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• The Good Book Blog

  Did James, the Brother of Jesus, Die as a Martyr?

  Sean McDowell — February 24, 2016

  In my recent book The Fate of the Apostles, I examine the claim that the apostles died as martyrs for their faith. One apostle who often gets overlooked is James, the brother of Jesus. While James wasn’t one of the Twelve, there is good reason to believe he was not a believer of Jesus during his public ministry (Mark 3:20-35; John 7:5), he saw the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 15:7), and became the key leader in the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2:9; Acts 21:17-26) ...

• Biola News

  Biola Announces 2016 Alumni Award Recipients

  Select alumni honored for their impact in culture, media, education and missions

  James O'Hearn — February 24, 2016

  Biola University has announced the 2016 Biola University Alumni Award recipients. The four awardees, all graduates of Biola who have distinguished...

• Biola News

  Biola University Senior Wins New Car Sweepstakes

  $5,000 in art supplies gifted to Biola as part of sweepstakes

  Marissa Ray  — February 23, 2016

  Biola University senior art major Natalie Toyer is this year’s Blick Art Materials 2015 Blick Car Sweepstakes student winner. Toyer won not only a...

• Biola News

  Biola’s Crowell School of Business to Partner with Praxis Academy

  Partnership provides new opportunities for students and Biola community

  Jenna Loumagne — February 23, 2016

  Biola University’s Crowell School of Business is pleased to announce a partnership with Praxis Academy for 2016. Praxis Academy, a venture group...

• Business. Ministry. Life.

  The Pitfalls of Cost Control

  Nick Sherwin — February 23, 2016

  In today's blog post, Dr. Nick Sherwin, Associate Professor of Management, shares some personal experiences that demonstrate the impact that misguided cost control may have on a company's competitive advantage.

• The Good Book Blog

  Character Formation in Online Education, Part 2: Discussion Forums & Collaborative Documents

  Joanne Jung — February 22, 2016

  ... Collaborative learning focuses on both content and the process of learning. C.S. Lewis stated, “It often happens that two schoolboys can solve difficulties in their work for one another better than the master can” (Lewis, 1958). Participation, dialogue, and reciprocity are key elements necessary for students to sense and know they are included in something greater than themselves. Meaningful dialogue in a variety of formats inspires critical thinking and reflection, combats mental inertia, and fosters transformation. Students may come curious, but they leave inspired ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

  William Lane Craig — February 19, 2016

  Dr. Craig, Thank you for your diligent work for the kingdom of God. I hope you understand and appreciate how your work has impacted the faith of countless people across the world. My question has to do with the concept of God in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. I am sure that you are aware of the current controversy over the "same God" comments of the professor at Wheaton College. As you can imagine this has caused a firestorm of debate between theologians, pastors and preachers. I understand from your work that you would say that while Muslims and Christians might worship the same God historically (the God of Abraham and Moses), their concept of God is fundamentally different (please correct me if I misunderstood your view). This refutes the "same God" idea because at the very core we worship a very different God even if the religions share a common background ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Character Formation in Online Education, Part 1: Heart & Soul

  Joanne Jung — February 15, 2016

  ... Character formation begins with a proper understanding of the heart and soul. The heart is often misrepresented in American culture, for the heart has much more to do with how we live than what we might be led to believe. Perhaps the closest we can come to this idea is when we speak of doing something “whole-heartedly.” In Proverbs 4:23, believers are warned: “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life” (HCSB). Mentioned nearly one thousand times in God’s word, it is clear that the heart is important to God. Three components make up the human heart: mind, emotion, and will (Coe, 2011). The mind, the thinking function of the heart, is where our thoughts are received, processed, and formed. Emotions are tied to thoughts as we have feelings about all thoughts. The will is an expression of what we actually do (or do not do) with our thoughts. Components of the heart—mind, emotion, and will—are often examined separately but were created to function together. They make up who we are. Our lives are our hearts in motion because the heart is the control center of the soul ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Necessary but Dependent Beings?

