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La petite vermillon #191
Meaning of the City
Jacques Ellul, a member of the Law Faculty at the University of Bordeaux, is increasingly being recognized as a brilliant and penetrating commentator on the relationship between theology and sociology. In The Meaning of the City he presents what he finds in the Bible – a sophisticated, coherent theology of the city fully applicable to today's urbanized society.
Ellul believes that the city symbolizes the supreme work of man – and, as such, represents man's ultimate rejection of God. Therefore it is the city, where lies man's rebellious heart, that must be reformed. The author stresses the fact that the Bible does not find man's fulfillment in a return to an idyllic Eden, but points rather to a life of communion with the Savior in the city transfigured.
The Meaning of the City, says John Wilkinson in his introductory essay to the book, is the "theological counterpoint" to Ellul's Technological Society, a work that analyzed the phenomenon of the autonomous and totally manipulative post-industrial world. Ellul takes issue with those who idealistically plan new urban environments for man, as though man alone can negate the inherent diabolism of the city. For Ellul, the history of the city from the times of Cain and Nimrod through to Babylon and Jerusalem reveals a tendency to destroy the human being for the sake of human works. Nevertheless, continuing the theme of the tension between two realities that characterizes all his works, Ellul sees God as electing the city as itself an instrument of grace for the believer.
Ellul believes that the city symbolizes the supreme work of man – and, as such, represents man's ultimate rejection of God. Therefore it is the city, where lies man's rebellious heart, that must be reformed. The author stresses the fact that the Bible does not find man's fulfillment in a return to an idyllic Eden, but points rather to a life of communion with the Savior in the city transfigured.
The Meaning of the City, says John Wilkinson in his introductory essay to the book, is the "theological counterpoint" to Ellul's Technological Society, a work that analyzed the phenomenon of the autonomous and totally manipulative post-industrial world. Ellul takes issue with those who idealistically plan new urban environments for man, as though man alone can negate the inherent diabolism of the city. For Ellul, the history of the city from the times of Cain and Nimrod through to Babylon and Jerusalem reveals a tendency to destroy the human being for the sake of human works. Nevertheless, continuing the theme of the tension between two realities that characterizes all his works, Ellul sees God as electing the city as itself an instrument of grace for the believer.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 1970
38 people are currently reading
941 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Ellul
119 books446 followersBaptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 9, 2025
A book absolutely worth reading as Ellul (as is typical of our humble French brother) produces so much insight on certain Biblical topics—in this case the mythos surrounding the city—one does not come across elsewhere in the mountain of theological works available to us. The last few pages describing the tree and the water—as regards their symbolic meaning—in the Heavenly City to come are just beautiful. In short, highly recommend.
October 26, 2019
4.5/5 - The Meaning of the City is a book about redemption. For me, it was not an easy read, and I'm sure there's plenty I missed. Ellul takes the reader on a journey that many (at least I) would not have gone on themselves. He digs deep into the historicity and symbolism of the biblical texts, making profound connections and presenting us with new ways of looking at the city. The pinnacle of the book is Jerusalem and the work God does to redeem it. Without any spoilers I'll just say it didn't start at ALL where I thought it would. His writing style wasn't my favorite and there were certainly parts I didn't agree with, but I can still strongly recommend this book. One tip for future readers; I began by reading this book in small chunks at night before bed. I, personally, got more out of it when I devoted larger amounts of time to absorbing all that Ellul had to say.
April 27, 2024
John Wilkinson writes in his excellent introduction to this book that one of his tasks is to convince sensible people not to put the book down before negotiating the first ten pages. I guess I’m not especially sensible because I managed to make it all the way through, but I know what he means. Somebody once said that theology is looking in a dark room for a black cat that isn’t there and announcing, "I found it!" I often feel like that when I read a theology book. My main interest is biblical exegesis, not theology. But of course you can’t hope to do good exegesis and ignore theology entirely.
This book was recommended to me by someone in my Nerdy Biblical Language Majors group when I was pondering the identity of Babylon the Great in the book of Revelation. Ellul's answer is that Babylon represents every city. The city was invented by humanity, not God, and represents human corruption, though. The amazing thing is that at the end of the age, God redeems the city. Whereas other religions view final bliss as nature-oriented (such as the garden in Islamic eschatology), in Christianity the end of the age is represented by the New Jerusalem.
