A Christian view of utopia does not depend on flawed human creatures or imaginative visions but on the plans of an all-powerful God against whom no human opposition can stand. If God is for us, says the text, nothing can be against us—not times of weakness or even death, because “in all these things we... Continue Reading

To the contrary, many of the studies cited as bomb-proof evidence for the public dangers of secondhand smoke have been heavily criticized for years. What is really interesting is the role that tradition (presuppositions received from the past and present medical communities) played in influencing the studies’ findings. In each case, the unintentional bias toward a... Continue Reading

The real issue about the new Supreme Court nominee is not his credentials nor his record, but rather his religion — not his religious affiliation, but his world and life view which is the outworking of his religious views.  As religion determines who a man is, so religion determines what a man thinks.  Religion will... Continue Reading

“And given that the conservative establishment portrays The New York Times as the embodiment of all that’s wrong with elite media culture, critics and watchdog sites regularly blast the NYT for bias and even ignorance. Is The New York Times really ignorant about matters of faith?”   This question arises from time to time, as... Continue Reading

“We often adopt a shallow view of what sexual intimacy is. Out of ignorance or laziness, we take on this view from the world through past experiences, advice, and the media. We then sprinkle it with a little ‘righteousness’ and hope it will do.”   Sexual intimacy is only a form of intimacy, and in order... Continue Reading

We all want to alleviate the distress of children who feel like they do not fit in. Well-meaning parents caught up by the glorification of gender transitions in popular culture are risking significant psychological and physical damage to their children. Warm parenting is a far safer option. According to the Boy Scout Law, Scouts are... Continue Reading

Respecting the literary aspects of the Bible is a way of observing the biblical authors’ intentions. For a very long time, the cornerstone of evangelical hermeneutics has been authorial intention—the need to interpret a passage in keeping with an author’s inferred intention. It is time that we put the literary approach to the Bible under... Continue Reading

Nevertheless, in the last few months I have seen and experienced racism in the United States like never before during my time here. Unfortunately, because of anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican, and anti-minorities’ sentiments, many people now feel free to express insults that they would not have said before. The political rhetoric has affected the way many people feel, and now they imitate the aggressive tone of the President and of many politicians from both political parties. For example, I have seen how my son, the son of another Biola professor, and the daughter of another seminary professor have been verbally abused at school, and some even at church, just because they are Latinos. Sadly, I want to believe their classmates only repeat what they hear from their parents without reflecting about the emotional damage they are inflicting.

“Oh, dear married friends, what if we quit letting movies and the internet convince us that we need a rose petal-filled bubble bath or a weekend in Europe or a candle-lit dinner in some fancy restaurant? We don’t need those things to be happy in marriage.”   A few days ago, we discussed romance on... Continue Reading

Pro-life means pro-life. It doesn’t mean politics and it doesn’t mean moral superiority. And it doesn’t mean loud angry Facebook posts and it doesn’t, ultimately, mean changed laws. We pray that God puts an end to the atrocity of the genocide of abortion. We pray that our leaders be exposed to the holy light of God and have hearts full of compassion for the least of these.