 The LORD came down to see the city . . . which the sons of men had built. Genesis 11:5
Cities - a great deal can be said about this man-made urban phenomenon. Human beings have been ‘gathering together’ in communities ever since the early chapters of Genesis. An almost incalculable number of significant events have taken place in cities over the course of thousands of years of recorded human existence. The course of human history has been shaped by the specific events. In fact, our ‘gathering together’ has created a whole set of dynamics related to how we interact. The dynamics of how peoples from all around the globe interact is so well developed that even college degrees can be earned in the study of the subject. Cities are places were people congregate. This may sound like an over simplification of an obvious fact, but the very definition of the word implies large numbers of people. Other words such as metropolis, metropolitan, interurban, intraurban, megatropolis, municipality, and urban area all convey similar meanings. Every city has its own personality based upon factors such as the people themselves, their common history, and their worldview. The history and development of cities is an intriguing study, which reveals the twists and turns of the human story. Some ancient cities have been seemingly lost forever, buried under rock and dirt, with their cultures and historical uniqueness hidden from view. Other cities are built upon the ruins of the past, which continue to shape its present and future. A number of today’s urban centers have been and are being shaped by their past. Their current identity is anchored to previous generations, so much so that the future of cities is being forged from its past and present context.[i] Cities, in general, are places of great historical significance. Cities have been and are the homes of kings, prophets, saints, important battles, enormous construction sites, religious temples, palaces, great fortresses, world changing events, international decisions affecting nations, birth places, burial sites, and many more. The origin of the modern day word ‘city’ dates back many centuries. For example, Dickinson identifies “the Latin term civitas” as the “common etymological root of civilization and city. . . . In France this nucleus became the cite.”[ii] There are a number of other words from various languages that have been used to help develop the modern concept of ‘city’. Such examples include ‘stadt’ (town) in German, ‘ville’ in French, ‘polis’ in Greek, and ‘puebla’ in Spanish. We can see the root of the word ‘urban’ in the Latin word “urbanus,” which means "of or pertaining to a city or city life." Located in a footnote below are examples of the word city in a number of languages.[iii] When we consider the geographical implications of the urban phenomenon, “the term ‘metropolis’ or ‘metropolitan area’ generally means all or most of the territory that is settled continuously in an urban fashion, plus contiguous or intervening rural areas.”[iv] Another derivative of those two terms is ‘metroplex’. Meryl Ruoss in his book, New Factors in the Expanding Urban Situation, identifies eight characteristics of urban areas. Those eight items are as follows:
The designing of the urban phenomenon seems to have “reached its maturity in the Hellenistic Age. Though urban planning was at least incipient in that period, the Romans carried the latter much further . . .”[vi] Functions of Cities There have been several functions of cities throughout history, which have traditionally included a number of different aspects such as culture, administrative, and economic. Historically the earliest cities were cultural institutions. The city or urban area has traditionally been a place where the values, ideas, and customs of any particular people were reinforced. Cities have also been religious centers where worshipers came to participate in rituals and other cultural festivities. These people group specific activities reinforce the common customs of any people group. Cities are also market places where commerce takes place. Cities are administrative centers that function to govern the local activities in the surrounding area.[vii] They are seats of power and authority. “The city is not merely an aggregate of economic functions”[viii] according to Dickenson. Lewis Mumford says, “it is art, culture, and political purposes, not numbers, that define a city.”[ix] He goes on to say that a city is both a container and a magnet. The idea of a city as a container refers to it’s physical structures such as buildings, etc. in which the functions and purposes of the city are carried out. The concept of a city as a magnet is it’s ability to attract and repel people and institutions. What are the advantages of living in the city? Hansen mentions at least four reasons why people choose to participate in the urban phenomenon. He notes economies, innovations, income, and city size.