Dear Reader,

Thanks for stopping by The Two Cities, founded originally as a blog in August 2011 and expanded to a podcast in March 2020. Our hope is that you will find here a stimulating array of theological analyses that will stretch your mind and add depth to your personal experience of Jesus Christ. We imagine that most of our readers and listeners will, in one way or another, define themselves by their faith in Jesus. We are glad for this fact, and yet we hope that this will be a place where any person can find something that will challenge or stimulate their thinking.

This project began as a collaboration between a few friends, all of whom studied together at a Christian liberal arts college, and all of whom remain committed to some form of service to Jesus Christ. Some of our members are professors, some are in Ph.D. programs, and some are serving in pastoral ministry. Additionally, our team also spans across multiple disciplines within theology, philosophy, biblical studies, and education. While this blog and podcast has its genesis at one geographical point, its members are now spread across the English-speaking world, from the UK to various places across the U.S. and to Australia.

So while all our team members share much in common in terms of cultural and theological heritage, the material content of the blog and podcast will show some deep divergences of opinion, especially in regards to politics and the non-essentials of the Christian faith. It is inevitable that some posts/episodes will be found disagreeable by other members of The Two Cities Team. We celebrate this rather than fear it. Our mutual commitment to a richly Protestant and broadly evangelical Christianity provides us with a wide field within which we may practice fides quarens intellectum—faith seeking understanding. Within this space, dialogue over differences serves a vital purpose for Christian discipleship, since the truth both lies within and transcends each Christian. This spirit extends as well to the guests that we bring on to the podcast. We believe in the vital importance of dialogue, whether or not we agree with our guests on everything that they share with us. It goes without saying that our guests might state things that are not representative of the beliefs held by members of our team.

In some ways, any self-respecting blog or podcast is primarily for the benefit of its contributors. This happens when the contributor’s primary passion transcends any reader-audience relation. This is certainly the case with The Two Cities. Each one of us feels inclined to engage the world theologically out of a burning compulsion—we think that interpreting our lives and our surroundings through the lens of a gospel hermeneutic is something we have to do, audience or no audience. Nonetheless, we do think that your involvement can prove mutually beneficial: our thoughts spurring questions and comments from you, these thoughts and questions leading to further clarification and refinement on our part. Therefore, consider yourself earnestly invited to take part in these discussions!

On one final note, allow us to say something about our name. The Two Cities is a blatant rip-off of Augustine’s two cities motif in The City of God. There is certainly a lot of scholarly debate about the validity of such a formulation for understanding the relationship between the kingdom of God and this present world. We are not trying to take a stand on this issue. Instead, we are inspired by the general principle that as Christians we are to make meaningful connections with the ultimate within the penultimate. That is, we aim to avoid both the error of a secularized Christianity (which for all intents and purposes banishes the eternal) and the error of fundamentalism (which nihilistically declares “this world” to be of no value whatsoever). By giving priority to the city of God, we hope to show the city of humanity its true being.

We look forward to journeying with you. Please visit often and contact us freely.

Regards,

The Two Cities Team