stack of books

                            Photo by Stephen Hernandez

Looking for a good book? Several of last year’s best came from Biola authors, according to judges in some of the highest-profile honors in Christian publishing.

In January, Christianity Today included three books by Biolans in its annual book awards — naming two of them to its top 12 of 2009. It was the strongest showing ever for Biolans in the awards, which recognize the most important books of the year across 10 categories, such as theology, missions and apologetics. This year, 12 winners and 11 runners-up were selected from 472 submissions.

Top honors in the “Christian living” category went to Gregg Ten Elshof (M.A. ’96), chair of Biola’s philosophy department, for his book I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life. Judges described it as “a book that is not only intriguing, readable, applicable, and thoughtful, but also a catalyst for self-examination.”

Also earning top honors was God is Great, God is Good: Why Believing in God Is Reasonable and Responsible, co-edited by William Lane Craig, research professor of philosophy at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology. The book, featuring contributions from Craig, fellow Talbot professor J.P. Moreland and others, won the “apologetics/evangelism” category.

Meanwhile, one of the 11 runner-up awards was given to alumnae Christine A. Colón (’90) and Bonnie E. Field (’91) for their book Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must be Reinvented in Today’s Church, which addresses the challenges and misunderstandings of life as a Christian single adult.

Biola authors also received accolades in several other notable end-of-the-year lists:

Kent Edwards, director of Talbot’s Doctor of Ministry program, earned two honors for his newest book, Deep Preaching: Creating Sermons that Go Beyond the Superficial. The book was named one of the top five of the year by preachingtoday.com, a ministry of Christianity Today International, and one of the top nine of the year by Preaching magazine.

Sean McDowell (’98, M.A. ’03) made Outreach magazine’s list of “25 Outreach Resources of the Year” with his book Apologetics for a New Generation: A Biblical and Culturally Relevant Approach to Talking about God.

J.P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, also made the Outreach list for his book The God Question: An Invitation to a Life of Meaning.