һƵ

Skip to main content
Biola University
Blogs & Podcasts
Browse

Blogs & Podcasts


Latest Posts

  • The Good Book Blog

    What Does the Old Testament Say about Loans and Interest? Part 2

    Klaus Issler — 

    For most of the history of the church, church leaders understood that the Old Testament taught a complete ban on any interest on loans. As noted in Part 1, the subject of this study is the matter of loans to fellow Israelites who had the potential for paying the loan back, not the topic of charity to the poor. Three important passages in the Pentateuch or Torah guide the main teaching on loans and interest in the Old Testament ...

  • Business. Ministry. Life.

    The Power of Remittances on Poverty in Poor Countries

    “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

    Juan Castro — 

    I still remember the first time I was able to send money to my mother back in Honduras.

  • The Good Book Blog

    Is Christian Intolerance a Good Reason to Reject the Faith?

    Sean McDowell — 

    Guilty as charged. Christianity has its fair share of judgmental and intolerant people. I have no interest in covering up the misbehavior of Christians. But before you are tempted to dismiss the evidence for the Christian faith because of Christian intolerance, keep something in mind ...

  • GRIT

    Women Need Iron: How Weightlifting Changed my Perspective on Beauty, Strength, and Body Image

    a guest post by Jordyn Cooley

    Celeste Scott — 

    As women we are constantly fed the narrative that our bodies must fit into the standards of beauty that society has cut out for us. Yet the truth...

  • The Good Book Blog

    The Future of the North American Church?

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    ... I take your question, Uli, not because I have much to say by way of answer to your desperate plea, but rather because your letter serves to warn Christian brothers and sisters of what awaits the church in North America if present trends continue unchecked ...

  • Think Biblically

    The Art of Christian Persuasion

    with Os Guinness

    Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — 

    In the midst of an alarming loss of civility in discussing debated and controversial issues, what’s needed is a restoration of the art of...

  • Student Life Blog

    Finding Purpose: Advice and Inspiration from Kyle Dendy

    Ashia Lee — 

    As human beings, one of the biggest struggles we face is understanding our purpose in life, whether or not you are a Christian. Sometimes our...

  • The Good Book Blog

    What does the Old Testament say about Loans and Interest? Part 1

    Klaus Issler — 

    For much of church history, pastoral leaders believed the Old Testament taught that no interest should be charged on any loans. The care and protection for the Israelite working poor was the main rationale for such a prohibition that no interest should be charged on such loans. “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him” (Exod 22:25). Before we go too much further, let me state the obvious. What we are discussing here is the matter of loans that were offered to fellow Israelites who had the potential for paying the loan back. One doesn’t offer a loan to someone who has no means of paying it back; in that case one offers charity. The subject of charity is a different one with which the Old Testament makes provision through other means (e.g., gleaning [Lev. 19:9-10], sabbatical year [Exod 23:10-11], and triennial tithes [Deut 14:28-29]). The topic of this blog series is about lending, not charity ...

  • GRIT

    Home for the Holidays

    a blogpost by Jasmyne Bell

    Jasmyne Bell — 

    You know how they say “there’s no place like home for the holidays?” There’s a certain warmth that we feel from being around our families and being...

  • The Good Book Blog

    New Critique of Theistic Evolution: Interview with Author J.P. Moreland

    Sean McDowell — 

    J.P. Moreland is one of the top 50 most influential living philosophers. He is a distinguished professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, and is one of my all-time favorite teachers. Today he is a colleague and a good friend. I recently had the opportunity to interview him about his soon-to-be-released book: Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Critique ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Hunger for Sacred Community, Part 1: Assessing the Health of Our Souls

    Joanne Jung — 

    It is a sad but accurate appraisal that in our contemporary society we are held captive by television viewing, commercials, and the Internet. We are victims of a repertoire of fast-food menus, instant gratification, and overcrowded, conflicting, and unrelenting schedules. This entertainment-soaked culture, wrestling with boredom, thrills, and materialism, has contributed to the sensory overload common to urban life. Our addiction to and with information technology with its online connections, news and internet communication, websites, blogs, and streaming (to name a few) exacerbates the preexisting flood of intruding must-haves and must-dos that demand our time, attention, affections, and devotion ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Vilenkin on the Universe’s Coming into Being without a Cause

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    ... While I do not wish for anyone to be a non-theist, I must confess that Alex Vilenkin’s being an agnostic about God is dialectically advantageous for the proponent of the kalām cosmological argument, since it pulls the rug from beneath anyone who claims that belief that the universe began to exist is due to one’s theological commitments or that dreaded disorder of “confirmation bias.” Vilenkin has no theological axe to grind concerning this scientific question and so can be ruthlessly objective ...