[x] Economies would refer to the interaction and relationships between businesses. This interaction between businesses creates an economic market that is feed by large numbers of consumers and employees. He states that “a city is a dynamic system of interrelated and interdependent markets . . .”[xi] Innovations are the advancements in various areas of those markets. Wilbur Thompson states that “the large urban area would seem to have a great advantage in the critical functions of invention, innovation . . . of the new.”[xii] A modern example of the advantage of participating in the urban phenomenon is technology. This is true for any period of human history. In cities, people were able to take advantage of whatever technology or latest advancement occured. Even with all the technology of the 21st century, which includes satellites, etc. there are still rural areas that are at a disadvantage. One such example is the use of dsl internet access. DSL is available in urban areas while those who live in just outside city limits are forced to contend with the unreliable internet access of dial-up. This is true for my in-laws who live just 5 miles outside of their community. The third item that Thompson identifies is income. It is certain that given today’s technological advancements one does not have to live in an urban area to generate income and wealth. Internet businesses allow individuals and even companies to remain in rural areas while allowing them to make a profit. But this reality has not always existed. For millions of people over the millennia the city has represented the hope of a better life and a better income. Yet, such dreams could become a nightmare. The hope of a better life could be dashed against the hard reality of urban life. The urban phenomenon can create income for some and a lack of income for others. Richardson makes an interesting point about the size of a city, it’s income, and it’s poor. He states, “In the popular imagination, big cities are associated with a high incidence of poverty, probably because the poor are concentrated there in large absolute numbers. In fact, though, the proportion of the population in poverty is two and a half times greater in nonmetropolitan areas, and comparisons among cities show that the incidence of poverty declines sharply as city size increases.”[xiii] In urban areas there are greater opportunities of employment than in rural areas. As the city grows, so does it’s income levels. Thompson’s four advantages to living in a city are factors that will influence any type of ministry that becomes successful. Those four factors are important to consider when designing a plan of action for any city. A Running History of Major Cities As we look at a number of dates and population figures, we are able to see that the title for the “world’s largest city” changes over time. In the year 2,000 B. C. the city of Ur had an estimated population of 65,000. The patriarch Abraham lived around this time in history. Scholars place his life at various dates but 2,500 B.C is generally accepted as the time period. Four hundred years later, the city of Avaris in 1,600 B. C. had an estimated population of 100,000. Thebes in Egypt was the largest city at 80,000 in 1,360 B.C. and was over 50,000 in 1,000 B.C. In the year 1,200 B.C. Memphis was home to 50,000 people. The second city, which seemed to break the growth barrier of 100,000 inhabitants was Ninevah in 650 B.C. peaking at 120,000. Babylon reached 200,000 inhabitants in 430 B.C. while Changan was at 200,000 in 200 B.C. In the same year, 430 B.C., there were six other cities that reached 100,000 inhabitants or more. Moving from the B.C. time periods, the following list records the top population cities in the A.D. time period.
Top 5 Cities for the Year 100[xv]
Top 5 Cities for the Year 500[xvi]
Top 5 Cities of the Year 1000[xvii]
Top 5 Cities for the Year 1500[xviii]
Top 5 Cities for the Year 1900[xix]
Cities and Churches in the Bible The early chapters of the book of Revelation seem to indicate that Jesus recognizes only one church in each city. As Jesus walked among the seven candlesticks in Revelation 1, He revealed Himself to John. Jesus gave a specific message to each of the churches. As we read His words it is evident that He only spoke to one church in one city at a time. We find this concept in the book of Acts also, the recognition of one church in one city. Barnabas and Paul appointed elders in the church (singular) in every church. Paul tells Titus in Titus 1:5 to ordain elders in every city. Below is a list of the churches of particular cities. This list once again takes note of the biblical pattern of recognizing one church in one city. The second list is that of churches in a particular geographical region, which is of course larger than one city. The Church of a particular ‘city’
