Cities of God The Bible and Archaeology in Nineteenth-Century Britain [Paperback]

This book shows how, in unearthing biblical cities, archaeology transformed nineteenth-century thinking on the truth of Christianity and its role in modern cities.The nineteenth century was the great age for the rediscovery and excavation of cities prominent in the Bible. This innovative and stimulating collection of essays explores the profound consequences for debates about biblical authority and archaeology's contribution to attempts to reimagine and reform the cities of a rapidly urbanizing Britain.The nineteenth century was the great age for the rediscovery and excavation of cities prominent in the Bible. This innovative and stimulating collection of essays explores the profound consequences for debates about biblical authority and archaeology's contribution to attempts to reimagine and reform the cities of a rapidly urbanizing Britain.The history of archaeology is generally told as the making of a secular discipline. In nineteenth-century Britain, however, archaeology was enmeshed with questions of biblical authority and so with religious as well as narrowly scholarly concerns. In unearthing the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean, travellers, archaeologists and their popularisers transformed thinking on the truth of Christianity and its place in modern cities. This happened at a time when anxieties over the unprecedented rate of urbanisation in Britain coincided with critical challenges to biblical truth. In this context, cities from Jerusalem to Rome became contested models for the adaptation of Christianity to modern urban life. Using sites from across the biblical world, this book evokes the appeal of the ancient city to diverse groups of British Protestants in their arguments with one another and with their secular and Catholic rivals about the vitality of their faith in urban Britain.Introduction Michael Ledger-Lomas and David Gange; 1. Troy David Gange and Rachel Bryant Davies; 2. Jerusalem Simon Goldhill; 3. Nineveh Tim Larsen; 4. Pithom David Gange; 5lã%