Faculty

Craig J. Hazen, Ph.D.

Director of M.A. Program in Christian Apologetics
Professor of Comparative Religion and Apologetics

Ph.D., M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara

Founder of the M.A. Program in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, Dr. Hazen is the editor of the philosophy journal, Philosophia Christi. He is also the author of numerous articles such as Science Never Fails, The Origins of American Metaphysical Religion and God and the Law. Dr. Hazen is the author of the book The Village Enlightenment in America and the forthcoming book The Five Crossings.

Clinton E. Arnold, Ph.D.

Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
Chair, New Testament Department, Talbot School of Theology

Ph.D., University of Aberdeen

He is the editor of the four-volume Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Ephesians: Power and Magic, Powers of Darkness: Principalities and Powers in Paul's Letters, The Colossian Syncretism and many scholarly articles.

John A. Bloom, Ph.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Physics
Director of the Master of Arts Program in Science and Religion

Ph.D., M.S. in Physics, Cornell University; Ph.D., M..A., in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Annenberg Reseach Institute; M.A., M.Div., Biblical Theological Seminary.

Author of articles such as On Human Origins: A Survey, Why Isn't the Evidence Clearer?, Finding Truth in Religion: Is There a Factual Basis.

William Lane Craig, D.Theol., Ph.D.

Research Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology

D. Theol., Ludwig-Maximilliéns-Universität München, Germany; Ph.D., University of Birmingham, England; M.A., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Dr. Craig has authored or edited over thirty books, including The Kalam Cosmological Argument, Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus, Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom, Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology, and God, Time and Eternity, as well as over a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology.

Garrett J. DeWeese, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
Director of the Th.M. emphasis in Philosophical and Moral Theology

Ph.D., M.A., University of Colorado, Boulder; Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary; B.S., United States Air Force Academy; Studied at the Sorbonne, Paris

Dr. DeWeese is the author of God and the Nature of Time as well as articles and papers such as Eternal God: Atemporal, Sempiternal, or Omnitemporal?, Cloning Persons: Metaphysical and Ethical Issues, and Timeless God, Tenseless Time.

R. Douglas Geivett, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics

Ph.D., University of Southern California; M.A., Gonzaga University; M.A., Dallas Theological Seminary.

In addition to a number of scholarly articles, he is the author of Evil and the Evidence for God and co-editor of Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology and In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God's Action in History. He is also an experienced debater on issues in the philosophy of religion.

Alan W. Gomes, Ph.D.

Professor of Historical Theology
Chair, Systematic and Historical Theology Department

Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary; M.Div., Th.M., Talbot Theological Seminary; B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara

In addition to a range of published articles, Dr. Gomes is series editor of the 15-volume Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements, and wrote three books in the series: Unmasking the Cults, Unitarian Universalism, and Truth and Error: Comparative Charts of Cults and Christianity. He also edited an updated edition of W.G.T. Shedd's Dogmatic Theology.

Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D.

Regular Visiting Professor of Historical Apologetics

Ph.D., Michigan State University; Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Liberty University

Author or editor of numerous books including In Defense of Miracles, The Historical Jesus, Verdict on the Shroud, and The Resurrection of Jesus.

Joe Hellerman, Ph.D.

Professor of Biblical Literature

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Th.M., Talbot School of Theology

Author of a significant new book on early Christian communities The Ancient Church as Family. In addition to his fine academic work, Dr. Hellerman has been a pastor for nearly a decade at Oceanside Christian Fellowship.

David A. Horner, D.Phil.

Associate Professor of Philosophy and Biblical Studies

D.Phil., M.Phil., Oxford University; M.A., Denver Seminary

Dr. Horner has taught at the University of Oxford, Denver Seminary, and served as a Visiting Scholar and Research Associate at the University of Colorado. He has lectured in numerous classrooms and university forums nationally and in Europe. His research interests lie in ethical theory, and the history of philosophy, particularly ancient and medieval ethics. He also serves as Research Scholar for Centers for Christian Study, International, and on the Advisory Board of Character Matters. Dr. Horner has written numerous articles on apologetics, ethics, and ancient and medieval philosophy.

