DO NOT GIVE UP Meeting Together -'Not a Stone Will Be Left Upon a Stone''

Conclusion of 'Not a Stone Upon a Stone'

Clearly, the religious buildings of Christendom have no connection with the temple arrangement of the pre-Christian Era.  And first century Christians had no reason to erect such places.  After the death of the apostles, however, the foretold deviation from the true teachings-the apostasy-occurred.  (Acts 20:29, 30)  Years before Roman Emperor Constantine was supposedly converted to Christianity in 313 C.E., professed Christians began to turn aside from what Jesus had taught.

Constantine contributed to the fusing of "Christianity" with the pagan Roman religion.  The Encyclopedia Britannica says:  "Constantine himself commissioned the construction of three enormous Christian basilicas in Rome St. Peter's, S. Paolo Fuori le Mura, and S. Giovanni in Laterano.  He ... created the cross-shaped plan that became standard throughout the Middle Ages."  The reconstructed St. Peter's basilica in Rome is still  considered the center of the Roman Catholic Church.

"The church took over some religious customs and forms common in pre-Christian [pagan] Rome," says historian Will Durant.  This included "the architecture of the basilica."  From the 10th to the 15th century,  there was a boom in the construction of churches and cathedrals, with great emphasis placed on architecture.  That was when many of the edifices of Christendom that are now considered  artistic monuments came into existence.

Do people always find spiritual refreshment and encouragement from worshiping in a church?  "For me, the church came to represent all that is tedious and tiresome in religion," says Francisco from Brazil. " masss was a meaningless, repetitive ceremony that  did nothing to satisfy my real needs.  It was a relief when it was over."  Nevertheless, true believers are commanded for meetings should they follow? 

Next time:  DO NOT GIVE UP Meeting Together- "The Congregation That Is in Their House"

The Watchtower, 2002