The Two Cities

Episode #325 - Imitation in Early Christianity with Prof. Cor Bennema

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Prof. Cor Bennema, Professor of New Testament at London School of Theology and the author of Imitation in Early Christianity: Mimesis and Religious-Ethical Formation (published by Eerdmans). Prof. Bennema talks about the distinctives of mimesis relative to other kinds of ethical formation/development, and where early Christianity is situated relative to mimesis in Greco-Roman philosophy. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #324 - How Then Shall We Read? With Dr. Max Botner

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Max Botner, associate professor of New Testament at Jessup University, host of the On the Way podcast, and the author of How Then Shall We Read?A Student's Guide to Interpreting the New Testament (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about how Dr. Botner's book compares to other primers on interpretation and how his book emphasizes the locationality of the interpreter, and the overall aim of faithful interpretation rather than "correct" interpretation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #323 - The Best Worst Movies Ever

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we indulge in a little April Fool's fun by discussing the best worst movies we've ever seen, and why we absolutely love to watch them ironically and in some cases even unironically. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #322 - Beyond Deconstruction with Professor James McGrath

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor, James F. McGrath, who is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, and the author of the book that we're discussing in this episode, Beyond Deconstruction: Building a More Expansive Faith (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation, Prof. McGrath says about his own journey of deconstruction and how he wanted to write this book to leave behind "bread crumbs" to help people navigate faith on the other side towards a faith that is more expansive. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #321 - Christian Life with Prof. Kelly Kapic

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Prof. Kelly M. Kapic (PhD, King's College, University of London), who is Professor of Theological Studies at Covenant College, and the author of several books, including the book that we're discussing in this episode, Christian Life (as part of the New Studies in Dogmatics series published by Zondervan Academic). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Kelly Kapic's aims to ground his theology of the Christian life in the Triune God, insisting that a theology of Christian life is necessarily theological. We also address how the particulars of Christian life pertain to universals, which helps to situate the topic in relation to various cultural and contextual settings. To round out the conversation, Prof. Kapic also highlights one of his main emphases that Christian life as a response to God begins with the Messiah's response to God first. From there flows the ecclesial gathering of Christ followers whose Christian life is bound up in our relations to one another, but also to God and to creation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #320 - From Genesis to Junia with Dr. Preston Sprinkle

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Preston Sprinkle, who hosts the Theology in the Raw podcast and is the author of From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership (published by David Cook). In our conversation we talk about what caused Dr. Sprinkle to change his mind on this topic, and we discuss several key issues and passages related to the topic of women in ministry in the Bible. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #319 - The Greatest Story Ever Retold with Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Jeannine Brown

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Jeannine Brown, New Testament professors at Bethel Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to talk about their new book, The Greatest Story Ever Retold: Jesus Narratives From Gospels to Film (with Baker Academic). As we discuss, Drs. Dunne and Brown share how Jesus films provide an external vantage point for thinking about the hermeneutical process of envisioning narratives while we read, making us like the directors of Jesus films inside our heads each time we read. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #318 - Emotion in Early Christianity with Professor Andrew Crislip

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Prof. Andrew Crislip, who is Blake Chair in the History of Christianity at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the author of Emotion in Early Christianity (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation, Prof. Crislip talks with us about what emotions really are, what early Christians thought about five key emotions, and how that thinking evolved within the first five centuries of the church. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #317 - The Apostle to the Foreskin with Dr. Ryan Collman

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Ryan Collman, who is Associate Supervisor at Westcott House, Cambridge, and tutor in New Testament at the University of London, as well as the author of The Apostle to the Foreskin: Circumcision in the Letters of Paul (De Gruyter), which won the Lautenschlaeger Award in 2023. In our conversation, we talk about circumcision in the letters of Paul with reference to ancient practices and perspectives, as well as modern pseudoscientific views about the contemporary practice in America. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #316 - Negotiating Jewishness with Dr. Ruben Bühner

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Ruben Bühner, who is a postdoctoral researcher for New Testament Studies at the University of Zurich and the University of Bonn, and the author of Negotiating Jewishness: Paul’s Ethnicity Between Continuity and Discontinuity (Baylor University Press). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about key passages in the interpretation of Paul that relate to matters of continuity and discontinuity with respect to Paul's Jewish identity and observance of the Torah. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #315 - The Hypothesis of the Gospels with Dr. Ian Mills

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Ian Mills, who is Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at Hamilton College and the author of The Hypothesis of the Gospels: Narrative Traditions in Hellenistic Reading Culture (Fortress Press). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about how ancient readers understood the variation in Gospel production as writing on a common hypothesis (or the "gist") about Jesus. Dr. Mills explains to us what the ancient conception of a hypothesis is, and we talk about the various implications that this has for thinking about the relationship of the canonical four Gospels to each other as well as to other non-canonical Gospels. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #314 - A Christian Response to I.C.E. in Minnesota with Pastor Stephanie Williams O'Brien

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Pastor Stephanie Williams O'Brien to talk about the realities of what's happening in Minnesota with the immigration enforcement agency known as I.C.E., and how Christians should respond to the situation. Pastor Steph is Lead Pastor of Mill City Church in Northeast Minneapolis, the co-host with Jo Saxton of the Lead Stories podcast, and author of two books, Stay Curious (Fortress) and Make A Move (Broadleaf). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #313 - Theology, Religion, and Twin Peaks with Dr. Trevor Babcock, Dana Abu Dbay, Joel Santos, Dr. Zachary Sheldon, and Andrew Waller

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Kris Song of The Two Cities team introduce their new book for the pop culture and theology series published by Bloomsbury on the TV show, Twin Peaks. The volume is called Theology, Religion, and Twin Peaks (w/ Bloomsbury). In the episode, we're joined by five of the contributors to the volume, and we each talk about our respective essays. The guests on the episode include:

Trevor Babcock, who is an Assistant Professor of English at Williams Baptist University (Walnut Ridge, AR).

Dana Abu Dbay, who is an independent scholar based in Nazareth, who received her masters from the University of Edinburgh and specializes in the intersection of theater and film with literature.

Joel Santos, who is a PhD Candidate in archeology at the University of Leicester (UK).

Zachary Sheldon, who is a lecturer in the Department of Film and Digital Media at Baylor University (Waco, TX).

Andrew H. Waller, who is a PhD Candidate in New Testament at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.

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Episode #312 - Debriefing Stranger Things Season 5

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we debrief Stranger Things Season 5 with Rev. Dr. Andy Byers, who is Tutor in New Testament at Ridley Hall of the University of Cambridge and the co-editor (with Adam J. Powell) of the volume, Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope (published by Bloomsbury). Over the course of the conversation, we talk about our favorite parts of the final season and the finale itself, some of the things that we wished were different about the writing, and some of the key themes that the final season leaves with viewers. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #311 - Gender Mobility with Prof. Susan Hylen

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined again by Professor Hylen for part two of our conversation on gender. Prof. Hylen is Almar H. Shatford Professor of New Testament and the Director of the Women, Theology, and Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She is the most recent volume, Gender Mobility: Seven Ideas about Gender in the New Testament Period (published by Oxford University Press). In this conversation, Prof. Hylen explains how interconnected class and status was with gender, which creates the dynamic of there being at least ten genders in the New Testament period, as she argues. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #310 - Women in the New Testament with Prof. Susan Hylen

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Susan Hylen, who is Almar H. Shatford Professor of New Testament and the Director of the Women, Theology, and Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She is the author of Women in the New Testament World (Oxford University Press) and Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like (published by Eerdmans), which we discuss and overview in our conversation about the role of women in the NT period as Prof. Hylen highlights implications for several named women in the NT. This is part one of two of our conversation about gender with Prof. Hylen (next week we'll discuss her newest book, Gender Mobility with Oxford University Press). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #309 - Our Favorite Christmas Movies

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we talk about our favorite Christmas movies. We give some nods to Christmas classics as well as more than a few surprises. Listen and see if your favorites end up on each of our top five Christmas films lists! Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, Rev. Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #308 - C. S. Lewis & The Bible with Dr. Leslie Baynes

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Leslie Baynes, associate professor in the Department of Cultures, Languages, and Religions at Missouri State University and the author of the book that we're discussing in this episode, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Lewis's posture towards the Bible, his views on biblical scholarship, how diverse segments of Christianity claim Lewis as their own (sometimes in spite of his views on the Bible), and the way that Lewis made use of the Bible in the Chronicles of Narnia. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #307 - From Dropout to Doctorate with Dr. Terence Lester

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Terence Lester, who is a minister, speaker, community activist, author, and founder of Love Beyond Walls, a not-for-profit organization focused on poverty awareness and community mobilization. He also serves as the director of public policy and social change and as a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky (HBCU). And he’s the author of the book that we’re discussing today, From Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice (published by IVP Academic). In our conversation, Dr. Lester tells us about his personal story and educational journey, and reflects with us about matters of educational justice and injustice in higher education. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Caroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #306 - Debriefing SBL 2025

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we debrief our time in Boston at SBL 2025. We discuss some of our highlights from the conferences, including our favorite papers and panels, and we took the mics around the book stalls for some impromptu interviews with (in order of appearance): Dr. Eva Puschautz, Prof. James McGrath, Dr. Andy Judd, Dr. Chris Fresch, Kent Hendricks, Dr. Emily Bruff, Dr. Jason Staples, Dr. Teresa McCaskill, Prof. Sean Adams, Dr. Erin Heim, and Dr. Hannah Craven. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #305 - Medieval Virtues and Vices with Dr. Grace Hamman

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Grace Hamman, who is an independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing, and is the author of Jesus through Medieval Eyes as well as the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Ask of Old Paths: Medieval Virtues and Vices for a Whole and Holy Life (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the medieval understanding of virtues and vices, how they were categorized, and how they influenced medieval moral reasoning, and we learn how there's a lot that we could learn from Christians back then for our lives today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #304 - Political Polarization with Tim Dixon

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Tim Dixon, who is the co-founder of More in Common, an organization that works to build stronger and more inclusive democratic societies that are resilient to the threats of populism and division. In our conversation, we discuss political polarization and perceptions of "the other side's" willingness to perpetuate violence for political purposes. Tim shares with us how his work has been to humanize the perspectives of other people with political views that differ from our own. As he illustrates, the data shows that we're all much more aligned than we normally think. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #303 - Rereading Revelation with Professor Greg Carey

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Greg Carey, who is Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theology Seminary and Moravian Theological Seminary, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode: Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation we talk about the meaning of Revelation in the light of its historical and cultural context, but also in the light of our contemporary contexts, especially in the United States, with its unique political and social situation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #302 - The Fourth Synoptic Gospel with Professor Mark Goodacre

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor Mark Goodacre, who is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University and the author of The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (published by Eerdmans). In this episode we discuss Prof. Goodacre's thesis that John knew and used each of the Synoptic Gospels. We consider how NT scholarship came to view John as independent of the Synoptic, matters of dating and how that affects the thesis, as well as alternative proposals. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #301 - Scared by the Bible with Professor Brandon Grafius

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor Brandon Grafius, who is academic dean and professor of biblical studies at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, and he’s the author of several works on religion and horror, including the book that we’re excited to talk about in this episode, Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture (published by Morehouse publishing). We discuss horrifying images in the Bible and how different sub-genres of horror films can help us think through the function and meaning of various stories in the Bible and what the terror might be doing rhetorically. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter.

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Episode #300 - Celebrating 300 Episodes

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we're celebrating our 300th episode, which means that this episode is full of listener comments and questions, our responses to those questions, several examples of bloopers over the past two years, new music for the next 100 episodes, some exciting announcements and updates from the team, and the names of the winners of our nine book-bundle giveaways!

Many thanks to publishing partners: Baylor University Press, Eerdmans, IVP UK (Apollos), Wipf & Stock, Zondervan, and the Pop Culture and Theology series.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne Adishian, Dr. Amber Bowen, Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Rev. Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song, Dr. Sydney Tooth, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Thanks for listening!

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Episode #299 - The Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine with Dr. John Anthony Dunne

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we celebrate the release of our very own Dr. John Anthony Dunne’s new book on wine in the Bible as we conclude our series on alcohol in the Bible and Jewish/Christian traditions. As we talk about the topic of wine and beer in the Bible, John shares many stories with us about his interests in wine and beer, his family background and upbringing, his experience making beer and volunteering at a vineyard, and why he was interested in writing about his topic. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #298 - Drunk with Professor Edward Slingerland

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:00:00 GMT

CW: Adult themes and language. In this episode we're joined by Professor Edward Slingerland, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and the author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (published by Little, Brown Spark). In this conversation we discuss the role of alcohol relationally in the development of society through deepening trust and cooperation between people. Our conversation focuses on alcohol from its original developments on through to the present. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #297 - Wine & Christian Spirituality with Dr. Gisela Kreglinger

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Gisela Kreglinger, who is the author of several books on wine, namely, The Spirituality of Wine (with Eerdmans), The Soul of Wine (with IVP), and most recently, Cup Overflowing: Wine’s Place in Faith, Feasting, and Fellowship (with Zondervan Reflective). In this conversation we discuss the nature of wine as a blessing, America's fraught history with alcohol, and how we can cultivate better attitudes towards drinking today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #296 - Ascetic Eucharists with the Very Rev'd Dr. Andrew McGowan

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by the Very Rev’d Dr. Andrew McGowan, an Anglican priest, Dean and President of the Berkeley Divinity School of Yale University and the McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology, and he’s the author of Ascetic Eucharists: Food and Drink in Early Christian Ritual Meals (with Oxford University Press). In this conversation we talk about eucharistic practices that used water instead of wine or no cup at all in the eucharist, and we think about eucharistic norms and ideals for modern practices today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #295 - Sober Spirituality with Rev. Erin Jean Warde

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rev. Erin Jean Warde, who is an episcopal priest and recovery coach, as well as the author of the book we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Sober Spirituality: The Joy of a Mindful Relationship with Alcohol (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Rev. Warde shares a bit of her story with us and talks about the difficulty of being sober in Christian spaces. Among other things we also discuss the eucharist, some matters of hermeneutics, and whether all Christians are called to sobriety. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #294 - The Church & Alcoholics Anonymous with Professor Stephen R. Haynes

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Stephen R. Haynes, who is Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and the author of several books, including the one we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Why Can’t Church Be More Like an AA Meeting? And Other Questions Christians Ask about Recovery (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, Professor Haynes tells us about his own journey, the history of alcoholics anonymous and its relationship to other recovery groups, how best to think scientifically as well as theologically about addiction, and what the church could learn about the ethos of alcoholics anonymous. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #293 - Drinking with the Saints with Professor Michael Foley

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor Michael Foley, who is Professor of Patristics in the Great Texts program at Baylor University, and the author of Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour (published by Regnery History). Professor explains how is book is designed to pair beer, wine, and cocktail recipes with the feasts days of the church calendar that honor various saints. Along the way we talk about interesting pairing choices that he made for different saints and nerd out about various cocktails and craft cocktail techniques. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #292 - Wine & Beer in the Talmud with Professor Jordan Rosenblum

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Jordan Rosenblum, who is the Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, and he’s also the author of Rabbinic Drinking: What Beverages Teach Us About Rabbinic Literature (published by the University of California Press). In our conversation we discuss how the Talmud relates to the Mishnah, how topics of drinking in the Talmud provide a helpful in-road into the wider sea of Talmud, key Rabbis that feature prominently with reference to wine and beer, and the matter of the four cups of the Passover seder. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #291 - Wine & the Mishnah with Rabbi Drew Kaplan

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rabbi Drew Kaplan, who is Campus Rabbi for Cincinnati Hillel, hosts The Jewish Drinking Show podcast (over 175 episodes and counting), and publishes a weekly newsletter and Torah portion sheet on drinking that covers the Tanakh, Rabbinic Literature, Jewish history, Jewish practice, and more. In our conversation we talk about the appearances of wine and beer in the Mishnah, when wine is particularly a matter of controversy for the Rabbis, and how the Mishnah relates to contemporary normative practices among different Jewish denominations. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stanley Ng.

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Episode #290 - Dionysus & the New Testament with Professor Courtney Friesen

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this conversation, we’re joined by Professor Courtney Friesen, who is Professor of Classics and the Director of Graduate Studies in Classics at the University of Arizona and the author of Reading Dionysus: Euripides’ Bacchae and the Cultural Contestations of Greeks, Jews, Romans, and Christians (published by Mohr Siebeck). In our conversation we talk about the Bacchae and its interpretation as well as other legends and myths about Dionysus. This leads us to several topics of relevance in the New Testament, especially the alleged drunkenness at Pentecost in Acts 2 and Jesus turning water to wine at Cana in John 2. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #289 - Drunkenness in the Old Testament with Dr. Rebekah Welton

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Rebekah Welton, who is Lecturer in Hebrew Bible at the University of Exeter and the author of ‘He Is A Glutton and a Drunkard’: Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible (Published by Brill). In our discussion we talk about broader conceptions in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible of feasting, excessive consumption, and drunkenness, as well as look closely at passages like Deuteronomy 21 and the law about the rebellious son. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #288 - Wine, Soil, and Salvation with Rev. Dr. Mark Scarlata

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rev Dr Mark Scarlata, who is Tutor and Senior Lecturer in Old Testament at St. Mellitus College, the Vicar-Chaplain at St. Edward, King and Martyr Church in Cambridge, and the author of Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament (published by Cambridge University Press). In our conversation we discuss the broader role of wine in the Bible and its theological significance throughout in terms of both salvation and judgment. In particular, Rev. Dr. Scarlata emphasizes the ecological themes of land, soil, and creation that relate to the biblical imagery of wine. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Stanley Ng.

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Episode #287 - A History of Beer in Ancient Mesopotamia with Dr. Tate Paulette

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Tate Paulette, who is an Archeologist and Associate Professor of History at NC State University and the author of In the Land of Ninkasi: A History of Beer in Ancient Mesopotamia (published by Oxford University Press). Kicking off our series on ancient wine and beer in biblical literature and relevant traditions, we begin by talking with Dr. Tate Paulette about the world’s oldest beer culture—ancient Mesopotamia. We discuss brewing techniques as well as the role and value of beer in Mesopotamian culture, economics, and religion. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Stanley Ng.

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Episode #286 - Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities with Dr. Mark Glanville

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Mark Glanville, who is an Old Testament scholar and jazz pianist, the Director of The Center of Mission and Leadership at St. Andrews Hall at the University of British Columbia, the host of the podcast, Blue Note Theology, and the author of Preaching in a New Key: Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities (published by IVP Academic). In our conversation, full of spontaneous and improvised jazz piano, Dr. Glanville talks to us about the importance of sprucing up the creativity of our preaching to meet the needs of our Post-Christian world. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #285 - Reviewing Squid Game 3

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Spoiler alert and content warning! In this episode we review the third season of the smash hit Korean show on Netflix, Squid Game. As we debrief our experience watching the third season, we talk about the crazy ending, what surprised us the most about what the third season did and didn't do, what we appreciated and disliked about the season, and how this season fits alongside the first two seasons and how it carried over its core themes. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #284 - Reviewing Black Mirror Season 7

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we review and debrief the seventh season of Black Mirror, the technologically-dystopian anthology series on Netflix (on which Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne produced a collection of essays). We talk about key themes and new emphases that appear this season as we work through each of the six episodes in detail. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #283 - Reviewing Severance Season 2 with Dr. Nick Fox

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we review season 2 of the hit streaming show on Apple+ called Severance. We're joined by Dr. Nick Fox, who is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies and the Chair of the Biblical, Theological, and Ministry Studies at Crown College, and the editor of the forthcoming volume, Theology, Philosophy, and Severance (published by Rowman & Littlefield and Bloomsbury). In our conversation we discuss themes that stood out to us, including trauma, transhumanism, identity, work, human flourishing, sacrifice, the afterlife, and more, as well as several significant aspects of the mysterious plot of the show. Be warned: our chatter includes plenty of spoilers and theories. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #282 - Bearing Witness with Dr. Daniel Hill

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Daniel Hill, assistant professor of Christian Theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and the author of Bearing Witness: What the Church Can Learn from Early Abolitionists (published by Baker Academic). In our conversation Dr. Hill helps us to think about the importance of creativity in how to help people at the margins. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #281 - Interpreting Jesus with Professor Dale Allison

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Dale C. Allison Jr., who is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Interpreting Jesus (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation we talked about why Prof. Allison chose to write this book as a collection of essays, how he used the volume as a venue to chart some new ways forward in his thinking and even to make some revisions to his previous work. We also talk about the prospect of changing your mind in print like this, and what advice he has for upcoming New Testament scholars. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #280 - Ancient Slavery with Dr. Christy Cobb and Dr. Katherine Shaner

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Christy Cobb and Dr. Katherine Shaner to talk about their new edited volume, Ancient Slavery and Its New Testament Contexts (published by Eerdmans). Dr. Christy Cobb is Associate Professor of Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Denver, and Dr. Katherine Shaner is Associate Professor of New Testament at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Over the course of the episode we discuss the different essays in the volume, what the inception of the collection was, Dr. Cobb and Dr. Shaner’s respective contributions to the book, and some of the intriguing developments on the scholarship of ancient slavery for understanding New Testament texts. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #279 - Saving Face with Aimee Byrd

Wed, 28 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Aimee Byrd, who is the author of eight books, including the new one that we discuss in this episode, Saving Face: Finding My Self, God, and One Another Outside a Defaced Church (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation we talk about the rich value of faces, the metaphorical nuances to “saving face,” and the ultimate goal of beholding the face of God in the Beatific Vision, among other things. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #278 - The Anti-Greed Gospel with Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley

Wed, 21 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley, Pastor at Mosaic Waco, Special Advisor to the President for Equity and Campus Engagement at Baylor University, and the author of The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward (published by Baker). Over the course of our conversation we talk about how Jesus is calling Christians not simply to be generous, which can lead to paternalism, but more specifically anti-greedy, actively rooting out sites in our lives where greed can grow and take over. We discuss several biblical passages about wealth and riches on the one hand and the value of sharing on the other. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #277 - Boy Jesus with Professor Joan Taylor

Wed, 14 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Joan Taylor, who is Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College, London, and the author of Boy Jesus: Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times (Zondervan Academic). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what our sources are for accessing Jesus’s childhood, what we think we can know about it, how his family life and the political situation of Judea at the time would have shaped him into the person he became, and why later Christians were so interested in continuing to tell stories about Jesus’s youth. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #276 - Writing and Rewriting the Gospels with Dr. James Barker

Wed, 07 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. James Barker, who is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Western Kentucky University and the author of Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics (published by Eerdmans). In this episode we discuss Dr. Barker’s theory of Gospel development, which entails the idea that each of our canonical Gospels were aware of the previously written ones, meaning not only that Luke used Matthew, but moreover that John knew of each of the Synoptic Gospels. We discuss some of the evidence for this, the developmental implications of this insight for Christology, among other things, and much more. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #275 - A History of Sex and Christianity with Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Over the course of our conversation, Prof. MacCulloch explains the impetus behind his book as unsettling many “settled facts” about the Christian history of sexuality. We talk about differing views on sex before the Fall, sex in the eschaton, modern approaches to sexuality like purity culture, when weddings began to be held in churches, and some of the terrifying legends about homosexuality perpetuated by Christians. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #274 – The Last Temptation of Christ with Dr. David Bennett

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. David Bennett is a post-doctoral research fellow in theology and ethics at the University of Oxford and he’s the author of A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus (published by Zondervan). In our conversation we review and discuss the portrayal of Jesus’s sexuality and desire for a relationship and a family in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988, directed by Martin Scorsese). Together we overview Dr. Bennett’s work, as well as the film, and bring the two into conversation together. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #273 - The Marriage You Want with Sheila Wray Gregoire

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Sheila Wray Gregoire, who is a speaker, author of several books, and manager of the podcast and website, BareMarriage.com. She’s also the author (along with her husband, Keith) of the book that we’re discussing on this episode: The Marriage You Want: Moving Beyond Stereotypes for a Relationship Built on Scripture, New Data, and Emotional Health (published by Baker). Over the course of our conversation we talk about the importance of data and peer-reviewed information for marriage advice books, which are sorely lacking in the Christian market. Along the way we dispel many myths perpetuated by other speakers and books in this space. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #272 - Paul and Judaism at the End of History with Professor Matthew Novenson

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Matthew Novenson, who is the Helen H. P. Manson Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Paul and Judaism at the End of History (published by Cambridge University Press). In this conversation we talk about how eschatology and Paul’s belief that he was living at the end of history impacts his theological vision. We discuss a number of pertinent topics to Pauline interpretation and especially where Novenson’s work fits in relation to the Paul within Judaism school as well as the apocalyptic reading of Paul. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #271 - Judaism: A Guide for Christians with Professor Tzvi Novick

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Tzvi Novick, who is Abrams Jewish Thought and Culture Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Judaism: A Guide for Christians (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation we talk about why Professor Novick wrote this book to correct misconceptions and misrepresentations of Judaism for a Christian audience. Along the way we discuss such topics such as supersessionism, Zionism, and philojudaism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #270 - Climate Change, Preaching, and the Apocalypse of Place with Dr. Jerusha Neal

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jerusha Neal, who is Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School and the author of Holy Ground: Climate Change, Preaching, and the Apocalypse of Place (published by Baylor University Press). In this conversation we talk about climate-informed homiletics and specifically what Dr. Neal gleaned from indigenous preaching that others can learn and incorporate into their preaching.

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Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Grace Emmett.

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Episode #269 - The Prophet's Anthem with Dr. Michelle Knight

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Michelle Knight, who is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, The Prophet’s Anthem : The Song of Deborah and Barak in the Narrative of Judges (published by Baylor University Press). In this conversation we talk about Deborah’s role in the book of Judges, how scholars have been reticent to regard her a proper judge and prophet, and some of the intertextual connections between Deborah’s song and her story in the Psalms and the New Testament. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #268 - The Mary We Forgot with Professor Jennifer Powell McNutt

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Jennifer Powell McNutt, who is the Franklin S. Dyrness Chair of Biblical and Theological Studies and Professor of Theology and History of Christianity at Wheaton College and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today (published by Brazos). Over the course of the episode we talk about the many misunderstandings about Mary Magdalene, how to disentangle her legacy from those misconceptions, and why it matters for the church today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #267 - Becoming the Pastor's Wife with Professor Beth Allison Barr

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Beth Allison Barr, who is the James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University and the author of Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation we talk about how the common notion in certain Christian circles that the pastor’s wife is the highest path to ministry for women is a post-Reformation construction that is socially conditioned. Professor Barr talks about some of the weird how-to books that she engaged for this project, and some of the odd approaches to Scripture that are required to make this perspective seem legitimate. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Grace Ng, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #266 - Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things with Dr. Andy Byers, Dr. Adam Powell, Dr. Siobhán Jolley, Dr. Brandon Grafius, and Dr. Jana Riess

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about the new volume on Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope (Rowman & Littlefield). We’re joined by the editors Dr. Andy Byers (lecturer in New Testament at Ridley Hall in the Cambridge Theological Federation) and Dr. Adam Powell (lecturer in medical humanities at Durham University), as well as a few of the many contributors, including: Dr. Siobhán Jolley (Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Research Fellow in Art and Religion at the National Gallery), Dr. Brandon Grafius (Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Academic Dean at Ecumenical Theological Seminary), and Dr. Jana Riess (author, writer, former professor at Miami University, and former religious studies editor at Publisher’s Weekly). Additionally, two of our Two Cities team members also contributed to the volume: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne Adishian. We talk about how the volume came together, what topics and themes we wrote about for the book, what personally drew us to the show, and what we’re hoping to see in season 5. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #265 - The LOST Documentary with Leslie Garcia

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we debrief and review the new documentary about the hit TV show from the mid and late 2000s—LOST. The documentary (Getting LOST) is a nostalgic treat for fans made by fans 20 years after the airing of the pilot in 2004 with loads of creative and acting representation (available on Amazon Prime). Joining us for this conversation is Leslie Garcia, an MSt student at the University of Oxford, who formerly received a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and, like all of us, is a huge LOST nerd. Over the course of our conversation together, we talk about some of the great moments of LOST, prompted by the documentary, as well as dig into some of the controversial elements that the documentary raises like the toxicity of the writing room. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #264 - Acts of the Apostles with Professor Steve Walton

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Steve Walton, Senior Research Fellow in New Testament at Trinity College, Bristol, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Acts 1–9:42 in the Word Biblical Commentary series (published by Zondervan Academic). In our conversation, Prof. Walton shares with us how he got to be involved in the WBC series, what he likes most about the series compared to others, and some of the key themes that he sees developed in the first third of the Book of Acts. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #263 - Divine Judgment in the Gospel of Mark with Dr. M. John-Patrick O'Connor

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. M. John-Patrick O’Connor, who is Associate Professor of New Testament at Northwest University, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, The Last Will Be First: Divine Judgment in the Gospel of Mark (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation we discuss the “grammar of judgment” present in the Gospel of Mark as it relates to the “little ones” (mikra) and “big ones” (megaloi) in the text. We discuss the necessity of judgment, what we lose if remove judgment from our conceptions of God, and implications for discipleship and theology. Team members on the episode: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Sydney Tooth, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #262 - John of History, Baptist of Faith with Professor James McGrath

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor James McGrath, who is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode: John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation we talk about the differences between this book with Christmaker and delve more deeply into various historical matters surrounding John the Baptist, including connections with Qumran, the relationship between baptism and ritual purity, what we can learn about John the Baptist from Mandaean sources, and the portrayal of John the Baptist in film. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #261 - Engaging Jesus with Our Senses with Dr. Jeannine Hanger

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jeannine Hanger, who is Associate Professor of New Testament at BIOLA University and Talbot School of Theology, and she’s the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Engaging Jesus with Our Senses: An Embodied Approach to the Gospels (published by Baker). In our conversation we talk about the importance of embodiment, both in terms of our lived realities as followers of Christ and in relation to the way that the Gospels highlight sensory experiences in many different ways. Dr. Hanger draws a connection between the two in her book and shares some of her exegetical insights with us. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #260 - One Spirit with Dr. Kris Song

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by one of our very own co-hosts here at The Two Cities podcast, Dr. Kris Song, who is an instructor in New Testament at Bethel Seminary and the author of One Spirit: Pneumatology and Unity in the Corinthian Letters (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation we talk about Paul’s pneumatology in the Corinthian Correspondence, how studies in the concept of “third space” helps to move forward current conversations in Pauline scholarship, such as debates about Paul’s understanding of the pneuma in Paul within Judaism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #259 - Squid Game 2

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:00:36 GMT

In this episode we discuss the second season of the hit Netflix show, Squid Game. We chat about what we appreciated most about season 2 relative to season 1, how this season builds upon previous questions that the show raises about capitalism and makes the stakes more jarring as we think about its effects on younger generations and democracy itself, and we also offer up some theories about where the show is headed in the upcoming third season. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #258 - Religion for Realists with Professor Sam Perry

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 14:00:41 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Sam Perry, who is Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma is the Department of Sociology, and the author of several books, including, most recently, Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion (with Oxford University Press). In our conversation we talk about the importance of the sociological study of religion, especially with respect to the political climate in which we find ourselves around the globe. Some of the key insights that emerge from this are the ways that theological ideas are subsumed to group identity and other social and political dynamics. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #257 - Hope in the Time of Crisis with Professor Norman Wirzba

Wed, 25 Dec 2024 14:00:58 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor Norman, who is Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology & Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University and the author of Love’s Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis (published by Yale University Press). In our conversation we talk about how hope is an active embodiment of love, that the loveliness of the world is what inspires hopefulness, how hope should not be confused with optimism, the way that improper conceptions of hope perpetuate bystander syndrome and practical nihilism, and true hope is something that “happens in the dark.” Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Grace Emmett.

