humanity – The Two Cities

Disability, Autism, and the Church (Podcast)

Sep 2, 2020

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...

Advent and the Meaning of Life

Dec 29, 2017

Christmas and the days leading up to it, otherwise known as advent, have profound implications for our everyday experience. The incarnation infuses meaning into a humanity lost in a void of meaninglessness. It has certain clear ethical implications, as well as direction for reflections on place and vocation. Lastly, it musters up an incarnational ideology where ideological darkness–the darkness that obscures true and therapeutic ideology–finds itself under threat of extinguishment via the light that was...

On Interstellar — and Super-humanity

Jan 20, 2015

*Spoilers ahead* ‘We are the bridge!’ ~ Cooper I had been reading Nietzsche for my Christmas/New Year ‘holiday’ reading this year, and when I heard the above line when I caught the last showing of Interstellar (as highly recommended by Jamie Smith earlier on this blog) in the cinema, I had somewhat of a shiver down my spine. It reminded me of Nietzsche’s metaphor in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Prologue, 4): Man is a rope stretched...

On Movies of 2014 — and Humanity

Jan 6, 2015

Much could be said about the movies of 2014: from talking about the Biblical adaptions (or from the book of Enoch) of Russell Crowe’s Noah in Noah and Christian Bale’s Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings, to musing about Scarlett Johansson’s becoming super-human in Under the Skin and Lucy, to making some kind of pseudo-intellectual observations about the phenomenon of movie titled with single theological buzzwords such as Transcendence or Predestination. I haven’t actually seen Noah...

Between Evolution and Existential Angst

Jun 10, 2014

I was on holiday in Oslo recently. As I was hoping to get some reading and coffee/beer tasting done, I only visited one museum: The Munch Museum. The Munch Museum, featuring works by the painter Edvard Munch, is actually located right next to the Olso’s Natural History Museum. The Munch Museum is most well-known for having Munch’s popular painting, The Scream; and, the Natural History is probably most well-known for having the (apparently world-famous) Darwinius masillae...

The Damsel in Distress & Video Games

Mar 12, 2013

As part of National Women’s History Month, I wanted to comment on an interesting video I recently watched on YouTube. It’s about the ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope. Although it’s central focus is the prevailing use of this trope in video games since the early 80’s, the perspective is actually quite a bit broader, drawing upon the origin of the trope in Greek mythology, as well as cinematic classics like the original King Kong and cartoons...

Scottish Rugby Reflections

Feb 26, 2013

This past weekend I went to my first Rugby match and watched Scotland narrowly defeat Ireland 12-8. This match was the third out of five games that Scotland is meant to play as part of the Six Nations Tournament (which includes England, Wales, France, and Italy as well). Last year Scotland earned the Wooden Spoon: the shameful prize awarded to the team that loses all five matches. Yet this year has been different. Although Scotland...

Little Boxes: Reflections on Multi-Culturalism (Guest Post)

Aug 18, 2012

London has proclaimed itself to be one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world. There are over, “300 languages, 50 non-indigenous communities with populations of 10,000 or more, with virtually every race, nation, culture and region” represented in the sprawling metropolis.[1] One of the best places to examine London’s vibrant multi-cultural tapestry is in its public transit system. Cities like LA make it so you never have to touch people if you own a...

Race 2 Barcelona: Lessons Learned While Hitch-Hiking

Feb 16, 2012

I have just recently returned to St Andrews from a wild couple of weeks that included a hitch-hiking competition. Every year, the University of St Andrews Charities Campaign puts on an event called “Race 2.” The goal of the competition is to get from point A to point B as fast as you can. Only there’s one catch: you can’t spend any money. The destinations change each year and this year 83 teams of 2-3...

O The Humanity! Spurgeon and Ministerial Depression

Aug 20, 2011

The minister’s depression is a fascinating phenomenon. Though he’s the man who communes with God in private, sings of his praises from the pulpit, and counsels the flock through all of life’s difficulties, this same man is often the one who also wrestles with God in darkness, can barely muster the strength to preach, and often struggles to counsel his own soul in times of debilitating depression. Why is this so often the case? As...