Posts by Karin Stetina

Karin Stetina

Karin Spiecker Stetina is passionate about teaching theology that is aimed at loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Matt. 22:37). She aims to relate theology to following Christ in daily life. She taught theology and church history for nearly 20 years at Wheaton College before coming to Biola University where she serves as an Associate Professor of Theology at Talbot School of Theology. She has been a consultant and an editor for Luther Digest and is currently on the committee for Church History Since 1700 for the Evangelical Theological Society. She has her ministry license with the Evangelical Free Church and has served on the Women’s Ministry Team at Grace Ev. Free in La Mirada, Calif. Stetina’s research interests include Reformation Theology and the theology of John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards. She is the author of The Fatherhood of God in John Calvin’s Thought (Paternoster, 2016), Jonathan Edwards’ Early Understanding of Religious Experience (Mellen Press, 2011), and How to Read Theology for All Its Worth (Zondervan, 2020). She is blessed with four wonderful children: Caroline, Ellie, Cole and Alex.

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Talbot Magazine
Shelf Life: Fall 2020
Recent publications from our very own Talbot faculty.
Kenneth Berding, Rick Langer, Karen Quek, Karin Stetina — December 08, 2020
How to Live an 'In Christ' Life: 100 Devotional Readings on Union with Christ Ken Berding(M.A. ’96) Professor of New Testament Christian Focus,...
Biola Magazine
Workplace Adversity Can Be Good for Your Soul
Karin Stetina — March 25, 2020
“Does time dedicated to working in the secular world endanger our souls?” Chris R. Armstrong asks this important question in Work: Theological...
The Good Book Blog
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
God’s Call to Justice
Karin Stetina — October 30, 2019
This post stems from the Kern reading group on Faith, Work and Economics at Talbot, a small group comprised of Talbot and Crowell faculty that...
The Good Book Blog
Partakers of his Suffering
A Theology of Work that Includes Adversity
Karin Stetina — October 28, 2019
This post stems from the Kern reading group on Faith, Work and Economics at Talbot, a small group comprised of Talbot and Crowell faculty that...
The Good Book Blog
Finding Meaning in How We Spend 90,000 Hours of Our Lives
Biola Faculty on a Theology of Work
Karin Stetina — March 19, 2019
This post stems from the Kern reading group on Faith, Work and Economics at Talbot, a small group comprised of Talbot and Crowell faculty that...
The Good Book Blog
Who Do You Say that I Am?
Karin Stetina — April 01, 2018
How does the world reply to Christ’s question in Mark 16:15 ,“But who do you say that I am?” Great teacher? Religious leader? Humanitarian?...
Talbot Magazine
Book Excerpt: Grounding the Character of Fatherhood in God's Self-Revelation
Excerpt adapted from "The Fatherhood of God in John Calvin's Thought," by Karin Spiecker Stetina
Karin Stetina — November 13, 2017
“And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, promoting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal. 4:6). “I...
The Good Book Blog
What the Reformation Did and Didn't Do for Women
Karin Stetina — October 31, 2017
About half the world is made up of women. Books such as Half the Sky (Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn) and Half the Church (Carolyn Custis James) highlight how important it is for the Evangelical church to consider God’s vision both locally and globally for women. In the light of the Gospel, the church during the Reformation also wrestled with women’s place, in the church, marriage, and society. While the Protestant Reformers did not set out to define women’s roles, as they fleshed out their theological convictions of sola Scriptura and the priesthood of all believers, they were faced with addressing the question of how women are to participate in the church and the world as both receivers and conveyors of the Gospel. Did the Reformers’ responses result in “constraining” women by moving their ministry from the convent to the home (as Jane Dempsey Douglass argues), or did it provide them with “new dignity” (as Stephen Nichols suggests)? The answer to that question is complicated ...
The Good Book Blog
Have You Been Asking the Right Question?
Karin Stetina — May 16, 2017
What is my purpose in life? This is a question that plagues each and every one of us. The Westminster confession puts the question this way: "What is the chief and highest end of man?" Countless books and blogs have addressed this question. But are we really asking the right question? ...
The Good Book Blog
Whatever You Do: Stewardship and the Purpose of Life
Karin Stetina — January 30, 2017
What is the purpose of life? How does work fit into the purpose? As a college student I spent many hours contemplating these important questions and many others, such as: Do we have free will or are we predestined? What is the best form of worship- hymns or praise songs? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Maybe you have asked some of these same burning questions? ...
Biola Magazine
The Culture of Complaint
Moving from complaining to gratitude
Karin Stetina — October 31, 2016
This issue’s Last Word comes from The Good Book Blog, the faculty blog of Biola’s Talbot School of Theology. This article is adapted from a post...
The Good Book Blog
The Call to Love Thy Neighbor: Promoting True Human Flourishing in a Consumer Society
Karin Stetina — July 18, 2016
In Scripture God bids us to “love our neighbor” no fewer than eleven times. Yet centuries later the church still struggles with its calling to do so. From the pulpit to the pew, Christians interpret this command in a variety of ways. In his book Word vs. Deed, Dr. Duane Litfin, president emeritus of Wheaton College, addresses this struggle writing, “The gospel is inherently a verbal thing, and preaching the gospel is inherently a verbal behavior. If the gospel is to be preached at all, it must be put into words” (20). Though this is not a new topic in theology, the Evangelical church in the West is seeing the urgent necessity to find the balance between word and deed in the dynamic culture of the 21st century. The church is more aware than ever of the pressing needs of the world. Technology has given us unprecedented access to seeing the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs that exist worldwide. On our smart phones and computers we can watch natural disasters destroy cities and wars and violence destroy lives. While knowledge of the needs of the world is growing, there is a great necessity to understand how the church is to respond. What is the biblical view of how the church is to care for others, particularly in light of the growing awareness of the pressing needs both near and far? ...
The Good Book Blog
How Do We Truly Help Those in Need?
Karin Stetina — May 05, 2016
As the Gospels proclaim, the poor will always be with us (Mt. 26:11) and we are called to help those in need (Mt. 25:31-46). The problem is—how do we do that without causing more harm than good? Anyone who has served in charities in a long-term capacity can recognize a common pattern that author Bob Lupton points out in Toxic Charity ...
The Good Book Blog
The Culture of Complaint: Moving from Complaining to Gratitude
Karin Stetina — March 23, 2016
This past fall a friend shared an article from the New York Times entitled The Microcomplaint: Nothing Too Small to Complain About. It was amusing to read about all the silly complaints that celebrities tweeted to the world. Everything from the misery of only decaf coffee being available to what the writer deemed a “complaintbrag” of not being able to buy a Persian rug with cherub imagery. This habit, however, does not appear to be limited to celebrities. Cruise ship directors have received equally amusing complaints. For example, one passenger reported that the sea was “too loud” while another passenger grumbled about there being no celebrities on the Celebrity Cruise ship. In the past complaining was something often reserved for private ears. Today, however, it is not only acceptable to publically complain about the littlest inconvenience, it is often encouraged. It has even been identified as a communication style, particularly of Americans, who frequently see themselves as victims. Are Christians exempt from “microcomplaining” or are we part of the “culture of complaint”? What does Scripture have to say about complaining? ...