Skip to main content

About the Blog

The Good Book Blog, a resource from the faculty of Talbot School of Theology, features articles that explore contemporary ideas from the perspective of the Bible — the “Good Book” — including topics such as apologetics, biblical studies, theology, philosophy, spiritual formation, ministry and leadership. Find out more about what sets Talbot apart and how it prepares Christian leaders through its degree programs.

 

Subscribe

RSS Feed

Feedly

 

  • How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor

    An Analysis of "When Helping Hurts" and Other Relevant Works

    Oscar Merlo — 

    The thesis of the book When Helping Hurts (WHH) is a Christian call to “North American congregations and its missionaries to participate in poverty...

  • Does God Have both Necessary and Contingent Properties?

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q & A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Question Dr. Craig, On behalf of sincere...

  • Tom Finley — 

    Sometimes meditating on Scripture can be enhanced by viewing art in conjunction with the Scripture. Recently my wife, Anita, attended a one-day...

  • Sean McDowell — 

    William Dembski is one of the leading thinkers behind the Intelligent Design movement (ID). He has written both scholarly texts, such as The Design Inference, and popular books, such as Understanding Intelligent Design (which we co-wrote in 2008). Although he has recently shifted his focus from ID to other projects, Dembski has recently released a book called Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics, which is co-written with Robert Marks and Winston Ewert. This may be his final book-length contribution to the discussion over Darwinism and intelligent design ...

  • Stuck with the Moral Argument

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q & A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Question Hello Dr Craig, I am a 16 Year...

  • A New Bible Translation for Young Children

    Review of "The Best News Ever"

    Kenneth Berding — 

    I wrote the following review in a similar register as the translation being reviewed. Enjoy! A woman named Jan Harthan lived in a different...

  • Is Sexual Orientation Immutable?

    The Science May Surprise You

    Sean McDowell — 

    One of the most common and effective claims for LGBT rights is that people are born with an immutable, permanent sexual orientation. In our recent...

  • Does Divine Creation Imply a Beginning?

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q and A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Dear Dr. Craig: I am a lay argentine theologian with a PhD from the “Universidad Católica Argentina” (with a thesis on the interaction between scientific cosmology and eschatology), as well as a scientific programmer at the National Atomic Energy Commission. Besides, I have recently created an apology web page “Razonesparalafe.org” ...

  • Erik Thoennes — 

    I’m happy to introduce my friend, Laura Rosenkranz, to the readers of the Good Book Blog as a guest contributor. We serve together at Grace...

  • John McKinley — 

    It is easy for Christians to feel distant from God and overwhelmed with the stresses of daily life. It does not work for us to simply reproach...

  • Life of Jesus, Part Four

    Jesus Cast Out Demons

    Matthew Williams — 

    When we begin to talk about spiritual warfare, Christians either overemphasis it, or underemphasize it. It is important to have a balanced and...

  • Sean McDowell — 

    Dr. Hugh Ross, the president of Reasons to Believe (RTB), has been a friend of mine for many years. I have had the opportunity of speaking at...

  • Tom Finley — 

    Most of the news stories about the death of the Reverend Billy Graham highlight how he reached out to various U.S. presidents in times of crisis....

  • Are Institutional Doctrinal Statements Counter-Productive?

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q & A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Dear Dr. Craig: I’m an atheist, and I’m concerned about faith statements. Their downside seems to be ignored, and I’d like to at least see any paper, book, or lecture from a scholar bound by a faith statement to have that statement made clear ...

  • Octavio Esqueda — 

    La historia siempre la escriben los vencedores. Esta frase resume cómo nuestra visión de la vida siempre se ve influenciada por una perspectiva que...

  • Joe Hellerman — 

    I recently faced a most difficult pastoral challenge, which also presented a great opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of those...

  • Life of Jesus, Part Three

    The Temptation of Jesus

    Matthew Williams — 

    I remember asking my son after church one week what he had learning at church that day. His reply, “Jesus was tempted by ... that other guy.” I...

  • Sean McDowell — 

    Jewish and Christian scribes took inordinate care in copying the Bible from one generation to the next. For a variety of reasons, we can have great confidence that our present Bibles have considerable fidelity to the original writings.[1] Hands down, the Bible is the most carefully preserved book from the ancient world ...

  • Sean McDowell — 

    Personal autonomy has become the reigning virtue of our day. If it feels true to you, then it must be true for you. As SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy famously said, "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” On this view, freedom entails obeying only the self. But the Star Wars franchise portrays a different kind of freedom, a freedom that is found through obedience. For instance, in episode IV (the first Star Wars film) Obi-Wan Kenobi sneaks Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO past a small group of stormtroopers. When the stormtroopers stop them for inquiry, Ob-Wan simply waves his hand and says, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” One of the stormtroopers repeats the phrase and they obey.

  • Christus Victor Theory of the Atonement

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q & A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Mr. Craig, Thank you very much for your ministry. It has helped me very much in deepening my understanding why we, as Christians, believe what we believe. I am an Orthodox Christian and although in our tradition, reason is secondary to the experience of the Divine through good works of unconditional love, I have benefited immensely from your work when talking to anyone who may not necessarily be open to claims of experience ...

  • Kenneth Berding — 

    What is the “locus” of meaning of a biblical text? (In other words, where is the center and source of meaning?) There are three possibilities: The...

  • Life of Jesus, Part Two

    The Baptism of Jesus

    Matthew Williams — 

    The baptism of Jesus is easily misunderstood. We often understand this important event as Jesus simply going into the Jordan River and being...

  • Sean McDowell — 

    I recently got to watch an early release of the new Samson film with my older kids and we all loved it. I asked my kids if I should endorse it and...

  • Original Sin

    Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig

    William Lane Craig — 

    This is the weekly Q & A blog post by our Research Professor in Philosophy, Dr. William Lane Craig. Salaam Dr. Craig. A Muslim reader here. Your public and private work in natural theology has, I think, saved a generation of believers from superstition and error. I thank you sincerely for your sacrifice and labor. My question regards the confusing connection between original sin and Christ's sacrifice.

  • Michael Thigpen — 

    The following is a portion of a chapter I wrote in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader (Edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet...