City of God

This article is about the work by St. Augustine. For the movie, see City of God (movie)

The City of God (Latin De Civitate Dei) is a text written by St. Augustine that deals with issues concerning God, martyrdom, the Jews, and other Christian philosophies.

The City of God was written by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, to explain Christianity's relationship to competing religions and philosophies, and to the Roman government with which it was increasingly intertwined. Despite Christianity's designation as the official religion of the empire, Augustine declared its message to be spiritual rather than political. Christianity, he argued, should be concerned with the mystical, heavenly City of Jerusalem rather than with earthly politics. His theology supported the separation of Church and State that came to characterize western Europe fourteen centuries later, after the French Revolution.

From the World's History by Howard Spodek

External links

• Text of The City of God:
  • At "Christian Classics Ethereal Library": Full text (English)
  • At "New Advent": Full text (English)
  • At "The Latin Library" Full text (Latin)
• Texts on The City of God:
  • An introduction to The City of God by James J. O'Donnell