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...
I’ve written a number of pieces about Christian hip-hop over at Evangelical Outpost, as well as entrenching myself in the genre as a reviewer (both written and in podcast form) for The Christian Manifesto. When I was asked to write a few guest posts here at The Two Cities, I really wasn’t sure what I should focus on. I considered writing about The Dark Knight Rises, but that’s been pretty well covered here (I didn’t...
Almost two years ago, I married a citizen of the Russian Federation; a daughter of Lenin’s dream for the Russian people—the Soviet Union. Upon learning that I would be living in Russia for an extended period, my knee-jerk reaction was to find an English speaking, Reformed congregation that resembled mine in the states. To be sure, several Protestant churches have reestablished a presence in Russia (many are Lutheran, after the traditions of their Scandinavian neighbors,...
I HATE the church, but I LOVE Jesus I hear this so much. Stay with me, I’m probably going to get a little offensive. This strange separation of faith and community is all over the place. I have gone to the same church my entire life. It isn’t a perfect church, but it’s the family that I belong to. As I have grown up there I have watched literally hundreds of people bail and either...
Last week was the first Conference engaging with the Harry Potter series at a high academic level. We know, hard to believe huh?! Well, yours truly from The Two Cities, John Anthony Dunne and Nathaniel Warne, were among the lucky few selected to give papers at this landmark event. The topics covered at the conference were wonderfully diverse. There were fascinating papers on: Food and British national identity in the series, Hermoine in the HP...
One of the clients that I work with on a regular basis is autistic. This is a curse and a blessing. The curse is that for him, life is difficult. He can’t relate to other people in a typical fashion and this fact makes it hard to develop a relationship with him. The blessing is that he will always, without flinching, tell me his opinion. I know that I always get the truth when he...
In the past three years, I have moved three times. Each time I call upon the great physical strength of my friends – an area I am decidedly lacking in – and then offer them pizza. They don’t care about the pizza; it’s just a gesture. As we lug all of mine and my wife’s stuff down stairs, into a moving truck, and then back up stairs again, two thoughts occur to me. The first...
Since the beginning of time this world has been dealing with sin and its consequences. Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden leads to many consequences – setting us up for a lifetime of relationship struggles that was not in God’s original plan. As life plays out we watch and see disastrous things start to happen – murder, theft, idolatry, and promiscuity with sexual behavior. God leads His people: in the Exodus movement, and finally...
On Saturday, celebrated singer Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hilton hotel room—her body submerged in bathwater, bottles of prescription pills close by. The story is still developing, and like many celebrity death tales, will probably remain steeped in scandal and speculation. In the meantime, there are some theological takeaways. Death has a way of bringing out the good, the bad, and the gospel. Whitney’s talents point to God as gift-giver. Whitney took...
The concept is bizarre when you stop and think about it. Let’s take a couple of days off of work at one of the busiest times of the year. We’ll time our school calendars so that the semester break occurs during the holiday. For the month preceding the holiday, houses and storefronts will be decorated with fir trees, snowflakes, wreaths, lights, snowmen, reindeer, and a man in a red suit. We’ll write songs about it...
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