Two Biola University professors recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of an ongoing effort to offer biblical perspectives on issues facing those who work on Capitol Hill. J.P. Moreland, a distinguished professor of philosophy at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, and Craig Hazen, director of Biola’s Christian apologetics program, each delivered lectures related to the Christian worldview and public life.

Moreland, author of such books as Kingdom Triangle and Love Your God With All Your Mind, spoke to a group of congressional staff members on Sept. 30 as part of the Faith & Lawlecture series. In a lecture titled “A Biblical View of the Nature of the State,” he outlined several ways in which the Bible should and should not be used to guide the actions of the state.

Ultimately, he said, it is essential to understand the differences between how the Bible views the roles of individuals and governments. Jesus called for compassionate care for the poor, for example, but saw this as the voluntary responsibility of individuals moved by a heart of compassion — not something that should be coerced by the state, Moreland said.

A few days after Moreland’s lecture, Hazen, who also participated in the Faith & Law lecture series earlier this summer, spoke to a group of journalists gathered in a pressroom of the National Geographic Society building on Oct. 5.

In his lecture, “The Interaction of Religion and Science,” Hazen discussed problems with today’s naturalistic culture and suggested that although “science is an excellent way to know things, it is not the exclusive way to know things.” Everyone knows, for example, that it is wrong to torture babies for fun, but this knowledge can’t be explained by science, he argued.

Faith, if properly approached, is not opposed to knowledge, he said. Christianity, contrary to how it is often portrayed, is not a religion of blind faith. The claims of Christianity — chief among them the resurrection of Christ — are knowable and testable, Hazen told journalists.

The lectures were part Biola’s ongoing participation in efforts to encourage thoughtful, biblical discussions about law and politics. In recent years, several other Biola professors — including William Lane Craig, Scott Rae, John Mark Reynolds and Paul Spears — have been hosted in Washington, D.C., by the Faith & Law organization.

You can read more about the latest faculty lectures in Biola’s student newspaper, The Chimes.

Written by Jason Newell, Biola Magazine. For more information, please contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu or via phone at 562.777.4061.