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Episode #256 - How to Study the Bible's Use of the Bible with Professor Gary Edward Schnittjer and Dr. Matthew Harmon

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:00:45 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Gary Edward Schnittjer, who is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament in the School of Divinity at Cairn University in Pennsylvania, and Dr. Matthew Harmon, who is Professor of New Testament Studies at Grace Theological Seminary in Indiana. Together they are the authors of How to Study the Bible’s Use of the Bible: Seven Hermeneutical Choices for the Old and New Testaments (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation we talk about this resource that Prof. Schnittjer and Dr. Harmon have developed to help students and pastors study biblical intertextuality. We have fun discussing the book and getting into the weeds a bit on specific textual issues.

We are also excited to say that we have a book and DVD giveaway that we’re participating in for this book (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310142458/) and lecture materials associated with it (see https://masterlectures.zondervanacademic.com/products/how-to-study-the-bible-s-use-of-the-bible). If you share our episode on social media, and tag us, you could win free copies!

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #255 - Recapping SBL & AAR 2024

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:00:42 GMT

In this episode we talk about the presentations we gave at the 2024 SBL & AAR conferences in San Diego and reflect on some of our highlights. We also took the mic around the book stalls for short interviews with various people, including: Prof. Steve Walton, Dr. Andy Judd, Dr. Holly Beers, Dr. Joshua Mobley, Dr. Jonathan Lett, Hakeem Bradley, Dr. Melissa Tan, Victoria Nay, Michael Thompson, and Dr. Christoph Heilig. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Madison Pierce, the Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #254 - The Genre Studies Gap with Professor Jeannine Brown and Dr. Andy Judd

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 12:00:13 GMT

This episode is a Live recording with audience of a discussion about genre with Professor Jeannine Brown and Dr. Andy Judd. The event was sponsored by Bethel Seminary, Ridley College (Melbourne), and The Two Cities podcast. Following up on our episodes on genre with each of them, we answer audience questions and dig deeper into the topic.

Professor Jeannine Brown is David Price Professor of Biblical Foundations at Bethel Seminary and the author of Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation (published by Baker Academic).

Dr. Andrew Judd is Deputy Principal and Lecturer in Old Testament at Ridley College (Melbourne) and the author of Modern Genre Theory: An Introduction for Biblical Studies (published by Zondervan).

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #253 - The Eschatologies of 1–2 Thessalonians with Dr. Sydney Tooth

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 12:00:57 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Sydney Tooth, who is Director of Postgraduate Studies & Lecturer in New Testament and Greek at Oak Hill College in the UK, a beloved co-host of this here Two Cities podcast, and the author of the book that we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Suddenness and Signs: The Eschatologies of 1 and 2 Thessalonians (published by Mohr Siebeck). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Tooth talks with us about whether or not the eschatologies of 1–2 Thessalonians are incompatible with each other, as has often been argued, and how a close reading of both texts supports Pauline authorship for 2 Thessalonians. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #252 - A Revolutionary Jesus with Dr. Jesse Nickel

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 12:00:51 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jesse Nickel, who is a member of the Faculty of Biblical Studies at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia and the author of the new book, A Revolutionary Jesus: Violence and Peacemaking in the Kingdom of God (published by Fortress). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about Jesus’s non-violent kingdom and his call to peacemaking, noting, among other things, how pacifism is not passive-ism. As we reflect on Dr. Nickel’s book we make connections to the post-election climate in the States. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #251 - Reclaiming Hope After the Election with Kaitlyn Schiess

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:00:40 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Kaitlyn Schiess, who is a Doctoral Student at Duke Divinity School, the Co-host of the Holy Post podcast and host of the Curiously Kaitlyn podcast, and the author of The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Her (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Kaitlyn shares with us how she’s processing the results of the US Elections while also offering us many wise words about managing the diverse emotional responses expressed by people in our churches and neighborhoods, the need to be curious in order to cultivate empathy for others, and the importance of showing up locally instead of being so nationally-focused, among many other valuable insights. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #250 - Debriefing Election Day (USA)

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:00:41 GMT

In this episode we react in real time to the results of the US Elections at the end of Election Day on November 5th. We use this time to debrief openly and honestly, as well as pray and read Scripture together as we reflect on what the results mean for us, for America, and for the Church. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and the Rev. Dr. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #249 - Christian Nationalism with Professor Sam Perry

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:00:29 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Sam Perry, who is Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma is the Department of Sociology and the author of several books, including two on the topic of Christian Nationalism, Taking America Back for God (with Andrew Whitehead, published by Oxford University Press), and The Flag and the Cross (with Philip Gorski, published by Oxford University Press). In this episode, Professor Perry talks about Christian Nationalism as an Ideology, identity, and political strategy. He also distinguishes between patriotism (which is about stewardship) and nationalism (which is about exclusion and rivalry). The conversation talks about some recent trends with Christian Nationalism that has developed since Prof. Perry’s books on the topic have appeared. While being informative, Prof. Perry also offers some practical advice for the road ahead after the elections are over. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #248 - Immigration and Apocalypse with Dr. Yii-Jan Lin

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 11:00:01 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Yii-Jan Lin, who is Associate Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School and the author of the forthcoming book, Immigration and Apocalypse: How the Book of Revelation Shaped American Immigration (with Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation we discuss the conflation of America with the New Jerusalem in political rhetoric, and the implications that has for how some conservative politicians talk about immigration. We discuss pressing issues with immigration in America, our respective family experiences with immigration, and why we should not read Revelation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: The Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and the Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #247 - Preaching and Politics with Professor Matthew Kim and Dr. Paul Hoffman

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:00:37 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Preaching and Politics with Professor Matthew Kim and Dr. Paul Hoffman. Professor Matthew Kim is Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Leadership and the Holder of the George W. Truett Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism at Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, and Dr. Paul Hoffman is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they are the authors of Preaching to a Divided Nation: A Seven-Step Model for Promoting Reconciliation and Unity (published by Baker Academic). In this episode we talk about preaching in the light of the present political climate in the run-up to the US elections, and our guests emphasize the importance of discussing our identity in Christ over against a political party, how we might be guilty of making politics an idol, that fear is not a theological virtue, and that at the end of the day Christ is Lord no matter what happens. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #246 - Neo-Calvinism & The Cultural Mandate with Dr. N. Gray Sutanto

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 11:00:07 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rev. Dr. N. Gray Sutanto, who is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, and the author or editor of several books on Neo-Calvinism and the theology of the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, including translating into English some of his previously untranslated works. Over the course of our conversation we talk about education, politics, and other elements related to the cultural mandate and the application of Reformed thought to culture. The episode is a bit of a hinge, functioning as a Protestant perspective on monasticism and asceticism, and as an entry point into our forthcoming episodes on politics and social life. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #245 - The Hermit As A Little Church with Br. Christian Matson, PhD

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:00:44 GMT

In this episode, we're joined by Br. Christian Matson, Ph.D., who is a Hermit in the Catholic Diocese of Lexington and the director of a theatre company focused on suicide prevention called Earendel Theatricals (earendelonstage.com). Over the course of our conversation, Br. Matson tells us about his unique journey to religious life, first as someone who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism and then as someone who struggled to find a religious order that would accept him as someone who identifies as transgender, which he explains in the episode. Br. Matson's story is one of perseverance and a resilient commitment to Christ as he faced opposition to his calling to religious life. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #244 - The Dominican Order of Preachers with Rev. Dr. Isaac Augustine Morales

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:00:51 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Rev. Dr. Isaac Augustine Morales, OP, who is Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College, an ordained Catholic priest, and a member of the Order of Preachers. Over the course of our conversation, Fr. Morales tells us about his journey in joining the Order of Preachers, what is distinct about the Dominican Order within the various branches of Religious Life, and we talk about how things like wearing his habit affects his teaching. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #243 - Benedictine Monasticism with Br. John Baptist Santa Ana

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:00:53 GMT

Carrying on in our series on monasticism and religious orders, in this episode we’re joined by Br. John Baptist Santa Ana, who is a monk in the Benedictine Order at St Andrew’s Abbey in California, and a student at the University of Notre Dame studying Greek Patristics. Over the course of our conversation, Br. John Baptist talks with us about his personal journey into becoming a Benedictine monk, what life as a monk is like and what is distinctive about the Benedictine Order, and how he views monasticism as a specific calling and vocation given by God. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #242 - The History of Monasticism with Rev. Dr. Greg Peters

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:00:56 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by the Rev. Dr. Greg Peters, who is Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology in the Torrey Honors College of Biola University, an Anglican priest, and the author of several books on Monasticism, including The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality (published by Baker) and The Story of Monasticism: Retrieving an Ancient Tradition for Contemporary Spirituality (also with Baker). In our conversation, Rev. Dr. Peters gives us an overview of monasticism and religious orders, and highlights how a kind of monasticism is a calling for all Christians. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #241 - The Divine Heartset in Philippians with Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Louis

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:18 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Louis, who is a Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode, The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues (published by Cascade). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about Dr. Fletcher-Louis’s massive volume on the Christ Hymn in Philippians 2, in which he makes several fascinating exegetical decisions rooted in a close reading of the passage and extensive research into Greek texts that have not been as extensively incorporated into the conversation previously. We discuss ancient practices of “bride-napping,” why certain portions of the Hymn are often poorly translated, and the pastoral implications of reading the Hymn the way that Dr. Fletcher-Louis does.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Here is a link to the book’s website for people to purchase digital copies, if desired: www.divineheartset.com

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Episode #240 - Embedded Genres with Professor Jeannine Brown

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:00:22 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Jeannine Brown, who is David Price Professor of Biblical Foundations at Bethel Seminary, a member of the NIV translation committee, and the author of a number of books on Hermeneutics and the Gospels as well as the book that we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation (published by Baker). In our conversation we talk about the interpretative difference it makes to recognize how discrete genres appear within other broader genres (such as poetry within letters, riddles within Gospels, etc.), and how the embeddedness itself creates an interplay where both the broader genre and the embedded genre take on fresh characteristics as a result. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #239 - Modern Genre Theory with Rev. Dr. Andrew Judd

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 12:00:32 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Rev. Dr. Andrew Judd, who is Deputy Principal and Lecturer in Old Testament at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this episode, Modern Genre Theory: An Introduction for Biblical Studies (published by Zondervan Academic). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Judd talks with us about the weird ways that scholars in biblical studies talk about genre, which is not often in line with modern literary studies and specifically modern genre theory. The conversation is fun and engaging, and is full of interesting examples and correctives. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter.

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Episode #238 - Christian Dominionism & Nationalism with Dr. Valerie Hobbs

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 11:00:25 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Valerie Hobbs (@vhobbs5), Senior Lecturer in the School of English at the University of Sheffield and author of No Love in War: A Story of Christian Nationalism (@MayflyBooks). In this episode we discuss Dr Hobb’s autoethnographic book about growing up in Christian Dominionism and the violence she witnessed and experienced, as well as the ways these ideologies continue to inflict harm. We also discuss the power of sharing our stories when it comes to truth-telling and the impact of witnesses who see and believe those stories. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stanley Ng (@pstanng) and Dr Sydney Tooth (S_E_Tooth).

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Episode #237 - The Life of Eugene Peterson with Dr. Winn Collier

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:00:35 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Winn Collier (@winncollier), Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Imagination and Director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary (@westernsem) and author of A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene Peterson (@authenticmedia). In this episode, we talk about the life of Eugene Peterson and the themes that shaped his ministry and writing, especially his concern for pastoral integrity and his emphasis on living faithfully in one’s own context. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Sydney Tooth (S_E_Tooth).

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Episode #236 - The Art of Biography Writing with Lucy S. R. Austen

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:00:18 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Lucy S. R. Austen (@LucySRAusten) writer, editor, and author of the biography Elisabeth Elliot: A Life (@crossway). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the process of biography writing and how one seeks to tell the story of a complex and influential person like Elisabeth Elliot. We explore the various cultural and relational influences on Elliot’s life and teaching and discuss how biographies can raise questions about our own view of ourselves and our lives. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #235 - The Art & Purpose of Life Writing with Dr. Charles Marsh

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:00:50 GMT

CW: suicide and mental health

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Charles Marsh, Commonwealth Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Project on Lived Theology (@LivedTheology) at the University of Virginia and author of Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (@AAKnopf) and Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir (@HarperOneBooks). In this conversation we discuss the art of life-writing, exploring how to write honestly about the complexity of life and theology through biographies and memoirs and the formative role such works can through depicting lived theology. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #234 - Sexvangelicals with Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 11:00:55 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema, licensed psychotherapists and certified sex therapists based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, hosts a podcast called Sexvangelicals. As we talk about in our discussion with them, their specialization as therapists is helping couples coming out of negative religious backgrounds. In our conversation we talk about their perspective on topics like evangelical purity culture, sexuality and religion, etc., from their professional vantage point as people who themselves grew up in conservative Christian contexts. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #233 - The Christmaker with Professor James McGrath

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 11:00:22 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Prof. James McGrath, who is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University and the author of the book that we’re discussing here, Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about biographical details that we can glean about John the Baptist, whether and how Mandaean literature can fill out our knowledge of the historical figure, how John innovated ritual immersion, John’s potential relationship to Qumran, and why the Gospel authors seem so anxious to clarify how John relates to Jesus. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #232 - Ministers of Propaganda with Dr. Scott Coley

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 11:00:19 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Scott Coley, who is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this episode: Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the inner workings of the religious right and the kinds of legitimacy narratives it finds in scripture which perpetuate various problematic hierarchies on the basis of race, gender, etc. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, the Rev. Daniel Parham, and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne Adishian.

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Episode #231 - The Legacy of Slavery in Edwards, Wesley, and Whitefield with Dr. Sean McGever

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 11:00:09 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Sean McGever, who is Area Director for Young Life in Phoenix and teaches at Grand Canyon University, and who is the author of Ownership: The Evangelical Legacy of Slavery in Edwards, Wesley, and Whitefield (published by IVP). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. McGever informs us about the relationship that three prominent evangelists from the 18th century had with slavery, namely, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitefield. We talk further about the legacy of each of their movements and the implications that this history has for us today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, the Rev. Daniel Parham, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter, and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #230 – Augustine & The Problem of the Christian Master with Dr. Matthew Elia

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 11:00:30 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Elia, who is assistant professor of theology, race, and environment at Saint Louis University, and the author of The Problem of the Christian Master: Augustine in the Afterlife of Slavery (published by Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what Augustine had to say about slavery, as well as how Augustine relates to the master class of his day. Dr. Elia interrogates this history by bringing Augustine into conversations that he is not normally brought into, such as Black Studies. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #229 - The Qu'ran in Conversation with the Bible with Prof. David Pechansky

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:00:13 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Prof. David Pechansky, who is Professor Emeritus at the University of St. Thomas, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this episode, Solomon and the Ant: The Qu’ran in Conversation with the Bible (published with Cascade). Over the course of our conversation we talk about various thematic parallels that emerge when the Bible is intentionally juxtaposed with the Qu’ran. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #228 - The Hope in Our Scars with Aimee Byrd

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 11:00:51 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Aimee Byrd, who is the author of a number of books, including the one we’re discussing on this episode, The Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment (published with Zondervan). In our conversation, Aimee points to the hope that she has in the midst of the negativity that she has experienced in her church context, and we talk about the importance of stories and truth-telling as a non-sensational expression of hope. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Sydney Tooth, and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #227 - Learning to Disagree with Dr. John Inazu

Wed, 29 May 2024 11:00:46 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. John Inazu, who is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what the law profession can teach us about disagreeing well, and how to think through disagreement in a number of different contexts and about a number of different issues. Team members on the episode from the Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #226 - Hurt and Healed by the Church with Ryan George

Wed, 22 May 2024 11:00:15 GMT

CW: sexual and physical abuse, spiritual abuse, grooming, molestation, childhood trauma

In this episode we're joined by Ryan George, who is the author of Hurt and Healed by the Church: Redemption and Reconstruction After Spiritual Abuse. During our conversation, Ryan tells us his story, which centers on how his father was an abusive pastor in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist context, influenced by Bill Gothard’s teaching. As Ryan articulates, he had every reason to leave the church and never return, but his story includes redemption after he deconstructed his fundamentalist way of being Christian. From his vantage point, Ryan highlights some of the features that characterize safe churches for people who have been hurt by the church. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #225 - The Fundamentals of a Recovering Fundamentalist with Gabriel Gordon

Wed, 15 May 2024 11:00:08 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Gabriel Gordon, who is a master’s student in Theology at Marquette University and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, The Fundamentals of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Reorienting towards the True, Good, and Beautiful (Wipf & Stock). In our conversation, Gabriel talks about how he deconstructed his fundamentalist upbringing in favor of an indigenizing and decolonizing version of Christianity that, while firmly rooted in the Episcopalian tradition, nevertheless draws upon and incorporates his Jewish identity as a way to de-center post-enlightenment forms of Christianity that have been dominant in the West. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

Link to book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1666785687/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JIVV1ZGUTD97&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.h2IVqduNT8KinXf5Jh8FtZw6Ri2nt0hrdVX2gvvUdVwS_eM5OlpMi1XGmKNk9oNBG59DkjsSHYiec78Vfww-wkEQMnPTQjsC9gUpI4n2YcOURY--JiC-cXZHTkUWvm10_dsS_Px0HvnAsmpMF4XtOjLEThMjJQNnP19H9gcMTotI_EYcRWmIuQB9smgYijKsU9hl24E9XaGYvLGccO_-yF6Ydn42PQ3vUCHGtyAiruo.q2PawJ_Ez722mrlqXaP4uto0IsPbwGCI9qCXFLiujUw&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+fundamentals+of+a+recovering+fundamentals&qid=1719860568&sprefix=the+fundamnetals+of+a+recovering+fundamentals%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1

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Episode #224 - The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism with Dr. Daniel Hummel

Wed, 08 May 2024 11:00:59 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Dispensationalism with Dr. Daniel Hummel, who is the Director of the Lumen Center and Upper House in Madison, WI, a research fellow in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the host of the UpWords podcast, and the author of The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation (Eerdmans, 2023). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what Dispensationalism is, how the system of thought developed and became so widespread within Christianity since the 19th century, and also how it fell apart at the time that it was popularized in the 1970s and subsequent decades in the writings of people like Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, etc. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #223 - Paul and the Resurrection of Israel with Dr. Jason Staples

Wed, 01 May 2024 11:00:53 GMT

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jason Staples, who is Asst Teaching Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University, and the author of The Idea of Israel (CUP) as well as the more recent book that we’re discussing in this episode, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel (also with CUP). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the imprecision in how we often use the term “Israel” in biblical studies, highlighting how attending to its nuances brings greater clarity to key passages in Paul’s letters, like references to Israel in Romans 9–11 and Galatians 6. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Chris Porter, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #222 - Gospel Media with Dr. Nicholas Elder

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 11:00:32 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Nicholas Elder, who is Associate Professor of New Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Gospel Media: Reading, Writing, and Circulating Jesus Traditions (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Elder talks about some major myths that are perpetuated in scholarship regarding reading, writing, circulating, and publishing texts in antiquity and how precision in this area helps us understand the Gospels better in a number of ways. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #221 - Pilgrim Journey with Professor Curtis Freeman

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:00:33 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Curtis Freeman, who is Ruth D. Duncan Director of the Baptist House of Studies and Research Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies at Duke Divinity School, and he’s the author of Pilgrim Letters, and the book that we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Pilgrim Journey. In our conversation we talk about the value of speaking Christianly about the world so that the church can be the church during throughout the journey of life, drawing upon Scripture, catechetical tradition, the Christian calendar, and the creeds. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #220 - Multilingual Church with Dr. Jonathan Downie

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:00:33 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jonathan Downie (PhD, Heriot-Watt University), who is a Consultant Interpreter and Researcher in Multilingual Churches, and the author of Multilingual Church: Strategies for Making Disciples in All Languages (w/ William Carey Publishing). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Downie articulates the importance of multilingualism as something that churches should incorporate and embrace rather than conveniently ignore. We talk best practices, how language is more than verbal communication, how multilingualism would impact different denominations differently, and how multilingualism relates to the church’s approach to topics like immigration and the global refugee crisis. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #219 - Jesus Was A Refugee with Dr. Barnabas Aspray

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 11:00:10 GMT

Dr. Barnabas Aspray is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and the author of a recent article in the academic journal, Modern Theology, called "Jesus Was A Refugee: Unpacking the Theological Implications."

In this episode Dr. Aspray addresses the topic of the refugee crisis around the world by building upon the notion of the Holy Family as refugees in their flight to Egypt in Matthew's Gospel, and by putting a finer point on how all of humanity are, in a particular theological sense, refugees. As he carefully explains, his nuanced approach is not meant to diminish the experiences of refugees, but to highlight our shared humanity with them as a to buttress our international humanitarian efforts.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #218 - Trauma & The Trinity with Rev. Dr. Scott Harrower

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 11:00:20 GMT

CW: violence against children, assault, domestic partner violence, adverse religious experiences, suicide

Rev. Dr. Scott Harrower is Lecturer in Christian Thought at Ridley College and an ordained minister in the Anglican Church.

In this episode, Revd Dr. Harrower offers a theological response to trauma through the doctrine of the Trinity–reflected in large part in his book God of All Comfort. We talk about how his background as a nurse informs his work as a theologian and pastor, how a richer understanding of the Trinity can provide secure attachment, and how the Gospel of Matthew offers a horrors and comfort together.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Christopher A. Porter.

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Episode #217 - Trauma-Informed Evangelism with Dr. Elaine Heath and Dr. Charles Kiser

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:00:18 GMT

CW: adverse religious experiences

Dr. Charles Kiser is a pastor and theologian with Storyline Christian Community in Dallas, TX, and Dr. Elanie Heath is the former Dean of Duke Divinity School and the author of The Mystic Way of Evangelism and Loving the Hell Out of Ourselves (and Others).

In this episode, we talk about Dr. Kiser’s and Dr. Heath’s recent book Trauma-Informed Evangelism. In addition to defining terms like “trauma” and “trauma-informed,” they tell how the book came about and the source of many of its stories. They also share how their approach centers those with whom Christ is being shared–allowing them to take the place of “host,” especially as they find safety post-religious trauma. Along the way, they explore various intersections of trauma and theology, such as the way that God offers empathy to those in pain.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #216 - Trauma-Informed Preaching with Dr. Matthew Kim

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 11:00:17 GMT

CW: murder, depression

Dr. Matthew D. Kim is the Professor of Practical Theology; Holder of the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Seminary at Baylor University.

In this episode, Dr. Kim introduces us to his book Preaching to People in Pain (Baker Academic, 2021) and his broader philosophies around trauma informed preaching. He explains some of the ways that preachers can attend to the pain of their congregations, attend to their own pain faithfully, and can ensure that those things do not override the primary message of the texts being preached. He also provides some very helpful examples of each.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #215 - PIVOT with Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:00:52 GMT

CW: adverse religious experiences, church-related trauma, narcissistic leaders

Dr. Scot McKnight is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and Laura Barringer is an author and a Kindergarten Teacher.

In this episode, they summarize their two recent books (A Church Called Tov and Pivot). In the first part, in the light of abuse related to Willow Creek Church and the Southern Baptist Convention, they describe harmful dynamics and harmful responses when abuse is brought to light. And in the second part, our primary focus for the episode, they put forward a vision for transforming church cultures. They also give tips for identifying unhealthy cultures, addressing those unhealthy cultures, and understanding deconstruction in light of these things.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

Series Disclaimer: This series explores the concept of “trauma,” its sources, and its expressions from a range of perspectives. Some of our guests are licensed mental health professionals; some are those with formative experiences of trauma; and others are those who explore trauma through various theoretical frameworks. We hope that this series provides useful information to all that enables them to begin to be trauma-informed and to love others and themselves better. Our series is by no means meant to replace the important work of one-on-one time with a trauma-informed professional.

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Episode #214 - Trauma & Moral Injury with Dr. Brian Powers

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 12:00:15 GMT

CW: wartime violence, civilian casualities, suicide

Dr. Brian Powers is Vann Fellow in Christianity and the Armed Forces and Executive Director of the International Centre for Moral Injury at Durham University.

In this episode Dr. Powers defines the term “moral injury” and helps us to understand some of the applications of this term with respect to military personnel, veterans, and frontline healthcare workers. He relates moral injury and trauma, and he also illustrates instances of moral injury through modern war films as well as his own experiences.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #213 - Trauma & The Hebrew Bible with Dr. Alexiana Fry

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:00:24 GMT

CW: sexual assault, forced migration, intimate partner violence.

Dr. Alexiana Fry is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen and the author of Trauma Talks in the Hebrew Bible.

In this episode, we talk about how she began working on this topic as well as several different texts that have or could be read in light of trauma (e.g., Judges 19; Lamentations). She offers helpful complications for thinking about these difficulties in ways that are attentive to our own experiences. We also talk about forced migration and how the interpretations of significant events construct our collective memory.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #212 - Ecological Trauma with Dr. Tim Middleton

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:00:16 GMT

Dr. Tim Middleton is Tutorial Fellow in Theology & Director of the Centre for Baptist Studies at Regent’s Park College at Oxford University.

In this episode, we talk about ecological trauma—the trauma experienced by the earth and as a result of climate change and other ecological conditions. Dr. Middleton explains how his work intersects with trauma theologies and brings Christology into the conversation.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #211 - Racial Trauma with Pastor Juliet Liu

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 12:00:26 GMT

CW: microaggressions, institutional trauma, intergenerational trauma

Pastor Juliet Liu is a co-pastor of Life on the Vine in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and she serves as Chair of the Board for Missio Alliance.