Phillip E. Johnson, J.D.

Regular Visiting Professor of Cultural Apologetics; Professor of Law, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

J.D., University of Chicago; B.A., Harvard University

Former Clerk to the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Author of the revolutionary book, Darwin on Trial, as well as Defeating Darwinism, Reason in the Balance, The Wedge of Truth, The Right Questions and Objections Sustained. Author of seminal articles countering the philosophical naturalism that underlies most of evolutionary theory and research. His provocative books and articles have inspired academic symposia at universities such as Stanford, Harvard, Chicago, Cornell, SMU and the University of Texas. In these settings, he has exchanged views with and debated such scientific and philosophic luminaries as Michael Ruse, Stephen Gould, William Provine, and Steven Weinberg.

Clay Jones, D.Min.

Assistant Professor of Christian Apologetics

D.Min., M.Div., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Former host of the nationally syndicated apologetics program Contend for Truth, Dr. Jones has debated representatives from many organizations such as PETA and religious groups including Islam, Buddhism, and Scientology. He has also debated KFI’s Bill Handle on the problem of evil. Dr. Jones formerly fulfilled the duties of the office of president of Simon Greenleaf University (now Trinity Law and Graduate Schools). He is also the author of Prepared Defense, an interactive apologetics software program and specializes in teaching and writing on why God allows evil.

Greg Koukl, M.A.

Lecturer in Christian Apologetics

M.A. in Christian Apologetics

Author of numerous articles in Christian Apologetics and co-author of the book Relativism: Feet Planted Firmly in Mid-Air. Founder and president of the apologetics ministry "Stand to Reason," editor of the periodical Solid Ground, and an experienced radio apologist.

Kevin A. Lewis, J.D., Th.M.

Assistant Professor of Theology and Law

J.D., Whittier Law School; Th.M., Talbot School of Theology; M.Div. in Systematic Theology, Talbot School of Theology; B.A. in Religious Studies, CSULB

Dr. Lewis specializes in the topics of systematic and polemical theology, theology and law integration, jurisprudence, and Christian apologetics. He is the Founder and Director of the Evangelical Legal Society, an organization dedicated to the task of restoring the theological foundations of law and justice in society and providing Christians with the resources necessary to do law, justice, and public policy from a foundation of evangelical theology. Dr. Lewis is an active lecturer at churches, colleges, and conferences and has appeared on several radio and television shows, addressing a variety of topics.

J. P. Moreland, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

Ph.D., University of Southern California; Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary; M.A., University of California, Riverside

He has authored or co-authored books including Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, Christianity and the Nature of Science, Scaling the Secular City, Does God Exist?, Immortality: The Other Side of Death, and The Life and Death Debate: Moral Issues of Our Times. He is co-editor of Christian Perspectives on Being Human and Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. His work appears in scholarly journals throughout the world.

Scott B. Rae, Ph.D.

Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Ethics

Ph.D., University of Southern California; Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary; B.A., Southern Methodist University

Dr. Rae has authored 6 books in ethics including The Ethics of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood, Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics, Brave New Families: Biblical Ethics and Reproductive Technologies, Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics, and Body and Soul: Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics. His work has appeared in scholarly journals. He is a consultant for ethics for four Southern California hospitals. He is a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and a fellow of the Wilberforce Forum.

John Mark Reynolds, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Director of the Torrey Honors Institute

Ph.D., M.A., University of Rochester

Co-author of Three Views on the Creation and Evolution Debate, author of Toward a Unified Human Platonic Psychology and the forthcoming Athens and Jerusalem. His articles have appeared in technical journals and periodicals such as New Oxford Review and Touchstone.

Ron Rhodes, Th.D.

