Latest Posts

• The Good Book Blog

  Must a Biblical Doctrine of the Atonement Comprise Penal Substitution?

  Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

  William Lane Craig — July 21, 2017

  Dear Dr. Craig, I have been enjoying your videos and podcasts about your study of the atonement. I have to admit though, that as of right now I don't accept penal substitution. Though I grew up with this view, I now hold a combination of the recapitulation and satisfaction theories. To briefly summarize for the readers, the recapitulation theory teaches that Jesus became like us and did what we should have done, so that in him, we might become like him and do what he did. This is perhaps the oldest theory of the atonement and is the basis for many later theories. The satisfaction theory of St. Anselm adds that Jesus's self sacrificial obedience served as restitution for our sins, or as Anselm calls it, satisfaction. In my opinion, these theories together are more Biblical and intellectually satisfying than penal substitution ...

• Biola News

  Professor Contributes to New Book on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

  Judith Rood wrote a chapter in the recently released book, A Land Full of God

  Jenna Loumagne — July 21, 2017

  The new book A Land Full of God gives American Christians an opportunity to promote peace and justice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict....

• The Good Book Blog

  La Reforma y las Indulgencias, Pasadas y Actuales / The Reformation and Indulgences, Both Past and Present

  Octavio Esqueda — July 20, 2017

  En este año se celebra alrededor del mundo los 500 años del inicio de lo que se conoce como La Reforma protestante. El 31 de octubre de 1517 el monje agustino Martín Lutero clavó en la puerta de la Iglesia del Castillo en Wittenberg en Alemania 95 tesis en las que criticaba abiertamente las ventas de indulgencias de la iglesia católica romana. Lutero escogió ese día deliberadamente ya que era la víspera del Día de Todos los Santos y tanto la facultad de la universidad como muchos fieles asistían a la iglesia. Lutero inicialmente no tenía la intención de romper con la iglesia romana sino enfatizar la supremacía del evangelio de Cristo basada en su simplicidad y a la vez en su gran profundidad ...

• Biola News

  Philosopher and Theologian William Lane Craig Named in Biola’s First Endowed Chair

  A permanent faculty position at Talbot School of Theology will be held in honor of Craig

  Joanna Wu — July 20, 2017

  Biola University’s first endowed chair has been established in recognition of William Lane Craig, a world-renowned philosopher and theologian who...

• The Good Book Blog

  Adventures at Acton: A Reflection on Human Flourishing

  James Petitfils — July 19, 2017

  This summer, as part of my participation in Talbot’s Kern Foundation reading group, I had the opportunity to travel to Grand Rapids and attend a 4-day think tank called Acton University. This was my first time participating in a think tank (unless you count my years watching MacGyver problem-solve for the Phoenix Foundation), and it was an experience! The annual event brings together around 1000 scholars, students, businesspeople, and leaders from over 75 countries and seeks to provide “an opportunity to deepen one’s knowledge and integrate philosophy, theology, business, development – with sound, market based, economics” (http://university.acton.org/). The daily program consisted of several parallel presentations (in fact, Talbot’s own Dr. Scott Rae was a presenter), a fabulous dinner designed to foster new relationships and stimulate conversations, and it closed each night with a plenary talk ...

• Biola News

  Biola Professor Presents Research on Unconscious Gender Bias in the Workplace

  Leanne Dzubinski presented at the Women’s Leadership Conference of the International Leadership Association

  Jenna Loumagne — July 19, 2017

  Professor of intercultural education and studies Leanne Dzubinski has developed a comprehensive list of barriers that women face in executive...

• The Good Book Blog

  Announcement: New Apologetics Curriculum for Students!

  Sean McDowell — July 18, 2017

  Recently I had the chance to partner with Awana to create a yearlong, systematic, top-quality apologetics curriculum for students. It is the product of my work with students for the past two decades. My friend Tim Fox (Orthodox Fox) at Free Thinking Ministries was kind enough to briefly interview me about the project. And he gave me permission to post the original interview here too. Enjoy!

