Essay / Culture

In Defense of ‘Ramona’ and Other Children’s Classics

I teach classics for a living. As a result, my kids overhear conversations and snippets of conversations about Homer, Dante, Shakespeare and a host of others. But that’s not all they hear, for as someone devoted to the classics, I share this love with them

Essay / Culture

The Cost of Freedom – Robert George, Cornel West, and Rick Warren

 April 30, 2015 7:30 pm Biola University Buy tickets or register for the livestream. How can societies preserve freedom for all people when we are beset by serious and substantial disagreements over what shape freedom should take?  What kinds of virtues do we need as

Essay / Education

Biola–An Inoculation Against Intellectual Engagement?

In a recent book (following C.S. Lewis, we might call it the “Green Book”), the acknowledgments read as follows: “Ignoring the guidance of my fundamentalist Christian community by making Karl Barth the focus of my doctoral studies was one of the most pivotal decisions of

Essay / Education

Davenant Latin Institute

The Davenant Trust, the organization that sponsors creative resourcement projects “to revitalize contemporary Reformed and evangelical discourse,” has launched a major new undertaking: the Davenant Latin Institute. Readers of the Scriptorium may remember Davenant for its sponsorship of The Future of Protestantism event at Biola.

Essay / Culture

God, Science & The Big Questions

The Torrey Honors Institute recently partnered with Biola’s Apologetics department to host a discussion on God, science and the big questions between J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and John Lennox, moderated by Hugh Hewitt. Enjoy this discussion. The minds are keen, the wits sharp, and

Essay / Education

Torrey Christmas Card, Interpreted

This year for our Christmas card, the faculty and staff of the Torrey Honors Institute chose a winter theme. This sent us all to our closets and garages to find coats, scarves, and hats that don’t get much use here in Southern California. One of

Essay / Education

“The Intelligence Can Only be Led by Desire.” (Simone Weil)

I love to argue with Simone Weil (1909-1943)’s essay “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God.” Then again, I love to argue with Simone Weil. Her writings always have something in them that catches me and

Essay / Education

The Abundant Style of Erasmus

I had heard that Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) wrote a book showing hundreds of ways to say “thanks for your letter,” so I went and looked it up, just to see what one of the Renaissance’s prime movers was thinking when he did that. The

Essay / Education

Faithful Remembering: A Baccalaureate Reflection

I had the pleasure of speaking last week at Biola University’s Baccalaureate service. Graduating seniors and their friends and families gathered for a worship service, and I offered them them the following words for reflection: As we gather tonight, I hope to help you reflect

Essay / Culture

A Graduation Speech for the Torrey Honors Institute

On Friday, we watched as the Class of 2014 in the Torrey Honors Institute graduated. Most of the students I have worked closely with in the last four years graduated, and I got the chance to speak to them. How do you give a graduation

Essay / Education

20 things I wish I knew as a college student

I don’t know if you are like me, but as I look back on my college years I wish someone would have pulled me aside and given me some tips on how best to pursue an education at the university. So I decided to put

Essay / Education

What’s a Good Question?

In his visionary book Finding Common Ground, Tim Downs noted that “because Christians tend to be answer people, we’re not especially skilled at asking good questions; questions that aren’t simplistic, leading, or downright insulting.” Ouch. In Biola’s Torrey Honors Institute, we’re answer people, but we