So I enjoyed this book very much, better than the last Ellul book I read on the Apocalypse. But it’s not for everybody. Ellul tends to think theologically in terms of archetypes and for those accustomed to think of biblical imagery in more literal terms this can be rather off putting.
This book was recommended to me by someone in my Nerdy Biblical Language Majors group when I was pondering the identity of Babylon the Great in the book of Revelation. Ellul's answer is that Babylon represents every city. The city was invented by humanity, not God, and represents human corruption, though. The amazing thing is that at the end of the age, God redeems the city. Whereas other religions view final bliss as nature-oriented (such as the garden in Islamic eschatology), in Christianity the end of the age is represented by the New Jerusalem.
So I enjoyed this book very much, better than the last Ellul book I read on the Apocalypse. But it’s not for everybody. Ellul tends to think theologically in terms of archetypes and for those accustomed to think of biblical imagery in more literal terms this can be rather off putting.
February 13, 2025
Aardig boek waarin hij de stad ontmaskert als het grote kwaad. Aanvankelijk nam het me erg mee, maar gaandeweg kreeg ik steeds meer moeite met zijn theologiseren. God is bij hem onveranderlijk door alle geschriften heen en dat is me véel te gladjes en bijbelstheologisch onjuist. Dat neemt niet weg dat dit boek een stevige krituek neerlegt op onze stedelijke wereldsamenleving.
November 12, 2020
Ellul walks us through a theological understanding of the city. He does so in a way which is far different than the pro-urbanism which many evangelicals have. The bible starts in a garden and ends in a city, but we only end up in a city because of God's electing grace. For the city is an act of man's rebellion against God instead of trusting in God alone. The city is "not a simple instrument with no determining factors involved. The city is an almost indistinguishable mixture of spiritual power and man's work. It has a very definite spiritual character, an orientation towards evil and away from good which in no way depends on man."
Cain, the first murderer, is also the first person in scripture to build a city. In Cain’s building of a city Ellul sees a pattern that all other attempts to build a city will follow. After Cain killed Abel, he feared he would be killed for what he had done to his brother. The Lord tells Cain he will protect him and puts a mark on him. After receiving this mark from the Lord Cain leaves the presence of the Lord, goes east to settle in Nod, and then he builds a city for his son. All of these aspects are important in understanding what scripture teaches about the city. Cain goes East, which symbolically means faithfulness and the “road man takes in his futile search for eternity.” God does not cast Cain out from his presence. Cain goes east to seek his own destiny away from God. This leads to the building of the city Enoch. God had promised Cain he would not die, but God did not leave Cain a visible reminder of his promise. Cain had to believe the Lord would preserve him by faith. This is intolerable for Cain, who needs security. This leads to the building of the first city, and a place for Cain to find security apart from the Lord. This may seem like a stretched interpretation for one story, but Ellul shows this is the case for all of the cities man builds. All building of cities is an attempt to find security in something other than God.
From Cain Ellul further follows this thread through the rest of the narratives, the prophets, Jerusalem, Jesus, and finally the New Jerusalem. The city continues to be used as a tool of rebellion for man. It is only in David and God’s choice of Jerusalem where the city begins to see redemption. In Jerusalem we see God taking a foothold in the place of man’s rebellion. God’s election of Jerusalem highlights the city as both elect and reprobate. Jerusalem is both the holy city and of no inherent importance. She exists only to testify to the new Jerusalem. The city is condemned, because she is an act of man’s idolatry, but the city is also chosen as the place where God will dwell in the New Heavens and New Earth. Even the city, in her rebellion, cannot stop God from breaking in to redeem humanity.
I found Ellul's interpretation of the city as a furtherance of Cain's rebellion thoroughly convincing and powerful. He shows clearly man's rebellion and attempt to find security by his own means away from God through the city. All of man’s actions to find security in himself is idolatry, and rebellion from God. In scripture, we see this is the idea of the city, and in contemporary settings we can quickly jump to technique.
