I know the answer to this do you?

Question

Why do churches have steeples?

Answer 1

Doesn't have something to do with lightning?

Answer 2

Until quite recently, accurate clocks were either nonexistent or expensive. In fact, standard time wasn’t invented until the nineteenth century, so even when clocks became common, each person set his clock by the sun, which meant that they could differ considerably. The time of day was very approximate—for example, in the New Testament, everything happened at either the third, sixth, or ninth hour. People told time by the position of the sun, which is part guesswork, and on overcast days they had to go by feel.


So you can see that until very recently, it was impossible to fix Sunday morning worship at, say, 9:30 and expect everyone to show up on time.

In the beginning, Christian worship was at sunrise. Sunrise and sunset are the only two times of day about which everyone can be unanimous without accurate timepieces. But after Christianity became legal, pious Christians wanted to worship at different times of the day and on all days of the week, so it became necessary to develop some means of announcing the time of worship to the public. Church buildings acquired bell towers for this purpose, and they evolved into today’s steeples. Now that we have accurate and inexpensive watches, we don’t need church bells to tell us when to set out for church. So steeples have become decorative—though I understand that their original function is beginning to return.

Answer 3

In the beginning, Christian worship was at sunrise. Sunrise and sunset are the only two times of day about which everyone can be unanimous without accurate timepieces. But after Christianity became legal, pious Christians wanted to worship at different times of the day and on all days of the week, so it became necessary to develop some means of announcing the time of worship to the public. Church buildings acquired bell towers for this purpose, and they evolved into today’s steeples. Now that we have accurate and inexpensive watches, we don’t need church bells to tell us when to set out for church. So steeples have become decorative—though I understand that their original function is beginning to return.

God Bless You

Answer 4

To make them stand out among a neighborhood - like Moses lifted the snake on the pole in the desert, or like the cross of Christ was raised high on the hill, a church steeple lifts the cross to a prominent position and allows people to know exactly which building IS the church.

Answer 5

The question should be "why do SOME churches have steeples?" ...... and since you already know the answer to your version of the question, I would not be helping you if I answered it anyway.

Answer 6

They originated as bell towers when the original custom of worshipping at sunrise was done away with. The bells were used to let people know when the service was about to begin.

This is a Western European tradition, and most churches in Bavaria, Austria, and other eastern countries have domes, instead of steeples.

Answer 7

The church is a symbol representing the self. Remember the phrase. 'the body is the temple'? The act of going within the church represents the act of going 'within' yourself. The steeple represents the apex 'shape' and 'point of contact' consciousness assumes as it reaches 'upward'.

Answer 8

Why do churches have steeples? To answer your question, yes I know the answer.

Answer 9

Did anybody notice that several people just "cut and pasted" the exact same answer, from the exact same source? Nothing wrong with it, but you should list your source if it isn't from you.

Steeples. No clue.

Answer 10

Towers are a common element of religious architecture worldwide, and are generally viewed as attempts to reach skyward toward the gods. Freudians may also see some phallic subtexts in all such structures, but this is different from claiming direct evolution from phallic objects.

Answer 11

I heard at one time that it was a carry over from some pagan religion, but I don’t remember which one, nor how reliable my source was.