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  • Talbot Magazine

    Best of the Blog

    Biblical Necessities? Or Theological Explanations?

    Kenneth Berding — 

    In recent years, I have been helped in my study of the Bible by employing an informal distinction between “biblical necessities” and “theological explanations.” Of all the classes I teach at Talbot, this distinction has been most helpful to students taking a class I teach called “Pauline Theology: Romans.” Since some of my students have benefitted from this distinction, I thought you might appreciate reading about it.

  • The Good Book Blog

    What Pliny the Younger Learned When He Interrogated Christians (ca. A.D. 110)

    Kenneth Berding — 

    For many years I have been curious about a Roman governor known to us from history as Pliny the Younger. My interest initially arose because I resided for four years in one of the principal cities he governed—not to mention that one of my four daughters was born in that city. Moreover, since I have expended significant effort studying the writings of the earliest Christian authors after the period of the apostles (those authors known as the “Apostolic Fathers”), I continue to be intensely interested in learning anything I possibly can about the lives of Christians who lived during the first half of the second century ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Warfare in the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament 3: Fighting Chaos

    Charlie Trimm — 

    The second chapter of my book on warfare in the ancient Near East (see an overview to the book in a previous post) studies the casus belli of the ancient kings. Although presumably kings often went to war to gain plunder, this was not frequently stated in such bald terms. Instead, the most commonly stated reason for warfare was that the king fought to defeat chaos and preserve order in the world. In this post we will look at the Egyptian and Assyrian claims for preserving order as their goal for war and how these claims help us understand Scripture ...

  • Talbot Magazine

    News Briefs

    M.Div. Program Reduced From 96 to 79 Credits, M.A. Programs Reduced From 64 to 49 Credits, Talbot Rolls Out Three Fully Online M.A. Program Concentrations

    Talbot Magazine Staff — 

    Over the past two years, Talbot faculty have been working hard and creatively to streamline the curriculum in the Master of Divinity program.

  • Talbot Magazine

    Faculty Profile: Michael Thigpen

    Executive Director of ETS Joins Talbot’s Faculty

    Jeanette Pifer — 

    Michael Thigpen, one of Talbot’s newest faculty members, not only transplanted himself from Kentucky to California, but he has also brought the main office for the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) as he maintains his role as its executive director.

  • Talbot Magazine

    William Lane Craig Named in Biola's First Endowed Chair

    Joanna Wu — 

    An endowed chair has been established in recognition of William Lane Craig, a world-renowned philosopher and theologian who has been teaching at Talbot School of Theology for more than 20 years.

  • Talbot Magazine

    New Center Established to Focus on Work of the Holy Spirit

    Donor-funded initiative aims for more spiritual transformation and empowerment for evangelism

    Jason Newell — 

    What would happen if Biola were more intentional about understanding the work of the Holy Spirit and developing a greater passion to be led by the empowering and life-giving Spirit of God?

  • Talbot Magazine

    From the Dean

    Clinton E. Arnold — 

    Sundoulos served us well for many years. But not everyone knew what the term “sundoulos” meant. As much as I like Greek, that is the danger of quoting it in your sermons, Bible studies and magazine names. “Sundoulos” is a fellow servant, and our intent is to be just that. We want to continue to serve you in the ministries where God has called you.

  • The Good Book Blog

    How Do You Best Prepare Students for College? An Interview with Author Jonathan Morrow

    Sean McDowell — 

    Jonathan Morrow is one of the top communicators for both students and adults on apologetics and cultural issues. He is adjunct professor of Apologetics at Biola University (with me!) and director of cultural engagement at Impact 360 Institute where he teaches high school and college students. Check out his website and Twitter account: jonathanmorrow.org and @Jonathan_Morrow. We co-authored the book Is God Just A Human Invention? together in 2010. Last week he released an update of his classic book Welcome to College. This has been one of the top books I recommend for future college students to read so they can experience relational, emotional, academic, and spiritual success. Check out this interview and if you are an aspiring college student, or you know one, consider getting a copy of his excellent book ...

  • Biola News

    How Can Christians Engage Others Holding the Dominant Perspective?

    Professors Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer answer this in their new book Winsome Persuasion

    Jenna Loumagne — 

    In their new book, Winsome Persuasion, Biola University professors Timothy Muehlhoff and Rick Langer ask what Christians’ interactions with the...

  • Student Life Blog

    Managing Test Anxiety

    Norlan Hernandez — 

    You are not in the classroom and have many things competing for your time and attention.

  • The Good Book Blog

    Resurrections prior to the World’s End?

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    Fact 4, Point 2 in your opening statement of the debate with Bart Ehrman: you state that Jewish views of the afterlife precluded having a glorified existence prior to the general resurrection. Yet, the accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus, three disciples saw Moses and Elijah. Elijah, according to the account in Kings, never died, but Moses is recorded as having died at the end of Deuteronomy. Whether or not he was actually raised and glorified in the same sense they came to believe Jesus was, could they not have believed that to be the case? Apparitions of the dead (Samuel to Saul and the medium at En-dor) were not unknown in the OT ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    5 Game-Changing Books to Read this Summer

    Sean McDowell — 

    I love reading. And what better time is there to read than summer? While there are certainly plenty of good books to read, here are five of my personal favorites. While they tend to be in the category of apologetics and culture, these books were all “game changers” for me that either led me to act or see the world differently ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    King David in Archaeology