To understand Ellul’s works we need to read his sociological work alongside his theological work. Each sociological work is an accompaniment to the theological work, which together let us grasp the total meaning he is striving for. The Meaning of the City is the counterpart to The Technological Society, and we can gain understanding of The Meaning of the City by understanding his portrayal of technique. Technique fits with the biblical depiction of the city of Cain. Technique is man’s attempt to find security, comfort, health, and wholeness in the word without needing God. Technique, and the city, is man’s attempt to reject God. This understanding leaves us in an uncomfortable place. For everywhere is now a city, and the world is governed by technique. How then can we live in a world designed around idolatry and rebellion against God without participating in man’s rebellion? Ellul answers this question by the person and work of Jesus. Jesus has allowed for us to no longer be involved in the idolatry of the city, but as is typical for Ellul, the specifics are left up to us to determine. In order to not be involved in the idolatry of the city, or technique, we can use live in the city and use technique, but we can never hope in the city or technique. Which is far harder than most of us assume.
I had not encountered this negative understanding of the city before reading The Meaning of the City, and Ellul convinced me. He looked at Cain, the judgment on cities, the spiritual powers over cities, and engaged with the prophets and the NT, all of which provided evidence to back up his claim. But I was not completely convinced that the city only has a negative purpose in scripture outside of God's election. I found Ellul's diagnosis too one sided (and this is the most one-sided of all of Ellul's books I have read so far).
One significant area of scripture where Ellul did not engage with was the Law. Here I believe we find hints of a more positive view of the city. As James B. Jordan points out the jubilee law did not apply inside the cities, and the logic of jubilee seems designed to force foreigners to go to the cities. In addition, the cities are slightly holier places than the countryside. The Levites do not live in the countryside but live only in cities as they have no land portions. We also see in the leprosy laws how the city is holier than the country. If you have leprosy you had to leave the city, but you did not have to leave the country. None of these parts of scripture are related to the curse or rebellion of Cain. Something more is at play in the theology of the city than Ellul is able to show, even though what he does show is thought provoking.
Cain, the first murderer, is also the first person in scripture to build a city. In Cain’s building of a city Ellul sees a pattern that all other attempts to build a city will follow. After Cain killed Abel, he feared he would be killed for what he had done to his brother. The Lord tells Cain he will protect him and puts a mark on him. After receiving this mark from the Lord Cain leaves the presence of the Lord, goes east to settle in Nod, and then he builds a city for his son. All of these aspects are important in understanding what scripture teaches about the city. Cain goes East, which symbolically means faithfulness and the “road man takes in his futile search for eternity.” God does not cast Cain out from his presence. Cain goes east to seek his own destiny away from God. This leads to the building of the city Enoch. God had promised Cain he would not die, but God did not leave Cain a visible reminder of his promise. Cain had to believe the Lord would preserve him by faith. This is intolerable for Cain, who needs security. This leads to the building of the first city, and a place for Cain to find security apart from the Lord. This may seem like a stretched interpretation for one story, but Ellul shows this is the case for all of the cities man builds. All building of cities is an attempt to find security in something other than God.
From Cain Ellul further follows this thread through the rest of the narratives, the prophets, Jerusalem, Jesus, and finally the New Jerusalem. The city continues to be used as a tool of rebellion for man. It is only in David and God’s choice of Jerusalem where the city begins to see redemption. In Jerusalem we see God taking a foothold in the place of man’s rebellion. God’s election of Jerusalem highlights the city as both elect and reprobate. Jerusalem is both the holy city and of no inherent importance. She exists only to testify to the new Jerusalem. The city is condemned, because she is an act of man’s idolatry, but the city is also chosen as the place where God will dwell in the New Heavens and New Earth. Even the city, in her rebellion, cannot stop God from breaking in to redeem humanity.
I found Ellul's interpretation of the city as a furtherance of Cain's rebellion thoroughly convincing and powerful. He shows clearly man's rebellion and attempt to find security by his own means away from God through the city. All of man’s actions to find security in himself is idolatry, and rebellion from God. In scripture, we see this is the idea of the city, and in contemporary settings we can quickly jump to technique.
