In this chapter, I want to look at this tension between the city’s God-exalting promise and its man-exalting shadow. We will find this dual nature played out in the pages of Scripture and mirrored in our contemporary world, for in most ways our cities are still today as they have always been. But first we must ask, What do we mean by a city? Today, a city is usually defined in terms of population size. Large population centers are called “cities,” smaller ones “towns,” and the smallest