Reviews for Cities of God

The average rating for Cities of God based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-04-02 00:00:00 Moby Watkins A brilliant engagement with ancient, modern, and postmodern conceptions of the city. Ward's overarching argument is compelling and well supported. Phenomenal book, and it is well worth the read for those who are already semi-familiar with key theological and philosophical themes and figures. If new to these topics, this book may be too much as it is densely packed with references to important ideas and thinkers.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-04-08 00:00:00 Ken Blakeslee This is a book with diminishing returns. Parts 1 and 2 were incredible, worthy of five stars with a few caveats. Part 3, however, crashed and seemed to lose focus. The last chapter in particular on cyberspace was outdated and, even for 2000, fairly naive about the nature of computers and the Internet. The positives: the arguments for an analogical worldview, the critiques of social atomism, the articulation of the necessity for community, the chapter on sexuality, the Eucharistic theology related through the dispersion of Christ's body, the chapter on the church as a community of erotic desire. Negatives: I feel like this is a pretty colonialistic book. Ward argues against colonizing bodies or geography, but uses the language of colonialism as what Christ does to the believer. I think this is unhelpful and sloppy. Theology should be striving to decolonialize itself, not reinscribe colonialism in a different key. The chapter on cyberspace is a total wash 15 years later. The ideas of a collective selfhood are necessary, but as articulated here would lead to a homogeneity. There definitely needs to be more discussion in regards to retaining difference within the collective person of Christ. There's also a lack of precision, but this is more symptomatic of postmodern theology in general and radical orthodoxy in particular. These critiques aside, and some of them are substantial, albeit not fully articulated because I'm typing on my phone, Cities of God is a great work of constructive theology. Part 2 especially is worth reading and is vitally important.