The Two Cities

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main thrust of our conversation is that Jesus does not dismiss Jewish matters of ritual impurity as something that is outdated, primitive, or a distraction from his larger purposes, but rather he addresses the sources of ritual impurity, which underscores that Jesus is concerned to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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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