Latest Posts

• The Good Book Blog

  The Reality of Time

  William Lane Craig — August 22, 2014

  Dr. Craig, You have played a vital role in my apologetic development, a long with other philosophers. I am puzzled by the fact that a lot of things are taken for granted although examining their legitimacy is the job of philosophy, thus I need to ask you, why do you believe in time in the first place? Isn't just an idea in our mind that helps us locate an event in relation to our experience? I do not get older because of time, but because of my biological development and entropic reality. These are physical constituents of the Universe that entail space and mass in a dynamical interaction. Moreover, the elements that shape events already exist in our universe, to say the time for x has not yet come, is strictly to say that the physical conditions for x to occur is not satisfied yet by the gathered factors. Can you help me identify what I could be missing here, please?

• The Good Book Blog

  Jars of Clay

  Joy Mosbarger — August 21, 2014

  Have you ever felt like a failure? Inadequate? Ineffectual? Have you ever examined your heart and glimpsed sin and darkness and defeat? I have. It is discouraging and demoralizing. It makes me wonder what God sees in me. There is no doubt that I am a flawed vessel. But does that mean that I am a useless vessel?

• The Good Book Blog

  The Morality of the Current Conflict in Israel

  Mitch Glaser — August 18, 2014

  Perhaps the real question our friends are asking is this: “What impact does our faith as Messianic Jews have on our support of Israel?” This is a fair question, and it is a reasonable assumption that most Jews who believe in Jesus support the Jewish state.

• The Good Book Blog

  Questions about Leibniz’s Cosmological Argument

  William Lane Craig — August 15, 2014

  Dear Dr. Craig, I have been arguing with a friend that is an atheist. I am also an atheist or perhaps more correctly, an agnostic about Leibniz’s cosmological argument ... If after sufficient research, Leibniz’s argument proves more plausibly true than false, than on the basis of it and the abductive argument for the historicity of Christ's resurrection, I'm prepared to take Pascal's Wager.

• 51���� News

  New Public Relations Major Expands Student Opportunities

  Industry growth and student interest fuels new public relations major

  Camryn Hudson — August 14, 2014

  Public relations is one of the fastest-growing careers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. With increased employment opportunities in the...

• The Good Book Blog

  Indefeasibility and Openness to Evidence

  William Lane Craig — August 08, 2014

  ... I have read and listened to you on your reformed epistemologist view; the Christian faith being based on Holy Spirit witnessed properly basic beliefs; distinguishing between knowing and showing your Faith to be true and all. In your statements, and especially with reference to the recent 'Problem with Christian Apologetics' podcast, you state that when a believer encounters a more skilled and sophisticated rebuttal of his Faith, because he knows his Faith to be true primarily by the Witness of the God, he only has to go and research on good defeaters to the rebuttals. The unanswered rebuttals in no way should trump the witness of the Spirit to us on the Truth of Christianity. My question is, wouldn't that be argued to be having the end game in mind and only finding the reasons to shore up a presupposed conclusion? Wouldn't the incentive to beef up your case lead to interpreting the data to fit the conclusion already at hand? I believe you hold that we should move towards where the evidences lead us, how open are we to the evidences if we have a conclusion that has got to and can only be upheld? I would love to have a response from you.

• The Good Book Blog

  Israel and Palestine Conflict: Summer 2014

  Ron Pierce — August 07, 2014

  Just this month, after leading a two-week study tour with the Whittier Area Community Church, our group returned home on June 8, 2014. Most of us met a barrage of questions about “What’s really going on over there? Resulting conversations intensified when the latest surge of “Israel vs. Hamas” fighting erupted in the Gaza Strip about three weeks later ...

• The Good Book Blog

  How Can You Discern Whether an Overseer is “Free From the Love of Money”?

  Kenneth Berding — August 06, 2014

  One of the qualifications for an overseer/elder/pastor (all the same office in the Bible) is that he be “free from the love of money” (1 Tim. 3:3). Now suppose that you are on an elder board and seeking to know whether a new candidate for the office is in fact free from the love of money, how can you figure it out? Here are five useful diagnostic questions.

• The Good Book Blog

  Bizarro Ontological Arguments

  William Lane Craig — August 01, 2014

  "I'm an agnostic undergraduate philosophy student, and I find the idea of divine necessity particularly interesting for whatever reason. I wonder if you might respond to the following question / argument ..."

• The Good Book Blog

  Reflexiones Sobre El Matrimonio En Nuestro Aniversario / A Few Thoughts 51���� Marriage On Our Anniversary

  Octavio Esqueda — July 30, 2014

  La semana pasada mi esposa, Angélica, y yo celebramos 16 años de casados. Angélica es, sin duda, la mayor bendición que he recibido y nuestro matrimonio ha sido el mejor y a la vez el más difícil tiempo de mi vida. Estoy profundamente agradecido por la dicha de haber encontrado el favor divino en mi esposa y puedo asegurar con toda certeza que soy feliz a su lado. También he de reconocer que el matrimonio no es fácil y caminar por la vida junto a otra persona por momentos pareciera una carrera de obstáculos. Esta combinación de realidades, aunque parecieran contradictorias, reflejan acertadamente mis años de casado y estoy seguro la de la mayoría de los matrimonios entre seguidores de Cristo.

