Steve Porter
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Steve Porter

Affiliate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Theology

DepartmentsCenter for Christian Thought
Institute for Spiritual Formation
Talbot School of Theology
Biola AffiliationsFaculty

Documents

CV Document (PDF)

Degrees

  • Ph.D., University of Southern California
  • M.Phil., University of Oxford
  • M.A., Talbot School of Theology
  • B.A., Biola University

Biography

Steven Porter teaches theology and philosophy for Talbot's Institute for Spiritual Formation and at Rosemead School of Psychology. His areas of interest include theological methodology, the doctrine of sanctification, philosophical theology and the integration of psychology and theology. He has contributed articles to the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Philosophia Christi, Faith and Philosophy, Journal for Psychology and Theology, etc. Steve and his wife Alicia live with their son Luke and daughter Siena in Long Beach, California.

Affiliations

  • Christian Association for Psychological Studies (Member)
  • Evangelical Theological Society (Member)
  • Evangelical Philosophical Society (Member)
  • Society for Christian Philosophers (Member)
  • Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality (Member)

Publications

  • Psychology and Spiritual Formation (Downer's Grove, IL: IVP, 2019). Edited with Tom Crisp and Gregg Ten Elshof.
  • The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge, by Dallas Willard (New York, Routledge, 2018). Edited with Aaron Preston and Gregg Ten Elshof.
  • Until Christ Is Formed in You: Dallas Willard and Spiritual Formation (Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2018). Edited with Gary W. Moon and J.P. Moreland.
  • Neuroscience and the Soul: The Human Person in Philosophy, Science, and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016). Edited with Tom Crisp and Gregg Ten Elshof.
  • "Measuring the Spiritual, Character and Moral Formation of Seminarians: In Search of a Meta-Theory of Spiritual Change," Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care 12:1 (2019) 5-24.
  • "Will/Heart/Spirit: Discipleship that Forms the Christian Character," Christian Education Journal 16:1 (2019) 79-94.
  • "The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit: Revisiting Alston's Interpersonal Model," with Brandon Rickabaugh, Journal of Analytic Theology (2018).
  • "The Evidential Force of Spiritual Maturity and the Christian Doctrine of Sanctification," Religious Studies (2018).
  • "Losing My Religion: spiritual discouragement amongst Christian therapists due to repeat exposure to spiritual immaturity in Christian clients," with M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall and David Wang, Journal of Psychology and Theology 45 (2017) 133-143.
  • "Spiritual Formation and the Social Justice Turn," Christian Scholar's Review Vol. XLIV No. 3 (Spring 2015).

Presentations

  • Spiritual Formation in Seminary: Research, Theory, and Practice, September 2020 (Philippines)
    • Invited Presentation: "How to Measure a Mystery: Assessing the Formational Work of the Spirit"
  • Institute for Research in Psychology and Spirituality, January 2020 (Biola University)
    • Invited Presentation: "Theological Resistance to the Empirical Measurement of Character and Spiritual Development"
  • Evangelical Theological Society, November 2019 (San Diego, CA)
    • Accepted Paper: "The Role of Knowledge and Intentionality in Sanctification by the Spirit"
  • Baylor University's Institute for Faith and Learning Conference, October 2019 (Baylor University)
    • Invited Paper: "Assessing Spiritual Formation in Seminaries: A Multi-school Collaboration" with Dr. Angela Reed
  • The Emeritus Forum, May 2019 (Saddleback College)
    • Invited Lecture: "The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge: The Prospects of Becoming Virtuous in a Vicious World"

Research Interests

  • Philosophical Theology
  • Integration of Psychology and Theology
  • Christian accounts of character changes
  • Christian Spirituality

Books

Philosophy of Religion: A Reader and GuidePhilosophy of Religion: A Reader and Guide
Restoring the Foundations of Epistemic JustificationRestoring the Foundations of Epistemic Justification
Reading the Christian Spiritual Classics: A Guide for EvangelicalsReading the Christian Spiritual Classics: A Guide for Evangelicals

Areas of Expertise for Media Interviews

  • Arguments for the Existence of God
  • Atonement
  • Christianity and Spirituality
  • Christians in Movies
  • God in Movies
  • Integration of Psychology and Theology
  • Jesus as the Only Way to God
  • Moral Relativism
  • Philosophy
  • Philosophy and Christianity
  • Postmodernism
  • Problem of Pain, Suffering, Evil and God
  • Religious Pluralism
  • Spiritual Formation
  • Spirituality
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