ANTI-CHURCH BUILDING CLAIMS

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Feb 1, 2014
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#1
Often, a claim is made that the early church didn't have buildings that were dedicated for a place of corporate fellowship.

I have no problem with house churches, especially if the group has a sufficient number of individuals who have spiritual gifts to edify the entire group. In persecuted countries, a house church might be the only reasonable option. So, house churches have their purpose.

Sometimes, though, house churches are led by heretical nuts who are seeking their own self-aggrandizement. But, I guess we could say the same for organized local fellowships with brick and mortar buildings.

Anyways, the book of James gives us an indication that Christians were meeting, by themselves, in meeting houses designated for that purpose, whether it was rare or not.

James 2:2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in...

The Greek word for assembly is συναγωγή or synagōgē. Everywhere else in the NT, the word is translated as "synagogue" which implies a designated place of assembly, similar to our church buildings. In this one case, the translators chose to translate the word as "assembly" because it was apparent that it was a Christian, and not Jewish, context James was speaking about.

The claim is sometimes made that Christians didn't have designated places of worship until about 300 AD. I believe that there is considerable truth to this claim, as Christians suffered persecution until about that timeframe, when Christianity became a recognized faith in the Roman empire. However, this reference in James indicates that there were some designated places of worship at the time.

Anyways, the book of James infers the existence of designated buildings for meeting places of Christians in the apostolic church.

I am also aware that Christians, primarily Jewish ones, sometimes attended Jewish synagogues to hear Scripture read, as access to Scripture was limited. Often they heard the Scripture being read at synagogue services, and then met alone on a separate day (I believe Sunday was common) to discuss the Scriptures amongst themselves and to take communion. Christians were increasingly unwelcome in the synagogues, particularly after the destruction of the Temple in AD70, because Jewish Christians abandoned the city prior to its destruction and fled into a wilderness area. They were viewed as traitors by fellow Jews due to this desertion, and the Eighteen Benedictions, which were required recitations in the synagogues, were modified so that anyone who repeated them were in effect denying Jesus as Messiah. Additionally, there was Christian persecution by Jews because they refused to accept Simon Bar-Kokvba as Messiah during the revolt of the AD130's. By that time, very few Jewish Christians would have been involved with Jewish synagogue services due to heavy persecution from Jews.

I don't think James was talking about the Jewish synagogues in his remarks, as he indicates "your assembly".

A pet peeve for me are comments from some Christians claiming the only valid way to use the word "church" is to apply it to the body of believers, and not a building. They have a valid point regarding the common Greek word for church, which is ekklesia (meaning "called out ones" which emphasizes election), but somehow they think that any other use of the word "church" in English is not permissible. Seems like they need to consult their dictionary.

Words allow for multiple uses, and context determines the meaning in a given case. The word "church", when used in the English vocabulary, can mean the group of regenerate believers who are united with Christ, which would be the invisible church. The word "church" can mean a group of individuals who claim to be Christian (whether they are regenerate or not), or the "visible church". Sometimes it's used in the context of a particular organization, such as the Church of Christ. And, the word "church" can mean a designated meeting place such as a building, and that is the sense in which I'm using the word.

Context determines the meaning in English. Insisting that the word "church" in English can only apply to the group of regenerate believers who belong to Christ is unsupportable.
 
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p_rehbein

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2013
30,097
6,480
113
#2
The Congregation of the Church at Jerusalem was very large...........I suspect it had a designated building, but maybe not. Could have been the very large home of one of the wealthy Members I suppose......

Think I'll see what I can find out on this.........but I do believer SOME of the Congregations had separate buildings, but not all of them for sure. At least, not in the early establishment of the Church. Mostly because, the Romans went on a rampage trying to destroy Christianity, and specific buildings used would have made an easy target to locate and destroy.
 

p_rehbein

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2013
30,097
6,480
113
#3
Article to consider:

(excerpt)

[FONT=&quot]Unless claims for recent discoveries of early Christian meeting places are confirmed, the earliest building certainly devoted to Christian use is at Dura Europos on the Euphrates River in eastern Roman Syria. It was a house that came into Christian possession and was remodeled in the 240s. Two rooms were combined to form the assembly room, and another room became a baptistery—the only room decorated with pictures. Dura was destroyed by the Sassanian Persians in 256, so the house's use as a church was short-lived.

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Why and when did Christians start constructing special buildings...