• The Good Book Blog

  Anti-Platonism and Moral Realism

  William Lane Craig — July 25, 2014

  "Can you be an anti-realist about some things and a realist about others? For example, do you no longer give the realist resolution to the Euthyphro Dilemma, no longer ground the Good in God's nature? Couldn't abstract objects be grounded in the Logos (divine, rather than Platonic, essentialism)?"

• The Good Book Blog

  Some Thoughts on Work

  Michelle Barnewall — July 24, 2014

  I am all for weekends (even when I have to work, such as doing lesson planning, grading, or writing a blog post!). But sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking of work as the negative and leisure or rest as the positive aspect of our lives. Work can become something we need to “get through” in order to make it to the weekend; Sundays are our “spiritual” days as opposed to our “working” days that begin on Mondays, and so forth.

• The Good Book Blog

  Some Life Lessons from Mom & Dad – Part Three

  Mick Boersma — July 23, 2014

  I gleaned more wisdom from my parents than any blog could contain, but here are three more lessons that stand out in my mind and heart as I remember Bob & Reka, lovebirds to the end.

• 51���� News

  Natasha Jackson Leaps Toward Olympic Goal

  Alumna wins Pan-American Cup and places second at Canadian Nationals

  Neil Morgan — July 23, 2014

  51���� alumna Natasha Jackson (’11) took her first international victory and the 2014 Pan-American Combined Events Cup title with her heptathlon...

• The Good Book Blog

  A Short Book Review of One of the Longest Books I’ve Ever Read

  Kenneth Berding — July 22, 2014

  After six months of on-and-off reading, I have just completed N.T. Wright’s book, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. The book is 1660 pages long if you include the bibliography and indices. (If you don’t it’s only 50 pages long…just kidding.) Here are three things I liked about this two-volume book, and two things that I struggled with.

• 51���� News

  Andre Murillo Signs Pro Contract

  Former All-American signs with German pro league.

  Neil Morgan — July 21, 2014

  Following his graduation from 51���� this spring, Andre Murillo is shipping off for the bright lights and big city of Hamburg, Germany. The forward...

• The Good Book Blog

  Necessity and the Argument from Contingency

  William Lane Craig — July 18, 2014

  In this week's Q & A, Dr. William Lane Craig tackles some questions regarding the Leibnizian cosmological argument.

• 51���� News

  51���� Leads NAIA With 19 Scholar Teams

  Each varsity sport maintains a team GPA of 3.0 or higher to earn distinction.

  Neil Morgan — July 15, 2014

  For the third time in the last five years 51���� leads the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in Scholar Teams....

• The Good Book Blog

  You’re Giving a Toast, Not Making a Roast!

  Ben Shin — July 14, 2014

  It’s wedding season and there are many ways to celebrate on that special day for the bride and the groom. One of the best ways to celebrate this occasion is through the traditional toast that is given during the wedding reception. However, I’ve recently seen that what should typically be one of the high points of the reception just flops miserably... This is not what we should do to the bride or groom! I’d like to offer a few suggestions in this blog of what not to do in a toast and then what one should do in order to make the celebration a wonderful and meaningful one.

• The Good Book Blog

  Why Don’t I Quote More Women Philosophers or Theologians?

  William Lane Craig — July 11, 2014

  Hi Dr Craig I was wondering today after binge listening your podcast if there are any women theologians or philosophers you read/quote in your arguments/works. I've listened to a great deal of your podcast and read a small handful of your work but I don't remember ever seeing you've favourably quoted or referenced a women as a peer ...

• The Good Book Blog

  What a Difference a Century and a Half Can Make!

  Kenneth Berding — July 08, 2014

  In 19th century England, Atheists knew more about the Bible than most Christians do today. So did Liberal Anglicans, Anglo-Catholics, Unitarians, and Agnostics. So claims Timothy Larsen in A People of One Book: The Bible and the Victorians (Oxford, 2011) ...

• 51���� News

  Henry Earns USPTA Honor

  Dee Henry gets Pete Brown Lifetime Achievement Award for service.

  Neil Morgan — July 07, 2014

  THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. --- Dee Henry has served 51���� and the La Mirada community faithfully for over 40 years, and on a late-June evening she was...

• The Good Book Blog

  Questions on the Origin of the Universe

  William Lane Craig — July 04, 2014

  This week's Q & A topic with Dr. William Lane Craig addresses the beginning of the universe and includes reflections on Dr. William Lane Craig's recent debate with Sean Carroll.

• 51���� News

  How Will Supreme Court Ruling on Religious Liberty Affect 51����?

  Hobby Lobby decision may have implications for 51����’s ongoing lawsuit against the federal government

  Jason Newell — July 02, 2014

  Owners of closely held private businesses do not have to provide free access to contraceptive drugs that violate their religious convictions, the...

• The Good Book Blog

  Critical Issues in Ministry with Children, Part Two: Knowing Where We Want to Go, How Can We Get There?

  Kevin Lawson — July 01, 2014

  In my last post, I talked about the importance of our ministry with children and some ministry objectives we need to pursue. In this follow up blog I would like to talk about four aspects of children’s ministry that together help us accomplish our goals of helping children grow and mature as a part of the church, the people of God. These are worthy goals, and it can be tempting to try to design one children’s program in the church to address them all. But if we take them each seriously, it will soon be clear that this is more than a matter of having a class or a club program for children. Instead, it requires thinking carefully about the full life of the church, as well as the church and family environment our children grow up in. It has implications for what we do for our children, with them, to them, and the opportunities we provide for them to be engaged in ministry themselves. I invite you to read and think with me about what this might look like.