In this episode, we talk about what constitutes racial trauma, how this occurs differently in different environments, how intergenerational trauma affects the children of those who have experienced racial trauma, and various practices that can help to process trauma. Pastor Liu and the BIPOC hosts share their stories of racial trauma.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter, and Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne.

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Episode #210 - Trauma & Mental Illness with John Andrew Bryant

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:05 GMT

CW: suicidal ideations, obsessive compulsive disorder

In this episode we’re talking about trauma and mental illness with John Andrew Bryant.

John Andrew Bryant is a caregiver, writer, and part-time street pastor in a small steel town outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he is the author of A Quiet Mind to Suffer With, published in 2023 with Lexham Press. He defines and then shares his own experiences with OCD including how a particularly severe season of his disorder caused significant trauma. In the midst of this story of pain, he offers a beautiful vision of Christ's care and presence in the midst of trauma.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #209 - Domestic & Family Violence Trauma with Erica Mandi Manga (née Hamence)

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 11:00:09 GMT

CW: Domestic and Family Violence

Erica Mandi Manga (née Hamence), who is Associate Minister of Formation and Training at St Barnabas Broadway in Australia, joins us to talk about the trauma caused by Domestic and Family Violence.

In this episode, we talk about Erica's work in resourcing churches, define "domestic and family violence," which encompasses far more than intimate partner violence, characteristics of these unhealthy environments, and how some of the students in Erica's care have come to recognize them.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #208 - Sexual Harassment & Trauma with Tiffany Bluhm

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:00:21 GMT

CW: Sexual Harassment, Gender-Based Discrimination

Tiffany Bluhm is an author and speaker who serves at the intersection of justice and faith. In the book we feature her book Prey Tell.

In this episode, she explains how women often experience abuses of power and portions of her story where she experienced sexual harassment and retaliation. She also offers a really helpful approach to bystander intervention and incorporates some powerful conversations about women in Scripture, including the story of David and Bathsheba and the story of the woman (allegedly) caught in adultery.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #207 - Church and Gender-Related Trauma with Aimee Byrd

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:00:03 GMT

CW: gender-based discrimination, religious trauma

Aimee Byrd is the author of several books, including Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and The Sexual Reformation.

In this episode we hear Aimee recount her experiences of trauma in conjunction with her ministry as an author and speaker. She shares about her gender-based discrimination and the harm caused by her denomination, how she has processed the trauma, and how to be a good ally to those experiencing harm.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter.

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Episode #206 – Feminist Trauma Theologies with Dr. Katie Cross

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 12:00:05 GMT

CW: gender-based violence, sexual assault, religious trauma, intimate partner violence

Dr. Katie Cross is Lecturer in Practical Theology at Christ’s College at the University of Aberdeen. She is the author of The Sunday Assembly and Theologies of Suffering and the co-editor of Feminist Trauma Theologies and Bearing Witness. (Bonus note: Her co-editor is last week’s guest Karen O’Donnell!)

In this episode we learn about feminist trauma theologies. Dr. Cross explains how her work with the Sunday Assembly, an atheist community, and their understandings of suffering and trauma led to her explorations of trauma theologies broadly and feminist trauma theologies specifically. She explains the importance of bearing witness to stories and carefully sitting with those who have experienced trauma.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #205 - Trauma Theologies with Dr. Karen O'Donnell

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 12:00:39 GMT

CW: generational trauma, genocide

Dr. Karen O’Donnell is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Worship and Human Community at Westcott House at the Cambridge Theological Federation. She is the author of Broken Bodies and The Dark Womb, and the co-editor of Feminist Trauma Theologies and Bearing Witness. (Bonus note: Her co-editor is next week’s guest Katie Cross.)

In this episode we explore trauma theologies with Dr. O’Donnell, who introduces us to the concept of trauma theologies and relates those to trauma theories. She helps us to understand how trauma and processing trauma affects our bodies, and she explains how various types of trauma connect with the work of Christ–both in the Incarnation and in the Eucharist.

And while you’re at it, be sure to check out our previous episode with Dr. O’Donnell about theology and reproductive loss (here).

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Episode #204 - Attachment & Family Trauma with Aundi Kolber

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 12:00:51 GMT

CW: domestic and family violence

In this episode we explore an important source of trauma for many: family and insecure attachment. For this conversation we're joined by Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor, and the author of ⁠⁠Strong Like Water⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Try Softer⁠⁠. Aundi defines attachment and we explore some typical attachment “styles.” We also talk about how secure attachments are formed and explore how to find safety in adulthood and how to care for those around us to provide them with more feelings of safety and security.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #203 - An Introduction to Trauma with Rev. Dr. Chuck DeGroat

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT

Revd Dr. Chuck Degroat is a licensed therapist, as well as a Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality, and Executive Director and Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary. He is the author of many books, including When Narcissism Comes to Church, Leaving Egypt, and Toughest People to Love.

In this episode we begin our series on “trauma” with an introduction to trauma. We explore some definitions of trauma, various misunderstandings of trauma, trauma and resilience, typical trauma responses, and how to begin processing our own trauma.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Sydney Tooth, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #202 - Ethics & A.I. with Dr. Jeremiah Coogan

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jeremiah Coogan, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University, and he’s a co-author of Encountering AI: Ethical and Anthropological Investigations which is a book-length special issue of the Journal of Moral Theology, which we discuss in this episode. Our conversation focuses on the contemporary matters of artificial intelligence that demand our ethical consideration, such as the ways that humans are programming A.I. presently, rather than simply what sort of doomsday scenario might occur in the future. We cover such topics as the alignment problem, longtermism, large language models, and the use of A.I. in education. Team members on episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #201 - Debriefing SBL 2023

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we debrief our experiences in San Antonio for the 2023 annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). In the first half of the episode we talk about the papers that our team members presented, and then we shift to reflect on some of our major highlights from the conference. After our own comments and reflections conclude, we shift to our live recordings in the book stalls with various colleagues enjoying the conference, including: Dr. Bryan Dyer, Dr. Christoph Heilig, Kent Hendricks, Dr. Travis West, Dr. Holly Beers, Dr. Andrew King, Dr. Dru Johnson, Dr. David Moffitt, Dr. Jamie Davies, Dr. Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn, Dr. Paul Sloan, Dr. Matthew Sharp, Eric Foster-Whiddon, and David Burnett. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #200 - Celebrating 200 Episodes

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT

Celebrating our 200th episode, we engage listener feedback with a variety of content, including: answers to your theological and practical questions, Logan singing in Hebrew, bloopers, and the new music that we will be using for the next 100 episodes. Cheers to you, and thanks for listening!

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Madison Pierce, Dr. Kris Song, Dr. Sydney Tooth, Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #199 - Gender as Love with Dr. Fellipe do Vale

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Fellipe do Vale, who is Department Chair & Assistant Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and he’s the author of Gender as Love: A Theological Account of Human Identity, Embodied Desire, and Our Social Worlds (published by Baker Academic). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. do Vale explains how his theological approach to gender studies aims to get past the binary of essentialism and social constructivism to the issue of love, using Augustine as a guide for thinking about how gender stems from our deepest loves. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #198 - A Disabled Apostle with Dr. Isaac Soon

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT

CW: References to self-harm. In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Isaac T. Soon, who is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Crandall University in New Brunswick, and the author of A Disabled Apostle: Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul (published by Oxford University Press). Drawing upon the cultural model of disability, Dr. Soon explains that Paul likely had three kinds of disabilities, in terms of how these conditions were stigmatized in the ancient world, including: demonic oppression, circumcision, and dwarfism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #197 – A Jewish Paul with Dr. Matthew Thiessen

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Thiessen, who is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and he’s the author of the new book that we discuss in this episode, A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles (published by Baker). Over the course of our discussion we talk about where the Paul within Judaism reading fits within other readings of Paul, how Acts fits into our understanding of Paul, and why we should aim to make Paul weird again. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #196 - The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus with Dr. J. Christopher Edwards

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. J. Christopher Edwards, who is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, to talk about his new book, Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus (published by Fortress Press). The present conversation addresses a very difficult topic, but an important one, about how early Christians came to blame the execution of Jesus on the Jewish people. Dr. Edwards traces this history, arguing that it is a wrongheaded and lamentable part of the Christian tradition that needs to be understood but also vigorously rejected. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #195 - Evangelism for the Care of Souls with Dr. Sean McGever

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Sean McGever, who is Area Director for Young Life in Arizona and an adjunct professor in theology at Grand Canyon University, to talk about his new book, Evangelism: For the Care of Souls (published by Lexham Press). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what is unique in a “care for souls” approach to evangelism over against other evangelistic methodologies. In particular, Dr. McGever stresses the need to listen to people above and all, and respond to the needs/concerns that come to the fore just like a doctor might. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #194 - Christ the Center with Dr. Tomas Bokedal

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Tomas Bokedal, who is Lecturer in New Testament at University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and Associate Professor in New Testament at NLA University College (Bergen, Norway), and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Christ the Center: How the Rule of Faith, the Nomina Sacra, and Numerical Patterns Shape the Canon (published by Lexham Press). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Bokedal talks with us about how the NT canon was formed and shaped by intriguing patterns that all serve to highlight that Christ is the central focus of the New Testament collection. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #193 - Artemis of the Ephesians with Dr. Sandra Glahn

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Artemis of the Ephesians with Dr. Sandra Glahn, who is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary, and the author of the book that we’re excited to discuss on this episode, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament (published by IVP). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Glahn talks with us about how scholarship on Artemis of the Ephesians has had a paradigm shift away from viewing her as a fertility deity, which has implications for how we think about the influence of her cult on biblical texts like 1 Timothy, which says that women will be saved through childbearing. The conversation is a fascinating one about the significance of biblical backgrounds in general, and specifically for interpreting one of the most esoteric passages in the Pauline corpus. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #192 - The Origins of New Testament Christology with Dr. Bryan Dyer

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Bryan Dyer, who is senior acquisitions editor at Baker Academic and the co-author with Stanley Porter of the book that we’re excited to discuss today—Origins of New TestamentChristology: An Introduction to the Traditions and Titles Applied to Jesus (published with Baker Academic). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss where this book fits within broaderscholarship of New Testament scholarship. In particular, Dr. Dyer notes how their work extends beyond a “titles approach” that merely identifiesChristological titles as the starting point for Christological treatment. They expand their scope to include various traditions in addition to titles, toprovide a rich and helpful entry point to New Testament Christology. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #191 - Pauline Theology as a Way of Life with Professor Joshua Jipp

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Joshua Jipp to talk about PaulineTheology as a Way of Life. Professor Jipp is Professor of New Testament and Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL), and the author of the book that we’re excited to talk about in this episode, Pauline Theology as a Way of Life: A Vision of Human Flourishing in Christ (published by BakerAcademic). Over the course of our conversation Professor Jipp talks with us about how his new book is a Pauline Theology, but one that is focused on the practical outworkings of Paul’s thought, which allows him to avoid abstraction and conflation of Paul’s ad hoc pastoral responses to his congregations. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #190 - Christianity as a Way of Life with Prof. Kevin Hector

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Professor Kevin Hector, who is Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of Theology and of the Philosophy of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, to talk about his new book, Christianity as a Way of Life: A Systematic Theology (published by Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation, Prof. Hector explains how his systematic theology is fairly unique because it attempts to account for Christianity as it is lived out in the lives of everyday Christians. As such, we talk at length about some of the key practices that are central to understanding Christianity as a way of life, including eating together, singing together, and more.

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Episode #189 - Josef Pieper on Spirituality with Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne, who is priest-in-charge at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Mishawaka, Indiana, to talk about his new book, Josef Pieper on the Spiritual Life: Creation, Contemplation, and Human Flourishing (published by Notre Dame University Press). Rev. Dr. Warne explains that he came to the work of Pieper, a scholar of Thomas Aquinas, by way of his own research on eudaimonia in Thomistic thought. In the process of gleaning from Pieper for his work on Thomas, he became deeply influenced by Pieper’s reflections on the spiritual life and his approach to spiritual practices as rooted in quite mundane activities. In this book Rev. Dr. Warne draws together various threads in Pieper’s writings into a systematic articulation of his views on spirituality as it pertains to his theology of creation, contemplation, and what it looks like to have a thriving human existence. Team members from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

If you are interested in purchasing Rev. Dr. Warne’s book, there is a special code from the publisher for 40% off: 14CTSA23

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Episode #188 - Barbenheimer: Movie Reviews of Barbie and Oppenheimer

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we give a joint review of the two Summer movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer. Over the course of our conversation we talk about the themes that emerge when the two ostensibly different films are juxtaposed and interpreted together, including: death, existential angst, technology, feminism, and power, and we have a lot of fun along the way. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Barbie (Dr. Madison Pierce), Ken (Dr. Brandon Hurlbert), and Allan (Dr. John Anthony Dunne).

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Episode #187 - Illustrating the Catechism for Children with Natasha Kennedy & Dr. Todd Hanes

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re closing out our short mini-series on Children's Bibles and Children's Books by chatting with Natasha Kennedy, who is a freelance designer, graphic novelist, and illustrator of the FatCat Series, and Dr. Todd Hains, who is Associate Publisher of Acquisitions and Development for Lexham Press at Faithlife, andauthor of the books in the FatCat Series. The FatCat Series is an illustrated catechism series for children, published by Lexham Press. The books in the series include a volume on the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and a forthcoming volume on the Ten Commandments. In addition, they've created two short stories, King of Christmas and King of Easter. In this conversation we talk about the goal of the series, the hermeneutical affect of illustration, the challenge of depicting Jesus, and much more! Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #186 - The Minor Prophets and Children's Bibles with Dr. Brian Wright

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk with Dr. Brian Wright about the Children’s Book series on the Minor Prophets that he’s been helping to produce called God’s Daring Dozen (published by Christian Focus). Dr. Wright is a church-planting pastor in Pensacola, Florida of Redeemer Community Church, and he studied under Dr. Mike Bird at Ridley, College in Melbourne, Australia for his PhD in New Testament. In our conversation we talk about the importance of this neglected portion of Scripture in general, and Dr. Wright tells us about the fascinating work that he’s done academically to make sure that the message of each of the minor prophets is communicated clearly and faithfully for children in their series, God’sDaring Dozen. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #185 - Teaching the Old Testament to Children with Dr. Kaz Hayashi and Shelley Henning

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about why it’s important to teach the Old Testament to children with Dr. Kaz Hayashi, who is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN) and Shelley Henning, who is the Co-founder and CEO of GrowFamily, which provides family resources for parents and church leaders, the Children’s Ministry Catalyst for the Reformed Church in America, and one of our recent graduates at Bethel Seminary in our Children’s and Family Ministry program. Together Kaz and Shelley co-wrote a recent article, “Teach All Scripture to Children,” in the children’s ministry magazine, Entre Niños. In our conversation we talk about the importance of engaging the OT, and not in a piecemeal way that selectivity skips over stories that make us as adults uncomfortable or even aspects of familiar stories that complicate the story morally or theologically. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #184 - Rehabilitation from Human Trafficking with Dr. Chris Gooding

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk with Dr. Chris Gooding about the process ofrehabilitating from human trafficking. Dr. Gooding is Assistant TeachingProfessor in the Theology Department at Marquette University, a member of the Mennonite Church USA, and the author of the new book that we discuss in this episode, Beyond Slavery: Christian Theology and Rehabilitation from Human Trafficking (published by Cascade). During our conversation, Dr. Gooding tells us about his firsthand experience working with survivors and social workers in India, pointing out the complexities involved when survivors seek rehabilitation from trafficking, and he offers a theological vision to undergird this important work. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #183 - The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood with Dr. Philip Payne

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about the Bible really has to say about “biblical womanhood” with Dr. Philip Payne, who has served as a missionary, pastor, and professor in a number of settings, and is the author of several studies on the Bible’s teaching about women in ministry, including the new book that we discuss in this episode, The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood: How God's Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality (published byZondervan). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Payne dives deep into such biblical texts as 1 Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 2, and much more, and offers several of his own reflections on how he came to read scripture differently and what this topic means to him personally. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #182 - Non-Toxic Masculinity with Zachary Wagner

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Zachary Wagner to talk about Non-Toxic Masculinity. Zach is editorial director for the Center for Pastor Theologians, a doctoral candidate in New Testament at the University of Oxford, and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality (published byIVP). Over the course of our conversation, Zach explains to us how Toxic Masculinity is dehumanizing, turning women’s bodies into objects of male sexual desire, and turning men’s minds into that of animals. Zach is therefore keen to offer a vision of masculinity that pushes back against the popular Christian vision of masculinity that comes from Purity Culture, which perpetuates Toxic Masculinity within Christian subculture.Zach also powerfully shares his own personal story from which his thoughts and reflections stem. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #181 - Black Mirror Season 6 Review

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode some of our team members get together to talk about the new season of one of our favorite TV shows, Black Mirror. The newest season (season 6) of this dystopian anthology just came out on Netflix last month and we discuss it all here. We start with some quick thoughts on the new season as a whole, followed by discussion on each of the five episodes in order. At the very end of the episode, we record an epilogue to add some more of our thoughts and even some clarification on some of the things said in the conversation proper. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #180 - Christians & Conspiracy Theories with Dr. Mike Austin, Dr. Marlena Graves, Dr. Dru Johnson, and Dr. J. Aaron Simmons

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we're talking about Christianity and Conspiracy Theories with Dr. Mike Austin (Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University), who is the co-editor (with Dr. Gregory L. Bock) of the new book, QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories (published by Eerdmans). Joining him we also have three of the many contributors who wrote essays for the volume: Dr. Marlena Graves (Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation at Northeastern Seminary), Dr. Dru Johnson (Visiting Associate Professor at Hope College), and Dr. J. Aaron Simmons (Professor of Philosophy at Furman University). Over the course of our conversation we talk about the shape and purpose of the book, the epistemology ungirding the draw of conspiracies, the relationship between conspiratorial thinking and hermeneutics of suspicion, how cultural background factors in to conspiracy mindsets, and whether or not evangelicalism is too entrenched in conspiracies to salvage. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #179 - Faith & Fake News with Rachel Wightman

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about Faith & Fake News with Rachel Wightman, who is Associate Director of Instruction and Outreach at the Concordia University library in St. Paul (MN) and the author of Faith & Fake News: A Guide to Consuming Information Wisely (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, Rachel talks with us about how the media landscape has changed since the 2020 US elections, how algorithmseffect the information we see on social media, what strategies we can deploy for engaging information online, how culture impacts our consumption of information, and whether we might be able to reclaim our witness as Christians in an age when broader culture associates us with the dissemination and indiscriminate consumption of fake news. Team members from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stanley Ng.

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Episode #178 - The Evangelical Imagination with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 11:00:48 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior – writer, literary scholar, and professor – to talk about her new book, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created A Culture In Crisis (published by Brazos). As Dr. Prior explains, she is engaging the issue of evangelicalism as an insider, highlighting various concerns that she has not with evangelical beliefs but with the application of those beliefs. Over the course of our conversation we talk about the social imaginary that informs and buttresses evangelicalism, what a reformation of evangelicalism might look like, and how we should situate evangelicalism in relation to power in the light of typical evangelical eschatology.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #177 - Jesus v. Evangelicals with Dr. Constantine Campbell

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:00:52 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Constantine Campbell, who is Professor and Associate Research Director at the Sydney College of Divinity and the author of a number of works in biblical studies and ancient Greek, as well as the book we’re excited to discuss on this episode, Jesus V. Evangelicals: A Biblical Critique of a Wayward Movement (published by Zondervan Reflective). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss how American Evangelicalism is too politicized and partisan, too keen on power, and too focused on celebrity. We also chat about the difficulty of defining evangelicalism today since Bebbington’s famous quadrilateral fits British Evangelicalism, but has less and less to do with American evangelicalism. Dr. Campbell distinguishes between three types of evangelicals – theological, cultural and political – as an attempt to bring clarity, but suggests that a new term altogether may be preferable to trying to salvage a term that has come to be associated with something far away from the nature of God as revealed in Jesus. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stanley Ng, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #176 - Celebrities for Jesus with Katelyn Beaty

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 11:00:45 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Celebrities for Jesus with Katelyn Beaty, who is the editorial director for Brazos Press and who previously served as print managing editor at Christianity Today. She’s also the cohost of the Saved by the City podcast, and the author of Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church (published by Brazos). In our conversation with Katelyn, we discuss the allure of celebrity in American evangelicalism, the lack of interrogation of whether church growth is an automatic work of the Spirit, whether institutions are irreparably flawed, and how the rise of celebrity inthe church connects with Enneagram personality types, among many other interesting things. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #175 - She Deserves Better with Sheila Wray Gregoire & Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach

Wed, 31 May 2023 11:00:17 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Sheila Wray Gregoire and Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach to talk about their new book, She Deserves Better (published by Baker). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the findings of their survey research of over 7,000 women about how experiences and teaching in youth group affect women longterm regarding their self-esteem, marital and sexual satisfaction, etc. Sheila and Rebecca share their interesting findings and articulate their constructive vision for how sex should be discussed in the home and in the church. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #174 - BEEF & Asian American Christianity with Pastor Jason Min

Wed, 24 May 2023 11:00:59 GMT

In this episode we are talking about representation of Asian American Christianity in the Netflix and A24 production of the show BEEF starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. Joining us for this conversation is Pastor Jason Min, who is lead pastor at Citizens LA in downtown Los Angeles and cohost of the podcast, Off thePulpit, and was a consultant on the show for the worship scenes in the show and also played the electric guitar on stage alongside the character Edwin, the worship leader who was played by Jason’s brother, Justin. This conversation provides a lot of great behind-the-scenes insights into the show BEEF, including Pastor Jason’s reflections on how the show portrays Asian American Christianity. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stanley Ng, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #173 - Longing to Know & Teaching: Part Two with Prof. Esther Lightcap Meek

Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:55 GMT

In this episode, which is part two of a two-part conversation, we are joined by Prof. Esther Lightcap Meek to talk about teaching as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of her book, Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People (published by Baker). Prof. Meek is Professor of Philosophy emeritus at Geneva College and Senior Scholar at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. In this conversation we continue our conversation on Prof. Meek’s approach to epistemology as laid out in her classic book, and then we turn to talk about the process of teaching and pedagogy that gets past a “knowledge as information” paradigm. In particular we discuss how the teacher’s job is not strictly to communicate information and force students to memorizeinformation, but rather the teacher has to teach so that students feel it in their bodies. Teachers should strive to make students lovers of the real. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #172 - Longing to Know & Learning: Part One with Prof. Esther Lightcap Meek

Wed, 10 May 2023 11:00:50 GMT

In this episode, which is part one of a two-part conversation, we are joined by Prof. Esther Lightcap Meek to talk about learning as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of her book, Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People (published by Baker). Prof. Meek is Professor of Philosophy emeritus at Geneva College and Senior Scholar at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. In this conversation we talk about Prof. Meek’s approach to epistemology as laid out in her classic book, and then we turn to talk about the process of learning that gets past a “knowledge as information” paradigm. Of special note, we discuss how Chat GPT reinforces the problematic epistemology that Prof. Meek is calling us away from. We conclude by comparing and contrasting Prof. Meek’s description of riding a bike with Chat GPT’s guide for riding a bike. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #171 - Job, Disability, and Otherness with Rev. Dr. Kirk Patston

Wed, 03 May 2023 11:00:09 GMT

In the final episode in our series on Disability and Theology, we are joined by Rev. Dr. Kirk Patston, who is the Director of the Centre for Preaching and Pastoral Ministry at Sydney Missionary Bible College and the co-founder of Our Place Christian Communities, to talk about the research he did for his doctoral thesis at the University of Sydney, entitled, “Job, Otherness and Christian Theology of Disability.” This conversation pulls on several threads discussed throughout our series as we circle back to discuss a biblical text together. Rev. Dr. Patston draws upon the writings of Bakhtin and Levinas in particular to approach the dialogues that Job has with his friends. The primary emphases that emerge for Rev. Dr. Patston is that stigmas toward those who are “other” to us should be replaced by wonder and play as postures of curiosity.

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Episode #170 - Becoming the Baptized Body with Dr. Sarah Jean Barton

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:00:10 GMT

In this episode, which is the penultimate episode in our series on Disability & Theology, we’re talking about Becoming the Baptized Body with Dr. Sarah Jean Barton, who is Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, and the author of Becoming the Baptized Body: Disability and the Practice of Christian Community (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation, we talk about how baptism is often denied in Christian churches to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Dr. Barton explains that baptismal denial is not strictly a Credobaptist issue, since Paedobaptists might also deny someone’s baptism, not by withholding an ordinance, but by failing to continue to uphold these individuals in their discipleship and participation in the community. The Christian ritual of baptism makes one an indispensable member of the Body of Christ, so neglecting to co-labor coalitionally alongside people with disabilities in our churches is an abdication of baptismal responsibility to the fullness of Christ’s Body. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #169 - Autism and the Church with Professor Grant Macaskill

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:00:47 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Autism and the Church with Professor Grant Macaskill, who is Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis and co-director of the Centre for Autism and Theology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he is the author of several books, including: Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community (published by Baylor University Press). In this episode Prof. Macaskill talks about his own experience with Autism and how the book is to provide an approach to Autism that avoids deficiency accounts that assume Autism is a negative thing. Towards that end he aims to explore how the Bible can constructively resource theologies of Autism, and he challenges inappropriate uses of the Bible in relation to Autism. In particular, Prof. Macaskill stresses how neurodiversity challenges the notion of a “neutral” way of reading the Bible, which is really an ableist form of reading. In addition to hermeneutical issues, we also address practical ecclesial matters regarding the environment of the church gathered as it pertains to people with Autism.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stanley Ng, Dr. Madison Pierce, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #168 - Virtue, Agency, & Christian Caregiving with Dr. Keith Dow

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 11:00:45 GMT

In this episode we discuss Virtue, Agency, and Christian Caregiving with Dr. Keith Dow, who is the Manager of Organizational and Spiritual Life with Christian Horizons, a nonprofit charitable organization working with people with intellectual disabilities in Canada and around the world. Dr. Dow is also the author of Formed Together: Mystery, Narrative, and Virtue in Christian Caregiving (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation, Dr. Dow tells us about his background and how he got interested in caregiving for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Given his theological interests in ethics and virtues, he explains what his understanding of a distinctive ethic of Christian care might look like in terms of the agency of those who receive care and the humility of those who provide it. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #167 - Mutuality in Ministry with Friends & Nature with Melissa & Ben Conner

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 11:00:22 GMT

In this episode we talk about mutuality in ministry with friends and nature with Melissa and Ben Conner. Melissa Conner is executive director and certified advanced therapeutic riding instructor at Renew Therapeutic Riding Center in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Benjamin Conner is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry at Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Michigan), and the author of Amplifying Our Witness (published by Eerdmans) and Disabling Mission, Enabling Witness (published by IVP Academic). As they share with us in this episode, both Melissa and Ben are committed to a holistic vision of ministry inclusive of people with disabilities and the broader world of nature. In particular, Ben tells us about how his thinkingshifted away from ministering to people with disabilities towards ministering alongside and with them. Along those lines, he helps to organize a center at the Seminary where he teaches, called Friendship House, where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can live and be integrated into the life of the Seminary. Melissa similarly tells us about how, within her work as therapeutic riding instructor who offers equine-assisted services (EAS) for people with disabilities, she views the horses at her center as having a vocation and calling to serve alongside her and her colleagues as partners in ministry. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #166 - Disability in the Christian Tradition with Prof. Brian Brock

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 11:00:45 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Brian Brock to reflect on disability from within the Christian theological tradition. Prof. Brock holds the personal chair in moral and practical theology at the University of Aberdeen (in Scotland), and he’s the author of Wondrously Wounded: Theology, Disability, and the Body of Christ (published by Baylor University Press) and Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ’s Body (published by Baker Academic). Prof. Brock explains how he became interested in Disability Studies by setting out in an education in the field of medical ethics, and as he came to rethink the framework of the field, his first son was born, Adam (featured below), who has Down Syndrome and Autism. Prof. Brock’s chief interest in the space of Disability Studies became the desire to set it into conversation with mainstream Christian theology, since theological work within Disability Studies was almost entirely reserved to liberation theology. One of the key questions that we discuss with Prof. Brock throughout this episode is, given his life lived with his son Adam, who is non-verbal, how do we speak about people who can’t speak for themselves? Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #165 - Crippled Grace & Virtue Ethics with Dr. Shane Clifton

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 11:00:15 GMT

In this episode in our Disability & Theology series, we are joined by Dr. Shane Clifton to talk about virtue ethics and what it means to live a good life with a disability. Dr. Clifton is a disability ethicist and theologian, Principal Policy Officer and Director of Respect & Inclusion at the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation against People with Disability, and an Honorary Associate for the Centre of Disability Research and Policy, the University of Sydney. He’s also the author Crippled Grace: Disability, Virtue Ethics, and the Good Life (Published by Baylor University Press). During our conversation, Dr. Clifton shares with us his experience of a spinal cord injury that left him with quadriplegia and the way that experience compelled him to re-explore happiness, or eudaimonia, within the virtue tradition as a pursuit specifically for people with disabilities. This conversation is rich with discussion on virtue ethics and full of raw and honest reflections on pain and pleasure. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #164 - My Body Is Not A Prayer Request with Dr. Amy Kenny

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 11:00:27 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Amy Kenny, a disabled scholar and Shakespeare Lecturer, to talk about her book, My Body Is Not A Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Kenny shares with us her lived experience of disability and marginalization in the church, and the pain of unwanted prayers that essentially want to rid her of her disabled body. Instead of thinking in terms of healing, Dr. Kenny wants Christians to approach disability with the realization that God has always been at work in disability, since many biblical characters had a disability of some kind, and that, at the eschatological banquet in Luke 14, people with all sorts of disabilities will be present with their disabilities. Indeed, as she affirms, there's even something we can learn about disability from the broader community of God's creation, where nature resists the straight and orderly design of ableist structure. This conversation is rich with powerful testimony, witty one-liners, and incisive reflection on some of the problematic aspects of the church's approach to disabilities. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #163 - Squibs, Disabilities, and Harry Potter with Emma Brandel and Dr. Julye Bidmead

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:00:44 GMT

Carrying on in our series on Disability & Theology, we turn to think critically about the representation of disabilities in popular culture. In particular, we focus on the representation of Squibs in the Harry Potter series with Emma Brandel and Dr. Julye Bidmead. Emma Brandel is an undergraduate student at Chapman University (Orange, California) majoring in ancient cultures and languages, and Dr. Julye Bidmead is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence at Chapman University. Over the course of our conversation Emma and Dr. Bidmead highlight the ways that Squibs—magical born people in the Harry Potter world who are not able to use a wand to produce magic—function as a metaphor for people with disabilities. What is most problematic about this connection, as we discuss, is that there is no educational accommodation for Squibs at Hogwarts, and further, that they are broadly denigrated within that magical society. This discussion stems from work that Emma did in a course taught by Dr. Bidmead in which she and a few of her fellow classmates produced a reading guide for people coming to the Harry Potter series 30 years later (or more) after readers have grown more sensitive to the unchecked biases in the series against various marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and, introducing for the first time on the podcast, Stanley Ng.

