Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture

What best explains the development of the Sexual Revolution? According to Carl Trueman, there are three key components: technology, politics, and ideas. In this interview, Sean and Dr. Trueman discuss his latest book – The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self – which focuses on key thinkers that helped pave the way for the Sexual Revolution. This interview was first recorded on Sean's YouTube...

What is spiritual abuse and how common is it? How should Christians handle spiritual abuse in the church? Our guest today, Dr. Michael Kruger, has written a new book called Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church . We talk with him about how to best understand and address spiritual abuse in the church and wider Christian community. Michael J. Kruger is president of R...

What is the current state of Christian philosophy in the secular university and the culture more generally? Is Christian philosophy considered an oxymoron? Or has belief in God enjoyed a renewal in academic settings, and if so, what accounts for that? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest , our philosophy colleague Dr. Greg Ganssle. We’ll also talk about how Talbot’s MA Program in P...

Do kids have a natural right to their mom and dad? Katy Faust argues that the answer is yes, and that we need a new campaign to protect the rights of children today. Katy is the author of the timely and provocative book Them Before Us, in which she argues that we need to put kids' rights before the desires of adults. This bonus episode was recorded on Sean's YouTube channel , which is in...

How does the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, compare and contrast with the Bible? What does it teach about sin, salvation, Jesus, and the possibility of knowing God personally? And what can Christians learn by reading the Qur’an about how to better love their Muslim neighbors? In this episode, Sean and Scott tackle these questions and more with Dr. Matthew Bennett. Matthew Aaron Bennett is an assist...

How are committed Christians portrayed in Hollywood media? It’s more complicated than you might think. They are often presented as foolish characters, but the bible has different categories of fools that it speaks to. What is the holy fool, and how is that person portrayed in films and TV? Join Scott as he discusses this and more with our guest Thomas Sieberhagen, pastor, community arts center dir...

Coleman Hughes is the host of the popular podcast " Conversations with Coleman ." He is a young African-American thinker who is also an atheist. In this conversation, Coleman joins Sean on his YouTube channel . They discuss race in America and Coleman's religious views. Coleman Hughes is a writer, podcaster and opinion columnist who specializes in issues related to race, public poli...

What kinds of things constitute biotechnological enhancement? What’s the difference between correcting disease and enhancing traits? How does the concept of our resurrection body help us understand where we draw lines and limits on these technologies? Join Scott as we tackle these questions and more with our guest Dr. John McClean, author, theologian and Vice Principal of Christ College, Sydney Au...

Artificial intelligence and robotics are becoming a major part of our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. Where do we see it in our lives? Where is it a good thing and where should we be concerned about it? Can AI produce machines with the ability to learn, human consciousness, rationality, moral decision making? Join Scott and Sean for this very relevant conversation. This episode is al...

When the early Christians talked about singleness and marriage, how did they talk about it? How are single adults viewed in our churches today? Is that consistent with the way they have been viewed in the history of the church? Is singleness a gift? Join Scott as we discuss these questions and more with our guest, Australian author Dani Treweek. Dani Treweek is a Christian theological researcher,...

Once in a generation archeologists unearth something that is truly a game changer. Recently found material turn much of OT critical scholarship on its head. Join Scott as he discusses this finding with archeologist Scott Stripling—spoiler alert—it’s a very exciting find!! Scott Stripling, provost and director of the Archaeology Institute at The Bible Seminary, is the director of excavations for th...

What do Americans believe about the Bible? How often do Americans read the Bible and in what ways? And what theological beliefs do evangelicals hold in comparison with the broader society? In this discussion, which is also available as video on Biola's YouTube channel, Sean and Scott discuss two recent studies: The State of the Bible 2022 and The State of Theology from 2022. This episode is a...

The Bible repeatedly uses the metaphor of marriage to illustrate the relationship between Christ and His church. How does that metaphor speak to the subject of same sex marriage? Does the use of that metaphor render same sex marriage impossible to harmonize with the Bible? Can transgender people fulfill the model of marriage laid out in Ephesians 5? Join Scott for this discussion with Rachel Gilso...

There are lots of seminars on leadership but when is the last time you attended a seminar on “follower-ship?” Don’t we commonly think of followers as people who are not leaders? But that’s most of us, isn’t it? Maybe the Bible thinks of followership differently since all of are called to be followers of Jesus? Join Scott and Sean as they interview one of the co-authors, Rick Langer of the new book...

At their recent live show, Sean & Scott discuss some of the thornier issues and questions they've run up against during their five years of recording the Think Biblically podcast. Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2022/think-biblically-about-think-biblically .    ========== Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast f...

Politics remains a divisive and contentious area in the culture at large and among Christians. What does it mean to think Biblically and well about the political arena? What exactly does the Bible give us about complex political issues? Join Scott and Sean for this important discussion about this controversial area. This episode is also available as a video on Biola's YouTube channel. Read a...

Why did Jesus have such a big impact on history? How could one man so deeply influence art, architecture, history, music, and more? In this fascinating episode, Sean interviews cold case detective J. Warner Wallace about his latest book Person of Interest . This interview was first recorded on Sean's YouTube channel , which is in partnership with the Biola Apologetics program. J. Warner Walla...

At a special event & live recording celebrating the 5-Year Anniversary of the Think Biblically podcast, Sean & Scott sit down with Josh McDowell to discuss his decades of legacy in reaching the world for Christ. This episode is also available as a video on Biola's YouTube channel . Read a transcript of this episode at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/think-biblically/2022/reaching-the-wor...

What does it mean to love one’s country? If the powers that be are ordained by God, does that mean we should not criticize them? What about expressions of patriotism in our church worship? What about using religious language in celebrating national holidays? Is civil religion a bad thing? Join Scott and Sean for this discussion with Rich Mouw around his new book How to be a Patriotic Christian . R...

What is Progressive Christianity? Is it a branch of historic Christianity or something else? In this bonus episode, Sean has a conversation with Colby Martin, an author and progressive Christian pastor. They discuss how progressive Christians and evangelicals differ over the deity of Christ, nature of the Scriptures, and the resurrection of Jesus. This episode was first recorded on Sean's You...

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, who was the savior of the world but also celebrated Passover, taught in synagogues, wore Jewish vestments and ordered his life around the Jewish, not the Christian calendar. So what happened. How did the church forget that Jesus was an observant Jew? How has Jesus’ identity as Israel long promised Messiah become such a fuzzy concept in the church? How has Christianity wan...

What is the heart of the sexual revolution and who are the key thinkers behind it? Given the tensions about sexuality and identity, how can Christians best respond in our cultural moment? In this episode, Sean and Scott interview Carl Trueman about his timely and important book Strange New World . Carl discusses key historical figures who have helped lead to the sexual revolution and how these ide...

If Jesus were physically present today, would he use social media? And if so, to what end? What can we learn from the life and teachings of Jesus about how to "comment" well on social media? In this video, Sean and Scott discuss ways Christians can approach and use social media in a way that honors the Lord and loves others. At the end, they offer five lessons from Jesus about how to com...

We freely admit that truth and goodness are important, but not so much for the concept of beauty. Frankly, art bores lots of us. How do we make art more relevant and interesting to the non-artist? Many of the great artists have such interesting back stories. Russ Ramsey is a pastor not an artist, who’s uncovered the back story to many of our well known, and some lesser known artists. Join Scott an...

We often get excited when a celebrity comes to faith in Christ—they can use their platform for the gospel. But what happens when pastors and Christian leaders become celebrities in their churches and communities? Isn’t there also a dark side to Christian celebrity? Is that an oxymoron, or should it be? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest Katelyn Beaty in her new book Celebrities f...