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...
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...
Our new podcast episode is out! You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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...
Long before I entered the Anglican tradition in college, I harbored a secret curiosity for the saints. Growing up in a local conservative baptist church, “saints” merely referred to those who are in Christ. Biblically speaking, this is true. When St. Paul writes to the Church in Philippi, he writes to the “saints,” literally, the “holy ones” (Phil. 1:1). Since we who are “in Christ” are “saints,” shouldn’t we be suspicious of those who (seemingly)...
I have only been to an Anglican church service a handful of times, but some of the most profound experiences I’ve had in church took place during an Anglican service. The most recent was my experience this past January when I took communion from the common cup for the very first time. With words I have affirmed the unity of the body of church, with words I have confessed that there is one holy and...
Just before the weekend, the Guardian and the Huffington Post reported that Justin Welby, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, sometimes doubts the existence of God. When I saw this story pop up on my Facebook newsfeed I almost neglected to read the article. “So what?” was my initial thought. Making this a news story stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about what faith actually is. However, for the Huffington Post this is apparently a rather surprising...
A significant shift took place last week in the Church of England. The office of Archbishop of Canterbury was conferred upon Justin Welby, former Bishop of Durham. In my short time living in Durham (I moved here in late September), it has been interesting to see this process unfold. Although Rowan Williams announced his retirement from the office last March, the selection process was rather clandestine until three potential candidates were named last Autumn. With...
A friend of mine, whom I love for his warm but temperate heart, expresses the concern that the Christian faith, once normalized in the prevailing culture, will suffer a weakened witness. In many places a normalized church has been a worldly church, and one does not wish to see (for instance) the Church in China suffer the degradations of the Church of England. We agree that the word of God is infallibly applicable to all,...
We all know Wright has received a bad wrap from many conservative Christians over the years. I can remember being introduced to Wright’s view on Justification in a context in which I was told how detrimental his ideas were. Furthermore, one of the most influential figures for my theological thinking, John Piper, wrote an extensive rebuttal to N. T. Wright with The Future of Justification. Throughout the blogosphere there are many critical reviews of Wright’s work,...
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