1970
Some consider Jacques Ellul a prophet. Some consider him dangerous. Some think him a Bible-thumping technophobe. Some can't understand him.
This French scholar, who taught for more than a third of the ן 53! ׳ century at the University of Bordeaux, has always been his own 1 man. During World War II, he was dismissed from the university for protesting the Nazi occupation, and he joined the French Resistance, helping Jews escape. Maybe that experience implanted in him one of his main themes: the inherent evils of the modern world. The Nazis were certainly trying to build a ״brave new world" but scuttled basic morality and human worth. Throughout his writings, Ellul has warned of the evil impulses that lie behind modern "advances."
Ellul, who died in 1994, was a respected social commentator and Bible scholar, yet he had no shortage of critics. Conservatives didn't trust him because of his Marxist and universalist tendencies. But liberal scholars were troubled by his devotion to the Bible as a complete document, God's Word to humanity, rather than a hodgepodge of culturally based myths. Like Karl Barth (one of Ellul's major influences), he was too biblical for some, but not fundamentalist enough for others.
But he certainly did his homework. His social commentaries offer penetrating insight and his biblical exposition is thorough.
He saw every connection there was to see, weaving everything together in a persuasive argument. Pessimistic, but persuasive.
There are forces around us, he says, forces that do not help us or bring us closer to God—technology, money, the drive that compels us to gather in cities. These are basic elements of the human experience, but. . . well, that's the point. Humans are fallen creatures. We can't expect our human pursuits to win us salvation, but many of us do.
The Meaning of the City is an exquisite study of virtually everything the Bible says and implies about ״the city.״ (Ellul often wrote theological companions to his social books. This is the follow-up to The Technological Society.) He has a lot to draw from. The city appears from Genesis—Genesis 4, to be precise, where Cain tries to get a new start by building a city—to Revelation. Ellul sees this as a rebellious act, as Cain refuses to wander the earth. From the start, then, the city is a human endeavor that sort of thumbs its nose at God. We see this again at Babel. Ellul tenaciously traces this theme throughout Scripture: Cities tend to oppose God, with a few exceptions ... like Jerusalem, a "holy city" chosen by God as an example and witness to the nations. And, oddly, it was this city's opposition to Jesus that provided the way of redemption to the world, as Jenisalem's citizens cm-cified Jesus outside their city.
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Thus the history of the world is written in its cities. Ellul makes it clear that he's not doing public relations for the country by badmouthing the city. It's just that "civilization is expressed by a city," he says. People create cities and instantly those cities become parasites, drawing all outside activities in. Whatever is wrong with humanity is wrong with the city, and it's taken to the nth power.
And yet, Ellul notes, the last chapter of God's drama is a new city, the heavenly Jerusalem coming to earth. It's as if God is saying, "You want a city? I'll give you a city! But it's my kind of city." So he redeems even this long-lasting symbol of rebellion.
Ellul's ideas are proving prophetic, as the new millennium anticipates continuing growth in megacities worldwide. While there are many Christians who "work for the welfare of the city," there are also numerous moral problems inherent in an urban setting. Ellul was also a lonely voice against the rise of technology, the manipulative power we give our machines. In our computer age, we need to heed his cautions.