To understand Ellul’s works we need to read his sociological work alongside his theological work. Each sociological work is an accompaniment to the theological work, which together let us grasp the total meaning he is striving for. The Meaning of the City is the counterpart to The Technological Society, and we can gain understanding of The Meaning of the City by understanding his portrayal of technique. Technique fits with the biblical depiction of the city of Cain. Technique is man’s attempt to find security, comfort, health, and wholeness in the word without needing God. Technique, and the city, is man’s attempt to reject God. This understanding leaves us in an uncomfortable place. For everywhere is now a city, and the world is governed by technique. How then can we live in a world designed around idolatry and rebellion against God without participating in man’s rebellion? Ellul answers this question by the person and work of Jesus. Jesus has allowed for us to no longer be involved in the idolatry of the city, but as is typical for Ellul, the specifics are left up to us to determine. In order to not be involved in the idolatry of the city, or technique, we can use live in the city and use technique, but we can never hope in the city or technique. Which is far harder than most of us assume.
I had not encountered this negative understanding of the city before reading The Meaning of the City, and Ellul convinced me. He looked at Cain, the judgment on cities, the spiritual powers over cities, and engaged with the prophets and the NT, all of which provided evidence to back up his claim. But I was not completely convinced that the city only has a negative purpose in scripture outside of God's election. I found Ellul's diagnosis too one sided (and this is the most one-sided of all of Ellul's books I have read so far).
One significant area of scripture where Ellul did not engage with was the Law. Here I believe we find hints of a more positive view of the city. As James B. Jordan points out the jubilee law did not apply inside the cities, and the logic of jubilee seems designed to force foreigners to go to the cities. In addition, the cities are slightly holier places than the countryside. The Levites do not live in the countryside but live only in cities as they have no land portions. We also see in the leprosy laws how the city is holier than the country. If you have leprosy you had to leave the city, but you did not have to leave the country. None of these parts of scripture are related to the curse or rebellion of Cain. Something more is at play in the theology of the city than Ellul is able to show, even though what he does show is thought provoking.
July 24, 2022
I picked up this book after reading You are not Your Own by Alan Noble. I thought the references that Noble was making from this book were interesting, the premise of the book intrigued me enough and therefore I wanted to see what other nuggets were within this volume. I can honestly say after reading this book that Alan Noble got most of the good nuggets from this book and these are likely the best of Ellul’s exegesis.
The other points that he makes are built off of shaky exegesis at best to “I don’t think that is what that text means” at worst. All in all I believe Ellul has overshot his argument and Alan Noble’s book You are not Your Own has done a better job of making the case that we live in an inhuman world of our own making.
The other points that he makes are built off of shaky exegesis at best to “I don’t think that is what that text means” at worst. All in all I believe Ellul has overshot his argument and Alan Noble’s book You are not Your Own has done a better job of making the case that we live in an inhuman world of our own making.
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December 1, 2024The city is man's greatest achievement. As such, it also represents the great heights we go in our wish to reject God. Until now, I had never envisioned human civilization in this way. But much of Ellul’s analysis makes perfect sense.
In the beginning of Scripture, Genesis, we are told of how Cain built the first city. It was he, running away from the Lord's presence who is the first builder of human civilization.
As Ellul tragically mentions, Cain will spend his entire life wandering “struggling against hostile forces, dominating men and nature, taking guarantees that are within his reach, guarantees that appear to him to be genuine, but which in fact protect him from nothing.” Cain hopes to find eternal life through his progeny. He tries to achieve security through building a city, ignoring God.
Ellul also held an interesting exegesis of the Tower of Babylon. Instead of the traditional interpretation of the Tower leading to the spread of different languages, Ellul considers the possibility that the tongue of the people remained the same, and yet they lost the ability to understand one another's words. Think now of how common it is to say something in the same language to another, and yet the statement is utterly misunderstood. Could this really be what happened in Babel?
Ellul disagrees with those who believe the city can be reformed. To him, the very nature and requirement for a community's creation results in a necessary level of negating God. It is an eerie thing to realize how much we seem to be subconsciously haunted by images of some great City. When one asks to imagine the distant future, how often do we envision a kind of massive Megapolis? How often is this depicted by others in the media?
