Cities and Civilization: Of Babylon and Zion.
“Zion is no ordinary, human civilized city….According to one stream of thought, cities are an invention of humans, not the domain of God. Cities contain and cultivate the ills of the world, cutting humans off from the land, from each other and eventually from God. Civilization and cities are typically about taming the world according to the rules of humans, not of God. In the wild, God’s rules still seem to be in play. Innocence is still possible because humans are entirely naked in the wilderness. In the wilderness, humans must depend upon God. In cities, humans lose their innocence as they cover themselves with the trappings of culture and society, seemingly safe from the realities and purposes of this world.”
