The Church Steeple

In Art History there is significance in strong vertical movement as being symbolic of God. If you examine paintings of the Renaissance and Gothic periods you will see obvious vertical lines which seem to be going upward which represents man's connection with God. The horizontal lines are representative of human relationships. This is not only true of art but architecture as well. When cathedrals were being built, emphasis was put on the vertical with columns, spires, towers, and steeples.

Towers and steeples also served a function. At their beginning, cathedrals were the tallest buildings in their communities. The towers and steeples became a focal point for navigation. Since they could be seen from a great distance, travelers could use them to get to the town. It was common for the church buildings in small towns of early America to have steeples as well for this purpose.

For the small town church buildings, towers were not practical, so towers became fewer and smaller and steeples took their place. Steeples are cheaper to build as well. Now, steeples make as much sense as a tie on a shirt.

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." (Luke 21:1-5)

-Jay Crook