Regular Visiting Professor of Theological Apologetics

Th.D., Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary; B.A., Houston Baptist University

Author of numerous articles and books including The Heart of Christianity, When Cultists Ask, Christ before the Manger, The New Age Movement and more. Founder and president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries.

Walter Russell, Ph.D.

Professor of New Testament Language and Literature

Ph.D., Westminster Theological Seminary; Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary; M.A., Mount Saint Mary's Seminary; B.S., University of Missouri

Dr Russell is the author of The Flesh/Spirit Conflict in Galatians and Playing with Fire: How the Bible Ignites Change in Your Soul. He has contributed articles to numerous scholarly journals.

Fred Sanders, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Theology
Tutor for the Torrey Honors Institute

Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union; M.Div, Ashbury Theological Seminary

Dr. Sanders is the author of The Image of the Immanent Trinity: Rahner's Rule and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, and numerous articles on the doctrine of the Trinity. He also wrote and illustrated four volumes of theological comic books, Dr. Doctrine's Christian Comix.

R. Scott Smith, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Ethics and Christian Apologetics

Ph.D., M.A., Religion and Social Ethics, University of Southern California. M.A., Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, Talbot School of Theology

Dr. Smith is the author of the books Truth and the New Kind of Chrisitan, Virtue Ethics and Moral Knowledge: Philosophy of Language After MacIntyre and Hauerwas, and the article "Some Conceptual Problems with Hauerwas' Virtue Ethics." His specialty is addressing postmodernism, and he is also the secretary-treasurer of the Evangelical Philosophical Society.

David Alan Black, D.Theol.

Professor of New Testament and Greek, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

D. Theol., University of Basel, Switzerland

Dr. Black is the author of numerous books in New Testament language and literature including New Testament Textual Criticism, Why Four Gospels? and The Language of the New Testament.

Mark Mittelberg, MA.

Executive Director, Willow Creek Association

M.A., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Mr. Mittelberg is the author of Building a Contagious Church, co-author of Becoming a Contagious Christian, contributing editor of The Journey Bible and columnist for Outreach magazine.

Jay W. Richards, Ph.D.

Director of Acton Media, Research Fellow

Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary

Dr. Richards is the author of many scholarly and popular articles, as well as several books. His most recent books are The Untamed God: A Philosophical Exploration of Divine Perfection, Immutability and Simplicity and The Privileged Planet: How our place in the cosmos is designed for discovery, with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez. Dr. Richards is also the author of many articles published in academic journals.

Lee Strobel, M.S.

M.S., Yale Law School

Mr. Strobel is the author of The Case for a Creator, God’s Outrageous Claims, The Case for Christmas, The Case for Easter, and Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage, which he wrote with his wife, Leslie. For two seasons, Lee was executive producer and host of the weekly national network television program Faith Under Fire. He is also a contributing editor and columnist for Outreach magazine.

Hugh Hewitt, J.D.

Professor of Law, Chapman University

J.D., University of Michigan Law School; B.A. Harvard University

Emmy Award Winning Co-Host of "Life and Times" on PBS

Prof. Hewitt held several positions in the Reagan White House and is now a partner in the law firm of Hewitt & McGuire. He regularly appears as a commentator on national television and is the author of several books including The Embarrassed Believer: Reviving Christian Witness in an Age of Unbelief and Searching for God in America.

Alvin Plantinga, Ph.D.

John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame University

Ph.D., Yale University

Dr. Plantinga has been called "the most important philosopher of religion now writing." Widely acclaimed for his work on the metaphysics of modality, the ontological argument, the problem of evil and the epistemology of religious belief, he is the author or editor of 7 books including Warranted Christian Belief, God and Other Minds, The Nature of Necessity, and Faith and Rationality.

Dallas Willard, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy, University of Southern California

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

Author of numerous books and articles, mainly in the areas of epistemology, the philosophy of mind/logic, and on the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. Also, author of many influential books on Christian spiritual formation: In Search of Guidance, Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy and The Great Omission.