A Tale of Two Cities...

Just kidding, kind of. We really read about two cities, but not the same as the book itself. We read about the Earthly City and the Heavenly City. One city glorifies itself, while the other city glorifies God. They each have their own nature, and cannot agree upon laws or religion.

The first city, the Earthly City, focuses on itself, and it's assets. It loves to rule itself and seeks profit for it's own glory and praise. They are possessed by pride and think that they are wise. They have corrupted the thought of God and made it into man. This city will not be everlasting, but the people here rejoice in the things they have. They believe in power, money, and fame. They want it all for themselves, and thank nobody but themselves when they get it. This city is divided by wars and hatred for each other, because everyone is self-serving. They are in a sense bonded to their earthly goods. When they are victorious, the victory is prideful and life-destroying. Unfortunately, since they are so focused on earthly goods, they constantly wory about any coming disasters that may befall them. The Earthly City believes in multiple gods. They even assigned every aspet of human nature to a god. There is one for the body, one for the soul, one for parts of the body, onr for each feeling or emotion, and one for every action. They are very full of gods.

As for the Heavenly City, it is a city that glorifies God. They do not care for worldly assets, they care for the eternal and the everlasting. They seek to worship and praise God in everything they do. There is no human wisdom in this city. There is only godliness, which seeks to worship God and gain reward in the society of the saints, holy angels, and men. This city lives by faith, and makes use of earthly peace only because it must, until the mortal condition will pass away. They believe in the worship of one God, and one God alone. To God alone can a service the Greeks called latreia be done.

These cities never agreed on laws or religion, and therefore the Heavenly City had to dissent and become obnoxious to those who thought differently than them. They needed to force it. There was much insight in this reading, and I think it's crazy how to the beginning of time, there was always a heavenly and an earthly something or other.