Walking into CNU's new chapel is a new experience for each that has been on campus. As I walked in through the front doors for the first time, My eyes immediately soared upwards and I looked at the sky, which shown brightly through the cupola. I couldn't help but to begin to think of how small I was in comparison to this great structure. Yet, I was not only captured by the structure itself, but rather by what it represented or pointed to. The structure of course is a representation of some sort of reverence for God, which is so clearly seen in its design.
Van der Leeuw writes on the topic of architecture. Though it is one of his smaller sections, his remarks are profound. He states, "A house is an enclosure of power" (196). This is true in the chapel as well as in many other faith-based buildings. We did that there is a level of energy, of the presence of God that dwells in the midst of the house. And though God cannot simply be contained in an architectural structure, the structure ultimately points upwards and draws out eyes above us, causing us to reach beyond ourselves and into the beautiful, divine nature of God.
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