    Kenneth Way — 

    In his forthcoming summative book, called Beyond the Texts, the Syro-Palestinian archaeologist William G. Dever summarizes what is presently known about ancient Israel and Judah based primarily on the artifacts—the material culture that includes textual sources. One example is Dever’s portrait of the historical King David. He offers the following seven propositions about David that are inferred from archaeology and also converge with what is attested in biblical texts ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Who Is the "Fool" that Denies God? Not Who You Think

    Sean McDowell — 

    A few summers ago I was doing my “Atheist Encounter” at a large student Christian camp in the Midwest. While the interaction with the audience sometimes gets heated (since I role-play an atheist, after all) the students in this session were far testier and argumentative than normal ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    “What if—?” Questions

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    Dear Dr. Craig I have been a fan of your work for about 2 or 3 years now. I used to be an atheist until one of my Christian friends directed me to your website and now I would consider myself to be struggling with atheism/scientism and Christianity. The last few days an idea has shaken up my worldview and my trust that philosophy can prove the existence of God. I think I can best sum up the idea as such ...

  • Biola News

    Congratulations to Biola’s Spring Class of 2017

    Rev. Samuel Rodriguez’s commencement address encouraged һƵs to be a light in the world

    Jenna Loumagne — 

    On Friday, May 26, 2017, more than 200 һƵ and 700 underһƵ students һƵd and walked across the stage in Biola University’s spring...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Creating a Place of Refuge

    Dave Keehn — 

    Summer movies are often the stories of heroes; whether real-life or Marvel®, both are super. These stories inspire as they entertain us. The problem is, most of the time, we are content with letting someone else be the hero. We are too busy, too passive, too self-absorbed, or too afraid of what would happen if we got involved; and so the people around us stay unknown to us and do not receive the help they need. The result is preconceived biases that isolate us from one another and a lack of care and compassion for those who need a place of refuge and relief ...

  • Biola News

    Professor Provides Insight on Issues Facing Women in World Missions

    Biola professor and doctoral students publish a recent study on women in missions

    Clavel Candelaria — 

    Intercultural studies professor, Leanne Dzubinski, at Biola University’s Cook School of Intercultural Studies, recently released research on the...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Business as Ministry: Work as a Reflection of God

    Scott Rae — 

    All legitimate work in the world has intrinsic value and God calls men and women to be faithful in working in various arenas as their service to Him. Of course, there are some limits to this, since it would difficult to see how God could call someone to produce pornography or engage in the illegal drug trade. But excluding those exceptions, God calls people to work in business, not only because of what it accomplishes, but because it has value in and of itself to God. Business is the work of God in the world in the same way that being a pastor is the work of God in the church and in the same way that missionary service is the work of God on the mission field. All have value to God because of the value of the work done, and that work is an intrinsically good thing that has value as it's done with excellence ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Dualism, Non-Reductive Physicalism, and the Spiritualization of Death

    Steve Porter — 

    Recently I was in discussion with a friend who was concerned about the tendency of some Christians to spiritualize death and dying by appeal to the afterlife. To “spiritualize” death and dying is to utilize spiritual beliefs to avoid dealing with unwanted feelings over the loss of a loved one. “I just try to think of how happy she is with Jesus.” “When we see him again in heaven it will seem like no time has passed.” “I am just glad she’s finally at rest in Jesus’ arms.” To spiritualize death and dying in these and other ways is a defense mechanism. It is a way to defend against experiencing some painful part of reality as it actually is ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    El Pecado de la Adicción al Trabajo

    Octavio Esqueda — 

    Cada vez estoy más convencido que ser un “trabajador obsesivo” es la adicción más común entre las personas que están en el ministerio cristiano. Evidentemente esta condición se presenta entre todas las personas sin importar su ocupación o religiosidad. De hecho en inglés el término “workaholic” ya forma parte del vocabulario común ya que representa una realidad cada vez más presente en nuestras sociedades. Pero es fácil convertirse en un trabajador obsesivo y disfrazar esta situación con piedad y buenas intenciones. De la misma manera es muy atractivo sumergirse en el trabajo y echarle la culpa a Dios o a la obra de Dios como excusa por esta situación ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Royally Bad Objections to the Kalām Cosmological Argument

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    Dr. Craig, I can't tell you how much of a blessing your work has been to me. You have been a great inspiration to me, and I consider you a fine example of what a Christian scholar should be. I have been listening to a series of lectures entitled "The Big Questions of Philosophy" published by The Great Courses in which Professor David K. Johnson of King's College attempts to answer philosophically some of life's biggest questions. Because of the growing popularity of these lectures (especially now that they have been made very affordable through Audible), I thought it might be beneficial to get your thoughts. Professor Johnson demonstrates a deep familiarity with Christian apologetics. So much so that the lectures could almost have been entitled, "An Unbelievers Guide to Christian Apologetics." That may be a little bit of an exaggeration but not by too much. He singles out Richard Swinburne, Alvin Plantinga, and yourself. I hope one day you might have time to produce a podcast debunking his claims in general, but for now I wanted to ask you about something in which he mentions you by name specifically ...

  • The Good Book Blog

    Finding Favor and Extending Favor

    Dave Keehn — 

    Job interviews are a nerve-wracking ordeal. The feeling of being out of control regarding one’s future leads to subservient postures in relationships. This was the situation the Moabite, Ruth, found herself in after returning with her mother in-law to Bethlehem (Ruth 1). However, in this amazing Biblical narrative is a posture of grace-seeking that is reminiscent of our seeking God; it is the God-action of finding favor in others that we should model in our working relationships ...

  • Student Life Blog

    Perspective is Everything

    A FirstGen Story

    Zachary Alsens — 

    “Being from the midwest, the culture is entirely different… it even transcends into how we communicate with each other.” Josh came to Biola from...