Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture

Charles Murray is a Harvard and MIT-trained policy analyst and the author of Taking Religion Seriously. He joins me to explore why many educated people never seriously consider God—not because they’ve disproven the supernatural, but because they’ve quietly learned to dismiss it. Charles describes his journey from “happy agnostic” to “Christian,” wrestling with questions like “Why is there something rather than nothing?” and “Why does consciousness seem to reach beyond the brain?” This isn’t the story of an aggressive atheist changing his mind. It’s about the subtle assumptions that shape what we think is reasonable and what we hesitate to question. This interview first aired on Sean's YouTube channel. You can watch the video here.
Charles Murray is a policy analyst educated at Harvard and M.I.T. He first came to national attention in 1984 with the publication Losing Ground, which changed the national conversation about the War on Poverty and its aftermath. In 1994, the best-selling The Bell Curve, coauthored with Richard Herrnstein, argued that the increasing role of intelligence over the twentieth century was transforming America’s social structure. In 2012, Coming Apart documented the growing divide between a new lower class and a new upper class that foreshadowed the political polarization of the 2016 election. His other books include In Pursuit (1988), Human Accomplishment (2003), Human Diversity (2020), and Facing Reality (2021). He is currently the Hayek Emeritus Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

How has the ethical landscape changed over the past few decades? What new issues and technological challenges have emerged that Christians need to think about and respond to biblically? In this unique episode, Sean interviews Scott about the latest update (5th edition) of his best-selling book Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. They discuss Scott's journey to becoming an ethicist, whether there are any issues Scott has changed his mind about, and what he considers the single toughest ethical issue today.
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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Did the teachings of Jesus actually transform the moral conscience of the West? And if they did… does that point to objective moral truth or just cultural evolution? Sean shares a bonus episode from his YouTube channel in which he invited Bart Ehrman, one of the leading atheists/agnostics today, to explore one of the most important questions in philosophy and faith: Is morality objective or is it simply a product of human development over time? Here is the link to watch the video on YouTube.
Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of multiple New York Times best-selling books and he writes a popular blog at https://ehrmanblog.org. Through his writings, speaking, and online presence, Dr. Ehrman is one of the most influential modern atheists/agnostics.
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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

America is in a divided and angry moment. Should "niceness" be our goal? When is it right to confront another Christian and how should we do so? What is the key to balancing grace and truth? In this conversation, Sean talks with pastor and podcaster Shane Idleman about some of the toughest challenges Christian face today.
Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship, in Lancaster, Ca. and now Leona Valley, Ca. He also began the Westside Christian Radio Network – WCFRadio.org – in 2019.  His sermons, books, articles, and radio program have sparked change in the lives of many.
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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

What Americans Think When No One is Watching: Scott and Rick analyze "The Honesty Project" by The Free Press, highlighting the stark contrast between what Americans tell pollsters publicly versus what they actually believe in private. 
Gen Z and Risk-Taking: Discussing an article on Gen Z's "great retreat from risk," Scott and Rick look at why fewer young adults are driving, dating, or working, and how a Christian worldview replaces fear with faith. 
High Schoolers and Turning Point USA: Scott and Rick look at an article from The New Yorker exploring the organization's growing presence in public schools, sparking a deeper discussion on how tricky it is to define a "Christian nation". 
Hidden Awareness in Vegetative States: Scott and Rick examine a neuroscientific study revealing conscious awareness in some coma patients and discuss the profound ethical implications for end-of-life care. 
Audience Questions: Why Young People Are Attracted to Liturgical Services: Scott and Rick explore why many young Christians are moving away from modern, entertainment-driven church models in favor of the historical roots, structure, and deep reverence found in traditional liturgical services.
Audience Question: Doing Good to All People: Answering a listener's query, Scott and Rick explain that despite the complexities of personal responsibility or societal expectations, the biblical mandate is that everyone is due Christians doing good to them when it's in their power.

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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.