Posts by Sean McDowell

Sean McDowell

Sean McDowell (Ph.D.) is an associate professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He is a gifted communicator with a passion for equipping the Church, and in particular young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. Sean travels throughout the United States and abroad, speaking at camps, churches, schools, universities, and conferences. He is the co-host for the Think Biblically podcast, and he has authored or edited over twenty books, including Chasing Love: Sex, Love, and Relationships In A Confused Culture and So The Next Generation Will Know (with J. Warner Wallace). Sean hosts one of the leading apologetics blogs at seanmcdowell.org, and he hosts some great conversations on his YouTube channel. Sean and his wife, Stephanie, have three children and live in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

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The Good Book Blog
College Is Not A Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth
Sean McDowell — December 25, 2017
In 2015, Oklahoma Wesleyan University president Everett Piper wrote a provocative article entitled, “This is Not A Day Care. It’s A University!” The article was quoted in the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News, and more. Needless to say, he ruffled some feathers! The article was such a success that Dr. Piper followed up with a recent book entitled Not A Day Care. I had the privilege of endorsing the book and highly commend it to you. Even if you end up disagreeing with Dr. Piper, he has struck a significant nerve and advances an argument that merits serious consideration ...
The Good Book Blog
How Do We Help the Next Generation Navigate Culture?
Sean McDowell — December 18, 2017
As a parent of three kids, I am frequently trying to help them best navigate cultural voices vying for their hearts and minds. This is why I am thrilled about the new book, A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World, by Brett Kunkle and John Stonestreet. They are both my good friends and ministry partners. But most importantly, they have written an excellent book. If you work with students in any capacity—parent, youth worker, teacher, mentor—this is a book you need to get. Read it, study it, and pass it on to other youth influencers. Here's a quick interview to give you a taste of how to help students best navigate culture ...
The Good Book Blog
The Absurdity of Moral Relativism: A Student’s Perspective
Sean McDowell — December 11, 2017
When I was a full-time high school teacher, one of my favorite assignments was to have my students develop a creative project to illustrate what would follow if moral relativism were true. Students wrote stories, composed songs, made short films, and more. My all-time favorite was a short poem written by a high school senior. She captures the moral absurdity that would follow if morality were truly relative to the individual ...
Think Biblically
Race and the Church – Part 2
with Chris Brooks
Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — December 07, 2017
In part two of our conversation on race and the church, Sean McDowell and Scott Rae talk with Pastor Chris Brooks about the Black Lives Matter...
The Good Book Blog
Is the Museum of the Bible Worth Visiting? Yes!
Sean McDowell — December 04, 2017
This past Tuesday I took my 13-year old son to visit the newly-opened Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. If I had to pick one word to describe it, the word would be impressive. Sure, I am an apologetics professor at Talbot School of Theology and am naturally interested in the history and cultural impact of the Bible. But I went with high expectations, and the Museum exceeded them ...
Think Biblically
Race and the Church – Part 1
with Chris Brooks
Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — November 29, 2017
Issues around race continue to be front-page news both in the culture at large and in the church. In this episode and the one that follows, Scott...
The Good Book Blog
Is Christian Intolerance a Good Reason to Reject the Faith?
Sean McDowell — November 27, 2017
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 ...
Think Biblically
The Art of Christian Persuasion
with Os Guinness
Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — November 23, 2017
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...
The Good Book Blog
New Critique of Theistic Evolution: Interview with Author J.P. Moreland
Sean McDowell — November 21, 2017
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 ...
Think Biblically
Getting Along Despite Our Deepest Differences
with Os Guinness
Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — November 16, 2017
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
7 Insights from Traveling to Israel
Sean McDowell — November 13, 2017
A couple of weeks ago I had the chance of visiting the beautiful land of Israel. My wife and I went with Israel Collective, an organization dedicated to peace-making in Israel. We saw remarkable sites, met unique people (Israelis, Palestinians, Druze), heard powerful lectures, and ate some of the best food I have ever had—period ...
Think Biblically
500th Anniversary of the Reformation
with professor Alan Gomes
Alan Gomes, Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — November 09, 2017
On Oct. 31, we celebrated the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses on the door of his church in Wittenburg, Germany. Alan...
The Good Book Blog
The Trinity Solves the First Philosophical Question about Reality
Sean McDowell — November 06, 2017
How is there both unity and diversity in reality? Why is there both change and sameness over time? According to Frederick Copleston, in his massive ten-volume A History of Philosophy, these questions relate to the first philosophical issue people wrestled with, which is often called the problem of the one and the many. In the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., Greek philosophers wanted to know what accounted for both the unity and diversity within nature and so they began to offer various theories for ultimate reality ...