• The Good Book Blog

  How Do We Understand and Reach Generation Z?

  Sean McDowell — July 17, 2017

  For the past few months I have been reading every study I can find on Generation Z, (those born between 1995-2010). With the help of a graduate student who did some research for me, I found over 350 pages of research on Gen Z, which took me dozens of hours to carefully digest. But then last week I came across Meet Generation Z, by James Emery White. Had I found this book earlier, it would have saved me a ton of time! It is an easy-to-read, documented, and insightful look at how to understand and reach the newest generation of students ...

• Biola News

  Biola University Named a “2017 Great College to Work For”

  The Chronicle of Higher Education recognizes Biola on their tenth annual list

  Jenna Loumagne — July 17, 2017

  Biola University is a great college to work for, according to a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The results, released today in The...

• The Good Book Blog

  Using a Daily Devotional Book

  Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

  William Lane Craig — July 14, 2017

  Dr. Craig, I have noticed something that troubles me while surveying common devotional books and guides that many Christians rely on in their daily lives. I have noticed that a common template for your average devotional tends to quote a Bible passage but then follows it with a well-meaning anecdote, or inspirational messages that are vaguely relevant to the quoted passage, or sometimes even trite aphorisms re-packaged with Christian overtones ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Humility at Hume Lake

  James Petitfils — July 12, 2017

  I saw something amazing this June. Something rare. Something inspiring. It happened behind-the-scenes at Hume Lake Christian Camps and I simply had to move it from backstage and into to the spotlight. Before I showcase this beautiful sight, let me provide a couple paragraphs of context: As part of Talbot’s Kern Reading group this year, I’ve had the joy of reading (and re-reading) several thought-provoking texts on work, leadership, economics, poverty relief, and the relationship of theology and the church to such matters. On this journey, I happily re-read a chapter from one of my favorite books on organizational leadership, Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges’, Lead Like Jesus: Lessons for Everyone from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005) ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Speaking in Tongues in Church

  Kenneth Berding — July 11, 2017

  A few years ago I received an email from a former student (now a young pastor) asking some questions about speaking in tongues during corporate worship. Let me excerpt his e-mail and then include my reply (with his permission): Dr. Berding, I am emailing you because I have a question about ‘service of worship’ for the church. Recently I have taken upon myself to work out some position papers on where I stand on a few ecclesiology topics. I have spent time reading from Horton, Grudem, Bloesch, and some of Clowney's works on ecclesiology. However, recently at our corporate worship one of the elders prayed in tongues and this was followed by what appeared to be an interpretation. As I have been reading through these books and wrestling with scripture, I have come to wonder if tongues plays a role in corporate worship or not ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Is Jesus Merely a Myth? An Interview with Author David Marshall

  Sean McDowell — July 10, 2017

  I first heard of David Marshall when I encountered his book responding to the claims of the New Atheists (which is excellent, by the way). Then I heard him do an excellent job defending the existence of Jesus in a radio debate with Richard Carrier on "Unbelievable." After that, I thought, “I really need to meet this guy. He’s sharp and making some unique arguments!” We touched base shortly after that and he agreed to answer a few of my questions about his work on the historical Jesus. His book is easy to read, and yet it is packed with some fresh insights. Enjoy the interview and think about getting a copy of his outstanding book: Jesus is no Myth ...

• Student Life Blog

  A New Perspective on Homework

  Louie Chong — July 10, 2017

  Remember why you started

• The Good Book Blog

  Dialogue on the Kalām Cosmological Argument

  Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

  William Lane Craig — July 07, 2017

  Very rarely do I engage in online conversations with someone, but when a Facebook follower named Bob voiced an objection to the kalām cosmological argument (KCA), my curiosity was piqued by his cryptic remark. So I asked him to explain himself, and thus began a dialogue on the merits of his objection. I sincerely wanted to help Bob see his missteps and state his objection more carefully. To no avail, it seems! I think Bob’s objection is a mare’s nest of confusions; he thinks I need some lessons in logic! With his permission, I’m posting our dialogue so that you can decide for yourselves ...

