Towards an Evangelical Theology of Place

It is really hard to think about anything for 10 minutes. But say you made an evangelical think for 10 minutes about place or the related idea of space, what might he say?

(The is interesting as the C of E thinks about the parish system. And as society things about Anywheres and Somewheres).

Though Christians have had something to say about time, space and place are perhaps less discussed in our Systematic Theologies.

Space and place are created things and are good.

Place is space with meaning and purpose, space with stuff in it or viewed from a point of view.

In the Old Testament place really matters. There is Eden and the land and the world. There is the temple and the promised land. There can be special and common places and clean and unclean places. And the goodness is to spread. The earth is to be made more like heaven.

The earthly scheme somehow is modelled on heaven according to the book of Hebrews. Heaven is a place too, mysteriously.

People are embodied and that is good and makes place necessary.

The incarnation, resurrection and ascension require a place. Though there is also a extra - the divine nature.

The Spirit can bridge spaces e.g. between earth and heaven.

What happens in the NT? Does all the Temple / Land stuff go to Jesus or is there more?

What of church buildings? Are they mere rain shelters (however glorious)?

Can there be a kind of sacred space?

In Acts there could be said to be a kind of salvation geography and a scheme which is somewhat place oriented: Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth.

A friend pointed out that Acts 17:26 might be relevant. God is sovereign over places and is at least in some sense interested in them with respect to nations.

Discuss!