Latest Posts

• The Good Book Blog

  The "Why?" of Internships for Ministry Preparation

  Dave Keehn — October 23, 2012

  Mentoring may be a “buzz-word” in the business world, but the practice of developing another person for specific purposes of skill or leadership development has been around since the beginning of civilization. It is evident throughout Scripture – especially in the ministries of Jesus and Paul. However, the integration of mentoring for ministry preparation within academic settings has built in problems. SO WHY BOTHER? For many reasons...

• The Good Book Blog

  Pictures of Jesus

  Gary Manning Jr — October 19, 2012

  The latest news on historical Jesus research can now be found in… Popular Mechanics? I’m used to perusing Popular Mechanics to see flying cars, homemade submarines, and ads for power tools. But Popular Mechanics published a reconstructed picture of Jesus (quite a while ago, but I just noticed it!). I’ll show you the picture and explain it in just a bit. But first, I want you to see some of my favorite portraits of Jesus. My students have become accustomed to seeing these non-traditional pictures of Jesus decorating my powerpoint lecture notes. This picture of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (from the Via Latina catacomb, ca. 340-350) was painted by a Roman, so Jesus and the woman both have Roman hairstyles and clothing. No beard on Jesus!

• The Good Book Blog

  Every Question Paul Asks in Romans

  Kenneth Berding — October 18, 2012

  A few weeks ago I put up a post with the title: “Something 51���� the Book of Romans that will Really Help You ‘Get’ It.” (Click HERE to read it.) I rounded out that article with a list of questions from Romans to help people see the importance of the ethnic issues going on in the background of the letter to the Romans. Some people expressed surprise that there were so many questions in the book of Romans—it’s not something that they had noticed before. Well, there are a whole lot more questions in Romans than the ones I listed. Questions are one of the ways Paul moves his argument forward. Do you want to see how many questions there are?

• The Good Book Blog

  "Children of God" (John 1:13)

  Gary Manning Jr — October 15, 2012

  This morning, I began teaching Greek sentence diagramming to my students in Introduction to Exegesis. Some students love diagramming, but probably more dread it, at least at first. I picked some sentences to diagram from John 1, mainly because the students had just translated this passage a few weeks ago. One sentence in particular, John 1:12-13, reveals that nerdy analytical approaches such as Greek diagramming can help understand passages of Scripture better. Here’s the diagram (with a translation below for non-Greek readers) ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,

• 51���� News

  51���� President, Olympian and Alumna Amy Atkinson Run 5K to Fight Human Trafficking

  Alumni, parents and students ran to support 51����'s Social Justice Ministry

  Jenna Bartlo — October 12, 2012

  More than 400 people ran in the “Run for Micah 6:8” 5K during 51���� Weekend on Oct. 6 in support of 51����’s student Social Justice Ministry...

• 51���� News

  51���� Remains One of the Safest Colleges

  Campus Safety released the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

  Jessica Airey — October 12, 2012

  A report released this fall demonstrates that 51����’s campus remains one of the safest districts in the city of La Mirada — which...

• 51���� News

  51���� Weekend Recap

  The second annual 51���� Weekend brought over 1,100 parents, alumni, family members and friends to campus for two days of events and activities that highlighted “The Best of 51����!”

  Hilary Larkins — October 10, 2012

  The second annual 51���� Weekend brought over 1,100 parents, alumni, familymembers and friends to campus for two days of events and activities that...

• The Good Book Blog

  Enseñamos lo que somos

  Octavio Esqueda — October 01, 2012

  He tenido el privilegio de ser profesor por más de veinte años. A los diecinueve años empecé a enseñar español y otras materias en una secundaria publica en Guadalajara, México. Esta aventura que empezó como un simple trabajo se ha convertido en mi vocación y he tenido la oportunidad de enseñar en varios países, instituciones y niveles académicos que van de la secundaria hasta el doctorado. La tarea de un profesor es ardua y siempre hay muchas cosas que aprender. De hecho, actualmente enseño en un programa doctoral que se enfoca principalmente en la tarea educativa y en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje en diferentes contextos cristianos.

• The Good Book Blog

  "Jesus' Wife" Papyrus: an Update

  Gary Manning Jr — September 28, 2012

  Last week, I posted my initial take on the so-called "Gospel of Jesus' Wife." My first point was that it was "too early to tell" whether the manuscript was genuine. In the last twenty years, forgers have produced some amazingly convincing forgeries, so scholars have become cautious about all archeological finds.

• 51���� News

  51���� Outperforms Nationwide Average for Hispanic Graduation Rates

  Listed as one of 25 private universities closing the graduation rate gap

  Brenda Velasco — September 20, 2012

  According to reports released today by The Education Trust, college graduation rates nationwide are far too low, particularly among students of...

• The Good Book Blog

  Did Jesus Have a Wife? A New Gnostic Fragment

  Gary Manning Jr — September 19, 2012

  According to an article in the Washington Post, an ancient manuscript claiming that Jesus had a wife has just been discovered. I’ll tackle this new discovery with some Q&A. What is this new find? Karen King, the Gnostic scholar who published the manuscript, has titled it the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife (see the scholarly article here). It is a very small fragment, only 12 partial lines, of an ancient Gnostic book. The fragment, written in Coptic, dates from the fourth century, but it is a copy of an older book, perhaps written in the late second century. According to the fragment, Jesus refers to “my wife.”

