The Spiritual City

Beschreibung

The meaning and future of cities is arguably one of the most important and challenging issues of our time. In A Spiritual City, Philip Sheldrake provides a broad examination of the meaning and importance of cities within Christianity, uncovering some of its rich historical sources of urban thought and practice, as well as discussing some of the criticisms that Christianity has been hostile to cities and public life. The result is a deeply informative and thought-provoking account of cities and city-making that invites readers to rethink the idea of the urban life. The book unites contemporary thinking about urban space and the built environment with the latest in urban theology. Sheldrake discusses the history of Christian urban thinking and practice in the first half of the book. He addresses its long-standing anti-urban bias and emphasis on inwardness and pilgrimage. In the second half, he reflects on the potential of cities to create a strong human community and a sense of sacred space. He delves into topics such as place identity, re-conceiving the sacred, redeeming memory, transformation and regeneration, and urban virtues. In doing so, Sheldrake puts forth a positive vision of the city in relation to Christian thought, along with ample ideas for its reinvention in the future.
A Spiritual City provides a broad examination of the meaning and importance of cities from a Christian perspective. * Contains thought-provoking theological and spiritual reflections on city-making by a leading scholar * Unites contemporary thinking about urban space and built environments with the latest in urban theology * Addresses the long-standing anti-urban bias of Christianity and its emphasis on inwardness and pilgrimage * Presents an important religious perspective on the potential of cities to create a strong human community and sense of sacred space

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Philip Sheldrake

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Religion & Theology Religion u. Theologie Spiritualität Spirituality Theologe

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"A quite exceptionally original and timely book, which combines deep knowledge of the Christian tradition with sensitivity to the issues of urban life today, and offers fresh insight into what the sacramental community of Christian faith brings to our current anxieties about social cohesion, justice and inclusion." Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and now Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge "This is an extraordinarily thoughtful book. In carefully tracing the history of Christian thought on the city, Philip Sheldrake shows how a sense of the sacred can replenish the urban aesthetic and lives led today largely in environments that push belonging, community and fulfilment to the very edge of togetherness. A compelling and beautifully written book." Ash Amin, University of Cambridge More than half of the world's population now live in cities, and the balance between town and country changes day by day. Christian understandings of the city have often been negative, but Sheldrake shows that there is a rich tradition of thinking about the city throughout Christian history. This tradition can contribute to the moral and spiritual vision which is essential if cities are to continue to be humanising and hopeful places, spaces of reconciliation rather than alienation. In dialogue with geographers, philosophers as well as social theorists Sheldrake sets out a rich and complex vision of how Christian thinking can contribute to a world wide debate. Tim Gorringe, University of Exeter
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