  • Student Life Blog

    All Eyes Closed, Let’s Pray: Overcoming Isolation Through Shared Experiences

    Leon Harris — 

    During my first class at Biola University, as a BOLD student (Biola Organizational Leadership Degree – an accelerated adult degree program), I...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Infants and Children in the Church: An Interview with Kevin Lawson

    The Good Book Blog — 

    Dr. Kevin Lawson (Professor of Educational Studies at Talbot School of Theology) recently co-edited and published Infants and Children in the Church: Five Views on Theology and Ministry in partnership with Dr. Adam Harwood (Associate Professor of Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary). We wanted to learn more about this book, so we had Dr. Lawson respond to some questions ...

  • Think Biblically

    Getting Along Despite Our Deepest Differences

    with Os Guinness

    Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — 

    It doesn't take much to notice that there are deep divisions in our society, and discussions about controversial issues often sound like shouting...

  • The Good Book Blog

    When Pursuing a Ph.D., "Discipline and Diligence Are the Main Things"

    Edik Borysov — 

    Christian Megapolis is conducting a project, which considers the following two issues: (1) the nature of doctoral education and (2) actual national Ukrainian doctors and doctoral students as living, interesting personalities. To this end we invite you to enjoy this interview of Eduard Borysov by Rostislav Tkachenko ...

  • Student Life Blog

    Be Thankful You Won’t Make These Resume Mistakes

    Samantha Lyons — 

    Your resume is meant to be a potluck of the best you have to offer, organized so an employer can see the meat of your experience before the...

  • Talbot Magazine

    The Reformation at 500

    Three Marks of Protestant Identity

    Rob Price — 

    For all the variety of Protestantism, we share a core identity. This identity was discovered by Martin Luther in the space of a few short years, and proclaimed with such prophetic power, exegetical clarity and deep pastoral insight that people across Europe began to recognize and adopt this identity as their own. The Protestant movement was born.

  • Talbot Magazine

    The Newest Confession on the Block

    Talbot Magazine Staff — 

    To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, sparked by Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses in the 16th century, dozens of today’s...

  • Talbot Magazine

    Streamlining Seminary

    Innovative New B.A. + M.A. Program Prepares Students to Enter Pastoral Ministry More Quickly

    Gary Manning Jr — 

    Several students have taken advantage of one of Talbot’s newest programs, an innovative combination of two degrees: a bachelor’s degree in biblical and theological studies with a concentration in preaching and pastoral ministry (B.A. PPM), and a master’s degree in Christian ministry and leadership with a specialization in preaching and pastoral ministry (M.A. PPM).

  • Talbot Magazine

    From the Dean

    Clinton E. Arnold — 

    Martin Luther preached the Bible multiple times a week. He saw it as the power of God for salvation to everyone who puts their faith in Christ. And he saw preaching as the living voice of God to keep people from deceitful teaching and the errors of the day that would lead them away from the truth of the gospel.

  • Talbot Magazine

    Faculty Profile: Karin Stetina

    Newest Professor to Theology Department

    Jeanette Pifer — 

    After teaching theology and church history at Wheaton College for nearly 20 years, Karin Stetina began teaching in the underһƵ department...

  • Talbot Magazine

    Book Excerpt: Grounding the Character of Fatherhood in God's Self-Revelation

    Excerpt adapted from "The Fatherhood of God in John Calvin's Thought," by Karin Spiecker Stetina

    Karin Stetina — 

    “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, promoting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal. 4:6). ...

  • Talbot Magazine

    Shelf Life

    Recent publications from our very own Talbot Faculty.

    Greg Ganssle, James Petitfils, Walt Russell, Ben Shin, Sheryl Silzer — 

    "Mos Christianorum;" "Sustainable Church;" "Tapestry of Grace;" "Our Deepest Desires"

  • Talbot Magazine

    Director Appointed for New Holy Spirit Center

    Brenda Velasco — 

    Oscar Merlo is spearheading the center’s launch, funded by a major donation by a couple passionate about what the Holy Spirit will do through students at Biola. As an academic center, it will provide resources for a biblical examination of the person and ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, including research, publications, conferences, events and services for students.