The city of God vs. the city of man?

Okay, here is an observation of mine so take it for what its worth which is not much...

It seems that in my experience and in practically the entirity of church history there has been an assumed diachotomy between "the world" and living ones faith. This i am about to take issue with. That is compltely and utterly impossible to do. Now i know that "the world" has generally meant something more intangible, symbolic thing to be feared and avoided, for example "the mentality" of the world, the pre-eminent culture etc etc. However in ecclesiatical history this strugle to avoid the things of the world has led christians to avoid the world completely... the myriads of examples include the early christian communities, the desert fathers and mothers, the amish, religious cloisters, and on and on...

1- i ask why are we to avoid completely the things of the world... this idea seems in contradiction to what catholics believe about the world... for in a catholic world things become sacramentals, instruments of grace... people become the mode through which the person meets God himself...
2- if one avoids the world in pursuit of faith... one never really finds faith one finds fear...




i think we need to stop promulagating augustines city of god vs. city of man ideology
i see this idea permeating every community of catholics i know whether they are charismatic traditional or not...
since christ is the

GOD-MAN

we dwell then in the city of the god-man... for this is how he came... into earth into flesh into the WORLD god became ONE with the world and so we also should... christ went into the house of the tax collectors and sinners so should we... their is no city of God or city of man... both would be a city of man... for God is found withIN the city of man...