ABSTRACT

Cities of God traces urban culture of north America and Western Europe during the 1970s, to ask how theology can respond to the postmodern city. Since Harvey Cox published his famous theological response to urban living during the mid-1960s very little has been written to address this fundamental subject. Through analyses of contemporary film, architecture, literature, and traditional theological resources in Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, Graham Ward lays out a systematic theology which has the preparation and building of cities as its focus. This is vital reading for all those interested in theology and urban living.

chapter |13 pages

INTRODUCTION

The signs of the times

chapter |11 pages

Reading cultural metaphors

part |2 pages

Part I CULTURAL ATOMISM

chapter 1|19 pages

CITIES OF ETERNAL ASPIRATION

chapter |2 pages

Harvey Cox

chapter |4 pages

The response of the natural theologians

chapter 2|3 pages

CITIES OF ENDLESS DESIRE

chapter |2 pages

Economic reorganisation

chapter |14 pages

Changes in urban geographies

part |2 pages

Part II THE ANALOGICAL WORLD-VIEW

chapter 3|11 pages

TRANSCORPOREALITY

The ontological scandal

chapter |5 pages

Corpus mysticum

chapter 4|5 pages

THE DISPLACED BODY OF JESUS CHRIST

chapter |15 pages

The eucharist

chapter 5|4 pages

COMMUNITIES OF DESIRE

chapter |31 pages

The subject of desire

chapter 6|30 pages

THE CHURCH AS THE EROTIC COMMUNITY

The fracture

chapter 7|21 pages

THE EROTICS OF REDEMPTION

part |2 pages

Part III THEOLOGY AND THE PRACTICES OF CONTEMPORARY LIVING

chapter 8|11 pages

CITIES OF ANGELS

chapter |6 pages

Wim Wenders and the knowledge of angels

chapter |2 pages

Cultural metaphors

chapter |1 pages

Theological conclusions

chapter 9|2 pages

CITIES OF THE GOOD

The redemption of cyberspace

chapter |11 pages

Augustine’s city of God

chapter |5 pages

Millennial Manchester

chapter |18 pages

The Matrix