In an article on Constantine’s church-building, Gregory Alexander repeats a commonplace about the difference between pagan and Christian places of worship: “The temple is a house for the god; the church is a gathering place for communal worship.”

Yes, but: Jesus says He’ll be there in our gathering, so the church-temple is still a house for God.

Perhaps, though, the point is more radical. Perhaps the church is a temple in the ancient sense, a house not only for God but for the refurbished images of God that constitute the body of Christ. Perhaps the church is, precisely, a house of gods.