The Good Book Blog
Unbelievable? Interview with Justin Brierley about His New Book
Sean McDowell — October 30, 2017
Justin Brierley is the host of " Unbelievable?" the UK-based apologetics radio/podcast show (which is one of my personal favorites!). I have had the privilege of being on the program twice to discuss the martyrdom of the apostles and talk about why I am a Christian with Ryan Bell, the pastor-turned-atheist. For over ten years, Justin has been leading discussions between Christians and atheists, and yet he still believes in God. This Thursday he releases a new book Unbelievable? which I had the privilege to endorse. In the UK, it is available here: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk. Brierley offers some lessons from his conversations as well as the evidence he finds most compelling. Check out this interview and consider ordering a copy of his excellent book ...
Think Biblically
Faith at the World Series
with Dodgers chaplain Brandon Cash
Brandon Cash, Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — October 26, 2017
Talbot School of Theology professor Brandon Cash has served as chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the past seven years. Listen in as Scott...
The Good Book Blog
Was Jesus An Apologist?
Sean McDowell — October 23, 2017
A few years ago, I had a discussion with an influential theologian who claimed that Jesus was not an apologist. He pointed out that, except for 1 Peter 3:15, the New Testament appearances of apologia (“defense”) all come from the writing or ministry of Paul. Does this mean Jesus was not an apologist? Was Jesus more interested in proclaiming and illustrating the faith than defending it? ...
Think Biblically
5 Decades of Faithful Apologetics
with Josh McDowell
Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — October 19, 2017
Josh McDowell has long been one of the leading spokespersons and apologists for Christianity, having spoken to hundreds of thousands of students...
The Good Book Blog
5 Earth-Shattering Events Linked to the Bible
Sean McDowell — October 16, 2017
In the recent update to my father’s classic book Evidence that Demands a Verdict, we begin with a chapter on the uniqueness of the Bible. Unquestionably, in comparison to every book ever written, the Bible stands out as unique in a number of areas including authorship, literary genres, translation, geographical production, circulation, survival, and impact. The Bible truly stands in a category of its own ...
The Good Book Blog
What is the Most Powerful Evidence for the Christian Faith?
Sean McDowell — October 09, 2017
For the past three years I have been helping my father update his classic book Evidence that Demands a Verdict. There is no doubt that the evidence for Christianity has grown substantially since the book first released in 1972 ...
The Good Book Blog
Apologetics Is Not Saying You’re Sorry
Sean McDowell — October 02, 2017
As a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, I (Sean) help prepare students to answer tough questions raised against the Christian faith. One day someone from outside the Biola academic community called our university to ask why we offer classes on apologizing for the faith. She thought apologetics meant teaching students to say they were sorry for their beliefs! While her question was well intentioned, she didn’t grasp the nature of apologetics and its role in the Christian life. Christians certainly should apologize for their faith, but not in the way she had in mind ...
The Good Book Blog
Is Biblical Teaching on Sex Hateful and Repressive?
Sean McDowell — September 29, 2017
Let’s face it; we live in a world saturated with sex. Our movies, music, novels, politics, and even advertisements are dominated by sex. Essentially, the celebrated view of sex in our culture is: if it feels good, do it. According to the ideas propagated by the late Hugh Hefner, and others in the sexual revolution, anything that prevents someone from experiencing consensual sex in whatever fashion he or she desires is viewed as harmful and repressive ...
The Good Book Blog
Interview: Updated and Revised Evidence that Demands a Verdict
Sean McDowell — September 25, 2017
My friend Timothy Fox at Freethinking Ministries recently interviewed me regarding the updated version of Evidence That Demands A Verdict, which I had the opportunity to co-write with my father. He asked some great questions about the history of the book, its impact, and details regarding some of the updates. Enjoy! ...
The Good Book Blog
Cordial Disagreement is the Highest Honor
Sean McDowell — September 19, 2017
We live in a time when impatience, personal attacks, and shallow criticism characterize much of the cultural dialogue. I can hardly ever post a blog without receiving personal criticism from someone to my left or my right ...
The Good Book Blog
A Simple Case for Religious Liberty
Sean McDowell — September 13, 2017
As John Stonestreet and I argue in our book Same-Sex Marriage, we are currently undergoing one of the most sweeping social revolutions in world history. Until the Obergefell v. Hodges SCOTUS decision in 2015, the definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman was the understanding of virtually every civilization throughout history. But this has all changed ...
The Good Book Blog
What is the Core Reason Kids Leave the Faith?
Sean McDowell — September 11, 2017
There has been a lot of discussion recently about why kids leave the faith. People have rightly drawn attention to the role of poor theology, the importance of kids owning their faith, the significance of intellectual issues such as the apparent tension between science and religion, and more. But there seems to be a core issue that is often overlooked—to develop a lasting faith, kids need to grasp their need for God. Let me explain ...