What cities do you want to visit?
Many people would like to visit a civilized, well-manicured city like Dubai or perhaps Zurich.
Having heard about the former recently from a close friend who visited, and having just peeked inside the latter myself, I would concur.
There is nothing closer to a clean, civilized urban agglomeration than either of the two.
The former through the benevolent genius of a few generations of ambitious and affluent sheiks with a vision, the latter via the unrelenting genius and hard work of the Swiss, both cities achieved an unparalleled status in our day and age.
But a strange thing occurred today.
My daughter and I were arguing the merits of God’s existence. In her defence, I had started an arguably intricate conversation by claiming the intervention of Divine Providence in her refusal to join me in the crossing of a dangerous Stygian river.
As Providence would have it, she had declined to follow me. And blessed be God, I said, she did so, since I almost perished in the undertaking.
I am a vain man. Having recently lost a lot of weight, I yearned to surpass myself by swimming across a turbulent river. An act of vanity motivated me. And what is vanity if not another manifestation of greed.
I thanked God for her common sense.
To this she adamantly rebuked me by crediting her rationality and free will for the act. I agreed but not strongly enough since two hours later she was still vociferating and berating me for my faith.
I have always maintained that we are all free to choose whether we believe or not. But her belief is based on the woke cultural demise of our social fabric. She has been raised in a medium impregnated with atheistic messaging.
She does not understand that God has given us all Free Will to Love or Reject Him.
And obviously my own failure as a pedagog and perhaps parent has largely contributed to her lashing out against a God, she doesn’t understand, cannot perceive, and won’t defer to.
Now that is all fine and dandy, you may say, but what does it have to do with the question at hand.
The answer is coming.
Augustine of Hippo was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin who became the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Northern Africa, in 395 A.D.
One of the most prolific early theologians of the Church of Christ, Saint Augustine authored the magnum opus City of God.
In it, he explained Creation heuristically, that is non-literally. A wonderful logician, he had a crystal vision of Christian anthropology, whereby the body-soul are United as in a marriage. He applied the same metaphysical lens to the City of God.
In short, the city of God is a metaphysical locus or place where people prioritize loving God above themselves.
I believe one visits the City of God when one loves others more than oneself.
Augustine thought those who chose God over themselves to be saved.
I beg to differ. Salvation is inconsequential. We’re all sinners, either by deed or thought. But that should not deter us from seeking salvation via acts of love towards others.
Augustine and I are on the same page though in that we don’t believe the Christian church to be a necessary accessory to our salvation.
There are many cities I would like to visit.
There is only one I should like to live in.
The city of God is my destination.
The journey may be long and I may never get there, although I like my chances, since Jesus once said:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [24] And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” [25] When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” [26] But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:23-26
Love one another. Help one another. Be kind to strangers. Love is key to reaching the city of God. But not self-love. That is an act of greed. And greed keeps us all from entering the city of God.
Götterdämmerung 