  William Lane Craig — February 12, 2016

  Dear Dr Craig, In your work on abstract objects, you have mentioned that there could exist necessary beings which exist "ab alio", that is, dependent for their existence on other necessary beings. My question is this: Let's suppose for the argument's sake that such ab alio necessary beings exist, is their existence an exception (or somehow relevant) to the premise of the teleological argument according to which everything which exists exist in virtue of a necessity of its own nature or in virtue of an external cause? ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Getting To Know My Body: Five Good Reasons To “Flee From Sexual Immorality”

  Joe Hellerman — February 10, 2016

  This year we are studying 1 Corinthians at Oceanside Christian Fellowship. I preached the message on 6:12-20, with the above title. I began by explaining Paul’s foundational principles in verse 12: (1) not all things are helpful, and (2) I will not be dominated by anything. The rest of the sermon outlined the “Five Good Reasons” (subtitle, above) as follows ...

• Biola News

  Biola University Launches Annual Lent Project: An Artistic Approach to Lenten Devotions

  Jenna Loumagne — February 10, 2016

  LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Biola’s Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts launched the third annual The Lent Project this week — an annual curated...

• The Good Book Blog

  Dawkins on the Non-Random Nature of Evolution

  William Lane Craig — February 05, 2016

  Dear Dr Craig, I have noticed of late that Richard Dawkins often states that Neo-Darwinism is non-random. Dawkins recently repeated this line in an interview on a Scandinavian talk show Skavlan when asked, "What is the most common misconception about Evolution?" His response was, "That it is a theory of random chance. It obviously can't be theory of random chance. If it was a theory of random chance it couldn't possibly explain why all animals and plants are so beautifully ... well designed." He goes on to say that, "[W]hat Darwin did was to discover the only known alternative to random chance which is natural selection". A few years ago he made similar comments on an Australian television show Q&A where he said, "There's random genetic variation and non-random survival and non-random reproduction". He goes on to say that, "that is quintessentially non-random" ...

• Biola News

  Biola Basketball Hosts Chick-Fil-A Night Feb. 9

  Join us at Chase Gym for Chick-Fil-A Night on Feb. 9

  Neil Morgan — February 04, 2016

  LA MIRADA, Calif. --- All season long Chick-Fil-A at the La Habra Marketplace has been a valued partner to 2015-16 Biola Basketball. That...

• Business. Ministry. Life.

  What is Biblically Responsible Investing?

  Shane Enete — February 04, 2016

  Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) is a growing movement among Christian investors and investment firms, with significant potential for cultural impact. BRI is an investing approach that seeks to ensure that a Christian is investing in a way that is consistent with the moral standards of the Bible.

• The Good Book Blog

  La Santidad de la Vida / Sanctity of Life

  Octavio Esqueda — February 03, 2016

  Hace un par de semanas estuve en Guatemala para iniciar un curso semestral en un programa doctoral en educación teológica. Este programa es singular en Latinoamérica y enseñar en él me da la oportunidad de convivir con líderes de diferentes países y también aprender de ellos. A pesar de que este doctorado se enfoca principalmente en la educación teológica formal a través de universidades y seminarios, la realidad es que todo nuestro entorno debería tener un enfoque teológico porque Dios es el creador del universo y el centro fundamental de toda la existencia. Por esto el conocimiento de Dios o educación teológica nos debería ayudar a “pensar teológicamente” sobre todas las áreas de la vida ...

• Biola News

  Holmquist's 900th Win Celebration - Feb. 20

  Dr. Dave Holmquist will be honored at a postgame celebration following the Feb. 20 men's basketball game.

  Neil Morgan — February 03, 2016

  LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Men’s Basketball is in the midst of another historic season as it’s currently ranked 10th in the National Association...

• The Good Book Blog

  Does God Love Evil-Doers?

  William Lane Craig — January 29, 2016

  I am 15 years old. But I have been drawn to philosophy and logic for their huge ability of proving immaterial things. For example, 1+1=2, this is a completely logical answer and what is nice about it, there are no other possibilities. Of course that doesn’t apply for all logical conclusions but it follows. I understood the kalam cosmological argument, the evolution theory, the big bang, and a lot of other logical and scientific arguments and theories. That is because I never wanted to believe in anything which I can’t prove for myself 100%. I even reached a moment where I thought everything is possible, surely nothing can be proved 100%. However, at that time, mathematics came and explained a lot to me. As I mentioned before 1+1=2, that is an example of an absolute answer. In other words, proven 100%. From here I started wondering about many other scenarios in real life. From all of these information I thought about from the environment around me I reached a system of thought which I always follow ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Did the Apostles Have a Resurrection Faith?

