The Gnostics called it the Great Architect. The Christian theologians, Freemasons,and Rosicrucians termed it the Grand Architect of the Universe. The Hindus called itVishvakarman;- the creative power and divine engineer of the universe whoseexistence predates time itself.
The concept of God as an architect is nothing new, and crops up again and againthroughout religious and philosophical systems, both modern and prehistoric. In fact,this depiction of God, as an architectural mastermind, forms the very first passage ofthe oldest known work of literature in existence; the very work which would lay thefoundation for western, and thus global civilization.
After creating Heaven and Earth, Genesis 1:1 tells us that nothing existed butDarkness and Chaos. Then God swept across the formless void and lifted up anenormous dome to separate water from water, thereby opening up space for allliving things to become. Without the help of the sun or stars, God commanded light to pierce the solid darkness. With Spirit alone, God brought order to the universe.Then, within an ordered universe, intelligent life-society, civilization- could begin.When finished, God was satisfied and observed that it was very good.
Architecture is the attempt to make structure and order, out of chaos andnothingness. When human architects set out with the intention to create sacredspace, they seek to breach the chaos and give order to our lives. Modern dayexistence involves a daily psychological carpet-bombing from information, noise, andnews, aggressively marketed to by those who want to sell us something. Sacredspace can lift up a dome of silence and hold back the pressures of modern life. Asacred space can allow contemplation, reflection, and the overview required to makemoral choices. Enter the architect.
The ultimate goal of the architect is to create a paradise, in which every brick, andevery curve, is an endeavor to make manifest the ideas and soul of its designer. Onesuch designer is Christopher Wolfgang Alexander.
Born in 1936 in Vienna, Alexander is a greatly admired, and highly influentialarchitect, who currently holds the emeritus professor chair at the University ofCalifornia. His work regarding the the nature of human-centered design haspermeated areas beyond architecture, including urban design, software, sociology,and more. When it comes to the idea of God as an Architect, few people havemanaged to so deftly articulate this concept, or written so beautifully and succinctlyabout the idea, as Alexander.
In an essay, He explains how successful architecture reveals the link betweenhuman nature and the divine nature:
All this has a unique ability to point to the reality of God. In theory, other disciplinessuch as ethics might seem to have more claim to illuminate discussion of God. Butthe tangible substance of architecture, the fact that in good architecture, every tinypiece is (by definition) suffused with God, either more or less, gives the concept ofGod a meaning essentially translated from the beauty of what may be seen in such aplace, and so allows it to disclose God with unique clarity. Successful architectureultimately leads us to see God and to know God. If we pay attention to the beauty ofthose places that are suffused with God in each part, then we can conceive of Godin a down-to-earth way. This follows from an awareness in our hearts, and from ouractive effort to make things that help make the Earth beautiful.
To the layman, Alexander’s words may read like a pseudo-religious platitude.However, essentially, Alexander is talking about architecture as a structure-preserving or wholeness-extending transformation that enables us to modify a given place in a manner that brings it to life. When applied repeatedly, this kind of architectural manifestation is what brings life to the Earth, in any place. Alexander repeatedly refers to the Earth as our Garden of Eden. Everything in it, from wildlife, to plant life, to the smallest grain of sand, is part of this garden. As the only intelligent species with the capability to significantly terraform this landscape,humans have a responsibility to be gardeners, and to maintain, even improve uponits beauty.
Understanding this offers intellectual insight into the nature of God, and alsoprovides faith in God as something immense yet also as something modest,something which lies under the surface of all matter, and which comes to life andshines forth when we treat the garden properly.
There are few places that reflect this Garden of Eden metaphor quite so aptly asCosta Rica. Surrounded daily by magnificent forests, and terrain of unparalleledbeauty, a sense of the eternal prevails. Here, as one walks through the jungle,alongside butterflies, birds, and ethereally attractive flower specimens, one isreminded of the beauty and inspiration that occurs away from civilization, most ofwhich leaves human achievements in its dust.
When it comes to buildings, or designing sacred spaces, no book, or quote caninspire the designer more than nature. And that is precisely what our spaces shouldaim to achieve; – to encourage us to seek God, and see God. Because if God reallyis an architect, then he is the best there ever was.
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