But as Ellul explains, the new heaven and the new earth will involve the creation of an eternal city redeemed by God! We will not return to a new garden, a new Eden, but a heavenly city. The redeeming of something man intended as a way of rejecting God is something so outlandish that only a being like Him could consider it!
Only through the Grace of God can this contradiction and tension be broken.
In the beginning of Scripture, Genesis, we are told of how Cain built the first city. It was he, running away from the Lord's presence who is the first builder of human civilization.
As Ellul tragically mentions, Cain will spend his entire life wandering “struggling against hostile forces, dominating men and nature, taking guarantees that are within his reach, guarantees that appear to him to be genuine, but which in fact protect him from nothing.” Cain hopes to find eternal life through his progeny. He tries to achieve security through building a city, ignoring God.
Ellul also held an interesting exegesis of the Tower of Babylon. Instead of the traditional interpretation of the Tower leading to the spread of different languages, Ellul considers the possibility that the tongue of the people remained the same, and yet they lost the ability to understand one another's words. Think now of how common it is to say something in the same language to another, and yet the statement is utterly misunderstood. Could this really be what happened in Babel?
Ellul disagrees with those who believe the city can be reformed. To him, the very nature and requirement for a community's creation results in a necessary level of negating God. It is an eerie thing to realize how much we seem to be subconsciously haunted by images of some great City. When one asks to imagine the distant future, how often do we envision a kind of massive Megapolis? How often is this depicted by others in the media?
But as Ellul explains, the new heaven and the new earth will involve the creation of an eternal city redeemed by God! We will not return to a new garden, a new Eden, but a heavenly city. The redeeming of something man intended as a way of rejecting God is something so outlandish that only a being like Him could consider it!
Only through the Grace of God can this contradiction and tension be broken.
October 5, 2020
Ellul seeks to take seriously the tension between the Biblical fact on the one hand of cities being the product of Cain, brother-killer — cities which from their inception have "a very definite spiritual character, an orientation toward evil and away from good which in no way depends on man" (169) — and on the other, the (s)election of Jerusalem by God as his place within the city itself and the later substitution of earthly Jerusalem by the coming of Jesus, a move Ellul understand as: "God is snatching man's work from Satan's grasp and, as it were, giving it back to man, preparing it for other purposes" (167).
It's a work of biblical interpretation and sociology, maybe even revelation.
It's a work of biblical interpretation and sociology, maybe even revelation.
May 3, 2025
If you love reading books about philosophy and theology you will love this book. Ellul was a brilliant Christian thinker and in this book he wrestles with the works of man and the redemption of God as it relates to the spiritual meaning and symbolism of cities. This book presents insights into urban decay, ancient and modern society, the judgement of God, and God's ultimate redemption of earth through Jesus Christ. At the end he examines the meaning of the New Jerusalem - and for that alone is worth reading. This is an unusual and refreshing perspective - highly recommend!
September 4, 2024
Trying to find out why living in a city has a profound effect on the psyche, this is for you. ‘Lots of truth and wisdom, the best part is the beginning and towards the end. The middle part is little bit repetitive. Other than that it’s a good read. It’s very prophetic with our present time as we descend more and more into technocracy.
August 8, 2022
The final section of the book, which is on the heavenly Jerusalem, is some of the best reading on Revelation I've encountered. Once again Ellul has me reading my Bible with fresh eyes, especially as I meditate on the role of Cain in the biblical narrative.
November 30, 2016
A highly intriguing account of man's apparent defiance of God's security in the Garden for a false vanity in the form of city-building and civilization.
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July 5, 2017"In the city we find the strange phenomenon of man separated from himself and others by a sheet of glass." p. 125
January 15, 2023
Ellul makes fascinating connections that show how we can so easily live in fear and doubt God’s goodness. He describes the City as a literal and metaphorical place where man goes to escape what he perceives are constraints put upon him by God. It is a place where man seeks his own glory, to make a name for himself, and to find camaraderie with those who have similar ambitions. God’s nature is to never force compliance and allows man to pursue these goals though He knows the inevitable destruction it causes. And yet, God’s goodness still invites us to take part in a process by which we, and the reliance on our self-constructed City, can be transformed.