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Episode #162 - Parenting Children with Down Syndrome with Vinh Nguyen

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 12:00:08 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Vinh Nguyen to talk about parenting children with Down syndrome. Vinh is a PhD student at McMaster Divinity College, and has served as a pastor in different capacities for over ten years. He is married with three children, one of whom is his daughter, Alli, who has Down syndrome. At the outset of our conversation, Vinh tells us about the circumstances surrounding the news from their OBGYN before Alli was born that she had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome as well as Down syndrome, and the miraculous story of how the left side of her heart formed despite what doctors told them. Vinh shares with us many things that he has learned from his daughter, including about the nature of prejudice, and he also dispels many myths that people have about Down syndrome. We also discuss the matters of ritual participation in the eucharist and baptism, and the implications of resurrection for how we think about the personhood of people with Down syndrome.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #161 - Parenting Children on the Spectrum with Naomi and Mike Bird

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:00:48 GMT

In this episode we discuss parenting children on the spectrum with Naomi and Mike Bird. Naomi Bird is Assistant Children’s and Family minister at her local church and a connect leader with MOPS Australia, and Mike Bird is an academic dean and lecturer in theology at Ridley College, Melbourne. Over the course of our conversation Naomi and Mike share their experience of parenting their son, Markus, who is on the Autism spectrum. They address the joys and challenges of parenting Markus, what’s been most helpful and unhelpful in the process of parenting him, and what they have learned about God through Markus. They stress the importance of recognizing that everyone is made in the image of God, and that within the Church we are all members of the Body of Christ with unique giftings and experiences. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #160 - Dyslexia & Diverse Learning with Prof. Maryanne Wolf

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 12:00:51 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Professor Maryanne Wolf to discuss Dyslexia. Prof. Wolf is the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and the author of a number of books, including Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (published HarperCollins), and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World (also published by HarperCollins). In our conversation, Prof. Wolf explains to us that reading is an invention, and that the human brain was never intended to read. We have to build a circuit in the brain in order to read; we don’t enter the world equipped to do so. People with Dyslexia, though, have a differently organized brain, with patterns of organization that pre-date our invention of literacy and numeracy. As Prof. Wolf emphasizes, there are advantages that come with these differently organized brains, such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and non-linear thinking. Thus, Dyslexia is something to be understood, rather than overcome. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #159 - Dementia with Prof. John Swinton

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 12:00:30 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Dementia with Prof. John Swinton, who is Chair of Divinity and Religious Studies and Professor of Theology at the University of Aberdeen (in Scotland). Prof. Swinton is also a Registered Mental Nurse (RMN) and a Registered Nurse for People with Learning Disabilities (RNMD), and the author of a number of books, including, Dementia: Living in the Memories of God (published by Eerdmans) and Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation we talk about what led Prof. Swinton into theological work on Dementia, and as the discussion unfolds Prof. Swinton addresses models of personhood in relation to memory, overly dualist/rationalist conceptions of who we are as humans, and the importance of relationality and communality as people. Theologically, we talk about what it means to know God, when you’ve forgotten who God is, and the importance of situating personhood in Christ and the importance of being held in God’s memory of us. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #158 - Early Christian Protagonists and their Impairments with Dr. Kylie Crabbe

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 12:00:33 GMT

Continuing our series on disability and theology, we conclude our look at textual matters within this series by looking at protagonists and their impairments in early Christian literature with Dr. Kylie Crabbe, who is Senior Research Fellow in Biblical and Early Christian Studies, and Director of Graduate Research Programs for the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry, which is part of Australian Catholic University. She holds a current Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council (2022-2024) for her project ‘Inside Others: Early Christian Protagonists and Their Impairments’. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the function of the impairments of protagonists within early Christian texts. In particular, we look at the infertility of Elizabeth in the Gospel of Luke, the representation of John in the apocryphal Acts of John, and the representation of Peter’s daughter in the apocryphal Acts of Peter. As we do so we juxtapose this discussion with the representation of Paul within the canonical book of Acts relative to his description of himself in his letters. Dr. Crabbe is keen to point out the differences at work when a character with an impairment is the main character in their own story rather than a peripheral character whose purpose is to show us something about the unimpaired protagonist. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #157 - Hell & Disability in Early Christian Literature with Dr. Meghan Henning

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 12:00:48 GMT

Continuing our series on Disability & Theology we are joined by Dr. Meghan Henning to talk about Hell & Disability in Early Christian Literature. Dr. Henning is Associate Professor of Christian Origins and the Director of Undergraduate Programs at the University of Dayton (in Ohio), and the author of Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature (published by Yale University Press). At the outset of our conversation, Dr. Henning shares her personal and familial experience with disability and how that led her into disability studies, and from there the bulk of our conversation is focused on the representation of damned bodies in Hell within early Christian literature, particularly apocalyptic texts from the first few centuries of Christianity. Notably, Dr. Henning highlights the way that bodies in Hell are generally depicted as effeminate and disabled, which is a distinct development within Christian texts relative to broader culture, and she explains how/why this link would have been made in the ancient world. This conversation covers a difficult topic, but it highlights the way that ableism and misogyny, among other things, affects early Christian reflection on the afterlife, which ought to challenge our contemporary perspectives on disability, gender, and eschatology. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #156 - Disability in the Greco-Roman World and the New Testament with Dr. Louise Gosbell

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:00:38 GMT

In this episode we discuss Disability in the Greco-Roman World and the New Testament with Dr. Louise Gosbell, who is Principal of Mary Andrews College in Sydney, Australia, and the author of The Poor, The Crippled, The Blind, and the Lame: Physical and Sensory Disability in the Gospels of the New Testament (published by Mohr Siebeck). At the outset of our conversation, Dr. Gosbell shares her personal story struggling with chronic health issues that have developed into a disability, as well as the way that disability has affected her wider family. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the Great Banquet of Luke 14, the woman with the issue of blood, and the man born blind in John 9. As Dr. Gosbell emphasizes with us, disability is not a static experience, either in the ancient world or the modern one, and is an inevitable reality rather than a rare experience. Thus, our accommodation and our framework towards disability needs to shift so that we are much more intentional around disability in our churches, including in our teachings and in our practices. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Grace Emmett, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

Series Disclaimer: We know that this space is fraught, and we don’t speak for every PWD. We may inevitably get some things wrong in this series, but we ask for your patience in advance since we think it’s more important to have the conversation than shy away from it out of fear of saying the wrong thing. At the same time, this is a learning process for all of us, and we want to maintain a posture of learning throughout the series and beyond. Thanks for listening!

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Episode #155 - Blindness in the Hebrew Bible with Dr. Eric Harvey

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 12:00:31 GMT

In the second episode of our series on disability, we discuss blindness in the Hebrew Bible with Dr. Eric Harvey, who holds a PhD from Brandeis University in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, with a specialization in Bible and the Ancient Near East. Dr. Harvey also recently held a digital humanities post-doctoral fellowship at the center for spatial and textual analysis at Stanford University, and he blogs at blindscholar.com. Throughout our conversation, Dr. Harvey shares his personal story of becoming legally blind during his doctoral studies, and how his experience led him to reassess the construct of blindness in the Hebrew Bible. In particular, he addresses the passages that use the saying “having eyes, but not seeing” in the Psalms, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, highlighting how the line itself does not pertain to the same reality (sometimes it relates to moral disobedience and idols, and only once does it actually refer to literal blindness). As we continue on, Dr. Harvey explains how he takes a historicist view of disability in biblical texts, as opposed to a redemptionist or a rejectionist approach (drawing upon the taxonomy of the late Prof. Hector Avalos). Dr. Harvey emphasizes how the biblical fascination with healing, and the contemporary hope in it, leaves people with the trauma of not experiencing such healing and also without much reflection on what faithful living looks like with the bodies that one has. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd and Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #154 - Introducing Disability & Theology with Prof. John Swinton

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 12:00:21 GMT

This episode is the first episode in our series on disability and theology, in which we’re joined by Prof. John Swinton, who is Chair of Divinity and Religious Studies and Professor of Theology at the University of Aberdeen (in Scotland). Prof. Swinton is also a Registered Mental Nurse (RMN) and a Registered Nurse for People with Learning Disabilities (RNMD), and the author of a number of books, including, Dementia: Living in the Memories of God (published by Eerdmans). In this conversation Prof. Swinton provides us with an overview of key terms and methodologies within the field of Disability studies as well as theological conversations around disability to help set up the conversations in our series. In addition to some of those foundational concepts and topics, Prof. Swinton also shares with us some of his insights surrounding the importance of personhood, belonging, dependence, participating in the Body of Christ, our conceptions of time, and the nature of resurrected bodies. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #153 - Limits with Dr. Kelly Kapic

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 12:00:36 GMT

In this episode we talk about limits with Dr. Kelly Kapic, who is Professor of Theological Studies at Covenant College (in Lookout Mountain, Georgia), and the author of You’re Only Human: How Our Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Kapic talks about the importance of human limitation and how it should be considered from within a theology of creation. In particular, he highlights that we should not feel guilty for our lack of productivity at the end of the day, but neither should we give in to a one-sided emphasis on how our identity is unrelated to the work that we do or the bodies that we have. We want to avoid a hyper self-reliance on the one hand, and Gnosticism on the other. This conversation helpfully sets up the series that we have planned next on Disability and Theology. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #152 - Biblical Critical Theory with Dr. Christopher Watkin

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 12:00:47 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Christopher Watkin to talk about Biblical Critical Theory. Dr. Watkin is Senior Lecturer in French Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and he’s the author of Biblical Critical Theory: How The Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture (published by Zondervan). In our conversation, Dr. Watkin talks about how all critical theories speak out against the status quo, and that the Bible itself offers us a storied version of a critical theory. In particular, Dr. Watkin emphasizes how the story of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, invites Christians to a third way to approach culture that is neither simply demolitional nor straightforwardly affirming. It does so, he contends, not as a metanarrative, but as a mesonarrative, a story that unfolds in the midst of history rather than standing over and above it. As he explains, all critical theories make life viable, visible, valuable, and the Bible’s own critical theory does so as well. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #151 - Contesting Languages: Tongues vs. Multilingualism with Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 12:00:56 GMT

In this episode we discuss whether "tongues" in 1 Corinthians refer to ecstatic and unintelligible speech, or whether they refer to multilingualism. For this conversation we’re joined by Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary and George Fox University, and the author of the new book that we’re discussing on this episode, Contesting Languages: Heteroglossia and the Politics of Language in the Early Church (published by Oxford University Press). In our conversation, Dr. Tupamahu explains to us how he approaches this topic as someone with a Pentecostal background, and as an immigrant to the United States who formerly pastored a multilingual church in southern California. Essentially, Dr. Tupamahu argues that Paul’s rhetorical strategy for navigating a multilingual context is to defer to the majority language, unless a translation in the majority language can be provided to the whole community, which creates some difficulty as we approach 1 Corinthians in the light of multilingualism today. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Logan Williams, and introducing for the first time, Dr. Sydney Tooth.

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Episode #150 - Eusebius the Evangelist with Dr. Jeremiah Coogan

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about Eusebius of Cesarea and his impact on the transmission of the four canonical Gospels with Dr. Jeremiah Coogan, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, and the author of the new book, Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity (published by Oxford University Press). Dr. Coogan talks with us about the apparatus that Eusebius developed to link certain Gospel episodes together, which essentially provides the very first cross-referencing system ever created. We discuss the organizing rationale behind Eusebius's decisions and what we can learn about this historical innovation in Gospel production and Gospel reading. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Logan Williams, and, for the very first time, Dr. Madison Pierce.

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Episode #149 - SBL 2022 Review

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 12:00:11 GMT

In this episode we review the recent annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. In the first half of the episode our team members share a bit about our respective highlights as well as the papers we presented, including the following team members from The Two Cities: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth. Then in the second half of the episode we switch over to hear from various scholars in the book stalls and the craft beer reception (SBLAAR), including (in order of appearance): Prof. David deSilva, Dr. Christoph Heilig, Dr. Mike Bird, Dr. Daniel Gurtner, Dr. Leslie Baynes, Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu, Rev. Dr. Daniel Morrison, Rev. Warwick Fuller, Dr. Logan Williams, Dr. Matthew Sharp, Dr. Adam White, Dr. Rick Wadholm, Caleb Cooke, Prof. Craig Blomberg, Taylor Patz, and Dr. J. Andrew Cowan.

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Episode #148 - Kintsugi & Justice with Haejin Shim Fujimura

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 12:00:28 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Kintsugi & Justice with Haejin Shim Kintsugi, who is a lawyer who runs her own law firm in NYC, Shim & Associates, and an entrepreneur who has started four businesses, including Academy Kintsugi, which uses the Kintsugi method to teach people about the beauty of mending our brokenness to create something new as an act of co-creation that honors the originally created work. Over the course of our conversation, Haejin explains the history and purpose behind the art form in Korean and Japanese cultures, and shares wonderful reflections about how this artistic approach to broken vessels influences her legal practice. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #147 - Forgiveness: An Alternative Account with Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 12:00:49 GMT

In this episode we talk about forgiveness with Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, who is Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School, an ordained episcopal priest serving as the minister at the Memorial Church at Harvard, a co-host of the podcast, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, and the author of the book we discuss on this episode, Forgiveness: An Alternative Account (published by Yale University Press). As Rev. Dr. Potts explains, accounts of forgiveness in broader Christian thinking tend to place the onus of forgiveness on victims, virtually requiring that their feelings of anger or grief change and lead to reconciliation with the one who harmed them. In contrast to this, Rev. Dr. Potts gives an account of forgiveness that is a separate matter from reconciliation, and something that can accommodate an honest recognition of wrongdoing and the feelings of anger and grief that it has caused. Fundamentally, forgiveness for Rev. Dr. Potts is about non-retaliation against one’s enemy. As we explore this together, over the course of our conversation, we address how this idea relates to the justice system, social media, literature (including Harry Potter), the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, and the teachings of Jesus. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #146 - Preaching to a Divided Nation with Rev. Dr. Paul Hoffman

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 12:00:16 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Preaching to a Divided Nation with Rev. Dr. Paul Hoffman, who is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport in Rhode Island, an adjunct professor of homiletics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and co-author with Matthew Kim of the book that we’re discussing today, Preaching to a Divided Nation: A Seven-Step Model for Promoting Reconciliation and Unity (published by Baker). In our conversation, Rev. Dr. Hoffman shares with us some of the seven steps proposed in the book, and what the four main "isms" are that undermine our unity. Overall, Rev. Dr. helps us think about the importance of finding commonality in our shared identities, esp. for those who have a shared identity in Christ. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #145 - Lament & Hope in the Face of the Occupation with Lamma Mansour

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 11:00:18 GMT

In this episode we close out our series on Palestinian Liberation Theology by discussing Lament and Hope in the face of the occupation with Lamma Mansour, who is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth currently pursuing her doctorate in social policy at Oxford University. Over the course of the conversation, we talk with Lamma about how the occupation affects higher education, and how that drives her current research on social policy. Lamma also offers us her vision of hope in the midst of the occupation, which provides a rich note with which to end our conversation on this topic. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert and Dr. Nico Catman.

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Episode #144 - Living in the Shadow of Christian Zionism with Tony Deik

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 11:00:38 GMT

In the penultimate episode of our series on Palestinian Liberation Theology, we talk about living in the shadow of Christian Zionism with Tony Deik, who is currently a residential researcher at Tyndale House in Cambridge, where he is working on his PhD research in New Testament, as well as a lecturer in Biblical Studies at Bethlehem Bible College, and a networking team member of the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation. Over the course of our conversation tell us his personal story, and stresses his surprise at the prominence of Zionism in Christian circles, especially within evangelicalism, and he addresses various problems that he sees with wedding together Christianity and Zionism. Towards the end we discuss how his perspective and experience as a Palestinian Christian informs his reading of the Bible.

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Episode #143 - Women Behind the Wall with Shadia Qubti

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 11:00:12 GMT

In this episode we continue our series on Palestinian Liberation Theology talking about Women Behind The Wall with Shadia Qubti, who is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth and has worked in peacebuilding and advocacy initiatives for 15 years in Israel and Palestine. She is the host of Women Behind the Wall, which features stories of women living in Israel and Palestine, and she is currently pursuing a degree in Interreligious and Indigenous Studies at Vancouver School of Theology (Canada). Over the course of our conversation we discuss the importance of indigenous theologies for thinking through the Israel-Palestine conflict better. We also discuss the amazing work that Shadia does on her podcast and some of the stories that she is able to tell of women’s experiences in Palestine. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #142 - Palestinian Identity & Theology from a Feminist Perspective with Marah Sarji

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 11:00:07 GMT

In this episode in our series on Palestinian Liberation Theology we discuss the intersectionality of the Palestinian experience by discussing matters of identity from a feminist perspective with Marah Sarji, who is a Christian Palestinian working on a master’s degree in Anthropology from Tel Aviv University. Over the course of the episode, Marah talks with us about the complexities of her identity, being a Christian Palestinian woman living in Jerusalem. In particular, Marah shares so much with us about her lived experience feeling unable to identify fully with the broader culture, sometimes passing as an Israeli, and hearing men “break the silence” with her about what they formerly did in the West Bank as members of the IDF. Marah’s main emphasis is that Palestinian Liberation Theology from a feminist perspective should not only seek liberation from Zionism, but also from patriarchy, and should also seek the liberation of all Palestinians, not simply Christians. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Nico Catman.

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Episode #141 - Palestinian Liberation Theology with John Munayer

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 11:00:21 GMT

In this episode we talk about Palestinian Liberation Theology with John Munayer, who is an instructor at Bethlehem Bible College, and who serves at Musalaha ministry, which promotes reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis. In our conversation, John explains what Palestinian Liberation Theology is and how it relates to other forms of Liberation Theology by way of its similarities and distinct contextual emphases. Along the way we ask John a number of questions about specific points of interest to glean what Palestinian Liberation Theology might specifically contribute to the conversation of the Israel-Palestine conflict, such as the question of the land, as well as policies and solutions to bring about a just resolution. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Nico Catman.

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Episode #140 - The History of Zionism and the Nakba with Yousef AlKhouri

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 11:00:25 GMT

In this episode we’re beginning a short series on Palestinian Liberation Theology, starting with a discussion on Zionism and the Nakba with Yousef AlKhouri, who is a Christian Arab Palestinian residing in Bethlehem, Palestine, where he is a lecturer in Biblical Studies and Mission at Bethlehem Bible College, and he is currently working on his doctorate in contextual interpretation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Over the course of our conversation, Yousef provides helpful historical context for Zionism and the traumatic experience of the Nakba, when Palestinians were forcefully displaced from their homes. As he articulates this, he shares many gut-wrenching stories of his personal and familial experiences of occupation, and also conveys his heart for constructive theological reflection on the contested issue of the land. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Nico Catman.

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Episode #139 - How Art Shapes Empathy with Dr. Mary McCampbell

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 11:00:17 GMT

In this episode we talk about the role of art and the imagination in shaping empathy with Dr. Mary McCampbell, Associate Professor of Humanities at Lee University in Tennessee and the author of Imagining our Neighbors as Ourselves: How Art Shapes Empathy (published by Fortress). As Dr. McCampbell explains, the origin for the idea of the book is the quote by Graham Greene, “Hate was just a failure of imagination.” Over the course of our conversation she unpacks for us why she felt that this book was necessary now, in our current moment, and we discuss both the ways that art can open us up to empathy and also how bad art, like the God’s Not Dead franchise, can constrict our imagination. Since Dr. McCampbell’s book addresses several artistic examples from literature, TV, film, and music, we look closely at a few examples, including: Sufjan Stevens’s albums, The Age of Adz and Carrie and Lowell, and the recent backlash against the casting decision for the new Little Mermaid live action film. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

Dr. Mary McCampbell’s website is https://marywmccampbell.com/and her substack is https://marymccampbell.substack.com/

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Episode #138 - Women and The Gender of God with Rev. Dr. Amy Peeler

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 11:00:34 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Rev. Dr. Amy Peeler, associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, to talk about her forthcoming book, Women and the Gender of God (published by Eerdmans on October 4th). Over the course of our conversation, Rev. Dr. Peeler explains that this book is trying to address where women fit in the family of God by looking primarily to Mary, the Mother of God. Furthermore, Rev. Dr. Peeler describes how thinking through Mary’s role in the incarnation helps her address the role of women in ministry as well as the difficult issues related to the gender of God, including the language of Father and Son for the persons of the Trinity and even the question of God’s “preferred pronouns” in Scripture. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

You can pre-order the book from Amazon or, preferably, from the publisher’s website:

https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/7909/women-and-the-gender-of-god.aspx

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Episode #137 - Disaster Films & The Bible with Dr. Michelle Fletcher

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 11:00:35 GMT

In this episode we turn to discuss the intertextual relationship of Disaster Films and the Bible as an epilogue to our series on Jesus films with Dr. Michelle Fletcher, who used film theory to analyze citations of the Hebrew Bible in Revelation in her book, Reading Revelation as Pastiche: Imitating the Past (with Bloomsbury T&T Clark). Dr. Fletcher is Research Fellow at King’s College, London on the Visual Commentary on Scripture. Over the course of our conversation we discuss a number of disaster films, which function like secular apocalypses ripe for consideration alongside ancient apocalypticism, including: Don’t Look Up, 2012, Moonfall, Greenland, San Andreas, and more. We discuss, among other things, the way that the Bible’s own pronouncements of disaster have influenced this niche sub-genre of movies with its tropes and themes. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #136 - Teaching Jesus with Film with the Revd Canon Dr. Robert Derrenbacker

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 11:00:25 GMT

In this episode we close out our Jesus film series with a discussion on the pedagogical value of films generally in teaching the Gospels with the Rev. Canon Dr. Robert Derrenbacker, who is Frank Woods Associate Professor in New Testament at Trinity College, Melbourne. Over the course of our discussion, we talk broadly about Christ figures in film in addition to proper Jesus films. Dr. Derrenbacker talks with us about the way that film helps to make the familiar unfamiliar for our students. Dr. Derrenbacker explains why he prefers the Jesus films that are intentionally anachronistic, or recontextualized, precisely because they are the ones that best defamiliarize the Jesus story so that we can experience it in a fresh new way. He points to films like Son of Man and Jesus of Montreal, among others. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #135 - Jesus' Enemies in Jesus Films with Prof. Adele Reinhartz

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:00:02 GMT

In this penultimate episode of our Jesus film series, we talk about the enemies of Jesus in Jesus films with Prof. Adele Reinhartz, who is Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, and the author of a number of important studies on Jesus films and Bible films, including: Jesus of Hollywood (Oxford University Press) and Bible and Cinema (Routledge). Over the course of our conversation we talk especially about the portrayal of Judas, the Pharisees, and Satan in Jesus films. Some of the films discussed include: Godspell (1973), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Intolerance (1916), Jesus (1999), Jesus of Montreal (1989), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The King of Kings (1927), King of Kings (1961), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Mary Magdalene (2018), The Passion of the Christ (2004), Son of God (2014), and Son of Man (2006). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #134 - Costuming in Jesus Films with Dr. Katie Turner

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 11:00:12 GMT

In this episode of our Jesus Film series, we’re talking about costuming with Dr. Katie Turner. Dr. Turner is an independent scholar who completed her PhD at King’s College, London and has a forthcoming monograph, entitled, Costuming Christ (with T&T Clark). Over the course of our conversation we discussed the difference between ancient clothing and modern costuming in Jesus films, what evidence we have for ancient dress in the second temple period and the Greco-Roman world, and how Christian art informs costuming decisions in Jesus films and communicates certain exegetical decisions, some of which have harmful consequences. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #133 - Mary Magdalene in Jesus Films with Dr. Siobhán Jolley

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 11:00:49 GMT

Continuing our series on Jesus films, we are joined in this episode by Dr. Siobhán Jolley to discuss the representation of Mary Magdalene. Dr. Jolley recently completed her PhD at the University of Manchester with a thesis entitled, “Reimaging the Magdalene: Liberative Reception Criticism and the Counter-Reformation Magdalene.” In our conversation Dr. Jolley talks to us about how little we actually know about Mary Magdalene from the Gospels themselves, and how her legend and myth evolves in art history and church history to present her as a sex worker, among other things. We review some of the films that reflect this tradition, esp. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988; dir. Martin Scorsese), and talk about how this portrayal is developed further than anywhere in Jesus films in the series, The Chosen (2017; dir. Dallas Jenkins). We also discuss the romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene that develops in various aspects of Mary Magdalene’s reception, most notably in The Da Vinci Code (by Dan Brown), and we address the significance of that for the interest in the modern forgery of “The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife.” Among other things we also chat about the rehabilitation of Mary’s character in the recent film simply entitled, Mary Magdalene (2018; dir. Garth Davis), starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #132 - Gospel Scholarship & Jesus Films with Dr. Mark Goodacre

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 11:00:31 GMT

In this episode we discuss the relationship of scholarship on the Gospels and the historical Jesus with Dr. Mark Goodacre, who is Frances Hill Fox professor of Religious Studies at Duke University, the author of a number of important studies on the historical Jesus, the Gospels, particularly the Synoptic Problem, and the Gospel of Thomas, and the creator of one of the original biblioblogs, called NTBlog, as well as one of the original biblical studies podcasts, called the NTPod. Over the course of our conversation we discuss a number of aspects of Jesus films and how those relate to contemporary Gospels scholarship, including, the role of the imagination in historical reconstruction, the nature of Jesus’ self-understanding, first-century crucifixion, and the composition of the Gospels from earlier sources. Some of the Jesus films that we address at length include: Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Arcand’s Jesus of Montreal (1989), and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #131 - Depicting Jesus in Jesus Films with Dr. Richard Walsh

