The Two Cities

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.