

Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture
Talbot School of Theology at Biola University / Sean McDowell & Scott Rae
A weekly podcast that offers Christian perspectives on some of the most significant issues facing today's church and culture. In each episode, hosts Scott Rae and Sean McDowell — professors at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology — draw upon biblical wisdom and insights from guest experts as they explore how Christians can thoughtfully and faithfully engage with cultural trends and current events.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 12, 2020 • 34min
This Beautiful Book: The Big Story of the Bible (with Steve Green)
If the Bible seems complicated to you, you’re in good company, and this conversation with Steve Green will help. In his new book, This Beautiful Book, Green lays out with clarity and simplicity, the big storyline of the Bible. Join us for this discussion of “this beautiful book.” Steve Green is president of Hobby Lobby and co-founder of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/this-beautiful-book ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Mar 5, 2020 • 49min
Answering the Toughest Questions (with Craig Hazen)
In this episode, Sean and Craig Hazen discuss some of the most challenging questions about Christian faith. They discussed this together at Yorba Linda Friends Church. Join them as they give succinct and clear answers to these important questions. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/answering-the-toughest-questions ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Feb 27, 2020 • 31min
Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) Redeemed: A Biblical View of Time (with Os Guinness)
Where does the time go?, we frequently lament. Time is fixed for all of us yet around the world and historically there have been many different views of time, that emerge out of the worldview of the day. Best selling author and speaker Os Guinness reflects on our views of time and how a Christian worldview impacts how we view our time. Join us for this insightful conversation around his new book, Carpe Diem Redeemed. Os Guinness is an author, social critic, and great-great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. Os has written or edited more than 30 books that offer valuable insight into the cultural, political, and social contexts in which we all live. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil. in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/carpe-diem-seize-the-day-redeemed-a-biblical-view-of-time ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Feb 23, 2020 • 31min
Humans 2.0 (with Fuz Rana)
New developments in biotechnology promise breakthroughs that could improve people’s lives, but also threaten to enhance human beings and alter human nature. Biochemist Fazale (Fuz) Rana opens a window to the new world of human enhancement technologies and the movement of transhumanism (transcending human nature) in this stimulating conversation. Biochemist Dr. Fazale (Fuz) Rana writes and speaks extensively about evidence for creation emerging from biochemistry, genetics, human origins, and synthetic biology. As vice president of research and apologetics at Reasons to Believe (RTB), he is dedicated to communicating to skeptics and believers alike the powerful scientific case for God's existence and the Bible's reliability. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/humans-2-0 ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Feb 13, 2020 • 31min
A Change of Affection (with Becket Cook)
Becket Cook has a remarkable story of transformation by the gospel. Before becoming a Christian, he lived as a gay man in Hollywood as a successful set designer. His life centered around celebrity-filled Hollywood parties and he traveled to society hot-spots around the world — until a chance encounter with a pastor at an LA coffee shop one morning changed everything. Sean interviews Becket about his story and his excellent new book. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/a-change-of-affection ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Feb 6, 2020 • 35min
Faith, Reason and Western Civilization (with Samuel Gregg)
The naïve and increasingly common assumption that reason and faith are incompatible is simply at odds with the facts of history. The revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures of a reasonable Creator imbued Judaism and Christianity with a conviction that the world is intelligible, leading to the flowering of reason and the invention of science in the West. It was no accident that the Enlightenment took place in the culture formed by the Jewish and Christian faiths. Join us as we talk with Dr. Sam Gregg about the unique role of faith and reason both at the foundation of Western civilization and how both are necessary for a society to flourish. Dr. Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy and political economy from the University of Oxford. He is the author of several books, including For God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good(2016) and Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future(2013). He is a regular writer of opinion-pieces which appear in publications such as the Wall Street Journal Europe; First Things; Investors Business Daily; Washington Times; American Banker; National Review; The Stream; Public Discourse; American Spectator; El Mercurio; Australian Financial Review; Jerusalem Post; La Nacion, and Business Review Weekly. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/faith-reason-and-western-civilization ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Jan 30, 2020 • 33min
How to Think Christianly about the Economy (with Victor Claar & Greg Forster)
How should we think about our economy as followers of Jesus? Do we accept economic life as "it is what it is?" Or does the way we think about economics make a difference in our discipleship? Co-authors Victor Claar (economist) and Greg Forster (political philosopher) talk about their new book on the most influential economist of our time, Sir John Maynard Keynes, and how his views on economics have shaped how culture sees human beings, morality, consumption and prosperity. Be sure not to miss their critique of Keynes from a Christian world view. Join us for this enlightening conversation. Dr. Victor Claar is Associate Professor of Economics and holds the BB&T Distinguished Professorship in Free Enterprise at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. He is the author of several books on the intersection of Christian faith and economics, including, Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy and Life Choices (with Robin J. Klay). Dr. Greg Forster is Greg Forster serves as the director of the Oikonomia Network at the Center for Transformational Churches at Trinity International University, and is a visiting assistant professor of faith and culture. He has a Ph.D. with distinction in political philosophy from Yale University. He is the author of seven books, most recently The Church on Notice and Joy for the World, and the co-editor of four books. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/how-to-think-christianly-about-the-economy ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Jan 26, 2020 • 32min
From White Supremacist to Racial Reconciliation (with Tom Tarrants)
How did a violent Klansman become a champion of racial reconciliation? In his new book, Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love, former white supremacist Tom Tarrants tells a remarkable story of transformation by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Join us as Scott interviews Tom as he tells his story of Klan involvement, prison, and redemption. You won’t want to miss this one! Tom Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute, where he served for more than 20 years. Tom holds a Master of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. He is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/from-white-supremacist-to-racial-reconciliation ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Jan 16, 2020 • 27min
The State of the Persecuted Church as a New Decade Begins
With the release of the World Watch List in January 2020, we get a catalog of the most difficult places for the followers of Jesus around the world. Join us for an inside look at some of these places from someone who travels there regularly and has first hand exposure as Scott interviews Rienk and hears of the stories of the persecuted church in 2020. To learn more about the World Watch List, watch their 2020 press conference. For security reasons, we cannot reveal the name of our guest for this week’s podcast. He is known by his pseudonym, Rienk. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/the-state-of-the-persecuted-church-as-a-new-decade-begins ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Jan 9, 2020 • 35min
Love Unleashes Life—the Pro-Life Message in a Polarized Culture (with Stephanie Gray)
How can the pro-life message be effective in an increasingly polarized culture? How can the movement move from controversy to civility and still be a compelling message defending the unborn? Join us for our conversation with Stephanie Gray, a veteran of the pro-life movement who describes how to defend the unborn in today’s culture. Stephanie Gray is a seasoned and international speaker who began presenting at the age of 18. She has given over 900 pro-life presentations across North America as well as in Scotland, England, Ireland, Austria, Latvia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. She has spoken at many post-secondary institutions such as Yale University, George Washington University, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2017, Stephanie was a presenter for the series "Talks at Google," speaking on abortion at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. Stephanie is author of Love Unleashes Life: Abortion & the Art of Communicating Truth as well as A Physician’s Guide to Discussing Abortion. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UBC in Vancouver, and a Certification, with Distinction, in Health Care Ethics, from the NCBC in Philadelphia. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2020/love-unleashes-life-the-pro-life-message-in-a-polarized-culture ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. Watch video episodes at: https://bit.ly/think-biblically-video. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.