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 11:00:56 GMT

In this episode of our Jesus film series, we turn to discuss the art and theology that informs depictions of Jesus with Dr. Richard Walsh, who is Womack Professor of Philosophy and Religion and the Co-Director of the Honors Program at Methodist University. He’s also the author of a number of books on Jesus films, including Reading the Gospels in the Dark (Trinity Press International) and, more recently with Jeffrey Staley, Jesus, The Gospels, and Cinematic Imagination (T&T Clark). Other the course of our conversation, Dr. Walsh addresses some of the historic tensions behind depicting Jesus throughout cinematic history between depicting Jesus as more divine versus more human, more historically accurate versus more artistically resonant, more stoic versus more personable, etc. We also discuss this topic briefly in relation to iconoclastic concerns as well as Orthodox iconography. Most notably, Dr. Walsh situates Jesus in the place of the “Monster” in horror films, which leads to some fascinating discussion. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Stephanie Kate Judd, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #130 - 100 Bible Films with Matthew Page

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 11:00:20 GMT

In this episode we're kicking off a Summer series on Jesus films! Today we're joined by Matthew Page to talk about his new book, 100 Bible Films (published by The British Film Institute with Bloomsbury). In our conversation, Matthew talks about the history of movies according to Bible films. He highlights the ways that Bible films can teach us about cinema more broadly rather than strictly about the Bible, though he does address the topic of Bible films specifically as adaptations of literary source material. Key film discussions emerge around Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014) and mother! (2017), Amos Gitai's Esther (1986), and the must-be-watched-to-be-believed Assassin 33 A.D. (2020), which is our pick for the worst Bible film of all time. This conversation situates Jesus films within the broader phenomenon of Bible Films and sets up the next several episodes in our series nicely, where we will dive more deeply into Jesus films. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #129 - Rabbinic Literature & Strack-Billerbeck with Jacob Cerone

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 11:00:55 GMT

In this episode we discuss the legacy of the famous German resource of Rabbinic parallels to the New Testament, referred to often as Strack-Billerbeck. For this we’re joined by Jacob Cerone, who is a doctoral candidate at the Friedrich Alexander Universität, in Erlagen, Germany, and General Editor and one of translators of the English translation of Strack-Billerbeck (published by Lexham Press). In our conversation, Jacob tells us about the people behind the well-known volume, both Hermann Strack and Paul Billerbeck respectively, as well as the context in which this resource was produced. Further, we discuss the legacy and reception of this resource as well as some of the critiques and concerns about it. Throughout the conversation Jacob provides helpful insights into the various ways that newcomers to Strack-Billerbeck can make use of this great resource in a careful and critical manner. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #128 - Ephesians & Empire with Dr. Justin Winzenburg

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 11:00:17 GMT

In this episode we discuss the relevance of empire criticism for understanding Paul’s letter to the Ephesians with Dr. Justin Winzenburg, who is Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek, and the Director of the Honors Program at Crown College (St. Bonafacious, Minnesota). Dr. Winzenburg is also the author of the forthcoming volume that we discuss in this episode, Ephesians and Empire (Mohr Siebeck). In our conversation, Dr. Winzenburg situates his study within the context of broader empire criticism and the more specific application of that broader field to the writings of Paul. Notably, Ephesians is one of the least explored letters from the Pauline corpus for this broader conversation, and we discuss some of the reasons regarding why this is the case. But aside from merely addressing a neglected letter, Dr. Winzenburg explains how his thesis also expands the analysis of empire criticism through his fascinating application of Speech Act Theory, which creates exciting new avenues of investigation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #127 - Paul, Then And Now with Dr. Matthew Novenson

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 11:00:58 GMT

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Matthew Novenson, who is Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, to talk about his new book, which is a collection of essays on Paul’s writings, entitled, Paul, Then and Now (published by Eerdmans). Dr. Novenson explains that this collection is meant to be more meta, considering the way we approach Paul hermeneutically. As part of this project, he is concerned to defamiliarize Paul for us, to make him "weird" again. Over the course of our conversation we talk about some of the things that makes Paul weird to us, particularly his eschatological anthropology, and how we should situate Paul relative to ancient Judaism and medieval monotheism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #126 - Identity & Religious Enmity with Dr. Sam Perry and Dr. Elizabeth Shively

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 11:00:04 GMT

In this episode we debrief a recent conference on socio-scientific approaches to religious enmity that Dr. Chris Porter organized at Trinity College, Melbourne. For this conversation we are joined by two keynote speakers from the conference: Dr. Sam Perry, who is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma, and Dr. Elizabeth Shively, who is Senior Lecturer in New Testament at St Mary’s College at the University of St Andrews (in Scotland). Each of us summarize our respective presentations from the conference, including Dr. Perry's research on White Christian Nationalism and Dr. Shively's research on how stories shape identity, with specific attention given to Jesus’ controversial interaction with the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7. As the conversation progresses, we talk about the importance of interdisciplinary study, the benefits of social-scientific approaches to biblical studies as well as the importance of the humanities for social sciences, and the need to do interdisciplinary work in an ethical way. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #125 - Interpreting Philemon with Dr. Dennis Edwards

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 11:00:37 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Dennis Edwards to talk about the interpretation of Philemon. Dr. Edwards is Associate Professor of New Testament at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, and the author of Might from the Margins: The Gospel’s Power to Turn the Tables on Injustice (Herald Press) with a forthcoming book on humility coming out soon. In our conversation, Dr. Edwards talks about the possible backgrounds that occasioned the letter, and how different theories about that background changes how we read the letter (esp. if we move away from the common view that Onesimus is a runaway slave). We discuss various implications that this letter creates, including how to read and think through and even preach through this letter in the light of our contemporary setting. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #124 - Trauma Studies & The Gospel of John with Dr. Cory Marsh

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 11:00:01 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Trauma Studies and the Gospel of John with Dr. Cory Marsh, who is Professor of New Testament at Southern California Seminary and the Director of SCS Press. Dr. Marsh recently completed a PhD thesis at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary entitled, “In This World You Have Affliction: A Johannine Theology of Christian Suffering” and has a forthcoming article in the Bulletin for Biblical Research entitled, “Moral Injury and the Suffering Basilikos of John 4.46–54.” In our conversation, Dr. Marsh explains to us what Trauma Studies are and how the concept of Moral Injury fits within that, and he tells us about how he applies this area of research to the Gospel of John and the particular characters who display various degrees of trauma and distress. Applying this area of research, Dr. Marsh contends, helps us to recognize the real human suffering in John’s Gospel instead of skipping too quickly to the healings and signs that Jesus performs. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

One of the articles referenced in the conversation on medical professionals and mental distress and moral injury within the field of nursing ethics can be found here:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0969733020966776

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Episode #123 - Reading and Reflecting on the Classics with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 11:00:06 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior to discuss Reading and Reflecting on the Classics. Dr. Karen Swallow Prior is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the host or Jesus and Jane Austen, and the editor of a series that we’re discussing today, which provide critical introductions to classic texts called Guides for Reading and Reflecting (published by B&H). In our conversation, Dr. Prior tells us about the idea behind reprinting some classic texts with her critical introductions, her broader hope that people pick up the classics and engage them, and what it means to read well. We also talk about the aesthetics of holding a well-made book, comparing the formative effects of different genres of literature, and the differences between reading printed material versus digitally-mediated content, including images in film and TV. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #122 - Theology and Black Mirror: Part Two with Dr. Jeremiah Bailey, Elizabeth Culhane, Prof. James McGrath, and Dr. Nathaniel Warne

Wed, 25 May 2022 11:00:41 GMT

In this episode we’re once more talking about the new book, Theology and Black Mirror (published by Lexington and Fortress Academic, imprints of Rowman & Littlefield), that was edited by team members from The Two Cities podcast, Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Joining us for this conversation are four additional contributors to the volume, who each discuss what they would like to see from a new season of Black Mirror (in light of the recent announcement of a forthcoming sixth season on Netflix) as well as the ideas addressed in their respective essays. Our guests are Dr. Jeremiah Bailey, who is an adjunct professor at Baylor University, Elizabeth Culhane, who is a PhD candidate in philosophy and religion at the University of Queensland (Australia) and is a tutor at Ridley College (Melbourne, Australia), Professor James F. McGrath, who is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, and Dr. Nathaniel A. Warne, who is priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Kris Song.

The essays from Amber and John’s new book, Theology and Black Mirror, discussed in this episode include the following:

Chapter 10, “Re-Dos and Re-Visions: Replay and the Search for Meaning in the Shepherd of Hermas and The Entire of History of You” (by Jeremiah Bailey)

Chapter 12, “Alternate Eyes: Perspective Shifting in the Samson Narrative and Black Mirror” (by Brandon Hurlbert)

Chapter 13, “‘Not Some Crazy Spiritual Thing’: Rewards, Punishment, and Afterlife in Black Mirror” (by James F. McGrath)

Chapter 15, “Reflecting the Infinite or the Finite? The Mirror Motif in Gregory of Nyssa and Black Mirror” (by Elizabeth Culhane)

Chapter 16, “Memoria and The Entire History of You” (by Nathaniel A. Warne)

Chapter 18, “Where are You? San Junipero and the Technology of Shared Space” (by Kris Song)

Chapter 19, “Uploaded to the Cloud: Transhumanism and Digital Hope in Black Mirror” (by John Anthony Dunne)

The book is presently available for purchase in hardcopy and as an e-book wherever you get your books (with plans to make a paperback at some point). For those interested in purchasing the book, there is a discount code for the publisher’s website (rowman.com) for 30% off (use code the discount code is LXFANDF30 at checkout).

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Episode #121 - Theology and Black Mirror: Part One with Dr. Megan Fritts, Dr. Rebekah Lamb, Dr. Joanna Leidenhag, and Dr. King-Ho Leung

Wed, 18 May 2022 11:00:30 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about the new book, Theology and Black Mirror (published by Lexington and Fortress Academic—imprints of Rowman & Littlefield), that was edited by team members from The Two Cities podcast, Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Joining us for this conversation on our favorite technological dystopian show on Netflix are four contributors to the volume, who each tell us what they love about Black Mirror and what they wrote about for our volume. Our guests are Dr. Megan Fritts, who is assistant professor of philosophy at the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minnesota), Dr. Rebekah Lamb, who is lecturer in theology and the arts at the Institute of Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at St Mary’s College at the University of St Andrews (Scotland), Dr. Joanna Leidenhag, who is lecturer in theology and liberal arts at the University of Leeds (England), and Dr. King-Ho Leung, who is senior research fellow at St Mary’s College at the University of St Andrews (Scotland). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

The essays from Theology and Black Mirror that were discussed in this episode include the following:

Chapter 2, “Barbarism, Boredom, and the Question Concerning: Pornography in Fifteen Million Merits” (by Amber Bowen)

Chapter 6, “Arkangel and the Death of God: A Nietzschean Critique of Technology’s Soteriological Scheme” (by Amber Bowen and Megan Fritts)

Chapter 7, “Seeing and Being Seen in a Black Mirror, Dimly: Phenomenology and the Dim View of White Christmas” (by King-Ho Leung and Patrick McGlinchey)

Chapter 14, “Be Right Back and the Ethics of Mourning: (In)Authenticity and Resurrection in the Digital Age” (by Rebekah Lamb and Joanna Leidenhag)

The book is presently available for purchase in hardcopy and as an e-book, wherever you get your books (with plans to make a paperback at some point). For those interested in purchasing the book, there is a discount code to use on the publisher’s website (rowman.com) for 30% off (use code LXFANDF30 at checkout). Otherwise, you can also request that your local library or institutional library purchase a copy (whether physical or electronic).

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Episode #120 - The Invisibility of Asian American Women with Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Wed, 11 May 2022 11:00:24 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim to talk about the Invisibility of Asian American Women. Dr. Kim is Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion and the author of Invisible: Theology and Experience of Asian American Women (published by Fortress Press). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Kim explains that the concept of invisibility gets at the marginalization that Asian American women experience in relation to the white majority culture, on the one hand, and patriarchy on the other hand. Along the way Dr. Kim addresses damaging concepts such as white Christianity and the model minority myth, and promotes the possibility of creative reflection using Asian terms and concepts for the purpose of constructive theology. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Jennifer Guo and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #119 - Theology & Reproductive Loss with Dr. Karen O'Donnell

Wed, 04 May 2022 11:00:20 GMT

(CW: Sensitive Themes). In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Karen O’Donnell to talk about Theology and Reproductive Loss. Dr. O'Donnell is Program Leader for Contemporary Spirituality Studies at Sarum College and the author of The Dark Womb: Re-Conceiving Theology Through Reproductive Loss (published by SCM Press). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. O’Donnell explains how important it is to explore the connection between theology and our bodies, emphasizing that all theology is embodied. Her constructive exploration of the theological implications of reproductive loss stands at the interdisciplinary intersection of theology, feminism, and trauma studies, and stems from her own lived experience of reproductive loss. Dr. O'Donnell stresses that her work is not a theodicy, nor is it concerned to fixate on eschatology for resolution, but operates within the realm of Holy Saturday instead of rushing too quickly to Easter Sunday. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Grace Emmett and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #118 - Great Guides To Sex with Sheila Wray Gregoire

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 11:00:43 GMT

(CW: Sexual Content). In this episode we are joined again by Sheila Wray Gregoire, the author of The Great Sex Rescue, to talk about her two newest books, The Good Girl’s Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy’s Guide to Great Sex (both published by Zondervan). In our conversation, Sheila explains why she was motivated to revise her Good Girl’s Guide from ten years ago, and why she wanted to add a companion volume for guys too. She situates her new books relative to prominent evangelical books on sex from the past, noting several problematic features within them. Our discussion with Sheila was informative, thought provoking, and hilarious, and it highlights well the ways that Sheila wants to change the way we talk about sex in the church. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #117 - The Sexual Reformation with Aimee Byrd

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re joined by Aimee Byrd for the fourth time to discuss her newest book, The Sexual Reformation: Restoring the Dignity and Personhood of Man and Woman (published by Zondervan). Over the course of the conversation we talk about how the core ideas of Aimee’s new book stem from her reading of the Song of Songs, which she interprets in a typological fashion akin to various readings of the text throughout Church History. Ultimately, she is calling for a reformation of how we view sexuality, and what the theology of our sexes is, building further upon the groundwork that she laid in her previous book, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (also by Zondervan). Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #116 - Jewish-Christian Dialogue with Larry Behrendt & Dr. Anthony Le Donne

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In the final episode of our Christian Anti-Judaism series (which began with our introductory episode [Episode #106] on 02/02/2022), we turn to discuss Jewish-Christian relations and interfaith dialogue with Larry Behrendt, who is an attorney and treasurer at his synagogue, having been involved in inter-religious dialogue for over ten years, and Dr. Anthony Le Donne, who is professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary (Ohio). Together they are the authors of Sacred Dissonance: A Richer Faith through Jewish-Christian Dialogue (published by Hendrickson). At the outset Larry and Anthony discuss how their interfaith dialogue first began, how it eventually turned into a book, and some of the realizations and discomforts that came about from the process. Over the course of our conversation Larry and Anthony discuss the asymmetries of experience between Christians and Jews that make dialogue difficult, and the kind of “holy envy” that comes about through appreciation of the other side (as well as how problematic that envy can when it extends to appropriation). Team members of the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #115 - Post-Shoah Theology with Rev. Dr. Mark Lindsay

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In the penultimate episode of our Christian Anti-Judaism series, we turn to discuss Christian theology in the wake of the Holocaust and the Shoah with Rev. Dr. Mark Lindsay, who is Joan F. W. Munro Professor of Historical Theology at Trinity College, Melbourne, and an Anglican Priest in the diocese of Melbourne. In our conversation, Rev. Dr. Lindsay begins with the determination at the Second Vatican Council in 1965 that neither biblical nor post-biblical Jews ought not to be collectively charged with deicide. He uses that moment to look back over two millennia of church history to see the anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic rhetoric and theology, including various forms of supersessionism, that developed with precisely the opposite view. As for a way forward for Christian theology, Rev. Dr. Lindsay highlights the need for constructive work to be conducted in the light of the “open wound” of the Holocaust, pointing to such work as Karl Barth’s Christology and theology of election as some important examples. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #114 - Hebrews & Supersessionism with Dr. Madison Pierce

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode of our Christian Anti-Judaism series we have another discussion on supersessionism, following last week’s look at supersessionism in Paul. For this conversation we turn to Hebrews with Dr. Madison Pierce, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the author of Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Recontextualization of Spoken Quotations of Scripture (published by Cambridge University Press). Over the course of our conversation Dr. Pierce helpfully situates her approach over against the common understanding of the purpose of the letter that contends that the author is trying to get the audience to avoid “falling back” from Christianity into Judaism. Dr. Pierce also addresses a number of thorny issues in Hebrews relevant for our conversation, including the cultic system, the priesthood, and the notion of a new covenant, and she delineates between different senses in which Hebrews might and might not be supersessionistic. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Here is the link to the Figuring the Enemy project that Chris mentioned in the cold open to the episode: http://www.figuringtheenemy.com/

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Episode #113 - Paul and Supersessionism with Dr. J. Brian Tucker

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode of our Christian Anti-Judaism series, we take a closer look at supersessionism. Specifically, we discuss whether Paul was a supersessionist with Dr. J. Brian Tucker, who is Dean of Faculty and Professor of New Testament at the Plymouth campus of Moody Theological Seminary (Michigan), and the author of Reading Romans After Supersessionism (published by Cascade). In our conversation, Dr. Tucker talks about various problems with supersessionistic readings of Paul that disaggregate Israel from continuing to have their discrete identity as the covenant people of God. Dr. Tucker very helpfully connects the ills of supersessionism to societal problems like misogyny and racism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #112 - The Meaning & Telos of Israel's Election with Dr. Joel Kaminsky and Dr. Mark Reasoner

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode of our Anti-Judaism series we turn to discuss the nature and purpose of Israel’s election. Specifically, we discuss how this may have been understood by the Apostle Paul relative to the kinds of understandings that we find in the Hebrew Bible. Joining us for this conversation we have Dr. Joel Kaminsky, who is Morningstar Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion at Smith College, and Dr. Mark Reasoner, who is Professor of Biblical Theology at Marian University. The two of them co-wrote an article that situates their understanding of these matters in contrast to the position of Prof. N. T. Wright. Our discussion largely centers on the arguments that they make in their article, which is entitled, “The Meaning and Telos of Israel’s Election: An Interfaith Response to N.T. Wright’s Reading of Paul,” which was published in journal Harvard Theological Reviewin 2019 (Volume 112, Issue 4). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Cf. Dr. Joel Kaminsky’s recent reflection on how humor may illuminate Jewish/Christian relations (with a slightly revised title from what was shared on the episode): “The Value of Jokes In Jewish-Christian Dialogue.”

Cf. Dr. Joel Kaminsky's recent lecture on how the theme of Election in the Bible unites but also divides Jews and Christians: “Does the Idea of “God’s Chosen People” Divide Jews and Christians?”

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Episode #111 - Anti-Judaism and the Gospel of John with Prof. Adele Reinhartz

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Joining us for a conversation on Anti-Judaism and the Gospel of John, we are joined by Professor Adele Reinhartz, who is Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. She is also the general editor of the journal of biblical literature, the president of the Society of Biblical Literature, and the author of a number of studies on the representation of Jesus in film and the Gospel of John, including Cast Out Of The Covenant: Jews and Anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John (published Fortress/Lexington). Over the course of our discussion, Prof. Reinhartz shares deeply from her own personal experience as a Jewish woman navigating the guild of New Testament studies who went on to become an expert on the Gospel of John, which is traditionally regarded as very anti-Jewish, providing us with many anecdotes and insights along the way. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #110 - The Beheading of John the Baptist with Dr. Nathan Shedd

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Carrying on with our Christian Anti-Judaism series, we discuss the early reception of John the Baptist as a key figure for the “parting of the ways” between Christianity and Judaism. Joining us for this discussion is Dr. Nathan Shedd, who is the author of A Dangerous Parting: The Beheading of John the Baptist in Early Christian Memory (published by Baylor University Press). In our conversation, Dr. Shedd discusses the collective memory of John the Baptist’s violent and traumatic death, which was unfortunately weaponized in some anti-Jewish ways by early Christians as a polemical critique of Jews and Judaism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #109 - Anti-Judaism & Anti-Blackness with Liz Loeb

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

As we close out Black History Month, we wanted to highlight how the topic of our present series on Anti-Judaism intersects with Anti-Blackness. Joining us for this conversation is Liz Loeb, who completed a PhD in Law and Society from NYU, worked as a Civil Rights Attorney, and is presently a Community Organizer for an interfaith organization called Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light. Speaking from her legal experience, activism, interfaith organizing, and lived experience, Liz helpfully highlights the interconnectedness of all forms of discrimination and injustice inspired by White Supremacy. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #108 - The Pharisees & Anti-Judaism with Prof. A. J. Levine

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In the second installment of our Christian Anti-Judaism series we discuss the Pharisees with Prof. Amy-Jill Levine, who is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies and Jewish Studies at Hartford Seminary, as well as University Professor of New Testament Studies and Jewish Studies Emerita, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, and Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University. Prof. Levine is also the co-editor of the volume, The Pharisees (published by Eerdmans in 2021). Over the course of our conversation we discuss many of the misunderstandings that people have of the Pharisees, and many of the ways that the Pharisees often become a label to identify Jews more broadly (typically as a negative label). Prof. Levine helps us situate the Pharisees within first century Judaism in order to better understand Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament figures, and even gives pastors some tips on how to handle the Pharisees in their sermons. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

More info for Dr. Grace Emmett’s public engagement project for the Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, called 'Reimagining Paul: Apostolic Portraits of Masculinity,' which was mentioned at the beginning of the episode, can be found here:

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/siibs/news/call-artwork-proposals-siibs-reimagining-paul-project?fbclid=IwAR0XXOriJ5mKi9a5_OCpc7vXsFCP4n4eItv9cGKJIUERnagFnoUojOf-Iz8

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Episode #107 - Jesus & Ritual Purity with Dr. Matthew Thiessen

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Kicking off our series on Christian Anti-Judaism, we are joined by Dr. Matthew Thiessen to discuss Jesus & Ritual Purity. Dr. Thiessen is Associate Professor of New Testament at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this conversation, Jesus and the Forces of Death: The Gospel’s Portrayal of Ritual Impurity Within First Century Judaism (published by Baker). The main thrust of our conversation is that Jesus does not dismiss Jewish matters of ritual impurity as something that is outdated, primitive, or a distraction from his larger purposes, but rather he addresses the sources of ritual impurity, which underscores that Jesus is concerned to uphold the law rather than abolish it. Specifically, Jesus confronts the forces of death that lead to ritual impurity in ancient Jewish thinking, such as corpses, genital discharge, and lepra (which Dr. Thiessen contends is not leprosy, but something more mundane like eczema, dry scalp, or dandruff), so that people can return to the temple. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #106 - Introducing Christian Anti-Judaism

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we kick off our brand-new series on Christian Anti-Judaism. Here we introduce the key topics of the conversation, and provide some context for why we regard this conversation as an ethical imperative for Christians, since our collective history is steeped in anti-Judaism. Along the way, we define some of the key terms, including anti-Judaism, which we distinguish from anti-Semitism as being more focused on essentialist religious ideas than strictly ethnic categories (even though there is a lot of overlap at times), supersessionism, which is the idea that the Church replaces Israel, and philo-Judaism, which can be a form of anti-Judaism that is characterized by cultural appropriation. We hope that this introductory episode helps to set up the conversation that will unfold with our special guests, including both Christians and Jews, over the next several weeks. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Reading List For Further Engagement:

Belser, Julia Watts and Melanie S. Morrison, “What No Longer Serves Us: Resisting Ableism and Anti-Judaism in New Testament Healing Narratives,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Fall 2011): 153–70.

Mason, Steve. “Jews, Judaeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorization in Ancient History.” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 38, no. 4–5 (2007): 457–512.

Miller, David M. “Ethnicity, Religion and the Meaning of Ioudaios in Ancient ‘Judaism.’” Currents in Biblical Research 12, no. 2 (February 2014): 216–65.

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Episode #105 - Intersectionality & Conversion with Dr. Valérie Nicolet and Prof. Marianne Kartzow

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about Intersectionality and Conversion with Dr. Valérie Nicolet and Prof. Marianne Kartzow. Dr. Nicolet is Associate Professor of New Testament at Institut Protestant de Théologie, Faculté de Paris, and Prof. Marianne Bjelland Kartzow is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Oslo. They are co-editors of the book we discuss in this episode, The Complexity of Conversion: Intersectional Perspectives on Religious Change in Antiquity and Beyond (published by Equinox). In this conversation Dr. Nicolet and Prof. Kartzow talk to us about the difficulties with the term “conversion” as category for describing religious experience in antiquity. One particular area of difficulty includes one of the ways in which the nuances of the lives of the “converts” are often flattened out including their gender, race, ethnicity, status, age, ability, etc. For this reason, they draw upon intersectional approaches that highlight the complexities involved in order to arrive at a rich understanding of religious change of various sorts. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #104 - Gun Rights & Conspiracies with Dr. Mike Austin

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Mike Austin to discuss Gun Rights & Conspiracies. Dr. Austin is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, and the author of God and Guns in America published by Eerdmans. This episode extends our conversation on American Gun Culture from a biblical perspective into philosophical and legal arenas. In particular, as we discuss the right to bear arms in America, Dr. Austin draws our attention to the important distinction between legal and moral rights. In the end, we transition to think about guns from a conspiratorial stand point, and we consider how conspiratorial thinking informs certain pro-gun arguments. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #103 - God & Guns with Prof. Carly Crouch and Prof. Christopher B. Hays

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re taking about American Gun Culture from a biblical perspective with Prof. Carly Crouch and Prof. Christopher B. Hays. Prof. Carly Crouch is Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Ancient Judaism, and Chair of the Department of Textual, Historical and Systematic Studies of Judaism and Christianity at Radboud University, Nijmegen (Netherlands), and Prof. Christopher B. Hays is D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary (USA). Together they are co-editors of the book that we are discussing on this episode, God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture (published by Westminster John Knox). Other the course of our conversation, Professors Crouch and Hays share with us about how their new book thinks critically, holistically, and analogically about what the Bible has to say about American obsession with guns. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #102 - Asian-American Representation in Film with Abel Vang

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss Asian-American Representation in Film with Abel Vang. Abel Vang is an awarded independent film producer, director, writer, and Assistant Professor of Entertainment Producing at Biola University. Some of his major film credits include: What Lies Below, Bedeviled, and the forthcoming, They Live In The Grey. Over the course of the conversation, Abel gives us loads of firsthand insight into the complex challenges that Asian-Americans face in the film industry. He recounts many of the struggles that he has experienced personally, but notes some of the progress that he’s seen in recent years in the industry, and highlights how he puts his hope in God in order to continue persevering in his desire to see more Asian-American representation in film. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #101 - Women in the Academy Revisited with Dr. Beth Allison Barr and Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we revisit the subject of women in the academy with Dr. Beth Allison Barr and Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg. Dr. Barr is Professor of History and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Baylor University and the author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood (published by Brazos) and Dr. Renberg is Assistant Professor of History at Anderson University, having completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Barr. Over the course of the conversation, Dr. Barr and Dr. Renberg talk about the unique experiences of studying for a PhD as a woman under the supervision of a woman with the unique advantages and benefits that come from that. They also discuss the challenges in academia for women relative to rank and experience, as well as relative to marital status. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen.

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Episode #100 - Celebrating 100 Episodes

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we celebrate 100 podcast episodes! In the spirit of celebration, we have an eclectic episode full of feedback from some of our previous guests as well as questions from listeners and responses from all twelve of our podcast hosts. In addition we conclude the episode with a number of bloopers followed by the origin story of our theme music, and the unveiling of our new theme music for the next 100 episodes! Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #99 - COP26 and Climate Justice with Pastor Ray Minniecon, Jarrod McKenna, and Dr. Byron Smith

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 12:00:00 GMT

On today's episode we're discussing the topic of Climate Justice in the wake of the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31 through November 13 of 2021 (the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties). We are joined by three guests from Australia: Pastor Ray Minniecon, Jarrod McKenna, and Dr. Byron Smith. Over the course of our conversation we talk about the severity of the problem of climate change and how it impacts indigenous communities, and the theological necessity to engage ourselves with the work of climate justice as an embodied expression of hope in the resurrection.

Pastor Ray Minniecon is an Australian indigenous leader and a descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation, the Gureng Gureng nation of South-East Queensland, and also the South Sea Islander people with deep connections to the people of Ambrym Island. He holds many roles, including as executive member of the Indigenous People’s Organization, Director of Bunji Consultancies, and Honorary Indigenous Minister for Scarred Tree Indigenous Ministries, St. John’s Anglican Church, Glebe. Pastor Ray also recently attended COP26.