  Sean McDowell — January 27, 2016

  In The Fate of the Apostles, I argue that the willingness of the apostles to die for their faith provides convincing evidence that we can trust their testimony. However, as critics have pointed out, this rightly assumes that the apostles had a resurrection faith. If the apostles believed for some other reason, then their willingness to suffer and face martyrdom would be inconsequential to the truth of Christianity. So, how do we know the apostles had a resurrection faith?

• The Good Book Blog

  Do the Deaths of the Apostles Prove Anything?

  Sean McDowell — January 25, 2016

  he willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is one of the most commonly cited arguments for the historicity of the resurrection. And yet in my research and experience, it is one of the most widely misunderstood. It is important we neither overstate nor understate the significance of this point. In my book The Fate of the Apostles, I carefully state the argument this way ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Language and Objective Truth

  William Lane Craig — January 22, 2016

  Hi Dr. Craig, I'd like to thank you and your team for all the work you do. It's amazing to see how God has gifted individuals to articulated and present His truth in academically rigorous environments. In the past few years, especially since getting into grad school, I've come to appreciate your work and your approach more. I've been debating on when, or how, to ask you the question on my mind. Most likely due to my own discomfort with the subject. In the past year I've had the pleasure of catching up with a friend of mine who has tragically turned his back on the faith. On multiple occasions we conversed about his philosophical misgivings about Christianity and any other faith claiming absolute morals. He expressed his distrust in absolutes derived from the ever-evolving medium of language. He now considers himself a moral relativist who has principles and takes moral stances. Maybe something akin to Harris. This leads me to a version of a question raised in conversation: How can absolute truth be communicated through the medium of language? ...

• Biola News

  Biola University's National Campaign Tour Continues; Sean McDowell Speaks at Phoenix Event

  Biola reaches $167 million of $180 million goal for the university’s first-ever comprehensive campaign

  Cambria Hayashino — January 21, 2016

  On Friday, Jan. 15, Biola University’s Campaign National Tour hosted its fourth event, and the first stop outside of Southern California, at the...

• Biola News

  When God Calls You to be a Chaplain for the Dodgers

  Alumnus and professor Brandon Cash shares about his role as chaplain for the Dodgers; he and Dodgers’ player Adrian Gonzales will speak at a Biola Athletics dinner in January

  Jenna Loumagne — January 21, 2016

  Some would call it chance, but Biola’s Talbot School of Theology alumnus Brandon Cash (M.Div. ’98) sees it as God’s will that he was invited to be...

• The Good Book Blog

  Do the Apostles of Jesus Qualify as Martyrs?

  Sean McDowell — January 20, 2016

  Pastors, apologists, and other Christians love proclaiming the deaths of the apostles as evidence for the Christian faith. As I lay out in The Fate of the Apostles, the willingness of the apostles to be martyred for their faith is one critical piece of evidence for the reliability of the resurrection accounts. Despite the popularity of this claim, there are no early, reliable accounts that the apostles were given the opportunity to recant their beliefs before being killed. Does this undermine the claim that they were martyrs? ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Scriptural Inerrancy and the Apologetic Task

  William Lane Craig — January 15, 2016

  Dr Craig I always enjoy hearing you speak, and I especially love the cross-examination and Q&A parts of your debates. It was a pleasure to meet you in person at the conference in Atlanta. ... I have noticed that many skilled apologists (yourself included) do NOT argue for the inspiration of scripture in debates, but rather their historical accuracy. My question is - do we really need to argue over inspiration or inerrancy? Wouldn't we be better served to make the argument that the scriptures are reliable? In doing so, we silence those (like Bart Ehrman or Shabir Ally) who quibble over minor discrepancies between accounts (most of which are easy to explain anyway) ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Was Paul Beheaded in Rome?

  Sean McDowell — January 13, 2016

  The traditional view is that Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero AD 64-67. In my recent book The Fate of the Apostles, I make the case that the apostles were all willing to suffer and die for their faith. While the evidence for individual apostles varies, there is very good historical reason to believe that Paul died as a martyr in the mid to late 60s ...