So I’ve been looking at the history of church architecture, and one thing I notice is going back to the days of Paul and Peter, churches were built beautifully. Even if they were a small room in a cave, they had images painted on the walls.

And when you look at how God himself commanded the Jews to build his temple it was filled with gold and statues of angels and beautiful rugs.

Churches remained beautiful for most of Christian history. Even most Protestant churches, despite not having statues or icons, looked nice, with stained glass windows and a beautiful cross. Just look at Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist churches.

But it seems like in the US, beauty has become a thing not only ignored, but reviled. I think of all these churches with blank calls, no stained glass, and a massive stage with TV screens. Or small chapels with white washed walls lacking any character.

Why is it that Christian’s don’t respect or love beauty anymore? After all, the type of church god commanded his people to build was beautiful. The ark he resided in was beautiful. And for most of Christian history, churches were beautiful.