Jarrod McKenna is the co-host of the Inverse Podcast, the Founder of First Home Project for refugees, was the founding CEO of Common Grace (a Christian advocacy organisation), an initiator of LoveMakesAWay.org.au (a movement for refugees which has become the largest faith based civil disobedience movement in Australia’s history), and was World Vision Australia’s National Advisor for Faith and Activism and a Nonviolent Social Change Educator for World Vision in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Byron Smith is an ecological ethicist and Christian minister. His PhD in theological ethics from the University of Edinburgh focused on emotional responses to climate change in the context of Christian identity. His time is split between pastoral ministry in the Anglican church in Sydney, and a speaking/writing ministry helping churches join the dots between ecological justice and faith.

Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Stephanie Kate Judd.

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Episode #98 - Reviewing The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill with Aimee Byrd and Dr. Michael Bird

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we debrief our experiences listening to Christianity Today's podcast series, The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill, which is all about Mark Driscoll's leadership at a megachurch in Seattle from 1996 to 2014. Joining us for this conversation are Aimee Byrd, the author of Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (published by Zondervan), and Dr. Michael Bird, who is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College, Melbourne. You can find the two of them chatting on together on their podcast and YouTube series, "Birds of a Feather." Over the course of the conversation we express our appreciations, discomforts, and main take aways from the lessons of Mars Hill. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Sources referenced in the episode:

Jessica Johnson, Biblical Porn: Affect, Labor, and Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Evangelical Empire (Duke University Press, 2018), which is based on Johnson's own ethnographic research at Mars Hill from 2006–2008. Cf. also her article in Religion Dispatches on October 1st reviewing the podcast series: https://religiondispatches.org/sharing-many-of-the-same-flaws-as-its-subject-the-rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill-podcast-puts-blame-anywhere-but-where-it-belongs/

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Episode #97 - Society of Biblical Literature 2021 Review

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we reflect on our experiences participating in the annual biblical studies, theology, and religion conferences that take place every November, including the Society of Biblical Literature, which most of our team participates in, as well as the American Academy of Religion and the Institute of Biblical Research (among others). In our conversation we talk about the papers that we presented, the things that stood out to us about the unique nature of the conference this year because the sessions were held both in person in San Antonio as well as virtually for those who weren't able to come in person, and then also the highlights from the conference including some of our favorite papers. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #96 - Power Women, Motherhood, and the Academy with Dr. Stephanie Chan & Dr. Christina Lee Kim

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about what it is like to be a mother, an academic, and a Christian all at the same time. Joining us for this conversation are Dr. Stephanie Chan and Dr. Christina Lee Kim, both of whom contributed to the recent volume, Power Women: Stories of Motherhood, Faith, and the Academy (recently published by IVP). Dr. Chan is Associate Professor of Sociology at Biola University and Dr. Kim is Associate Professor of Psychology at Biola University. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Chan and Dr. Kim talk about the challenges and the joys of being mothers, academics, and Christians, and delve into many relevant issues at the nexus where these three spheres overlap. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #95 - Doubt & Deconstruction with Dr. A. J. Swoboda

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss doubt and deconstructing faith with Dr. A. J. Swoboda, who is Assistant Professor of Bible, Theology, and World Christianity at Bushnell University (Eugene, Oregon), and the author of After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith without Losing It (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what doubt and deconstruction are, and what healthy and unhealthy versions of each can look like. Dr. Swoboda understands doubt as something precipitated by what happens to us, whereas deconstruction is an active undertaking. Along the way we talk about the role of professors and pastors in the work of disorientation and reorientation, and how faith leaders need to begin by displaying to others how they themselves wrestle with the difficult questions of the faith. Dr. Swoboda tells us about how all of his personal heroes of the faith, including C.S. Lewis, Flannery O’Connor, and Henri Nouwen, etc., all had serious challenges in their life of faith. Swoboda describes his own doubts as sacred thorns that he gets to share with his students who also wrestle with tough issues.We need to practice the ministry of the ear, as Dr. Swoboda says, and we need to give “spiritual consent” before we respond to someone’s doubts and deconstruction, asking someone confiding to us how they’re inviting us to respond. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #94 - Squid Game Review

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss our appreciation of, and enduring fascination with, Netflix's breakout South Korean horror-drama, Squid Game. Over the course of our wide-ranging conversation we discuss the show's critique of capitalism and connect that critique to the historical and theological insights of Albert Hirschman and Kathryn Tanner. We also delve further into the ways that the show portrays how the economic game leverages gender disparities and corrupts religious adherence. And we conclude with a discussion about a fan theory regarding the father of Gi-Hun (aka player 456). Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #93 - Dune Movie Review with Matthew William Brake

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we review the new Dune film by Denis Villeneuve with Matthew William Brake, the series editor for the Theology and Pop Culture series published by Fortress and Lexington Press. Over the course of our conversation we talk about our appreciation of the film, how it did as an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, and how it compares to David Lynch’s much-maligned film version from 1984. Key themes that we dig into include: cultural representation and a lack of other-worldliness in the new film, the relationship of individuals to the larger group, Messiah tropes, prophecy, and “future memories,” and what other films might secretly be set within the Dune universe. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #92 - Frankenstein with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, who is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books (published by Brazos), and the editor of a series published by B&H called A Guide To Reading and Reflecting, which includes classics like Frankenstein. Over the course of our conversation we discuss the structure of the novel as well as key themes that the story brings out of relationality, and a desire to belong, and how those themes sync up so well with humanity’s deepest theological questions. We also talk about contemporary ambition and technological aspirations, such as transhumanist pursuits, and what Mary Shelley’s novel has to say to them. In the end we turn to the adaptations of the novel and even the broader reception of the Frankenstein story in popular culture. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #91 - Why Christians Should Watch Horror Movies with Dr. Murray Stiller

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss horror films with Dr. Murray Stiller, who is Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Redeemer University (Hamilton, Ontario). Over the course of our conversation we talk about why horror movies are so popular and why it’s important to be having a discussion like this. We address the tropes and themes that are germane to the genre of horror in its many iterations across literature, film, and art, and it the way the genre has evolved over the years to reflect the greatest fears of the day. We also address where horror films in particular go too far, and why Christians should consider watching these kinds of films. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #90 - The Ministry of Women in the New Testament with Revd Canon Professor Dorothy Lee

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 11:00:00 GMT

On this episode we discuss the ministry of women in the New Testament with Revd Canon Professor Dorothy Lee, who is Stewart Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity College, Melbourne, an ordained priest in the Anglican church, and the author of The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision for Church Leadership (published by Baker). In our conversation, Prof. Lee tells us about the shape and scope of the book, which is to provide a somewhat canonical overview of all of the relevant material in the NT about the ministry of women. Specifically, we talk about the various ministry activities of women, as well as some of the crucial passages that are often used to deny that women can participate fully in ministry. Along the way we talk about contemporary ordination of women, how Prof. Lee distinguishes her work from a kind of Sachkritik or a social justice endeavor, and we also note fondly our respective connections to the Free Church of Scotland. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #89 - What Jesus Learned From Women with Dr. James F. McGrath

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we’re talking about What Jesus Learned From Women with Dr. James F. McGrath, who is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, the host of a podcast called ReligionProf, and the author of the book that we’re discussing here, What Jesus Learned From Women (published by Cascade). Dr. McGrath’s thesis is that there are many women in the Gospels who teach Jesus various things. Acknowledging that this is a controversial claim (depending on one’s Christology), Dr. McGrath begins by noting that Jesus obviously learned from Mary, his mother, and that there are other scenes that scholars have pointed to, such as the interaction with the Syrophoenician Woman, as discrete examples of Jesus learning from women. McGrath’s book seeks to build upon those examples and draw together all possible instances of Jesus learning from women presented to us in the Gospels. In our conversation we discuss Mary Magdalene, Jesus' grandmother, the woman caught in adultery, and the woman at the well in particular. When set in modern conversations about gender, Dr. McGrath concludes from this analysis that if Jesus was a feminist at all, he was not a twenty-first century feminist, but rather a first-century Jewish feminist. Thus, Jesus shouldn’t be read as being outside of a patriarchal Jewish perspective. Rather, his views on women arise out of that Jewish context and influence. Team members on episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #88 - Apologetics Training & Education with Stephanie Kate Judd, Lauren Ruef, and Clare Williams

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

As our final episode in our Apologetics series, we conclude by discussing apologetics pedagogy, education, and training with three recent graduates of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, which was formerly associated with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries as its training arm. Joining us to talk about the experience of studying there and their ongoing relationship with apologetics in the aftermath of what was revealed about Ravi Zacharias are: Stephanie Kate Judd, who is a lawyer and researcher funded by Anglican Deaconess Ministries in disability and human dignity based in Australia; Lauren Ruef, who is a freelance writer and editor based in the States; and Clare Williams, who is the founder of Get Real, which is an apologetics ministry based in the UK. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #87 - Urban Apologetics & Whitewashing Christianity with Pastor Jerome Gay, Jr.

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

As the penultimate episode in our Apologetics series, we discuss the need for Urban Apologists in particular to address how Christianity has been whitewashed. For this conversation, we are joined by Pastor Jerome Gay, Jr., who is the founder and pastor of Vision Church in Raleigh, NC, the author of The Whitewashing of Christianity: A Hidden Past, A Hurtful Present, and A Hopeful Future, and one of the contributors to the recent volume on Urban Apologetics (published by Zondervan). As Pastor Jerome explains, whitewashing is the way that Christianity is inaccurately portrayed as being a White religion from the very beginning, including the way that prominent African figures in the early church, including figures like Athanasius and Augustine, are regularly represented as white in Christian art. This is an important issue for many reasons, esp. since it is a hurdle to extending the gospel to black communities. Beyond matters of imagery, Pastor Jerome also speaks to the need to live out the gospel and empathetically enter into the experience of others when doing Urban Apologetics. Team Members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #86 - Apologetics & the Problem of Christian History with Dr. John Dickson

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

On this episode we continue our apologetics conversation by specifically talking about the problems throughout Christian history with Dr. John Dickson, who is the Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College, Melbourne, and the author of a number of books, including most recently, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History (Zondervan), as well as the host of a podcast called Undeceptions. Apologetics for John is primarily about making Christ known, and thus he prefers to speak of public Christianity rather than “apologetics.” Given John’s recent book, and his expertise as a historian, we primarily discuss the horrors associated with the Crusades and how Christians should think about this terrible part of the history of their faith. For John, the greatest apologetic is the local church, both because no individual can really make the full case and also because when the church rightly sings the tune of Christ, unlike what we see with the Crusades, that will be the most compelling presentation of the Gospel as true and beautiful. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #85 - Humble Apologetics with Dr. John G. Stackhouse, Jr.

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Carrying on our conversation on Apologetics, we are joined by Dr. John G. Stackhouse, Jr., who is Samuel J. Mikolaski Professor of Religious Studies at Crandall University in New Brunswick (Canada), and the author of a couple important studies on apologetics, such as, Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (Oxford University Press) and, more recently, Can I Believe? Christianity for the Hesitant (Oxford University Press). In our conversation Dr. Stackhouse points out how what’s happening in apologetics mirrors what’s happening all around the world with the rise of populism—appealing directly to the masses. Over the course of our conversation we talk about the ethics of platforming and the kinds of motivating impulses that drive the industry, including certain fundamentalist impulses and the nature of Hell. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #84 - Black Apologetics with Lisa Fields

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode of our Apologetics series, we’re joined by Lisa Fields, the founder of the Jude 3 Project, whose mission is “to help the Christian community know what they believe and why they believe it. Distinctive in its strong emphasis in equipping those of African descent in the United States and abroad.” In our conversation, Lisa tells us a little bit of her journey, how she first got into apologetics, and why she decided to start the Jude 3 Project. As Lisa explains, part of the reason is to address the unique apologetic concerns of Black Community. Questions like whether God exists is always an important apologetic discussion, but most Black people in America do believe in God and so more germane topic need to be explored, such as whether Christianity is just “a white man’s religion.” Lisa explain that Jude 3 is also partly an attempt to ensure that Black voices are represented on all the common apologetics concerns and issues. As the conversation progresses we touch on some additional insights that Black Apologetics provides for the broader apologetic enterprise, such as unique insights on the Problem of Evil, drawing upon a history of suffering re: slavery, racism, and systemic oppression. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #83 - Resurrection & Rationality with Dr. James T. Turner

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Carrying on our broader conversation on Apologetics, we are joined by an analytic theologian, Dr. James T. Turner, who is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Anderson University and the author of On the Resurrection of the Dead: A New Metaphysics of Afterlife for Christian Thought(published by Routledge). In this conversation we touch on the nature of apologetics as an enterprise designed to demonstrate that Christianity is not fundamentally irrational. As Dr. Turner contends, this is all apologetics really ought to be, and he goes further to explain that the idea of removing intellectual objections to the faith won’t actually lead people to bow the knee to King Jesus. Another branch of our conversation then delves into the subject matter of Dr. Turner’s book, which is the resurrection and the nature of the afterlife. Dr. Turner is a hylomorphist, which is the view that everything is comprised of matter and form. The soul, then, is the form of all living organisms (humans, plants, trees, dogs). The form thus can’t float free from the matter, and cannot be separated from it. This has huge implications for popular apologetics that point to near death experiences as an argument for God (usually implicitly given in the form of a narrative, such as books like Heaven Is For Real). Dr. Turner explains that he holds this view because he believes that the Bible places all of its hope on the bodily resurrection of human beings, as well as the physical restoration of creation, not on immaterial souls going off to Heaven after the body dies. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #82 - Reimagining Apologetics with Dr. Justin Bailey

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our apologetics series, we are joined by Dr. Justin Bailey, who is Assistant Professor of Theology at Dordt University and the author of Reimagining Apologetics: The Beauty of Faith in a Secular Age(IVP Academic). In our conversation, Dr. Bailey offers his constructive proposal for what apologetics could look like that gets beyond a mere focus on the intellect. Further, he wants to distance his approach to apologetics from what he calls “capital A apologetics,” or magisterial apologetics, which promotes a “sage of the stage” who offers a kind of top-down approach full of defeater arguments. Dr. Bailey is clear that his proposal is not an attempt to get rid of the classical arguments for God’s existence, but rather he wants to open up the realm of what fits into the apologetic enterprise. This expanse needs to include the role of the imagination, which is not infantile or make believe, but rather is oriented towards reality, and specifically what possibilities stand before us, thus helping people see what possibilities are available in the life of faith to those who stand outside of it. And the other key expansive bit is the role of empathy, our ability to entertain the perspectives of others and to recognize what a person needs in that moment of encounter, which might not be a defeater argument. Team members of the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #81 - Evidence & Disagreement with Dr. Greta Turnbull

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 11:00:00 GMT

On this episode in our apologetics series we address matters of evidence. What counts as “evidence,” and how do we interpret it? Moreover, what do we do when people interpret the evidence differently, or don’t find it to be relevant to the claim being made? Specifically, how should we understand religious disagreement? How should we understand religious experience? Does that count as evidence of God’s existence, God’s goodness, etc? Joining us to address these types of questions is Dr. Greta Turnbull, who is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University. Dr. Turnbull is an expert on evidence and disagreement, and helps us realize that evidence is messy. She calls our attention to the differences between logical apologetic questions and more existential/pastoral questions, and she points out how sometimes apologetics sticks too rigidly to logical matters when pastoral/existential issues are more pressing for people. In that light, we discuss how apologetics thus needs to expand and adapt to what is most salient for a given person, esp. since its ostensible aim is to bring people into faith, which is an inherently personal aim. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Grace Emmett.

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Episode #80 - Does Apologetics Help Us Read The New Testament? With Ian Mills

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this installment of our apologetics series we ask the corresponding question to last week’s episode, Does Apologetics Help Us Read the New Testament? For this conversation we are joined by Ian Mills, who is a PhD Candidate in New Testament at Duke University and co-host with Laura Robinson of the New Testament Review podcast. Ian contends that the modern apologetics enterprise both hinders our ability to read the New Testament and makes us worse people. Over the course of our conversation we talk about both of those aspects of Ian’s indictment on the modern apologetics, looking at specific culprits and also specific examples where our reading of New Testament will be negatively impacted. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #79 - Does Apologetics Help Us Read The Old Testament? With Dr. Brent Strawn

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our conversation on Apologetics we want to take the next two episodes to ask whether apologetics helps us read Scripture. This week we want to ask that question in relation to the Old Testament specifically. We are joined by Dr. Brent Strawn, Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School and Professor of Law at Duke University. He is the author of The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment (Baker), and more recently, Lies My Preacher Told Me: An Honest Look at The Old Testament (Westminster John Knox). In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about a number of issues pertaining to the use of the Old Testament in apologetic discussions. We pose several questions to Dr. Strawn, such as, why is it that apologetics makes it hard for us to read our Bibles, why we are perhaps less open to critical scholarship on the Old Testament than the New Testament, and what we should make of apparent contradictions if we aren’t going to feed the apologetic impulse to “tame” or “fix” the problem? Dr. Strawn contends that we need to see the big picture and put everything into perspective relative to central claims of our faith. He suggests that his approach is more compatible with a classic apologetic that is not mired in modernism and modernist constraints about what counts as facticity, historicity, etc. In the end, Dr. Strawn helpfully calls us to read with the grain of the text and to consider Augustine’s position that good interpretation ought to brings us into greater love of God and love of neighbor. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert.

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Episode #78 - The End of Apologetics with Dr. Myron Bradley Penner

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 13:46:37 GMT

Kicking off our brand-new series on apologetics we begin with the end! Our first guest is Dr. Myron Bradley Penner, the author of The End of Apologetics: Christian Witness in a Postmodern Context (published by Baker), and the Rector at the Anglican Parish of Saint Paul in the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Penner helpfully kick starts this series by asking what the goals of apologetics ought to be? He draws attention to many problems with the modern apologetic enterprise with their goals essentially being to win epistemic standoffs and show a force of rational domination. He highlights that many of the key figures in Christian apologetics are engaged in a project that is ironically secular, drawing as it does upon a modernist frame in order to attempt to win a battle against modernity. In our conversation, we discuss the problems that occur with reducing Christianity to propositions, as is so often done in this mode of apologetics. In our postmodern age, we are rightly skeptical of claims to “objective,” “universal,” and “neutral” knowledge, and so such an apologetic approach is also out of touch in addition to being so often less-than-Christian. Many of the questions that people are asking nowadays are also not the same ones in which classical apologetics first began. For all of these reasons, modern apologetics needs to die; and raised in its place must be something more personal, holistic, relational, and communal. Team members of the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #77 - Around the Table: Reflections on Cultural Identity

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 11:00:00 GMT

On this episode we reflect back on our Cultural Identity series and the things that stood out to us the most. We use the analogy of the table to highlight that these conversations need to happen in an egalitarian way, where we all bring something to the table for others to enjoy. The series began with Episode 68 (May 12th) and concludes with Episode 76 (July 7th). Our series includes episodes on Latin American Theology, Asian North American preaching and biblical interpretation, race relations after George Floyd, Critical Race Theory, Masculinity, and Whiteness. What we tried to stress in this series is there is no such thing as an “un-hyphenated theology,” that we all bring our cultural identities and various intersectional backgrounds to the text with us as we attempt to read it. We hoped to stress that we all have particularities that we need to be aware of, and that we also need to learn from others who have a unique access to the text because of their distinct particularities. We also hope that this series highlights how we do not want to universalize our particularities. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #76 - After Whiteness with Dr. Willie James Jennings

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Concluding our series on Cultural Identity, we are joined by Dr. Willie James Jennings, who is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School, and the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale University Press), and, more recently, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Eerdmans). Dr. Jennings begins by explaining what Whiteness is and isn’t, and specifically how it has nothing to do with phenotype, cultural heritage, bodily characteristics, biology, etc, but rather is a particular way of seeing the world as revolving around the self and as something to be mastered. Over the course of our conversation we talk about how the church and theological education have been ensconced in Whiteness. Given that dynamic, Dr. Jennings relays to us how to call out its particularities, overcome internalized racism in the academy, and addresses what sort of “crucifixion” white evangelicalism might need to experience to be on the side of resurrection. Throughout his book, After Whiteness, Dr. Jennings interweaves anecdotes with poems that he’s written. As a special treat for us, Dr. Jennings reads one of his unpublished poems that didn’t make its way into the book. In the end, Dr. Jennings provide a beautiful vision of hope for the gathering of the multitudes together as the people of God after Whiteness. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #75 - Religion, Race, & Whiteness in New Testament Scholarship with Professor David Horrell

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 13:00:00 GMT

In this penultimate episode in our cultural identity series we discuss the role of whiteness in New Testament scholarship with Prof. David Horrell, who is Professor of New Testament Studies and the Director of the Center for Biblical Studies at the University of Exeter (England), and the author of Solidarity and Difference: A Contemporary Reading of Paul’s Ethics (T&T Clark, 2005), and, more recently, Ethnicity and Inclusion: Religion, Race, and Whiteness in Constructions of Jewish and Christian Identities (Eerdmans, 2020). Over the course of our conversation, Prof. Horrell talks with us about his new book on the particularities that contribute to the modern state of New Testament scholarship, and specifically the particularities that have contributed to New Testament scholarship on the relationship between Judaism and nascent Christianity, that the former is particular and ethnocentric, whereas the latter is non-particular and universal. Prof. Horrell situates this within a Euro-centric perspective that lauds western liberal values, with many implications that continue to impact New Testament Studies. In our conversation Prof. Horrell also reflects on his former research under this light, particularly his studies on Paul’s ethics, and helps us consider how we can come to see the effects of whiteness on New Testament scholarship as “strange” by de-centering white western perspectives on the text. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #74 - Multiple Masculinities with Dr. Robert Stegmann

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we carry on our broader discussion on cultural identity with Dr. Robert Stegmann, who is Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and the author of Contested Masculinities: Polysemy and Gender in 1 Thessalonians (Lexington). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Stegmann explains his work on gender in Paul, in which he contends for multiple possibilities of masculinity in the text rather than a static conception of gender. As he does so from a postcolonial and gender-critical perspective, he is very aware of his own cultural situatedness as a white male New Testament scholar based in South Africa. In drawing attention to his background explicitly and consistently, he provides a great model for what we are trying to stress in this series—self-reflection on our own particularities as we approach the biblical text. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #73 - Asian American Biblical Interpretation with Dr. Janette Hur Ok

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 11:00:00 GMT

On this episode in the Cultural Identity series we are joined by Dr. Janette Hur Ok, who is associate professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of the forthcoming monograph Constructing Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter: Who You Are No Longer in the Library of New Testament Studies series. Dr. Ok addresses a number of key issues related to contextualized readings of the New Testament, noting first of all that western biblical scholarship is also contextualized. In other words, there’s no such thing as an a-contextualized reading of Scripture. As such, Dr. Ok tells us a bit about how she developed her own Asian American approach to biblical studies, and we talk about her forthcoming monograph on 1 Peter in particular, which provides an interesting approach to the issue of ethnicity in the letter. As the conversation continues we discuss a range of important topics that help to round out our series, such as various issues of intersectionality, like Asian American feminist scholarship. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Kris Song.

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Episode #72 - Latin American Theology & Identity with Norlan Hernandez

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our series on Cultural Identity, we are joined by Norlan Hernandez, who is the Director of the Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership at Vanguard University and a PhD Candidate in Intercultural Studies at the Cook School of Intercultural Studies at Biola University. Norlan joins us on the podcast for a second episode on Latin American Theology, following on from last week’s more historically-focused episode with Dr. Octavio Esqueda (Episode #71 – “Journeying Through Latin American Theology”). In this episode we discuss more about how cultural identity is crucial to the task of theology. In our conversation we note the importance and inevitability of contextualization, the communal dynamics of Hispanic culture relative to the institutional nature of the church, epistemologies of the South, and the holistic nature of Hispanic theology and spirituality. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #71 - Journeying Through Latin American Theology with Dr. Octavio Esqueda

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our series on Cultural Identity we are joined by Dr. Octavio Esqueda for a discussion on Latin American Theology. Dr. Esqueda is Professor of Christian Higher Education and the Director of the EdD and PhD programs at Biola University. As an expert in higher education and the Spanish Reformation, Dr. Esqueda provides a helpful overview of the history of Latin American Theology as well as some of the key tenets of Hispanic Evangelical Theology, which includes the importance of communal theology, a holistic sense of mission, an inclination towards hope, and an intentional positioning as a theology from the margins. As part of this discussion, Dr. Esqueda helpfully explains that justice is always social, and that Spanish Bible readers are more inclined to recognize this than English readers of the Bible because the key Greek and Hebrew terms translated sometimes as “justice” and sometimes as “righteousness” in English are all translated with cognates related to justice in Spanish. Along the way Dr. Esqueda provides a nice mix of the anecdotal to go along with the historical, incorporating stories about his own personal faith journey growing up in Mexico and also some of the insights he gained while doing his doctoral work on theological education in Cuba. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #70 - George Floyd: Reflections on Race One Year Later with Dr. Walter Augustine

Wed, 26 May 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In our third episode on Cultural Identity, we are joined by Dr. Walter Augustine, who is the Director of Intercultural Education and Research in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at BIOLA University, to discuss the topic of race one year after the dehumanizing murder of George Floyd. To start Dr. Augustine shares some encouraging developments since last year, but also some of his frustrations. And we discuss whether the guilty verdict given to Derek Chauvin was an instance of justice or accountability, noting an important difference between retributive and restorative justice. This then led us to a discussion on reparations in which Dr. Augustine provides a helpful theological framework in terms of repentance. In appealing to a biblical paradigm, Dr. Augustine looks at Zaccaeus as a great example of restorative justice, and even a kind of reparation. But Dr. Augustine also notes that reparations should not be thought about strictly in financial terms. As the conversation continues we discuss both the fear and fascination of the white gaze upon black bodies, reducing the black experience to “a single story” of physicality; we note examples of this from history, sports, and even American reception of the biblical character Samson. In the end, Dr. Augustine provides some hopeful words for the road ahead, drawing upon Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words about the need for reciprocal mutuality to foster true human flourishing. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Rev. Daniel Parham.

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Episode #69 - Critical Race Theory & The Gospel with Dr. Nathan Cartagena, Dr. Jeff Liou, and Dr. Robert Chao Romero

Wed, 19 May 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our series on Cultural Identity, we turn to discuss Critical Race Theory and its potential for intersection with the gospel. In previous episodes on Critical Theory (CT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), we have primarily focused on the common characterizations and misunderstandings of the movement, the theories, etc. In this episode we are joined by scholars who make use of CRT in an intentionally Christian way. Our guests include, Dr. Nathan Cartagena, who is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College, Dr. Jeff Liou, who is the Director of Theological Formative at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the co-founder of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, and Dr. Robert Chao Romero, who is Associate Professor of Chicano/Chicana Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA. Over the course of the conversation, Dr. Cartagena, Dr. Liou, and Dr. Romero explain how CRT relates to the goof news of Jesus Christ and how CRT helps the spread of the gospel through evangelism in racially minoritized communities. This episode contains many powerful challenges for the church to boldly engage in the work of antiracism for the sake of the gospel. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #68 - Asian North American Preaching with Dr. Matthew Kim and Dr. Daniel Wong

Wed, 12 May 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Kicking of our series on Cultural Identity, we are joined by Dr. Matthew Kim and Dr. Daniel Wong, the authors of Finding our Voice: A Vision Asian North American Preaching (Lexham Press). Dr. Kim is George F. Bennett Chair of Preaching and Practical Theology at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and Dr. Wong recently retired from his position as Associate Professor of Christian Ministries at Tyndale University (Canada). In our conversation Dr. Kim and Dr. Wong talk to us about various issues pertaining to hermeneutics and homiletics from the bi-cultural perspective of being Asian and North American. We talk about what a distinctly bi-cultural hermeneutic might look like, how the incarnation is a helpful model for thinking about bi-cultural identity, how we become aware of our own cultural influences, the role of honor and shame in Asian North American contexts, and what the broader church can learn from an Asian North American perspective. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #67 - Leadership and Abuse in the Church with Aimee Byrd and Dr. Michael Bird

Wed, 05 May 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about the recent scandals committed by major leaders in the church, most notably Ravi Zacharias. For this conversation we are joined by Aimee Byrd, the author of Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (published by Zondervan), and Dr. Michael Bird, who is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College, Melbourne. We wanted to have Aimee and Mike on with us because they have been having robust and lively conversations together on YouTube called "Birds of a Feather," and we wanted to be a part of one of their interesting conversations on The Two Cities. Over the course of our discussion we talk about various reactions to the Ravi Zacharias scandal in particular, and more generally we reflect on the cultural factors in the evangelical world that might lead to abuse and how to have systems set in place within the church and within denominations to properly handle situations of abuse. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #66 - Reframing Sexual Addiction with Dr. Samuel Perry

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 11:00:00 GMT

(CW: Adult Themes). On this episode we discuss sexual addiction with Dr. Samuel Perry, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma and the author of Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants (published by Oxford University Press). Our discussion begins by addressing the original claim made by the Atlanta shooter, who said that he was motivated to violence by a "sexual addiction." Dr. Perry, who is an expert on sexual addiction from a sociological perspective, directly addresses that claim, but also looks more widely at how we talk about sexual addiction and lust in the church. In particular, we discuss the way pornography and masturbation are often regarded as the worst kinds of problems in the church, which Dr. Perry calls a “sexual exceptionalism.” Dr. Perry further highlights how gendered this conversation typically is in the church as well, leaving women without any resources or recourse to address these issues in their own lives. The conversation as a whole helpfully contextualizes sexual addiction in many ways. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #65 - Art & Film with Dr. Kutter Callaway

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Concluding our Art & Culture series with our fifth and final episode, we turn to discuss the artistic nature of film with Dr. Kutter Callaway, who is Associate Professor of Theology and the co-director of Reel Spirituality at Fuller Seminary. With the 93rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony (“the Oscars”) just around the corner, we discuss in particular the artistry of the Best Picture Nominees from the past year (spoilers throughout). After discussing why Christians should care about film, and after lamenting our various experiences with Christian approaches to film exemplified by organizations like Plugged In, we turn to chat about key themes across the Best Picture Nominees, and how these films are suited to our current moment. In the end, Dr. Callaway stresses the importance of empathy that films uniquely foster in us. As he says, “Art traffics in empathy,” and thus an “ethic of viewership” requires empathy from us or else the art is “stillborn.” Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Kris Song.

