feel architectural awe at all kinds of places that are ENTIRELY unconnected with the Almighty ... the Taj Mahal, the Kremlin, the White House. There are some fairly impressive Mosques out there. Reverence-inspiring or not, this stuff is just irrelevant.
Untrue. I feel no reverencial awe of God in any of those sort of places. (White house or any of our historical buildings etc) I only feel that sense of awe in a building dedicated to the worship of God (Jesus). A church has a different feel to it.
>> The Catholic churches inspire a reverence that I have not found in any protestant church. God Himself was born in a humble stable in Bethlehem. His presence is not connected to the beauty of the building.
True (but redundant with your first paragraph)
If people’s reverence is dependent on the look of the building, is it really God they are experiencing ... or just run-of-the-mill architectural awe?
See my second paragraph.
To boil the presence of God down to the look of the building is to take away from what His presence really is. His presence is just as likely to occur in a mud hut in Africa, in my bedroom in suburban Houston, or in a run-down Methodist church in central Texas as It is in an ornate church in Europe.
You missed the point. Yes God can manifest His presence anywhere at anytime (A burning bush perhaps?). BUt a building that is dedicated for worshipping Him aids us in experiencing His presence (That is, in getting rid of all the day to day distractions and actively being in His presence).
During most protestant services we sing praise and worship before the sermon. Why? To give God the glory He is due, but also to prepare ourselves to receive from Him by clearing our minds of distractions. The building can be a part of this process. Unless of course you don't think people can worship God with the creations of their hands and skills.
>> [...] But a building that is dedicated for worshipping Him aids us in experiencing His presence (That is, in getting rid of all the day to day distractions and actively being in His presence).
It seems to me that architectural grandeur IS a day-to-day distraction. If the grandiosity of the building is drawing attention ... it is drawing attention away from the Almighty toward the building.
>> Unless of course you don’t think people can worship God with the creations of their hands and skills.
Designing and building the church may very well have been an act of worship toward God. Basking in the glory of the building seems to be an act of worship for the building.
SnakeDoc