The awe of the holiness of God, which the glory of Jerusalem’s temple was designed to convey, is easily lost. And when it is lost, the danger is that symbols that once pointed the way to deeper spiritual and moral realities tend to become ends in themselves. An admiration for church architecture, or an appreciation of religious art and ritual, is not the same as the worship of a glorious God. After all, one does not even have to believe in God to admire the towering spires and the lofty vaulted roof of a cathedral, or to enjoy the singing of a well-trained church choir.