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Episode #64 - Art & Cultural Engagement with Dr. Greg Thornbury

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:00:00 GMT

For the penultimate episode in our Art & Culture series we are joined by Dr. Greg Thornbury to discuss Art & Cultural Engagement. Dr. Thornbury is Vice President for Development at the New York Academy of Art in New York City and the author of Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock. Over the course of the conversation we talk about problematic ways of conceiving of “cultural engagement,” bad forms of Christian art, and why the rock star Larry Norman was such a helpful model for what it means to be a Christian in the arts. One of the more intriguing aspects of the conversation is the notion of ”kayfabe,” which comes from the arena of professional wrestling, referring to the illusions of real fighting, but actually isn’t. Dr. Thornbury uses this concept as a fascinating metaphor for dishonest art. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #63 - Art & Biblical Literature with Dr. Matthew Mullins

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In the third installment of our series on Art & Culture, we are joined by Dr. Matthew Mullins for a conversation on Art & Biblical Literature. Dr. Mullins is Associate Professor of English and History of Ideas as well as Associate Dean for Academic Advising at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, NC), and he is the author of Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Bible (Baker, 2021). Throughout the conversation we talk about the importance of approaching the Bible from a literary standpoint in order to understand it at a deeper affective level that goes beyond the cerebral. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #62 - Art & Faith with Makoto Fujimura

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our series on Art and Culture, we are joined by Makoto Fujimura, who is the founder of the International Arts Movements and the Fujimura Institute and the author of Art and Faith: A Theology of Making (with Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation we talk about the relationship of art to modernism, beauty and subjectivity, and the notion of abstract art. As we discuss art from a faith perspective, our discussion turns to focus on reflections on art in the midst of loss and grief and what that teaches us theologically about grieving alongside Jesus (cf. John 11:35) and what the nature of the new creation will be. Team members on the episode include Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Grace Sangalang Ng.

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Episode #61 - Art & Knowing with Dr. Esther Meek

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

To kick off our series on Art & Culture we are joined by Dr. Esther Meek, who is Professor of Philosophy at Geneva College, and the author of a number of important works on epistemology, including Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People (with Brazos) and Loving to Know: Introducing Covenant Epistemology (with Cascade). In this episode Dr. Meek addresses the relationship between Art and Knowing. Over the course of our conversation we discuss how modernism has sidelined philosophy along with art, which has really taken away a key facet of what it means to be human in the world. Along the way as we discuss everything from boredom to Harry Potter to the Enneagram and the Night Blooming Cereus, Dr. Meek models a lively and exuberant appreciation for reality and an approach to knowing that is inherently creative, integrative, and beautiful. Team members on the episode include Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

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Episode #60 - Anger Amidst Lament: Reactions to Atlanta

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we process the horrific events that took place in Atlanta earlier this week in which a twenty-one year old white male attacked three Asian-owned business, including spas and massage parlors in the broader metro area. We also address the narrative that has emerged about the motivation for the murders. Was this a racialized hate crime? Or was it a sexualized crime rooted in the shooter’s “sexual temptation”? We affirm that this is in fact a false dichotomy and that intersectional thinking is required to do justice to the full complexity of the issues at play here. Over the course of the conversation we address the rise of Asian American hate crimes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, evangelical purity culture, and also the fact that this shooter was a Christian and how Christians have responded too quickly to denounce any significance to that fact. Team members on the episode include: Jennifer Guo, Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Josh Carrol, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

Links to reports and articles mentioned in the episode listed below:

Stop AAPI Hate National Report

Albert Tate's Good News Today - March 18, 2021

After “The China Virus” Went Viral: Racially Charged Coronavirus Coverage and Trends in Bias Against Asian Americans by Sean Darling-Hammond, Eli K. Michaels, Amani M. Allen, David H. Chae, Marilyn D. Thomas, Thu T. Nguyen, Mahasin M. Mujahid, Rucker C. Johnson

“The Atlanta massacre is yet another reminder we desperately need race-conscious discipleship” by Raymond Chang

Responding to anti-Asian Violence with Creativity from the Margins by Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes

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Episode #59 - Reflections on the Gender Series

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we recap and reflect on the gender series that we’ve been doing since mid-November 2020. The series spans eighteen episodes, beginning with “Paul and Masculinity with Grace Emmett” (November 11, 2020) and ending with “The Great Sex Rescue with Sheila Wray Gregoire” (March 10, 2020). As we explain in this conversation, we regard every episode in between these two episodes as being part of the series, including the ones on racial matters, such as, “Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship with Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu,” “Critical Theory: Fact, Fiction, or Fallacy? With Dr. Matthew Arbo and Dr. Scott Coley,” and “African American Readings of Paul with Dr. Lisa Bowens.” Over the course of the episode, we debrief some of our highlights from the series, some connections and themes that we noticed across the episodes, some reactions and responses we received from people who tuned in, and we also extended the discussion further to emphasize the importance and implications of these conversations for current events related to violence against women in the light of the murder of Sarah Everard in London in early March 2021. Contributors on the episode from The Two Cities include Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Brandon Hurlbert, Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Logan Williams, and our newest contributor, Jennifer Guo, who is a PhD student in New Testament at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN).

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Episode #58 - The Great Sex Rescue with Sheila Wray Gregoire

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:00:00 GMT

(CW: Mature Content and Abuse) On today’s episode we talk about sex with Sheila Wray Gregoire, a well-known speaker, blogger, podcaster, and author of several books on sex, including the recently published The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended (with Baker). In our conversation we talk about lies that we tell in the evangelical church about sex, particularly gendered tropes for men and women respectively. Sheila informs us that these lies impact lots of things, including sexual satisfaction in marriage. She was able to determine loads of fascinating information like this from conducting the largest survey of Christian women regarding sexuality (over 20,000 women were surveyed). Along the way Sheila also chats with us about purity culture, vaginismus, evangelical sexual scandals, and more. Team members on the episode include: Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #57 - The Making of Biblical Womanhood with Dr. Beth Allison Barr

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss the concept of “Biblical Womanhood” from a historical perspective. To do so we are joined by Dr. Beth Allison Barr, who is Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of History at Baylor University (Waco, TX), and the author of the forthcoming book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth (with Brazos). In her new book, Dr. Barr contends that “Biblical Womanhood” isn’t biblical at all, but rather is the product of people. She relays to us in our conversation some of the ways that she defends that thesis in her book, some key insights and motivations behind writing the book, and also some of the plans she originally had for certain chapters. Along the way we make reference to Jordan Peterson, whether a concept like “Biblical Womanhood” can be salvaged and reinvested with new meaning, the cultural tensions of patriarchy and feminism, and the implications of Dr. Barr’s new book for recent sexual abuse scandals that have come to light regarding Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #56 - Gender & The Trinity with Dr. Madison Pierce

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:00:00 GMT

On this episode we discuss various topics related to gender and the Trinity, including: the gendered language about the family of God (i.e. “sons”) and the gendered language for the persons of the Trinity (i.e. Father and Son), the representation of God with maternal imagery in the Bible, and the topic of the Eternal Functional Subordination of the Son (EFS), which is a proxy discussion for a complementarian approach to gender. For this discussion we are joined by Dr. Madison Pierce, who is assistant professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, Illinois), and the author of Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Recontextualization of Spoke Quotations of Scripture (Cambridge University Press, 2020). After digging into these topics related to God and gender, we close out our conversation with some reflections on gender representation in theological education and Dr. Pierce's Enneagram type. Team members from The Two Cities podcast on the episode include: Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Chris Porter.

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Episode #55 - Ecological Grief with Hannah Malcolm

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:00:00 GMT

On today’s episode we begin the season of Lent with a discussion on ecological grief with our guest, Hannah Malcolm, who is PhD Candidate in Theology at Durham University studying ecological grief as a form of theological knowledge. She is also the editor of Words for a Dying World: Stories of Grief and Courage from the Global Church (SCM Press, 2020) containing essays, poems, and anecdotes related to our ecological crisis. Over the course of the episode, Hannah helps us understand the nature of ecological grief relative to other forms of trauma. We chat about what prevents evangelicals from participating in this process of grieving, noting some important distinctions on this issue in American and British contexts respectively. Hannah also addresses some of the insufficiencies for how the church resources Scripture and how the church often chooses to address the issue collectively. She informs us about gendered components to this issue re: political leadership in helping to ameliorate the problem, whether men or women are more likely to take ecological action, and who is most culpable and also most vulnerable to climate crisis. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #54 - Gender in 1 Timothy with Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall, Associate Professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College (Hamilton, Ontario) and the author of Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker, 2016). Our the course of our conversation we discuss a number of historical and cultural background issues, including, the Artemis cult at Ephesus, Paul's Hellenistic background, whether Paul wrote 1 Timothy (and if that has any bearing on how we should handle 1 Timothy as a whole), and maternal mortality. Textually, we dive into the meaning of a number of exegetical and lexical issues in 1 Timothy 2, including the meaning of "saved through childbearing" (1 Tim. 2.15), how Adam and Eve relate to the exhortations that Paul is giving related to his command that women ought to learn, and whether the passage is directed to husband and wife dynamics in the home or to a worship context. Team members from The Two Cities on the episode include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #53 - Gender in Romans with Dr. Beverly Roberts Gaventa

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode of The Two Cities podcast we are joined by Dr. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, who is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Baylor University (Waco, TX), and the author of When in Romans: An Invitation to Linger with the Gospel According to Paul (Baker, 2016). Over the course of our conversation we talk about Dr. Gaventa’s current research on Romans for the New Testament Library series, noting some distinctive features of her reading of Romans, including an emphasis on apocalyptic images in the text. She also tells us what elements of Romans that she imagines would stand out to the original hearers among the Roman congregations as it was read aloud. Furthermore, we discuss with her about the possibility that the letter was originally read aloud by Phoebe, the deacon and benefactor that Paul mentions at the start of Romans 16 and most likely the original letter carrier who brought the letter of Romans to Rome. From here we talk about the other prominent women mentioned at the end of the letter, notably Prisca and Junia. Dr. Gaventa informs us about the roles and titles attributed to these women, and also what we can learn about their leadership in the early church. Team members on the episode include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #52 - Jesus and John Wayne with Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode of The Two Cities podcast we talk with Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history at Calvin University, about her book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted A Faith and Fractured A Nation (Liveright, 2020). Over the course of the conversation Dr. Du Mez tells us about some of the most shocking findings from her book, how Jesus and John Wayne fits within her longstanding research interests in militant Christian masculinity in the US, and how those themes can be traced through the teachings of key Christian leaders like James Dobson, John Eldridge, Douglas Wilson, Doug Phillips, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Jerry Falwell Sr., and Jerry Falwell Jr., among others. We also go beyond the book in connecting the insights from it to the events of January 6, the insurrection at the Capitol building, and the recent attempts to overthrow American democracy. The Two Cities team members on the episode include Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #51 - African American Readings of Paul with Dr. Lisa Bowens

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Rev. Daniel Parham are joined by Dr. Lisa Bowens, associate professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, and the author of African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation, which was published by Eerdmans in 2020. In this episode Dr. Bowens talks to us about her research on the primary sources from the 18th century on through the Civil Rights movement, chronicling some key insights in the interpretation of Paul in slave petitions, essays, speeches, sermons, conversion narratives, etc. In particular, she describes the diversity of African-American pauline hermeneutics, the way that white slaveholders used Scripture to impose slavery, how African Americans read Scripture through the lens of liberty, how that liberative reading of Paul in regards to slavery led to additional liberation for women as well, and how reading Paul in a liberative manner led enslaved African Americans to reinterpret the significance and value of their own bodies.

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Episode #49 - Women in the Patristic Era with Dr. Lynn Cohick

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:00:00 GMT

As part of our broader series on gender in biblical scholarship, Christian tradition, and the contemporary church, we turn to discuss Women in the Patristic Era. In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, and Dr. Chris Porter are joined by Dr. Lynn Cohick, who is Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs, and Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. We begin by hearing how Dr. Cohick first became interested in the broader topic by studying the visions and spirituality of Julian of Norwich. As the conversation progresses, Dr. Cohick informs us about several prominent women in the early church, such as the martyr Perpetua, and St. Thecla and the cult that emerged in her remembrance. Dr. Cohick also responds to our questions regarding the way asceticism may have shaped the relative roles of women in the early church, how early Christians were reading the New Testament in regard to what it says about women, whether women in the early church held the same ministerial titles that we see in the New Testament, and whether the early church continues a liberative trajectory, such as the one Robert Webb sees in the development from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

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Episode #48 - Neither Complementarian Nor Egalitarian with Dr. Michelle Lee-Barnewall

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Continuing our conversation on gender dynamics in Scripture and the Church, in this podcast episode we talk about the binary of Complementarianism and Egalitarianism regarding how to conceive of the relationship of men and women in marriage and in the church. Has the entrenchment of the binary led us to miss aspects of the text? For this conversation, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, and Grace Sangalang Ng are joined by Dr. Michelle Lee-Barnewall, Associate Professor of New Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA and author of Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective To The Evangelical Gender Debate (with Baker in 2016). Over the course of the conversation Dr. Lee-Barnewall tells us what she finds to be deficient in both Complementarianism and Egalitarianism, what is often missing from and overemphasized in the debate, how her unique approach fits in church contexts, how Complementarians and Egalitarians alike have responded to her book, how her books fits into contemporary gender identity and gender discourse, and how to think of her ideas in the light of broader cultural interests in diversity of all sorts.

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Episode #47 - Women in Matthew's Genealogy of Jesus with Dr. Jeannine Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode we talk about the significance of the women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. For this conversation, Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert are joined by Dr. Jeannine Brown, Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN), member of the NIV Translation Committee, and author of a few commentaries on Matthew. We talk about why genealogies are worth digging into rather than skipping, why it's significant that women are mentioned at all in a genealogy in the Bible, and what's significant about the four named women in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and "the wife of Uriah"). Some read these four women in terms of the sexual scandals associated with their stories, but Dr. Brown calls our attention to their whole stories and how they are seen as paragons of faithfulness in the contexts of their stories. Additionally, Dr. Brown notes the ethnic commonalities between the four women as Gentiles. We also discuss the similarities and differences between Luke and Matthew's genealogies, as well as the differences between their respect infancy narratives and whether Matthew's Magi should be included in Nativity sets for Christmas.

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Episode #46 - Women in 1 Corinthians with Dr. Lucy Peppiatt

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Carrying on in our conversation on gender, we turn to discuss women in 1 Corinthians with particular attention given to the passage about head coverings in 1 Cor. 11 and women being silent in the church in 1 Cor. 14. In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Dr. Logan Williams are joined by Dr. Lucy Peppiatt, who is Principal of Westminster Theological Centre in the UK and author of a number of related books, including Women and Worship at Corinth (Cascade, 2015), Unveiling Paul's Women (Cascade, 2018), and Rediscovering Scripture's Vision for Women (IVP, 2019). Dr. Peppiatt's background is in Systematic Theology, so she identifies herself as coming to the text as a theologian rather than a Pauline scholar. In her reading of 1 Cor. 11.2–16—the passage that speaks of head coverings and kind of sounds like women are inferior to men—these verses are not Paul's words, but rather part of rhetorical response to the perspective of the Corinthians. Dr. Peppiatt explains that she does not think that Paul believes these words, and that, if he did, the only legitimate interpretation in her view would be that Paul affirms the subordination of women both functionally and ontologically. She notes that this is how one scholar, Michael Lakie, reads the passage does, suggesting that Paul views women as subordinate and less than men. See Michael Lakie, Image and Glory of God: 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 As A Case Study in Bible, Gender, and Hermeneutics (LNTS 418; London: T&T Clark, 2010). On its face, Dr. Peppiatt does not disagree with Lakie's interpretation of 1 Cor. 11.2–16; she disagrees with him regarding who's perspective it is. She affirms that that theology is in the text, but she contends that it's the perspective of the Corinthians. If it were Paul's perspective, it would not fit what Paul says elsewhere in his letters, or what Jesus says in the Gospels, or indeed what we know from the rest of the Bible. For these reasons and more Dr. Peppiatt reads the passage as a rhetorical interaction with the Corinthian perspective. Such a reading benefits from the fact that Paul does quote “Corinthian slogans” elsewhere in 1 Corinthians, and so Dr. Peppiatt extends this phenomenon to include 1 Cor. 11.2–16. Otherwise, Dr. Peppiatt explains that there's also no reason for women to refrain from wearing head coverings either. At this point in the conversation we had a little bit of fun commenting on who was and wasn’t wearing head coverings during the recording of the podcast. From there we shift to 1 Corinthians 14 and the passage about women being silent in church. We talk about the interesting text-critical possibility that Paul did not write 1 Cor. 14.33b–36, and that these verses were inserted later by a scribe, but Dr. Peppiatt explains why she does believe that Paul wrote those words originally. We then discuss some practical matters about how to engage with people who are committed, on the basis of conscience and a sense of Scripture's authority, with reading 1 Corinthians 11 as teaching that head coverings are mandatory and women are subordinate to men ontologically. And further we conclude with hearing from Dr. Peppiatt on how people should address this topic further who want to see more women in ministry, but feel like they cannot get beyond what they see as the implications of 1 Cor. 11.

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Episode #45 - Paul & Masculinity Revisited with Dr. Valérie Nicolet

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Grace Emmett are joined by Dr. Valérie Nicolet, Associate Professor of New Testament at the Protestant Institute of Theology in Paris, to continue an earlier podcast conversation on Paul and masculinity. Our conversation begins with Paul's self-presentation, esp. in Galatians, and then extends to address the fuzziness of gender categories in antiquity, as seen with Thecla from the Acts of Paul and Thecla. Dr. Nicolet addresses her "feminine masculinity" in the text and the implications of her baptizing herself. From the there the conversation becomes more meta, with a focus on the gendered culture of New Testament scholarship, which is so androcentric. As the conversation progresses, the episode reflects our most recent podcast with Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu on the other default category in biblical scholarship of whiteness.

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Episode #44 - Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship with Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode a group of team members from The Two Cities (Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Logan Williams) are joined by Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary, to discuss his recent piece published with the Public Theology Network, entitled, “The Stubborn Invisibility of Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship” (Here is the link: https://politicaltheology.com/the-stubborn-invisibility-of-whiteness-in-biblical-scholarship/). Dr. Tupamahu explains that the key to resisting the imposition of whiteness onto others, Christian scholars ought to bring the church’s questions to scholarship rather than taking the scholarly nuggets to the church. Scholars are asking different questions than those in the church, but, more importantly, scholars also tend to be asking the questions of white European-Americans. One of the common issues in biblical studies that Dr. Tupamahu situates within the particular concerns of whiteness is the Synoptic Problem, which he contends is generated by the rise of the printing press in the West. Given this situatedness, Dr. Tupamahu provides some advice on how to teach Synoptic Problem as a uniquely European-American concern. Dr. Tupamahu also provides us with a sneak peek on how his own current research resists the concerns of whiteness, telling us that his current book project with OUP on “tongues" and “languages" in 1 Corinthians situates the discussion within the immigrant context of Corinth in which multiple languages would have been spoken. He explains how in the whole discussion on tongues Paul is insisting on monolingual order in a multilingual context.

Dr. Tupamahu’s piece is part of a series of essays at the Public Theology Network, which are also worth checking out:

Jacqueline Hidalgo, “Occupying Whiteness: A Reflection in 2020” (link: https://politicaltheology.com/occupying-whiteness-a-reflection-in-2020/).

Angela Parker, “Invoking Paul’s μὴ γένοιτο and Sofia’s ‘Hell No’ Against the Stubborn Whiteness of Biblical Scholarship” (link: https://politicaltheology.com/invoking-pauls-%ce%bc%e1%bd%b4-%ce%b3%ce%ad%ce%bd%ce%bf%ce%b9%cf%84%ce%bf-and-sofias-hell-no-against-the-stubborn-whiteness-of-biblical-scholarship/).

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Episode #43 - Recovering From Biblical Manhood & Womanhood with Aimee Byrd

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Carrying on with our series on gender and the Bible, Amber Bowen and Dr. John Anthony Dunne are joined by Aimee Byrd, who is the author of several books, including Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Zondervan Academic, 2020). In this episode Aimee explains that, despite what one might suspect from her outspoken detractors, her book is ultimately about discipleship. She critiques the movement that appeals to "biblical manhood and womanhood" as truncating biblical gender down to discrete "roles" that are primarily defined in terms of leadership and submission. The result is a "biblical" portrait that is narrow and damaging. Further, she calls out the "fractional" approach to complementarity that views men and women as two halves respectively that only create a single whole when together. Instead, Aimee points to an "integral" complementarity, where marriage is seen as a process in which two "wholes" come together to generatively create something new. Although she is critical of the complementarian approach, in this podcast she explains her reasons for not being an egalitarian. And at the end of the conversation, Aimee gives us a sneak peek on her new writing project on gender-related matters.

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Episode #42 - Preaching & Gender

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Continuing our discussion on gender from last week with Grace Emmett ("Paul & Masculinity"), we turn to look at the relationship between preaching and gender. In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Chris Porter reflect on this topic from the vantage point of our different cultural and ecclesial contexts. Rather than debate particular texts and their meaning in a prescriptive manner, we discuss how various cultural factors have contributed to the relative normativity of gender diversity in preaching in our various denominational settings.

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Episode #41 - Paul & Masculinity with Grace Emmett

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Kicking off a discussion on gender in the Bible and how this syncs up the Western Church and broader culture, Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Logan Williams chat with Grace Emmett, a PhD Candidate in New Testament at King's College, London, who recently submitted a thesis entitled, "Becoming A Man: Unmanly/Manly Self-Presentation in the Pauline Epistles." In this episode we discuss masculinity as presented in the Pauline epistles and reflected in ancient culture, including questions of whether Paul is subversive or imitative of his surrounding culture. Grace highlights several unique features of Paul, such as maternal metaphors that he applies to himself, but ultimately contends that Paul should not be read as neither a chauvinist nor a proto-feminist. Given the ramifications that this conversation has for the contemporary Western church, we address matters of gender neutrality in biblical translation, concerns of the feminization of the church, and also the usefulness of gendered church events (i.e. Men's night), gendered Christian resources (i.e. Women's Study Bibles), and gendered conferences (i.e. Promise Keepers).

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Episode #40 - Fake News & Misinformation with Rachel Wightman

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Concluding our series on the intersection of faith and politics we turn to address fake news and the spread of misinformation. In this episode Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Chris Porter are joined by Rachel Wightman, who is Associate Director for Instruction and Outreach at the library at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over the course of our conversation we discuss what makes misinformation so problematic, what unique factors in our communication today have caused the surge in disinformation, how confirmation bias causes misinformation to be so appealing, why people of faith in particular should be concerned about not spreading misinformation, whether Christians are uniquely susceptible to misinformation, and how we should engage friends/family who are spreading false information online. Along the way, Rachel gives us some practical advice for recognizing fake news stories and for evaluating whether a bit of news is legitimate, including when "experts" appear to be spreading misinformation (e.g. the Fresno doctors who downplayed COVID, the doctors who announced that hydroxychloroquine cures COVID, the Plandemic documentary, etc). She also helps us recognize that bias in journalism does not equate with "Fake News."

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Episode #39 - Abortion & Single Issue Voting with Jennie Riley

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 12:00:00 GMT

As another installment in our series on faith and politics, we discuss abortion and single issue voting in the United States. Joining Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, Tim McNutt, and Dr. Chris Porter for this discussion is our special guest, Jennie Riley, who recently submitted her PhD thesis in Theology at Durham University (England), focusing on the relationship between Evangelical Christianity and Medial Practice. As she explains in the episode, for her doctoral research she interviewed several medical doctors in the UK, who all self-identify as evangelical, about a whole host of issues from the more mundane to medical ethics. As it pertains to abortion, Jennie relays to us the stories of three doctors that had a formative role in shaping her own mindset about the complexities of abortion. Jennie provides us with her academic perspective from a British context, drawing upon the qualitative research of her thesis, but also reflects upon that further from her own Christian perspective for the sake of our broader political conversation. In doing so, Jennie models for us how we can discuss a heavy and complicated topic with kindness, empathy, and charity, even when we might disagree on such important political and ethical matters.

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Episode #38 - Watchmen & 2020 Politics with Matthew William Brake

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In the run up to Election Day in the United States (Tuesday, November 3rd), here at The Two Cities we've been doing a series of political podcasts. This episode extends that conversation further, but situates it as part of a conversation with a major pop-cultural artifact—Watchmen. Originally a comic series in the mid-1980s, Watchmen is revered as one of the best graphic novels of all time. It was made into a (much-derided) film in the mid 2000s by Zack Snyder, but more recently Damon Lindelof extended the storyline in his adaptation of the story for HBO. Set in 2019, the Emmy Award Winning TV show Watchmen addresses relevant political issues in our day just as the original graphic novel did in the 80s. In particular, the show addresses systemic racism, suppressed racial history, and policing. In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne chats with Matthew William Brake, who is the series editor of Theology and Pop Culture (Fortress/Lexington Press) and Religion and Comic Books (Claremont Press), and who also runs a blog called Pop Culture and Theology (popularcultureandtheology.com). Over the course of our conversation we talk about the original graphic novel, how Lindelof handles the original material in the new TV show, and how relevant both stories are for thinking about politics.

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Episode #37 - Social Identity & Political Discourse

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing further our recent conversations on politics and political engagement from a Christian perspective (cf. the episodes entitled, "Faith and Politics with Rev. Baroness Maeve Sherlock" and "War & Political Theology with Michael Spalione"), Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Chris Porter discuss social identity theory and how our social identity shapes our present lack of bi-partisanship in the States and the degrading nature of our political discourse with those in the "out group." Chris explains that the theory originates with Henri Tajfel, noting some of his interesting experiments that show how much we favor the various "in groups" of which we are a part to the detriment of perceived "out groups." Along the way we discuss stereotyping and categorization, the metrics of "normative fit" (emphasizing who "we" are) and "comparative fit" (noting who "we" are not by comparison to an "out group"), the difficulty of compromise from a social identity perspective, and the implications that this all has for nuanced thinking that is regarded as deviant from the "normative fit" of the "in group." All the while Chris shares his perspective on the 2020 US election season from his unique vantage point in Australia.

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Episode #36 - War & Political Theology with Michael Spalione

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our conversation on the role of faith in our political discourse and political engagement, in the present episode Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert talk with Michael Spalione about his doctoral research on the topic of war within political theology. Having just recently passed his viva in pursuit of a PhD in political theology from Trinity College, Bristol through the University of Aberdeen, Michael helps us think about the topic of war from a Christian perspective in a way that gets beyond partisan emphases on strong militaries, etc, and builds upon a perspective that attempts to be consistently and holistically pro-life. Rooted in the "ecclesial turn," Michael explains that the church is a kingdom with its own political system that needs to be recognized. Throughout the episode Michael draws upon his thesis and incorporates some of its theological, philosophical, and exegetical insights into our discussion. We cover quite a bit of ground: everything from the pacifistic influences of metal and hardcore music to what cannibalism can teach us about compromise and moderation.

