The City of Refuge

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The church as a safe space for frail people living in an imperfect world is an ongoing concern and debate among both church and nonchurch people. Are humans, by nature, truly broken and frail? Is this world broken and sinful? Is there a safe space where human frailty or imperfections can be effectively addressed? If so, is the church such a space and what role can the church play in this process? In The City of Refuge: God's Gracious Provision for Humanity's Failures and Shortcomings, author Dr. Hixford N. Allen focuses his philosophical and theological mind on the gracious practice of the "the City of Refuge" among the Hebrew people as recorded in the Old Testament scripture. Citing this practice, Allen argues it's God's provision for failing individuals to confront, acknowledge, and tap into available resources to deal with such failures. This concept reflects God's own nature expressed by the experience and words of Psalmist David. Allen contends that the concept of the City of Refuge, which provides grace to those who have failed along the way, is taken to its highest level in Christ Jesus, who functions as the head and authority of the church. In The City of Refuge, he says the church must find ways to reduce and remove the stigma from those who have repented of wrong doings and demonstrated evidence of transformation.