The Church of a Region
---------- Endnotes ---------- [i] While serving in Mexico City as missionaries, my wife Karen and I quickly recognized that the Aztec culture was still alive and well. Many of the names of the various geographical areas in Mexico City are called by Aztec names to this day. Even after the arrival of Hernan Cortez and the Conquistadores in 1524 and the eradication of the Aztecs and their way of live, the fingerprint and influence of the Aztecs has not been erased to this day. The Zócalo is a prime example. The Zócalo is a large rectangular plaza in Mexico City; some say it is larger than the Red Square in Moscow. One can stand in the center of the Zócalo and see into the past more than 500 years. Next to the ruins of the old Aztec pyramid stands a old Catholic Church. It is said that Cortez set up his government headquarters in the Zócalo area. The following quote is an example of this very point: the past impacts the present and the future. Kendell, in La Capital, writes, “Mexico City displayed a gracefully simple geography that linked it to centuries past. The easily identifiable epicenter of the metropolis was the Plaza de la Constitución, better known as the Zócalo. Here, on top of the demolished palaces and temples of the ancient Aztec city, the Spanish conquistadores imposed a political-religious citadel of their own. On the north side of the giant plaza almost straddling the foundations of the largest Aztec pyramid, they erected the hulking Cathedral with its twin towers. The rest of the Zócalo was bordered by the viceroy’s (later the presidential) palace, the municipal council, and the balconied town houses of the colonial aristocracy.” In other parts of Mexico, such as the Yucatan, the Mayan descendants are very much alive along with their language and culture. On a trip to the Yucatan in April 2007 i was told by several pastors that they were Yucatacans not Mexicans. They reminded me that they (the Yucatan Penninsula) was once its own nation like Texas and that they had joined Mexico. Their cultural and historical uniqueness was still very much a part of their basic understanding of their identity. [ii] Robert E. Dickinson. City and Region: A Geographical Interpretation. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. 1964. P. 19 [iii] Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) © 2000 - 2006. K Dictionaries Ltd. Lists the following languages and their corresponding words for ‘city’. Arabic ﻩَﻥﻱﺩَﻡ; Chinese 城市; Chinese (Traditional): 城市; Czech: velkoměsto; Danish: by; Dutch: stad; Estonian: suurlinn; Finnish: kaupunki; Greek: µεγαλούπολη; Hungarian: nagyváros; Icelandic: stórborg; Indonesian: kota; Italian: città; Japanese: 都市; Latvian: lielpilsēta; Lithuanian: didmiestis; Norwegian: by(kommune); Polish: duże miasto; Portuguese (Brazil): cidade grande, metrópole; Portuguese (Portugal): cidade; Romanian: oraş; Russian: город; Slovak: (veľké) mesto; Slovenian: (vele)mesto; Swedish: stad; Turkish: şehir, kent [iv] Rycroft, W. Stanley and Myrtle M. Clemmer. A Study of Urbanization in Latin America. New York: United Presbyterian Church. 1963. P. 2 [v] Ruoss, Meryl. New Factors in the Expanding Urban Situation. Published by the Committee on Cooperation in Latin America, Division of Foreign Missions, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. November 1960. [vi] Hammond, Mason. The City in the Ancient World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. P 221 [vii] Dickinson pp. 19-25. [viii] Ibid. P. 19 [ix] Lewis Mumford. The City In History. London. 1961. P. 125 [x] Hansen, Niles M. The Challenge of Urban Growth: The Basic Economics of City Size and Structure. Lexington Books: Lexington, 1975. Pgs 41-48 [xi] Ibid. Pgs 41-48 [xii] Wilbur Thompson. The Economic Base of Urban Problems, in Neil W. Chamberlain, ed. Contemporary Economic Issues. Richard D. Irwin, Inc: Homewood, Ill. 1969. P. 8 [xiii] Harry W. Richardson. The Costs and Benefits of Alternative Settlement Patterns; Or Are Big Cities Too Big?. Paper prepared for the United Nations Symposium on Population Resources and Environment in Stockholm of September-October 1973. Pp14-15 [xiv] Tertius Chandler. Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. St. David’s University Press: Queenston, 1987. Pg. 521 [xv] Ibid. Pg 463 [xvi] Ibid. Pg 465 [xvii] Ibid. Pg 469 [xviii] Ibid. Pg 478 [xix] Ibid. Pg 492 [xx] Gergi, Dieter. The City in the Valley: Biblical Interpretation and Urban Theology. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. 2005. P 53
0 Comments
|
Darrell L. HornArchives
January 2016
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Photos used under Creative Commons from Criss.AC, szeke, GlasgowAmateur, sotaglass, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, iansthree, papalars
