This week Christianity Today ran a short article commemorating the 100th birthday of its deceased founder, Carl F.H. Henry. Henry is worthy of memory; aside from the aforementioned magazine, he gave us Fuller Theological Seminary and he was a key signatory on the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy. He was passionately engaged in both doctrine and Christian work. Henry is largely a microcosm of the shift from early 20th-century “fundamentalism” (a rather vague term) to where...
Nothing gets me giddy like going to an academic conference. For those who are involved in the academic study of the bible/theology/religion like myself, the big event – “conference time” – takes place in mid-November with the annual meetings of ETS/IBR/SBL/AAR. It is always a blast to present and listen to papers, meet new people, connect with old friends, and do a bit of traveling too. But it’s this last part – traveling – that can make...
First there was Baseball cards. Then there was Pokémon. Now, thanks to Norman Jeune III and Zondervan, we have Theologian Trading Cards! Functioning more as a dictionary than as a true “trading card” set – there isn’t actually any ‘trading’ involved – the full set includes three hundred key figures from Church History (with more of an emphasis on Protestantism). Although there isn’t any ‘trading’ involved — which unfortunately removes any possible scenarios where 3...
Last week, Bryan wrote an article entitled, I’m (Kinda Sorta Yeah Not Really) Gay. As you might imagine, the post got a lot of attention: good, bad, and ugly. There were many who offered words of affirmation and encouragement, but along with these came comments with a totally different emphasis. The most common and fundamental objection that many readers had towards the post was that “being gay isn’t wrong.” In addition, the most emotional responses...
People wonder if I’m gay. I know because kids in school used to ask me. When I replied with silence, they called me a fag and went on their way. If bullies wondered about my sexuality, then so did family, friends, people at church. They were probably just too afraid (or too nice) to ask. I’ve had years to think about it: if someone asked if I’m gay, how would I answer? Saying “no” risks...
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,...
Incapable of fully communicating the nuances of a fine wine with mere words, connoisseurs have at times resorted to using analogous terms like “tastes like a meadow” or even “tastes like a damp sock” (uh?) to describe its elusive and difficult-to-pinpoint qualities. Along similar lines, if someone were to ask me to describe Lecrae’s latest album Gravity, I would have to liken it to a slab of jet black asphalt that’s just been doused by a...
I grew up in a household that, at least on paper, dictated that I listen only to “Christian” music. What this meant, functionally speaking, is that I could only listen to music sold at Christian bookstores, or the oldies station that my Dad would tune into on the radio. Those were my options, musically speaking, until I left the house. I was a bit of a rebel and had a couple of ‘secular’ albums, but...
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...
Whether you know it or not you’re an idol. Many people have role models and they call these people idols. At the moment the world is watching the greatest athletes competing in the Olympics. Many of these athletes are ‘idolized’ in their home countries. This year American television audiences are gearing up for the tenth anniversary of the hit show American Idol where new stars are born. Many of us have role models and idols. When...
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