In addition to those understandings I also noticed connections to some other books I have recently read. Ellul suggests that the restoration of the once cursed city of Jerusalem is an example of Yahweh’s infinite kindness and mercy shown through His adaptation to humans as He allows us to participate in creative pursuits. This would fit with a theme similarly stated in Greg Boyd’s “Cross Vision”, in which he points to how God has been mercifully adapting and changing His plans to meet humans where they are at since the beginning of Creation.
Ellul is also careful to point out that this New Jerusalem is different from cities in the past because it is the City where man cannot go to hide from God’s presence. His being will encompass the entirety of His elected City. The humbling understanding of what it means to be in the presence of God is discussed in “Preparing for Heaven”, a collaborative work of Gary Black and Dallas Willard which speaks of one of our most important goals while we are physically living is to grow in the character we need to be prepared for the weighty glory we will experience in God’s presence.
In addition to those understandings I also noticed connections to some other books I have recently read. Ellul suggests that the restoration of the once cursed city of Jerusalem is an example of Yahweh’s infinite kindness and mercy shown through His adaptation to humans as He allows us to participate in creative pursuits. This would fit with a theme similarly stated in Greg Boyd’s “Cross Vision”, in which he points to how God has been mercifully adapting and changing His plans to meet humans where they are at since the beginning of Creation.
Ellul is also careful to point out that this New Jerusalem is different from cities in the past because it is the City where man cannot go to hide from God’s presence. His being will encompass the entirety of His elected City. The humbling understanding of what it means to be in the presence of God is discussed in “Preparing for Heaven”, a collaborative work of Gary Black and Dallas Willard which speaks of one of our most important goals while we are physically living is to grow in the character we need to be prepared for the weighty glory we will experience in God’s presence.
December 22, 2008
From Cain’s first city to the new Jerusalem, Jacques Ellul traces the role that the city plays in the Biblical narrative. He highlights the city as a symbol and source of man’s pride, the city’s significance as a work of man’s hands and its importance in the new heavens and earth. While conversational, Ellul’s style and arguments can be hard to follow at times. There were definite sections of the book that were skimmed or “zoned” out as I was reading. That being said, Ellul has some real fire in his prose and his ideas were very provocative and insightful. His Biblical exposition of the city definitely provided a better framework for how I should relate to the city.
April 22, 2016
My first reading of Ellul and my favorite book of his to date. What he does exceptionally well as an author is to look at urban society from 35,000 feet, not only sociologically, but biblically. In The Meaning of the City, Ellul compellingly describes how man has made the city in the effort to be both self-sufficient and protected from God in a post-Edenic world. The beauty of the Gospel shines through in that while God condemns man's own invention, he eventually breaks into it, and then adopts the city for himself, proving there is no place that he won't go to redeem man. This is Ellul at his absolute best.
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April 9, 2015This is a dazzling and provocative work, one that challenged me to re-think what a city 'means' as Ellul condemns the sociological entity at the same time that he asserts the centrality of its role in redemption history. In Ellul's telling, the history of the city is the history of fallen man, from prideful self-sufficiency to a life enveloped in God's love.
April 8, 2013
A bit more pessimistic view on cities and God than I normally take, but you can probably blame that on my Gotham training. His ultimate conclusion of God's plan being completed in and through cities sounds about right. Other books are better on the city/redemption front.
January 28, 2014
This book provides a theological treatment of urban life, showing how cities are portrayed throughout the Bible. It is an interesting topic, and makes a very readable book, but some of the language is a bit confusing for the non-specialist, and the second half of the book tends to be repetitive.
October 4, 2020
Heb me vergist in dit boek en dacht dat het toegankelijker zou zijn voor wie niet actief met theologie bezig is. Wel enkele fraaie inzichten in het laatste kwart.
April 6, 2017
I ſhould take a ſtar off for ðe Univerſaliſm, but as ðe auþor manages to keep an element of divine judgement in his brand of univerſal ſalvation, & as it is a very intereſtiŋ & challengiŋ analyſis I know no peer of, I cannot but recommend for everyone who is not afraid of engagiŋ ſome hereſies to be able to glimpſe at Scripture anew.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews