Preface -- Contents -- PART ONE: PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS THE SACRED PLACE AND ITS BIBLICAL VERSIONS -- 1. Methods of approach -- 1.1 Different starting points -- 1.2 Need for a theology of space -- 1.3 The phenomenological approach -- 1.4 Phenomenological analysis of sacred space -- 1.5 The two main types discovered -- 1.6 Relation between phenomenology and theology -- 2. The sacred place -- 2.1 The spatial reference in religious language and worship -- 2.2 The earliest sacred places -- 2.3 Their divine origins -- 2.4 Their four functions -- 2.4.1 The sacred place as centre -- 2.4.2 The sacred place as meeting point -- 2.4.3 The sacred place as microcosm of the heavenly realm -- 2.4.4 The sacred place as immanent-transcendent presence -- 3. The temple type -- 3.1 The temple as centre -- 3.2 The temple as microcosm -- 3.3 The temple as meeting point -- 3.4 The temple as immanent-transcendent presence -- 3.5 The temple type, or domus dei -- 3.6 Examples: Syria, China, West Africa, United States -- 4. The temple in Jerusalem -- 4.1 Religious inheritance of Solomon's temple -- 4.2 The divine sanction -- 4.3 The function as centre -- 4.4 The function as microcosm -- 4.5 The function as meeting point -- 4.6 The function as immanent-transcendent presence -- 5. The problem of the Jerusalem temple -- 5.1 Ambivalent attitudes: criticism and support -- 5.2 Efforts to relieve the tension -- 5.3 Radical opposition: Nathan -- 5.4 Radical replacement: the holy community -- 5.5 Modern discussions: in defence of the temple -- 5.6 Conclusions -- 6. New forms: tabernacle and synagogue -- 6.1 The tabernacle or tent -- 6.2 The synagogue -- 6.3 Synagogue and temple -- 7. The new temple of the New Testament -- 7.1 The practice of Jesus -- 7.2 The teaching of Jesus -- 7.3 The early Church: the temple old and new -- 7.4 Radical opposition: Stephen.

7.5 A theology for the new temple: Paul -- 7.6 The consensus of thought: Peter, Luke, Hebrews, the Revelation of John -- 7.7 Conclusions -- 8. Phenomenological analysis of New Testament contributions -- 8.1 Divine origin of the new sanctuary -- 8.2 The new temple -- 8.2.1 As centre -- 8.2.2 As meeting point -- 8.2.3 As microcosm -- 8.2.4 As immanent-transcendent presence -- 8.3 The tent of meeting in the New Testament -- 8.4 The transition from place to person and its symbol -- 8.5 Non-sacred places of worship: the meeting room -- PART TWO: HISTORICAL APPLICATION PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PLACES OF WORSHIP IN THE SEMITIC RELIGIONS -- 9. Churches in the early Christian centuries -- 9.1 Worship in a domestic setting -- 9.2 Back to the domus dei -- 9.3 Funerary influences -- 9.4 The cult of the saints -- 9.5 Further influences of the temple tradition -- 9.6 Conclusions -- 10. A THOUSAND YEARS OF THE DOMUS DEI -- 10.1 The return of the sacred place -- 10.2 Churches as sacred buildings -- 10.2.1 The gradation of sanctity -- 10.2.2 Symbolism in churches -- 10.3 Gothic: a new and Christian form? -- 10.4 The Renaissance: a new theory of church architecture -- 10.5 Other forms in the Middle Ages -- 10.6 The Orthodox church of Ethiopia -- 11. Reformations and their aftermaths -- 11.1 Protestant statements -- 11.2 Frustrated insights -- 11.3 Adapting and transforming the old churches -- 11.4 Tokens of what might have been -- 11.5 Other Reformations: left wing and right -- 12. Advances and retreats -- 12.1 Developing the Protestant plain style -- 12.2 The new Anglican tradition -- 12.3 The Protestant plain style in other areas -- 12.4 The loss of the domus ecclesiae: the auditorium -- 12.5 The return of the domus dei: the Gothic Revival -- 12.5.1 Theories in the Gothic Revival -- 12.5.2 Gothic Revival symbolism -- 12.6 The new-old image of a church.

12.7 An international pattern -- 12.7.1 Gothic Revivals in the United States -- 12.7.2 Across all lands and denominations -- 12.8 Conclusions -- 13. The experience of other traditions: Islam -- 13.1 Islam's ancient temple -- 13.2 Muhammad's new form -- 13.3 Return of the temple tradition -- 13.4 Survival of the original forms -- 13.5 Homogeneity of mosque history -- 14. The experience of other traditions: Judaism -- 14.1 Synagogues in antiquity -- 14.2 The inconspicuous thousand years -- 14.3 Persistence of the meeting house: 16th to 18th centuries -- 14.4 The spatial problem of the synagogue interior -- 14.5 From meeting house to temple: the variant influence of modern Jewish denominations -- 14.6 Rediscovering the Jewish norm -- Epilogue: The Semitic experience -- PART THREE: THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS -- 15. Theological issues in twentieth century church building -- 15.1 The second great age of church building -- 15.2 Liturgical revival and current consensus -- 15.3 The nature of the Church: hierarchies and sanctuaries? -- 15.4 The structure of worship: word and sacraments -- 15.5 The purpose of the church building -- 16. Meeting house and temple in theological perspective -- 16.1 Are buildings really necessary? -- 16.2 Are church buildings merely instrumental? -- 16.3 Derivative holiness by association? -- 16.4 Representative holiness by sacramental function? -- 16.5 Critique of sacramental holiness and autonomous witness -- 16.6 Survival of the numinous house of God -- 16.7 Temples for civil religion -- 16.8 Domus dei et ecclesiae? -- 16.9 The function of the Christian norm -- 16.10 The practical consequences in the building -- 17. THE WIDER IMPLICATIONS FOR PHENOMENOLOGY AND THEOLOGY -- 17.1 The phenomenological and historical procedures -- 17.2 Procedural assumptions -- 17.2.1 Religions as authentic phenomena.

17.2.2 Religion as universal phenomenon -- 17.2.3 Religions as both ideal and actual -- 17.3 Personal stance -- 17.4 The interaction between phenomenology and theology -- 17.4.1 Phenomenology's contribution to theology -- 17.4.2 Consequent theological reworking -- 17.4.3 Feedback for phenomenological reworking -- 17.4.4 Beyond phenomenology to commitment -- 17.5 A theology of other religions -- 17.5.1 A common language of discourse -- 17.5.2 Increased self-understanding for Christians -- 17.5.3 Self-understanding in all religions -- 17.6 The Christian norm in a theology of religions -- 17.7 Theological definition of the sacred place -- 17.7.1 Ontological-Christological definition of temple -- 17.7.2 The two analogies: models for, and models of -- Notes -- Indexes -- 1. Index of subjects -- 2. Index of churches and chapels, individual -- 3. Index of mosques and shrines, individual -- 4. Index of synagogues, individual -- 5. Index of temples and shrines, individual -- 6. Index of personal names.