• The Good Book Blog

  How Do We Communicate with Winsome Persuasion in our Hostile Culture?

  Sean McDowell — July 06, 2017

  Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer are two of my colleagues at Biola University. Dr. Muehlhoff teaches Communications and Dr. Langer teaches Biblical Studies and Theology. They recently partnered up to tackle a vital issue for today—how do Christians communicate with winsome persuasion in a culture that seems to be increasingly at odds with Christian beliefs? I had the chance to endorse their book Winsome Persuasion and highly recommend it for both its content and style. In particular, Dr. Muehlhoff has really challenged me to personally consider how to speak truth today with both kindness and graciousness. I love his last book I Beg to Differ, and even used it in a small group with high school students. If you want to be an effective communicator today, check out this brief interview, and then think about getting their excellent new book ...

• The Good Book Blog

  A Lesson from the Last Moments of Jesus’ Life, Luke 22-23

  David Talley — July 05, 2017

  Overall point: The major battle we face in this life is not what is seen, but what is not seen—Satan is intensely and intentionally opposed to what God is doing. AND the greatest defense we have is not our offense, but rather our dependence. Jesus is prayerful and successful; the disciples are prayerless and careless ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Who Is the True Jesus? An Interview with David Limbaugh

  Sean McDowell — July 04, 2017

  David Limbaugh is well known for his political commentary. Yet recently he has utilized his legal training to defend historic Christianity with his New York Times best-selling books The Emmaus Code and Jesus on Trial. His most recent book is The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels. David gave me the opportunity to endorse the book and I was pleasantly surprised at how readable it is, but also his depth of research. You can see David discuss the book on Hannity. David was kind enough to briefly answer a few of my questions about his newest book. Enjoy! ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Are My Theistic Arguments Dependent Upon a Metaphysical System?

  Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

  William Lane Craig — June 30, 2017

  Hi Dr. Craig, For about the last decade I've studied the question of the existence of God. I was raised in a Christian family and became interested philosophically in the existence of God in my mid-teens. I have read several of you books and many articles, as well as watching numerous lectures and debates. I have considerable respect for you work, mainly because it is meticulous - in contrast to most discussion of the subject that is readily available on the internet. I regard your defence of the kalam argument to be one of the best defences of God's existence I have read. I would describe myself as a 'philosophical theist' ...

• Biola Magazine

  In Print: Summer 2017

  Biola Magazine Staff — June 30, 2017

  The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How it Ends, and Everything Important That Happens In Between, by Gregory Koukl (M.A. ’06), Zondervan,...

• Biola Magazine

  A Warm Welcome

  New Welcome Center creates inviting space for future Biolans

  Biola Magazine Staff — June 30, 2017

  New visitors to Biola’s campus are getting the red-carpet treatment — make that red-wall treatment. In April, the university debuted a new...

• Biola Magazine

  A Charge to Maintain Liberal Arts

  Diane Vincent — June 29, 2017

  A faculty charge delivered by Diane Vincent at the installation ceremony for Provost and Senior Vice President Deborah Taylor on Oct. 26, 2016....

• Biola Magazine

  Spend Your Summer with Biola

  Rick Bee — June 29, 2017

  Can you hear it? The gentle roar of the surf on the shore? The smell of saltwater and sunblock filling your nose? Or, maybe for you, summer means...

• Biola Magazine

  Chemistry in the Crime Lab

  Sarah Lum (’14) wins Young Scientist Award after patenting technology to aid sexual assault investigations

  Kristen Hartman — June 29, 2017

  One morning during her sophomore year, sitting in Rose of Sharon Chapel, Sarah Lum (’14) knew she had a decision to make. She came to Biola...

• Biola Magazine

  Sermon on the Mound

  Brandon Cash (M.Div. ’98) serves as chaplain to the Los Angeles Dodgers

  Kathryn Toombs — June 29, 2017

  When Brandon Cash (M.Div. ’98) graduated with a degree from Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, he thought his days in the athletic sphere were...