BUILDINGS, ANCIENT AND MODERN, IN BIBLICAL NARRATION. “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (Mt 21:12–13)

Stefano Alberto, Professor of Theology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Joseph Weiler, University Professor, NYU Law School and Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard

Why do we need temples, churches, and other buildings in religious life? Is the Lord not present everywhere?
The Bible — especially what is commonly called the Old Testament — contains elaborate and detailed instructions and descriptions of how such buildings should be constructed. This is true both in the Pentateuch and in the writings of the great prophets. How can bricks and mortar be considered so important? Some of the answers may surprise you.