tion should not be simply adequate but that it must be outstanding. The Biblical division should never become simply that department that carries on the distinctives of the school while the rest of the organization pursues its own ends. Fully inte grated into the life of every student must be competent Biblical instruc tion. Therefore, as Biola continues to strengthen and develop every aspect of its academic program, you may rest assured that Biblical in struction will remain central to every major. Flowing from this emphasis upon the Word of God is Biola’s tradition al doctrinal statement. Naturally, the men on the committee and later the full Board of Trustees were keen ly interested in my wholehearted support of the doctrinal statement. Having been on the Biola staff since 1953, I have not only a full under standing of the doctrinal statement but have repeatedly reaffirmed my commitment to these basic doctrines and do so again at this time. In a January broadcast, Dr. Sutherland spoke of the significance of Biola’s doctrinal statement. I’ll not take the time to repeat a message so recently given, but I do want to reaffirm my belief in our full statement and at least state a few of its tenets. I believe that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice; that there is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that Christ was born of a virgin, crucified, raised from the dead, and that he is personally com ing again; that there is a heaven and a hell; and that men are lost apart from the saving work of Christ up on the cross of Calvary. And I do most assuredly believe that man was created in the image of God. I would like to underscore this last point be cause with the rapid advance in so many areas in science today there 4
are some Christians who feel that an intelligent person cannot believe that man was directly created by God. It is my conviction that much of the excellent scientific data avail able today does not really support the theory of the evolution of man as commonly understood. As I said earlier, it is man who interprets the data and structures it so that it may lead to certain conclusions. I believe firmly that time will reveal, either in this life or the life hereafter if need be, that there are ways in which we can structure the data be fore us that is indeed truth in such a way that it will yield the conclu sion that man was created by God, as indicated in the Genesis account. In short, I do believe that God cre ated all life in such a way that it would bring forth its own kind—as indicated in Genesis 1:24. The Board was also desirous of selecting a President who recognized and supported the other basic dis tinctives of Biola. For instance, they wanted to know whether or not I believed that Biola should be staffed and attended by Christian faculty, staff, and students. Th is I was able to affirm wholeheartedly. I be lieve that a Christian college is a place where Christian young people need to face squarely some of the difficult problems that they are go ing to meet later on in life. They need to have the understanding, sup port, and direction that can only come from faculty and staff who know and serve our Lord. A college is, of course, a place where students are asked to think, to dig into com plex problems. Because of this, it is absolutely essential that we take seriously our Christian commitment and demand that all who are direct ing the educational enterprize be earnest Christians who are clearly anchored to the Word. Another distinctive that has char acterized Biola from its inception is that of Christian outreach. I believe
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