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“Whose Image Is This?”
Read more: “Whose Image Is This?”Donald Trump addressed a mandatory convocation at Liberty University this week, and the internet has been abuzz. The “big news”? Trump said “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians”, seemingly revealing his true biblical illiteracy. Little attention has been paid, at least as far as Twitter is concerned, about the content of his quotation, or the…
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A Call to Pray for Brandon Barr
Read more: A Call to Pray for Brandon BarrWe received some very difficult news this week that Brandon Barr, a contributor to the The Two Cities, has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Brandon has been a close friend of mine since childhood, and so the news of his illness comes as quite a blow. Brandon is 34 years old, and is married…
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#Love
Read more: #LoveUnless you have been off-line for the last few weeks, the 21st century equivalent of living under a rock, it would be hard to miss the ongoing celebration of love that has swept America. The context of this is, of course, the recent SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage. Pithy sayings well worthy of the hashtag…
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Russell Moore and the Culture Wars
Read more: Russell Moore and the Culture WarsLiving in the UK for the last few years has given me a lot of time and space to observe the relationship between the church and politics in the Unites States with a bit of breathing room. I don’t have any profound thoughts to share just now, but I have been greatly encouraged reading the…
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“A Reconciled Community…of those Justly Condemned”
Read more: “A Reconciled Community…of those Justly Condemned”In his commentary on Amos, Hans Walter Wolff writes, …Amos with his message of judgement thrusts Israel back among the nations, there appears here a negative print of Pentecost. The wall between God’s people and the nations of the world is already being broken down. The Church will suffer damage if it does not allow…
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Exodus: Gods and Kings
Read more: Exodus: Gods and KingsWarning: This post contains spoilers. If you want to see Exodus: Gods and Kings (E:GK) for its surprises and twists, best to go see and read this later. Ridley Scott’s latest epic is definitely that. There are plenty of scenes filled with stunning special effects, powerful storm clouds, and confrontations involving characters with wild eyes…
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Torture and the Culture of Pragmatism
Read more: Torture and the Culture of PragmatismA couple of weeks ago a US senate committee released a report confirming what has already been old news for a while: the CIA tortured terrorist suspects in its (on-going) attempt to win the “war on terror” and protect American lives from terrorist attacks. On this side of the pond, at least, the news of…
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On Patience
Read more: On PatienceThe following was originally presented as a sermon at Cornerstone Church in St. Andrews, Scotland. What is there to be said about patience? Certainly it is not a word that is unfamiliar to us. No doubt many times in our lives someone has told us that we ought to have more of it or be…
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Wisdom, Complexity, Violence
Read more: Wisdom, Complexity, ViolenceAdam Weinstein’s article on gun violence, It’s Really Hard to Be a Good Guy with a Gun, is a worth a close read. The quick summary: Weinstein grew up with guns, has served in the military, and has a concealed carry licence. Private citizens, “good guys,” legally arming themselves was part of his solution to the…
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Review of Union with Christ by Constantine Campbell
Read more: Review of Union with Christ by Constantine CampbellConstantine Campbell. Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2012. 463 pgs. (Paperback). $34.99. 0310329051 Campbell seeks to approach the subject “union with Christ” as a New Testament theologian, that is, his approach is exegetically grounded and theologically motivated. The first concern is represented by detailed exegetical work on the phrases relating…