The Two Cities

25 Feb

Was Voldemort A Terrorist?

Posted by John Anthony Dunne Culture No Comments

Recently I co-wrote a chapter with Dr. Neil Shortland in a volume on the Harry Potter series dedicated to culture, politics, and international relations, called Cultural Politics in Harry Potter: Life, Death and the Politics of Fear (London: Routledge, 2019). The chapter we wrote is about how Voldemort’s strategy for immortality is much like how terrorist groups operate; it’s called “Al-Qa’ida and the Horcruxes: Quests for Immortality by Violent Extremist Organizations and Lord Voldemort.” Here […]

24 May

Is Mormonism Another Christian Denomination?

Posted by John Anthony Dunne Apologetics No Comments

Over here at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN we recently had an Apologetics event where we discussed the topic of Mormonism. Specifically, we wanted to help people think through the common question of whether Mormonism is really just another Christian denomination. Here’s a video of the event with three discrete talks and a question and answer time that follows: The talks include an introduction by Campus Pastor at Bethel University, Rev. Laurel Bunker, on […]

16 Apr

Game of Thrones & Palm Sunday

Posted by John Anthony Dunne Culture No Comments

The final season of Game of Thrones began this past Sunday on HBO. I find it very intriguing that they chose this past Sunday of all days because it was Palm Sunday. If you don’t know, the title “Game of thrones” refers to the machinations, backbiting, and betrayal involved in this medieval fantasy game of politics in the ascent to the Iron Throne. In this light, I can’t help but reflect on the juxtaposition of the […]

20 Mar

Two Ways Complementarian Churches Can Be More… Complementarian

Posted by Kris Song ecclesiology No Comments

Complementarianism. Evangelical churches embrace this term to define their position on women and church leadership. But we lack a shared vision of what this might look like in our churches. The idea of complementarianism is rooted in the principle that men and women are better together, or in more Biblical language, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). Complementarian churches are confronted with a troubling irony then, because when it comes […]

05 Mar

My New Article on Trinitarian Theology

Posted by John Anthony Dunne Theology No Comments

My friend Matt Owen and I just published an article in Theologica called “The Son of God and Trinitarian Identity Statements.” I had an absolute blast co-writing this piece and if you’re interested in the doctrine of the Trinity, early Christology, and the interdisciplinary relationship between analytic and exegetical theology, you should check out our article here. Here is the abstract to the article: Classical Trinitarians claim that Jesus—the Son of God—is truly God and that […]

26 Feb

Shame, Fear of Failure, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand

Posted by Grace Sangalang Ng Meditations No Comments

I’ve recently been reading on how shame relates to the fear of failure (McGregor & Elliot, 2005). They argue that shame is core to the fear of failure, as those who have a fear of failure also tend to experience higher levels of shame. I also recently watched this interview with journalist Lisa Ling by the Fung brothers. She comments on how Asian Americans often have a fear of failure, so that they tend to […]

14 Feb

What do MAGA Americans Have in Common with “Orientals”?

Posted by Kris Song Culture No Comments

A Saudi journalist was on the radio the other day commenting on a striking familiarity he noticed about recent media coverage of American Trump supporters. He described it in one word: Orientalism. I immediately understood what he meant. Edward Said gave shape to the concept of Orientalism as a predominantly “western” (European and American) way of “othering” Arab and Asian peoples by exaggerating and distorting exotic differences in ways that suggest iconoclasm, backwardness, incivility, and […]

12 Feb

A Sermon on the Woman Caught in Adultery

Posted by Brandon Hurlbert Biblical Studies No Comments

Last week I was given the opportunity to preach at my church during the evening service. I don’t get to preach very often, so when I do, it is always equal parts exciting and terrifying for me. The text I was given was John 7:53-8:11 or the woman caught in adultery. It is one of the better-known stories in the Bible, but sometimes this makes it more difficult to preach. It’s also difficult to preach […]

05 Feb

St Augustine, Nature, and Truth

Posted by John Anthony Dunne Theology No Comments

I’m currently participating in an extracurricular reading group with students here at Bethel Seminary. We just finished reading through the first five books of St Augustine’s Confessions. It’s been a blast to read and discuss, and I thought I’d share one of my reflections so far. As I was reading the beginning of Book V, I was intrigued by St Augustine’s theological engagement with the Manichean sect that he was a part of for some time […]

24 Jan

From Academic to Blue-Collar Theologian

Posted by Bobby Kvidt Academia, Practical Theology No Comments

It’s been seven months since I have been involved in Biblical-Academic pursuit. In that time I’ve transitioned to a fairly normal blue-collar job, taken up interest in a career path in fitness (shameless plug: if you’re looking for coaching, I do Powerlifting, Bodybuilding and General Fitness!), got engaged and started planning a wedding. My primary focus has shifted away from scouring through libraries to making long-term financial goals, figuring out how to plan a date […]

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Was Voldemort A Terrorist?

Is Mormonism Another Christian Denomination?

Game of Thrones & Palm Sunday

Two Ways Complementarian Churches Can Be More… Complementarian

My New Article on Trinitarian Theology

Shame, Fear of Failure, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand

What do MAGA Americans Have in Common with “Orientals”?

A Sermon on the Woman Caught in Adultery

St Augustine, Nature, and Truth

From Academic to Blue-Collar Theologian

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