• 51���� News

  Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet Recap

  51���� Athletics celebrated its inaugural Hall of Fame Class with an induction ceremony.

  Hilary Larkins — September 17, 2012

  On Saturday, September 15, 2012,51���� Athletics celebrated its inaugural Hall of Fame Class with an induction ceremonyin the Talbot East Andrews...

• The Good Book Blog

  A Day in the City of David

  Kenneth Way — September 15, 2012

  Where is one place that you can go in Jerusalem to see possible remains of King David’s palace, Nehemiah’s wall, Hezekiah’s tunnel, the Pool of Siloam and royal tombs? That would be the City of David, which is the name given to the small spur of land that extends southward from the Temple Mount. I want to share with you five highlights from this small area.

• The Good Book Blog

  Jesús es nuestra esperanza

  Octavio Esqueda — September 13, 2012

  “El que espera, desespera” dice un refrán popular. Esperar algo no es satisfactorio para nadie y en ocasiones las salas de espera en oficinas y consultorios se convierten en salas de tortura para muchos que, como yo, son impacientes y perciben el tiempo de espera como un tiempo perdido. Esta creencia común puede percibir a la esperanza como algo negativo y algo no muy deseado.

• 51���� News

  For the Third Straight Year, U.S. News Names 51���� an ‘Up and Coming’ University

  51���� again ranked in top tier of national universities

  Jenna Bartlo — September 11, 2012

  For the third year in a row, U.S. News and World Report has identified 51���� as one of the nation’s most promising and innovative...

• The Good Book Blog

  4/14 Window

  David Talley — September 06, 2012

  Many people are aware of the 10/40 window, but have you heard about the missional emphasis on the 4/14 window? Luis Bush and others are stirring the church to consider a stronger focus on this "window" in the days ahead.

• 51���� News

  Summer Missions: Three Continents, Seven Countries, One Purpose

  Seven student-led missions teams serve seven countries

  Ethan Froelich and Sarah Enriquez — September 06, 2012

  Seven student mission teams traveled to seven different countries over the course of three months. Going to places as remote as Ulaangom in...

• The Good Book Blog

  Transformed in Christ: Christology and the Christian Life in John Chrysostom

  Ashish Naidu — September 02, 2012

  I am delighted to announce the recent publication of my monograph titled, Transformed in Christ: Christology and the Christian Life in John Chrysostom, in the Princeton Theological Monograph Series, by Pickwick Publications (Imprint of Wipf and Stock).

• The Good Book Blog

  Something 51���� the Book of Romans that will Help You Really "Get" It

  Kenneth Berding — August 29, 2012

  Here’s something that many people I talk to about Paul’s Letter to the Romans don’t seem yet to have grasped. The earliest house churches in Rome would have been primarily Jewish and would have culturally felt Jewish, but in A.D. 49 the Roman Emperor Claudius kicked the Jews out of Rome. Jewish Christians, of course, would have been expelled along with the rest of the Jews. During the five years between Claudius’s edict (A.D. 49) and his death (A.D. 54) when the edict lapsed and Jews started to return, the composition and self-understanding of the house churches in Rome would have shifted considerably. Paul’s letter to the Romans would have arrived in Rome somewhere around A.D. 57, during the period when Jews were still trickling back into Rome. If you can fix in your mind that the expulsion of Jews from Rome had a tremendous impact on the churches in that city, you will understand the message of Romans oh-so-much better!

• The Good Book Blog

  Hidden Sins, Part One

  David Talley — August 24, 2012

  Sin is a reality with which we all must live. No one can escape the struggles we have with rebelling against God’s call on our lives (cf. Romans 3:10, 23). However, it is possible to choose whether one will vigorously fight the battle that wages against the flesh or not. The battle can be overwhelming, but it does not have to result in demoralizing defeat.

• 51���� News

  51���� Welcomes New Students and Families

  More than 1,300 new students arrive for the new school year

  Jenna Bartlo — August 23, 2012

  51���� President Barry H. Corey, commenced the academic year in Chase Gymnasium, Wednesday, Aug. 29 announcing this year's theme: From...

• 51���� News

  51���� Joins Lawsuit to Protect Religious Freedom

  51���� challenges HHS regulation as unconstitutional

  Jenna Bartlo — August 23, 2012

  UPDATE (Friday, Mar. 15): Nursing professor Susan Elliott travelled to Capitol Hill this month for a national press conference on nurses' right to...

• 51���� News

  Faculty Spotlight: Paul Spears

  Meet Torrey director Paul Spears

  Jenna Bartlo — August 22, 2012

  Paul Spears started working with the Torrey Honors Institute at 51���� 14 years ago, when the program fit into one shared office in...

• 51���� News

  New ‘Open 51����’ Website Offers Hundreds of Free Learning Resources

  51���� launches extensive online collection of free classes and educational materials

  Jason Newell — August 21, 2012

  51���� today announced the launch of Open 51����, an innovative website that offers open access to hundreds of classes, lectures,...

• 51���� News

  51���� Inducts Three Alumni into Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame

  Athletes celebrated at induction ceremony

  Jeff Hoffman — August 16, 2012

  The 51���� Athletics Department is pleased to induct a trio of standout athletes to its inaugural class of the 51���� Athletics Hall of...