The thing about living in a city is that it gives you a unique and distinct context for theological musings that you otherwise might muse about in a vacuum. This is of course not to say that non-urban locations don’t provide their own unique and distinct contexts. But think about it. Where you live, do you give a second thought to how garbage is picked up? Whether property taxes are being accurately assessed in your neighborhood versus a poorer or richer neighborhood? What it might be like to apply for social services when you do not speak the native language? In a city, these are live issues, infused with justice and morality and spirituality.
For example, I think often about how I am better off than others around me, better off in terms of physical health, book intelligence, and financial wealth. Where I live may have a little or a lot to do with where I stand in these continuums; if, for instance, I live in a part of the country that values fitness, or in a neighborhood that is near a college campus or that is under-resourced. That’s not my point. There are always going to be people healthier, smarter, and richer than me, and people not as healthy, not as smart, and not as rich.
My point is that because I live in a city, these differences make formerly abstract musings quite tangible. I wonder about the source of my fortunes. Fundamentalists might say it is all of God, and tell me just to give thanks and not think too much about it. Conservatives might say it is my good decisions and work ethic, and tell me to keep doing what I’m doing. Liberals might say it is my privileged upbringing, and tell me to fight against systemic injustices that keep others from enjoying the same starting point. Radicals might say I’m part of that systemic injustice, and tell me to sell my possessions and become poor.
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