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Episode #35 - Faith and Politics with Rev. Baroness Maeve Sherlock

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this tumultuous election season in the States, in which partisan entrenchment often leads to a lack of kindness and respect across the aisle, we have brought in a guest from across the pond to help sort us out. Joining Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert is special guest Rev. Baroness Maeve Sherlock, who is Curate at St. Nics Durham in England, and is also a member of the House of Lords in the British Parliament. In this episode we discuss the differences between British and American politics, the legitimacy of one-issue voting, the separation of church and state, and how our voting energy as Christians ought to be invigorated by a desire for human flourishing.

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Episode #34 - The Gospel of Jesus's Wife with Dr. Christian Askeland

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In 2012 there was global interest in a small Coptic fragment the size of a business card that records Jesus saying the words "my wife." The fragment was presented to a group of scholars at a Coptology conference in Rome by Dr. Karen King of Harvard Divinity School, who herself had received it from a private collector. This presentation naturally drew immediate media attention. Very soon after this, it was discerned to be a forgery. But the story of how that was progressively uncovered, and also how some at Harvard, including King, resisted such a conclusion, is nothing short of remarkable. Recently, a journalist named Ariel Sabar, who was there in Rome back in 2012, and who had been chronicling all of the unfolding events for years, finally wrote it all up in a book, called Veritas: A Harvard Professor, A Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife (New York: Doubleday, 2020). It's a remarkable read, full of so many weird twists and turns. Sabar originally wrote a much shorter piece for the Atlantic back in 2016, which contains the original unveiling of the secret identity of the private collector who gave the manuscript to King, who was also quite likely the forger of the document—Walter Fritz. Here is the link to that Atlantic piece.

One of the significant scholarly contributions along the way in determining that the Gospel of Jesus's Wife was a forgery came from Dr. Christian Askeland, who earned a PhD from Cambridge University in New Testament textual criticism with a focus on the Coptic manuscripts of the Gospel of John. Dr. Askeland was able to definitively prove that a separate Coptic fragment, which also came from Mr. Fritz, was certainly a forgery. In this episode, Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Logan Williams are joined by Dr. Askeland to discuss his involvement in, and his perspective on, this crazy saga.

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Episode #33 - The Enneagram, Childhood Wounds, and Attachment Theory with Dr. Eurice Lee-Seo

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our conversation on the Enneagram, we wanted to dive deeper into some of the lesser known aspects of the popular personal formation tool. In particular, we wanted to discuss the issue of Childhood Wounds, which essentially deal with the way that our personality types were shaped by experiences that we had with our primary care givers as kids. Taking this a step further, in this episode we wanted to explore this issue of the Enneagram in dialogue with Attachment Theory. Towards that end Dr. Josh Caroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Grace Ng are joined by Dr. Eurice Lee-Seo (PsyD, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University), who is a clinical psychologist at the Southern Oregon Veteran Affairs. Over the course of our integrative dialogue we explain Attachment Theory and the Childhood Wounds of the Enneagram in their own right, and then we turn to see explore how therapies inspired by Attachment Theory might relate to the path forward for the nine Enneagram types in the light of their Childhood Wounds, and also whether certain Enneagram types naturally relate more closely with the respective attachment styles.

The key study referenced in this episode by Arthur and Allen that integrates Attachment Theory with the Enneagram can be found at this link.

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Episode #32 - The Enneagram & Stress in 2020

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we carry on our conversation on the Enneagram from last week ("The Enneagram—What Is It?") by diving more deeply into how we have all responded to the unique challenges of 2020. Engaging this topic is our largest panel of team members to date on The Two Cities podcast: Amber Bowen (Type 4), Dr. Josh Carroll (Type 7), Dr. John Anthony Dunne (Type 7), Paloma Herrera (Type 7), Brandon Hurlbert (Type 1), Grace Sangalang Ng (Type 6), Rev. Daniel Parham (Type 3), and Dr. Chris Porter (Type 3). Over the course of the episode we cover multiple topics from movements in stress, how our wings impact our management of stress, etc. In the end we emphasize the importance of thinking about the Enneagram in the context of community, and also the importance of community for seeing how people of various Enneagram types contribute to the richness of our experiences. In particular, we reflect on this dynamic as academics in relation to the annual international conferences every November—another thing that the global pandemic has significantly altered for us in 2020.

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Episode #31 - The Enneagram—What Is It?

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 11:00:00 GMT

The Enneagram is a well-known "personality test." For many, it is used as a simple means of compartmentalizing people. For others, it is a helpful tool to raise personal awareness and promote healthy growth. In this initial episode on the Enneagram, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Rev. Daniel Parham promote the idea of viewing the Enneagram as a tool rather than a test. We begin by overviewing the nine types, situating them within the three intelligence centers (8, 9, and 1 in the body center, 2, 3, and 4 in the heart center, and 5, 6, and 7 in the mental center). From there we discuss the concept of "wings," and how the adjacent types inform and temper our dominant types. We also address how the Enneagram is not static, and that it takes into account what our types look like in times of health (integration) and stress (disintegration). We conclude by reflecting on how we all came to learn about the Enneagram in the first place. This episode is meant to introduce people to the Enneagram, but also to establish an important way to think about it relative to some common misperceptions. This will serve to set up future episodes on the Enneagram as well.

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Episode #30 - Disability, Autism, and the Church with Brittany Hurlbert

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we discuss how churches can be more inclusive of people with disability and varying ability. John Anthony Dunne talks with Brittany Hurlbert, whose work is in educational and therapeutic settings, working primarily with people who have autism. After explaining what autism is, what its relationship to asperger's is, and some general misconceptions, we discuss some biblical principles for thinking about our differing abilities. Topics addressed include the issues of how we should think about "cures," what ministering with those with disabilities can look like, and what people with disabilities can teach us directly. Throughout the conversation we briefly acknowledge some scholarship from Grant Macaskill and Amos Yong on these topics.

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Episode #29 - Science & Faith with Seth Price

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Presently in our global situation, science is playing a crucial role in helping to squash the pandemic. Some, however, are skeptical of scientific expertise and tend to favor fringe ideas and conspiracy theories. In this episode, we wanted to take a step back and talk about the relationship between science and faith more broadly. It seems that many of the scientific skepticism flows downstream from a rejection of evolution, climate change, and other scientific consensuses. Joining Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert to discuss this issue is Seth Price, a PhD Candidate in Physics at Durham University, who shares his story about being a person of faith and a scientist, and who helps us think through issues like intellectual humility, the relationship between the Bible and science, and the concept of the "God of the Gaps."

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Episode #28 - Women in the Academy with Dr. Jill Firth and Dr. Christa McKirland

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this all-women episode, Amber Bowen discusses the unique experiences of women in the theological academy, including the challenges that women have to navigate as well as the particular benefits that they bring to the theological task. Joining Amber for this rich conversation are two special guests to The Two Cities: Dr. Jill Firth (PhD, Ridley College), who is Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, and Dr. Christa McKirland (PhD, University of St Andrews), who is Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Carey Baptist College in Auckland, New Zealand. The episode is filled with personal reflection, theological insight, and deep encouragement regarding the importance of women being equal contributors in the academy.

Here is the link to the BYU Magazine article on women that Dr. Christa McKirland mentioned on the podcast, “When Women Don’t Speak.”

Here is the link to Logia's webpage: http://logos.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/logia/

The edited volume that Dr. Jill Firth mentioned is called, Grounded in the Body, in Time and Place, in Scripture: Papers by Australian Women Scholars in the Evangelical Tradition, edited by Jill Firth and Denise Cooper-Clarke.

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Episode #27 - PhDs & the Preaching Life

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 15:10:32 GMT

Following up on an earlier episode, “PhDs & The Devotional Life," from April 22nd, 2020, John Anthony Dunne and Brandon Hurlbert discuss the dynamics of preaching in the local church with PhD level education. How does a PhD help one prepare for preaching? In what ways does it hinder preaching? How can we ensure that we are genuinely connecting with the people in our churches and not simply preaching 'at them'?

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Episode #26 - Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution with Dr. Tony Merida

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 11:00:00 GMT

To put it as understatedly as possible: conflicts have characterized much of 2020. From the conflicts that have emerged while being cooped up with family during quarantine, to the conflicts with extended family who share their abrasive political opinions on social media, and finally to the massive racial reckoning that has emerged in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, conflicts have been pervasive, unavoidable, and disheartening. Of course, deep down we all know that as we get closer to November things will only get worse. Towards a more productive approach to handling conflict, Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham are joined by Dr. Tony Merida, Pastor for Preaching at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina and Dean of Grimké Seminary, to talk about his new book, Christ-Centered Conflict Resolution: A Guide for Turbulent Times (B&H, 2020). In this episode we discuss conflict resolution, conflict avoidance, and the power of forgiveness.

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Episode #25 - Law and Order with Dr. Aaron Griffith

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne are joined by Dr. Aaron Griffith (Th.D., M.Div., Duke Divinity), who is currently Assistant Professor of History at Sattler College (Boston, MA), to discuss his upcoming book God's Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020). Over the course of our conversation we discuss the history of the evangelical posture towards criminal punishment, the way that the criminal justice system began to be politicized in America, evangelical attitudes towards capital punishment and the tension between retributive and restorative approaches to justice respectively, and the rhetorical strategy behind politicians appealing to "law and order."

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Episode #24 - Critical Race Theory & The Church

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Continuing our conversation on Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory (CRT), we conclude our series with some ecclesial reflections as it pertains to pastoral concerns and the nature of Christian engagement with CRT. Along the way we talk about what it means to be a Christian peacemaker, whether evangelical quest for political power is an objective good worth pursuing, and if the Bible contains hegemonic discourse. This episode, which builds upon the previous episodes with philosopher Dr. Scott Coley (“Understanding Critical Theory") and ethicist Dr. Matthew Arbo (“Critical Theory & Ethics"), contains final reflections from five Two Cities team members: Amber Bowen, Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, and Dr. Logan Williams.

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Episode #22 - Understanding Critical Theory with Dr. Scott Coley

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne discuss Critical Theory with special guest Dr. Scott Coley, who is Lecturer in Philosophy and Director of the Global Encounters program at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Over the course of the conversation we address the history and origin of Critical Theory, including its chief aim to upend Modernity's conviction that empirical science is the ultimate arbiter of truth, splitting apart all statements into facts and opinions, and thus relegating issues of morality to the latter category. As we provide some context for Critical Theory, we then transition to understand how Critical Race Theory (CRT) relates to Critical Theory, and address what CRT's unique perspective is. There's been a lot of noise on social media, esp. recently in the midst of the present racial reckoning in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, about whether CRT is incompatible with evangelical Christianity. We discuss some strengths and weaknesses to the theory as well as some problems with the way that evangelical responses to CRT typically take shape.

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Episode #21 - Transcultural Identity

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 11:00:00 GMT

There are many ongoing debates about “Black Lives Matter” v. “All Lives Matter,” though it does seem that, broadly-speaking, people have been coming around to recognizing what the slogan “Black Lives Matter” truly means, and why it’s crucial that we all affirm it without qualification. Yet, some disputes obviously persist. As a possible way forward, we discuss the topic of Transcultural Identity. Transcultural Identity is about the ways in which our identities are sometimes not so easily placed within neat categories or boundaries. In this episode, Dr. Christopher Porter and Dr. John Anthony Dunne discuss Transcultural Identity as a helpful way to address both the universalism and particularism of all people in the midst of the ongoing racial concerns and hang ups in the aftermath of the racial revolution inspired by the murder of George Floyd. Along the way we discuss Paul’s letter to the Galatians and the way that Paul navigates the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ vis-à-vis their continual ethnic and cultural differences. We also address the example of Peter, who retreated from eating with Gentiles in Antioch out of fear for how that might look to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, and Paul’s desire to be “all things to all people,” as expressed in 1 Corinthians 9.

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Episode #20 - Immigration, DACA, and SCOTUS with Jon Garcia

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled 5–4 against President Trump's attempt to repeal former President Obama's executive order on Immigration, known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). In this episode, John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Daniel Parham are joined by Jon Garcia, a PhD student in Religion at USC. Over the course of our conversation we talk about the implications of this ruling, President Trump's possible determination to try to repeal DACA once more, the relationship between immigration policy and growing nationalism in America, the nature of the conservative argument in favor of voting for Trump in 2016 on the grounds of gaining conservative justices given the two rulings from last week that went against certain conservative positions (i.e. regarding LGBT rights and immigration), and how certain cultural and societal trends have particularly led white evangelicals to be disinclined towards seeing immigration as a subject worth Christian reflection and action.

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Episode #19 - Memes, Confirmation Bias, and Discernment

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Our newsfeeds are inundated with memes and videos promoting all sorts of ideological perspectives, and much of that is curated by the networks that we choose to incorporate into the spheres of our respective social media accounts. As a result, it's easy to create insular and isolated social bubbles that keep us from understanding where others outside those bubbles are coming from, or from knowing what's truly going on in the world. In this episode, Amber Bowen, John Anthony Dunne, and Rev. Daniel Parham discuss some of these dynamics, such as the use of memes by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X to critique present-day protests, and the arguments against kneeling as a form of protest by contending that kneeling should only be reserved for God. For many of us, these memes are helpful because they are short and easy-to-understand, but given the echo chamber of social media, these memes often serve to reinforce a confirmation bias where we're likely to passively consume rather than critically engage what passes through our newsfeeds because the memes cohere with what we already think or because they align with what we would like to think about the world. Given our general human inclination to approve of what we prefer to be true rather than what's actually true, we turn our discussion in this episode to address the importance of cultivating a habit of discernment. As our discussion unfolds, we articulate that being a discerning person looks like: (A) being suspicious and skeptical, and allowing our curiosity to drive us to dig deeper, (B) utilizing and engaging a variety of sources, (C) seeking wise counsel from others, (D) checking our heart attitudes, and (E) prayerfully committing ourselves to the heart of God in service of others.

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Episode #18 - Systemic Racism with Dr. Walter Augustine

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Following upon our conversation on "Racial Justice" in the previous episode, John Anthony Dunne and Grace Sangalang Ng are joined by Dr. Walter Augustine, Director of Intercultural Education and Research in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at Biola University and an adjunct professor of theology and ethics at Talbot School of Theology. In this episode we extend our theological reflections on racial justice from the previous episode with further conversation on related issues of systemic racism, white privilege, “Black Lives Matter," the role of the church in the present racial tension, and the reasons to be hopeful regarding change and reform.

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Episode #17 - Racial Justice with Rev. Daniel Parham

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In the wake of horrific events from last week in Minneapolis with the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day by a police officer and the subsequent series of protests and riots throughout the United States, we discuss the need to think theologically about racial justice. Rev. Daniel Parham joins John Anthony Dunne and Grace Sangalang Ng to address gaps in our theological education regarding racism, the cliché of "colorblindness" as an apathetic reaction to the necessity of properly addressing racism, and the importance of racial justice as a component of our Christian orthopraxy.

Resources mentioned in this episode can be found below:

Books

Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in American to Confront Racism and Injustice by Eric Mason

One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love by John Perkins

Videos

Interconnected: Confronting Racial Prejudice Between Asian American and African American Communities

Organizations

Be the Bridge

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Episode #16 - Philosophy and the Good Life with Dr. J. Aaron Simmons

Wed, 27 May 2020 11:00:00 GMT

What value does Philosophy have in our lives? In a time of crisis like the present global pandemic in which we find ourselves, we might be particularly convinced that Philosophy is irrelevant or unhelpful. Broader societal trends seem to confirm this line of thought with the way that we privilege a certain kind of productivity over against living a well-lived life of purpose and meaning. Joining us to advocate for the inherent practicality of Philosophy and its crucial importance for us right now is Dr. J. Aaron Simmons, Professor of Philosophy at Furman University in South Carolina. In this episode, Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne chat with Dr. Simmons about the role of Philosophy in higher education and the present crisis. Particular stress is placed on the value of thinking well about all things, even leisure activities like playing the drums and trout fishing.

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Episode #15 - N.T. Wright Interview About His New Book, God and the Pandemic

Wed, 20 May 2020 11:00:00 GMT

N.T. Wright joins The Two Cities podcast for a special interview episode about his upcoming new book, God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath (London: SPCK / Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020). His new book is an expansion and development of a short article that he wrote for TIME magazine on March 29th, entitled, “Christianity Offers No Answers About The Coronavirus: It's Not Supposed To." In this episode, John Anthony Dunne talks with Prof. Wright about his new book, the biblical conceptions of lament, whether the coronavirus should be viewed as part of God's end-time tribulational judgment, and what the message of hope needs to be at the present time.

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Episode #14 - Kierkegaard & “The Leap of Faith"

Wed, 13 May 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Building further upon our previous conversations on the podcast about the nature of the gospel and the nature of faith (“Talking About The Gospel" and "Believing in the Gospel"), in this episode Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne discuss the popular notion of Faith as it has become famously expressed in the phrase, "A Leap of Faith." In this common recognition of what Faith is and does, it is an irrational exercise that seems to ignore evidence. This concept is often attributed to the great Danish philosopher of the 19th century, Søren Kierkegaard. This “Leap of Faith" is based, however, on a mistranslation as well as a misunderstanding of what Kierkegaard originally meant. Instead of what Faith does (i.e. leaps away from evidence), Faith is understood like a realm that one moves towards (as a kind of destination). Along the way the present discussion includes the reception of Kierkegaard among evangelicals, particularly evidentialist and classical apologists, reference to a popular interaction with this discrepancy in understanding Kierkegaard in the popular TV Show centered on ethics and the afterlife, The Good Place (Cf. Season 2, Episode 8 “Leap To Faith"), and finally the portrait of Faith as a crazy man on the top of a mountain in Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. Amber explains that ultimately for Kierkegaard, Faith is a realm that we move into, and then come back from, with new eyes to see beyond the closed finite horizon in which Faith will inevitably be perceived as crazy, isolating, and solipsistic.

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Episode #13 - Believing in the Gospel

Wed, 06 May 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we discuss what it means to believe the gospel, following up on our previous episode discussing recent debates on the blogosphere about what the gospel is and isn't ("Talking about the Gospel"). Building upon that previous conversation, Amber Bowen, John Anthony Dunne, and Logan Williams discuss binary thinking that impairs how we conceive of what faith is, and then address more helpful ways beyond that restrictive way of thinking that is more in line with how the Greek words for “faith” (πίστις; pistis) and “believing” (πιστεύω; pisteuō) were used and understood in the New Testament—as expressions of trust.

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Episode #12 - Talking About The Gospel

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

How should we define the gospel? Recently, there have been some heated discussions about the nature of the gospel. What should the central identifying feature be? Should it be the legal declaration of Justification by Faith? Or should it be the regal proclamation that Jesus is King? In this episode, Amber Bowen, John Anthony Dunne, Chris Porter, Kris Song, and Logan Williams call into question whether identifying a "center" to the gospel is even helpful in the first place, and draw attention to the broader implications about what tends to happen in our theological discourse when we talk about what the gospel is and is not. The way the gospel is often addressed in these kinds of conversations have implications for creating insiders and outsiders. In the end, we attempt to provide an account of what the gospel is in ten words or less, but conclude with the observation that the personal nature of the gospel and a relational understanding of the truth of the gospel breaks beyond reductionistic propositions.

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Episode #11 - PhDs & the Devotional Life

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Getting a PhD is tough. What are the unique challenges that come with getting a PhD in theology? In particular, how can we maintain a vital devotional life in the midst of the stresses of a PhD program? In this episode John Anthony Dunne talks with The Two Cities team member Brandon Hurlbert to discuss this tricky subject; John went through a PhD program in New Testament at the University of St Andrews (Scotland), and Brandon is currently in the midst of a PhD program in Old Testament at Durham University (England) under the supervision of Professor Walter Moberly.

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Episode #10 - Are We Living In A Black Mirror Episode?

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

With the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) continuing to spread throughout the world, all around the world we are turning to technology like never before to facilitate our regular lives—our work, our church life, our interpersonal relationships, etc. For some of us, the majority of the people that we typically interact with are now confined to our screens and laptops, mediated through FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Skype. It sort of feels like we're living in a strange episode of Black Mirror. In this podcast episode, John Anthony Dunne, Brandon Hurlbert, and Amber Bowen discuss this dystopian anthology TV show about our daily (ab)use of technology. Amber is a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), and Brandon is a PhD Candidate in Old Testament at Durham University (England). Presently, Amber and John are co-editing and contributing to a book on the show called Black Mirror & Theology (Fortress/Lexington Press), and Brandon is also contributing an essay of his own. As part of this episode's conversation, Amber and Brandon discuss their essay topics, which each bring a particular episode (5.1 "Striking Vipers" for Amber and 2.2 "White Bear" for Brandon) into conversation with Kierkegaard and the Old Testament book of Judges respectively.

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Episode #9 - Twin Peaks: The Theme of Dreams – Part Two

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Today (April 8, 2020) marks the 30th anniversary of when the classic TV show Twin Peaks first aired. In our previous episode ("Twin Peaks: Why We Love It – Part One"), John Anthony Dunne and Kris Song discussed the cultural phenomenon that is Twin Peaks. In this episode, we discuss further how dreams function within the show as well as the broader work of David Lynch.

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Episode #8 - Twin Peaks: Why We Love It – Part One

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Today (April 8, 2020) marks the 30th anniversary of when the hit TV show Twin Peaks first hit our television sets. Twin Peaks was a major cultural phenomenon in the early 1990s. As an innovative TV show, it was a victim of its own success, being canceled after its second season. TV viewers coming out of the 80s, accustomed to Soaps and episodic storytelling, were simply not ready for a long form narrative spanning multiple episodes without resolution to the central inciting mystery—who killed Laura Palmer? Additionally, being in part the product of filmmaker David Lynch, famous for quirky, creepy, and bizarre films, TV viewers of the time did not have the palette for Lynch's niche vision of the world. After the show was canceled, Lynch made a prequel film in 1992 called Fire Walk With Me, which was summarily booed and trashed at the Cannes film festival. At the time that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. However, in the summer of 2017, after the improbable growth of a cult following of Twin Peaks—thanks in part to the rise of the internet, the publication of a fan magazine called Wrapped in Plastic, and some annual fan summer festivals—the show returned to Showtime for a third season. In this episode, John Anthony Dunne chats with The Two Cities team member Kris Song about their love of this show that is both wonderful and strange.

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Episode #7 - Gathering Together Virtually: Communion Conversation Continued

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

This is a follow up podcast on our earlier conversation called “Is Virtual Communion Valid?" (posted on March 25th, 2020). In that discussion we talked through the tricky issues of taking communion during this time of social distancing in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). We addressed how we should frame the conversation in terms of "less ideal and more ideal," and that even though taking communion in our homes under normal circumstances would not be recommended, in this difficult time where we long to be together, there are good reasons to continue the practice of communion in order to maintain Jesus' commandment. There are some who contend that the Lord's Supper ceases to be the Lord's Supper unless it is taken while we are gathered together, as Paul prescribes in 1 Corinthians 11 (see Bobby Jamieson, “Can Baptism and the Lord's Supper Go Online?" The Gospel Coalition posted on March 25, 2020). In this episode, John Anthony Dunne, Josh Carroll, Logan Williams, Brandon Hurlbert, and Chris Porter address whether it is legitimate to conceive of churches gathering together in a virtual space during online church services, which would meet that criterion of 1 Corinthians 11. The discussions extends from the implications for trans-local gatherings to trans-temporal ones as well.

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Episode #6 - Diet & the Coronavirus with Christina Fehrenbach

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

During this Coronavirus pandemic many of us are practicing social distancing, self-quarantining, and sheltering in place. It's a stressful time existentially and economically, and as a result, what we eat might not seem like much of a concern. Many of us have stocked up on non-perishable food items in case we need to stay tucked away for a few weeks or longer. During this time is it possible that there are better strategies for stocking up that might actually be beneficial for us? In this episode, John Anthony Dunne discusses these things with his sister Christina Fehrenbach, RND, LD, who is a clinical dietitian. Recipes/shopping list can be found below.

A) Tina’s healthy non-perishable shopping list

Dried or low sodium canned beans and lentils

Low sodium canned tuna/chicken

Dried whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, whole grain dried noodles)

Seeds (chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)

Peanut butter/ almond butter powders

Dried fruits and vegetables

Low sodium broth/stocks (vegetable, chicken)

Whole wheat tortillas/whole grain breads

Frozen foods are also a great option (Frozen vegetables, fruits, meats, fish; remember to freeze fresh foods as able before they expire)

B) Tina’s Immune boosting Egg Scramble (Serves two)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced cremini mushrooms
1 cup baby spinach
4 large eggs, beaten (substitute egg white for a low fat/calorie option)

Directions

· Using a large non-stick skillet with olive oil, heat pan over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until vegetables are softened

· Add spinach and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and stir mixture. A silicone spatula works best. Cook until eggs are done and reach a temp of 165 degrees.

· Serve with a side of roasted sweet potatoes for added nutrition! (cube fresh sweet potatoes, place in sheet pan with olive oil and bake for about 45 minutes on 375 degrees).

Nutrition Facts (estimated): 220 calories, 15 g fat (less for egg white variation), 5 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein.

C) Tina’s immune boosting chili recipe (Servings: 8)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - diced
1 yellow bell pepper - diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium jalapeño seeded - finely chopped
1 (12 oz) bag rainbow baby carrots, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
3-4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (14-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (substitute 8 oz ground turkey - fully cooked for meat option)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Add bell pepper and carrots, jalapeño and sauté for another 5-8 minutes.
Add tomatoes, broth, pumpkin, and stir.
Add beans, turkey, spices and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
Reduce heat to low-medium and let simmer for about 1 hour or until carrots are slightly softened.

Nutrition Facts (estimated): 254 calories, 5.3 g fat, 37 g carbohydrate, 14 g protein, 130% Vitamin A, 80% vitamin C.

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Episode #5 - Sports & the Coronavirus with Jacob Dunne

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:00:00 GMT

The sports world is in disarray during this global pandemic. For many, sports are a perennial source of conversation and entertainment. But when there's no sports to watch, but everyone's stuck at home, that makes for a sad state of affairs in an already horrible situation. In this episode, John Anthony Dunne chats with his brother Jacob Dunne about current storylines, future possibilities, and media coverage of this phenomenon. Jacob co-runs a fantasy basketball podcast (Take A Ride) and writes for fantasy basketball and fantasy baseball blogs as well.

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Episode #4 - Is Virtual Communion Valid?

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 16:07:12 GMT

In this episode we discuss the difficulty of doing church and being the church in the midst of the present Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). To what extent is virtual communion valid? Given the mandates around the world to practice social distancing, and in some sectors sheltering in place, what does the communion of the saints look like in isolation? Additionally, what does the sacramental practice of communion, or the Eucharist, look like during these days? Representing different ecclesial traditions from Baptist to Presbyterian to Anglican, a panel of team members from The Two Cities, including John Anthony Dunne, Kris Song, Logan Williams, Brandon Hurlbert, and Josh Carroll, discuss more ideal and less ideal approaches to virtual communion.

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Episode #2 - Parasite (Movie Review)

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho) is a Korean black comedy about wealth disparity, and is the winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, which made history since it was the first international film in a foreign language to do so. In this episode John Anthony Dunne, Kris Song, and Brandon Hurlbert discuss the themes of hope, wealth, and metaphors in the film.

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Episode #1 - What is Apocalyptic Theology?

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Apocalpytic is a term that evokes particular images today that are foreign to what ancient apocalypticism was concerned about. At present, certain scholars and theologians use the label of apocalyptic to describe their theological projects and readings of scripture. In this episode, John Anthony Dunne talks with Paloma Herrera, who is a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, studying apocalyptic theology under Professor Grant Macaskill.

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Episode #3 - Reading the Book of Judges as Scripture

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 11:00:00 GMT

The Book of Judges from the Old Testament is quite puzzling from the vantage point of Jesus' teachings. It is full of characters who do not represent the paragons of morality that we might expect from the Bible. In fact, it is perhaps the most violent and sexual of all the texts in the biblical canon. What are we to make of this as Christians? Can we read the Book of Judges as Christian Scripture? In this episode John Anthony Dunne discusses this topic with Brandon Hurlbert, a PhD Candidate at Durham University who is doing his thesis on the Book of Judges under the supervision of Prof. Walter Moberly.

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Trailer

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 11:00:00 GMT

The Two Cities, which began as a blog in 2011 (thetwocities.com) is launching a new podcast all about Theology, Culture, and Discipleship. You can expect an eclectic array of theological integration on this podcast by professors, PhD students, and pastors around the world.

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