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• The Good Book Blog

  5 Reasons Our Culture Is Obsessed with Sex

  Sean McDowell — August 02, 2017

  Western culture is obsessed with sex. Sex dominates our movies, music, television, advertising, conversations, social media and more. But the question many people fail to ask is: why? There are myriads of reasons for this. Some reasons are certainly more germane than others. And they undoubtedly overlap. Nevertheless, here are 5 reasons for western culture’s obsession with sex ...

• Biola News

  Biola Campus Safety Chief Receives National Clery Compliance Award

  Chief John Ojeisekhoba was presented with the 2017 National Clery Compliance award by the National Association of Clery Compliance Officers and Professionals (NACCOP)

  Sarah Giovannini — August 02, 2017

  On July 21, 2017, Biola Campus Safety Chief John Ojeisekhoba was presented with the 2017 National Clery Compliance award by the National...

• The Good Book Blog

  Atheists May Not Believe In God, But They Still Live in His World

  Sean McDowell — July 31, 2017

  A few years ago I hosted a student debate at my church. Three of my high school students debated three students from the local freethinking club on the historical Jesus, intelligent design, and morality. The church was packed! One of the freethinking students argued that there is no universal moral law, and hence no need for a God to ground it. As best as I can remember, he argued that morality is merely subjective and depends upon the individual or society. But then, interestingly, during his closing speech, the same student used the opportunity of being at a church to rail against Christians for being hateful, bigoted and intolerant. In other words, he berated Christians for being immoral ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Teaching Philosophy in a Public High School

  Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

  William Lane Craig — July 28, 2017

  Dr. Craig, First off let me say that I have been a longtime supporter and reader of your work. I have been encouraged and strengthened to give a reason for the hope within by listening to and reading your books, articles, debates, classes, and lectures. Thank you for all you do! Now, let me build to my question with a brief overview. I am a public school teacher and a youth minister at my church and love doing both. With my youth group I spend a tremendous amount of time inculcating the necessity for loving God with the whole being – heart, soul, MIND, and strength. I really want to ground my students the reality of their Faith – that it is more than feeling but is testable, rational and livable! I also teach them apologetics (I am presently going through the NT’s reliability, Jesus’ resurrection...ect.) and Christian doctrine (of which your Defender’s classes have been a huge asset! *PS – Please make a Christian theology book one day when you get the time!!) ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Why Does God Allow Evil? Author Interview with Dr. Clay Jones

  Sean McDowell — July 27, 2017

  Dr. Clay Jones is one of my colleagues in the Biola Apologetics M.A. program. Although he has been teaching and thinking about the problem of evil for decades, he has just released a new book: Why Does God Allow Evil? Here is my endorsement that made the back cover of the book: “If you are looking for one book to make sense of the problem of evil, this book is for you.” I plan to use this book very soon with a group of high school students. And it will now be the top book that I recommend on this subject (along with If God, Why Evil by Norman Geisler and The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis) ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Reading the Gospels as Story: Did Israel Have a Wrong View of the Kingdom? (Part 2)

  Mark Saucy — July 26, 2017

  In the first part of this short series, we looked at how both ancient and modern disciples “take offense” at Jesus against his warning in Luke 7:23 —“Blessed is the one who doesn’t take offense in Me.” Easy scholarly and popular conclusions that Israel hoped for the wrong kind of kingdom made Jesus offensive and Israel culpable at the same time. Our second part here also finds Jesus’ view of the kingdom offensive to ancients and moderns, but for a different reason ...

• The Good Book Blog

  How Do We Make a Case for Religious Freedom?

  Sean McDowell — July 25, 2017

  Given the recent stunning ruling against Barronelle Stutzman, the 72-year old grandma who was sued for running her business according to her deepest moral and religious convictions, it is more critical than ever for Christians to be ready to make a defense for religious freedom. The following essay comes from my recent book A New Kind of Apologist, and is written by James Tonkowich. This article is longer than a typical blog, but please take the time to read it carefully and help spread the word. Christians simply must be able to make a case for religious liberty today.

• Student Life Blog

  Master Multiple Choice Tests

  Louie Chong — July 24, 2017

  Why you shouldn't always choose "C"

• Biola News

  Biola’s Crowell School of Business to Host Praxis Academy

  Alumna selected for Praxis 2017 Emerging Founders group

  Jenna Loumagne — July 24, 2017

  Next week, ������ʷ’s Crowell School of Business will host approximately 200 top-notch students from 50 universities on campus for Praxis...

• 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

  ������ʷ’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

  ������ʷ 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

  ������ʷ 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 ������ʷ. 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 ...