The Two Cities – Details, episodes & analysis

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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