EBENEZERS IN WOOD AND BRICKS

De: Guillermo Santamaria

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

This essay by Guillermo Santamaria is both a theological reflection and a historical commentary on how Christians—especially Old School Baptists—view sacred places, church buildings, and denominational division.

The work opens by denying that meetinghouses are “sacred” in themselves. The title “Ebenezers in Wood and Brick” symbolizes old church buildings as memorials of divine help, not as holy objects. Santamaria traces the biblical story of sacred places—from patriarchal altars to the temple, and finally to Christ, in whom sacred presence shifts from place to people. After the cross, God’s dwelling is not in temples made with hands but in believers themselves.

Old School Baptists inherit this principle: the building is not the church; the people are. Their plain architecture and refusal to consecrate structures reflect a deep conviction that holiness cannot be localized in wood or stone. Yet memory and gratitude for past worship make those places emotionally precious—“Ebenezers,” testimonies of where “heaven once touched earth.”

The essay then broadens into ecclesiology and church history.

• Denominations: Not found in Scripture, they arose as historical responses to division after the Reformation.

• Sects: Biblically, a sect (hairesis) is a self-willed faction that departs from apostolic truth.

• Paul’s Defense: He was called part of a sect but claimed continuity with the true faith of Israel.

• Denominational History: Traces from the undivided early church, through the Great Schism, the Reformation, the rise of voluntarism and toleration, to the American “denominational society” and modern ecumenical movements.

• Providential Exposure: Paul’s “there must be heresies” (1 Cor 11:19) is read as a principle—God allows divisions to reveal what is genuine and to purify the church.

In sum, the piece argues that Christ’s presence—not architecture or denominational form—constitutes true sacredness. Old meetinghouses remain cherished memorials, but the living church walks on two legs: redeemed people in whom the Spirit dwells.