Christian Places of Worship
(a) Visit two local Christian places of worship. Using pictures and/or diagrams describe and explain the main features of the building and their furnishings.
(b) Explain the significance of these features and furnishings for the worshipper and how they reflect and assist belief.
(c) 'You do not need to go to a place of worship to be a Christian.'
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.
Suppose you asked a dedicated Christian whether or not they regularly attended Church the answer that you would probably get would be yes. However some Christians do not go to Church but express their faith in other ways. Although we normally think of Christians going to a public place of worship such as a church or chapel to share their belief with other Christians and to learn more about their faith this is not always the case because you can still be Christian without actually going to church or a similar place of worship at all.
Some Christians or Christian groups believe that a church or a similar place of worship are not important and too much emphasis on these material things could get in the way of their worship and faith. This belief does not make them less of a Christian but in some ways you could say that these people are more dedicated to the faith because they do not need material things to keep their concentration on worship. Some Christians that do not go to church maybe worshipping or praying in a slightly different way because sometimes groups of Christians meet together at one of their homes to pray and discuss the Bible. This may not be a place of worship but still they are meeting with other Christians, just like you do in church, and reading and learning from the Bible. In some cases Christians may prefer not meeting in a church and listening to a priest preach because they believe that there should be no priest because their belief is that no one is more superior than someone else so having a priest suggests that he is more favoured by God which they believe would not be true. Christians that meet in groups at someone's house may go to church as well whereas others may find it fulfilling enough to just meet at a small private worship. Some Christians may not go to church or go to a private Christian group as they may prefer to worship on their own this does not mean they are not as dedicated to their Christian faith as it may just be that they like to have quiet time to reflect on their faith by listening to Christian preaching or music tapes or they may feel more comfortable reading the bible on their own where they feel they can concentrate on it better.
(a) Visit two local Christian places of worship. Using pictures and/or diagrams describe and explain the main features of the building and their furnishings.
(b) Explain the significance of these features and furnishings for the worshipper and how they reflect and assist belief.
(c) 'You do not need to go to a place of worship to be a Christian.'
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.
Suppose you asked a dedicated Christian whether or not they regularly attended Church the answer that you would probably get would be yes. However some Christians do not go to Church but express their faith in other ways. Although we normally think of Christians going to a public place of worship such as a church or chapel to share their belief with other Christians and to learn more about their faith this is not always the case because you can still be Christian without actually going to church or a similar place of worship at all.
Some Christians or Christian groups believe that a church or a similar place of worship are not important and too much emphasis on these material things could get in the way of their worship and faith. This belief does not make them less of a Christian but in some ways you could say that these people are more dedicated to the faith because they do not need material things to keep their concentration on worship. Some Christians that do not go to church maybe worshipping or praying in a slightly different way because sometimes groups of Christians meet together at one of their homes to pray and discuss the Bible. This may not be a place of worship but still they are meeting with other Christians, just like you do in church, and reading and learning from the Bible. In some cases Christians may prefer not meeting in a church and listening to a priest preach because they believe that there should be no priest because their belief is that no one is more superior than someone else so having a priest suggests that he is more favoured by God which they believe would not be true. Christians that meet in groups at someone's house may go to church as well whereas others may find it fulfilling enough to just meet at a small private worship. Some Christians may not go to church or go to a private Christian group as they may prefer to worship on their own this does not mean they are not as dedicated to their Christian faith as it may just be that they like to have quiet time to reflect on their faith by listening to Christian preaching or music tapes or they may feel more comfortable reading the bible on their own where they feel they can concentrate on it better.
