As our Forefathers were Pilgrims then, it is important to remember that we are still Pilgrims now!
America – A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens opens his Novel, A Tale of Two Cities, with the proclamation,
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”.
As we look around our country today it is hard not to identify with the sentiments expressed in these famous lines and wonder if he was writing prophetically about our own times. In fact we may well wonder if there ever was an era in man’s history when these lines did not apply in some sense. They describe an almost a universal outlook on the times that people live in, no matter what the era! People from almost any period in history could identify in some way with these words. I believe that that is because; as Saint Augustine observed, the world throughout history including America today, has always been made up of “Two Cities”.
Saint Augustine and The City of God
Early in the 5th Century Augustine of Hippo, (known to most of us Saint Augustine), wrote what many consider to be “a cornerstone of Western thought”, the book The City of God. In it he outlined history as the “tale of two cities”, the City of God and the City of Man. “The book presents human history as being the scene of an ongoing conflict between what Augustine calls the Earthly City (the City of Man) and the City of God.” The City of God is seen in the people and their works, who humble themselves before God, in Faith take His Son Jesus as their Savior and King, and dedicate themselves to living for God’s eternal Kingdom according to His eternal truths. The City of Man, on the other hand, is seen in those people and their works, who in their pride rule themselves and their societies with an indifference to God, having immersed themselves in the cares and pleasures of the present passing world. Augustine depicts the history of the world as an ongoing conflict between the citizens of these two cities who are ultimately the subjects of one of two rulers, God or the Evil one. Though the citizens of these two “Cities” may share a common era of time and geography, this metaphysical war is not limited by the centuries and takes place in some form in every country, kingdom, empire, or colony, thoughout history. Augustine specifically was writing about Rome in his time. In the minds of many of his day, the unthinkable was happening; the mighty Empire of Rome was crumbling. Attacked and ransacked by the Visigoths, a much less civilized people, many despaired of the future; they could not imagine the fall of Rome. They also sought to blame Christians, calling this calamity a punishment from their previously worshiped gods for Rome’s “defection” to the Christian God. Augustine addresses these things in The City of God pointing out that Rome was only a temporary habitation of the presence of these two much longer enduring cities. He defended Christians by reminding their accusers that the pagan gods had failed to save Rome numerous times in the past from worldly disasters, and that because of the worship of the pagan gods, Rome suffered the greatest calamity of all, that being, moral corruption. Further, he explained that the power and long duration of the Roman Empire was due not to the pagan Gods but to the Christian God through the blessing of several Christian Emperors. He pointed beyond the life of Rome to the longevity and ultimate victory of the City of God and the ultimate end in ruins of the City of Man.
The City of God and 21st Century America
Twenty first century American Christians would do well to step back and consider the perspective of Augustine in his metaphor of the Cities as we grapple with the issues confronting us in our own country today. American is, and always was, a country occupied by those two cities. Often it has very discernably reflected the ideals of the City of God, but all too frequently it has reflected the evils of the other as well. Many of our immigrant forefathers came to this country bringing their Faith where it was planted and flourished, and in whose cultural soil “The City of God” became uniquely manifest. The evidence is visible everywhere even to the casual observer. Today, the City of God is still alive and well even though a recent poll (2015) by the Public Religion Research Institute says, “that close to half of respondents (45 per cent) say the United States was once a Christian nation but is no longer so today”. If this observation does with some accuracy reflect the condition of our country, it is indeed deeply saddening and lamentable, but ultimately means but little to the longevity, durability, vitality, and enduring happiness of the City of God. Our City has endured millennia, centuries, eras, cultures, countless countries, obstacles, persecutions, poverty, and prosperity, and will continue to do so for as long as her King has ordained. An important thing for Christians in today’s America to remember, is the fact that we and our families are, in a very real way, members of this enduring City. Our City is made up of a family spiritual brothers and sisters stretching back through millennia and continuing forward into eternity. Though we love and treasure our country, America, we are not first and foremost Americans that happen to be Christians; we are Christians that happen to live in America! Our Heavenly Father has adopted us into His Family, made us members of His City. He has given us a future and mission that transcends our present country, era, and world, just like our forefathers whether they come from Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa or Asia. This Family is, and at the same time is becoming, our brothers and sisters in our new home in the New Heavens and New Earth. It is truly hard and sad to imagine, but if Rome like so many other nations since it’s time, eventually succumbed to the relentless dust of history, our beloved America is almost certain to do the same. Listen to what God says the view is from His vantage point above human history:
“He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.” Isaiah 40:23, 24
It is His City and His Family that will endure into eternity and this is the foremost ground upon which Christians in any period of history, nation, or culture should sink the anchor of their identity and hope for the future. All else, as the scripture above alludes to, will be carried away in the dust of history. God did not promise Roman Christian’s eternal life for Rome, He does not promise us eternal life for our America. For American Christians the is issue should not be about whether or not America is or was a Christian Nation, but about the fact that a Christian Nation (the People of God , the City of God) came to and is still thriving in America! “You (the people of God) are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” Matt: 5:14. These people are the soul of the “shining "city on a hiill,"” that theologians and politicians have referred to when describing our country, not merely the geography or the political structure.
Why is this important?
The blessings of this land can be its dangers also. When God was preparing His People to go into the land of Canaan he warned them that its blessings could also be their undoing, and that their nation could be transformed from the City of God into the City of Man.
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God … otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery…. you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ Deut. 8:11-17
His Solution? Memory, Humility, Thanksgiving
You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you…Deut. 8:2
A. For Christians whose families have lived here for generations:
We need to remember that God’s people are ultimately a Pilgrim People, that America, as wonderful as it has been, has been but an oasis for generations of our families on the way to our real home “The Promised Land”. Please see Randy Alcorns book “Heaven” for a vision creating treatment of this subject. We are to anchor our hearts in that new land and though we may freely love America, as we do, we should not ultimately cling to her or selfishly covet entitlement to her benefits.
And we need to regularly humble our hearts and give thanks, remembering that “ the deceitfulness of riches” Mark 4:19, dulls our sense of need for God.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Deut.8:10
Genuine thankfulness is the friend of humility and the enemy of pride.
B. For Christians whose families are just arriving in America:
We need to give thanks to God: for whatever benefits to us and our families we have received by coming to this country, the long history of Christian influence this country has enjoyed, and the people of God here that we might now join with.
We need to be sure to anchor our ultimate hope for the future in “the Promise Land”, the New Heavens and New Earth and recognize that America is an oasis on the way to our real home. We especially need to teach this to our children who are more vulnerable to the enchantments of the “City of Man”.
We need to soberly be aware of, “the deceitfulness of riches” Mark 4:19. America is a land of great wealth and as we indicated above, the blessings of this land can be its dangers also. There is nothing evil about wealth or even great wealth, the problem lies within us, and our weakness to allow it to take the place of God in our hearts and slowly to make us and our children citizens of the City of Man.
C. Both old inhabitants and new immigrants need to recognize and receive our identity, what God has made us, His Family, the City of God, a family that transcends our present country and history and to whom we owe our love and fealty.
Remembering that America is and will always be a “tale of two cities” and that the “City of God” is our ultimate home can help us better comprehend the turbulence of the “best of times, the worst of times” in our generation. It can help us know better where to place our hopes, how to plan our actions, and what traps to avoid while being Americans in the 21st century.
Thy Kingdom Come,
Jonny L. Whisenant
