Biola_Catalog_19880101NA

EJIIIII GENERAL INFORMATION the words of Jesus Christ the words of all other teachers must be tested. The Lord Jesus became in ~ery respect a real man, possessed of all the essential characteristics of human nature.

Biola University does not necessarily deny employment to persons merely for lack of firm personal convictions on any teaching position in these explanatory notes. How~er, Biola University does weigh care­ fullythe understanding and personal convictions of employment appli­ cants on these points as well as the nature of their prospective work assignments, in determining their suitability for employment. TEACHING BIBLICAL STUDIES Teaching biblical studies for academic credit at Biola University is a complex situation. Amajor goal of all teaching is for the student to gain knowledge and understanding of the subject matter as weH as familiarity wi th the methodology of the freld. Such a goal rs of importance here. The Scriptures, how~er, are considered more than academic subject matter. They are the Word of God written for the purpose of r~ealing God and His actions with the desire of bringing people to harmonywith Him. Our acceptance of the divine nature and intent of Scripture gives ultimate meaning and direction to all studies relating to the Scriptures. Entailed in the furtherance of the divine intent of Scripture are many facets of study ranging from the practical procedures for the propagation of the Christian faith to the highly technical dimensions of critical biblical studies and philosophical theology. Throughout this diversity of endeavors and the wide variety of gifts and skills employed, however, all participants are finally engaged in a common task which maybe summarily stated as the understand­ ing, acceptance and propagation of the biblical faith. . THE STANDARDS OF BIOLA UNIVERSI1Y Biola University has long recognized a value in maintaining certain behavioral standards that contribute to the atmosphere on campus, foster fellowship with a wide range of Christians and, in many in­ stances, assist in strengthening our Christian testimonyto our commu­ nity. In this light, Biola University asks both its students and employees to be supportive of this behavioral standard. This institution is for earnest Christians who are sensitive to the many principles of Christian living that are found in the Bible. The institution also states certain specific guidelines for the conduct of faculty, staff and students. Although such regulations are not the basis of our standing in Christ, and are not a necessary consequence of it, they can strengthen the life and testimony of both the individual and the institution. To this end, Biola expects its faculty, staff and students to refrain from the use of alcoholic beverages and tobacco and from gambling and dancing. Further, Biola, though appreciating the rich contribution of the arts to mankind, deplores morally degrading elements when~er they are found in the theatre, the entertainment media and literature; Biolans are expected to abstain from all aspects of such that morally degrade. Biola University does not presume to be a censoring agency for all activities; it does , how~er, expect tangible ~idence of maturing Christian convictions and discerning judgment. Biola reserves the right to dismiss a student who , in its judgment, does not conform either to the stated regulations governing student conduct or to the expressed principles, policies and programs of the university. These standards apply to the student while he is enrolled in any of the schools or programs of the university including summers and vacations , on campus and off campus. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIVERSI1Y Biola University seeks to instruct Christian men and women in order to produce graduates who are: 1. Competent in their field of study; 2. Knowledgeable in biblical studies; 3. Earnest Christians equipped to serve the Christian community and society at large. With particular reference to the undergraduate programs, the inten­ tion of the university is to seek to produce a graduate who is: 1. Broadly educated in the arts and sciences with a biblical perspec­ tive as the foundation.

By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and a ground furnished upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse .in our place. He who Himself was absolutely without sin was made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Lord Jesus is coming again to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly, The return of our Lord is the blessed hope of the beli~er, and in it God's purposes of grace toward mankind will find their consummation_ The Holy Spirit is a person, and is possessed of all the drstmctrvely divine attributes. He is God. Man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men, until they accept the LordJesus as their personal Savior, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead ttirough their trespasses and sins. They cannot see, nor enter the kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit. Men are justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him who shed the blood, and are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God. All those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord, and who confess Him as such before their fellow men, become children of God and receive eternal life. They become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the second coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised and transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory . All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in the present life shall be raised from the dead and throughout eternity exist in a state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment and anguish. . The Church consists of all those who, in this present dispensation , truly beli~e on Jesus Christ. It is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He has given Himself. There is a personal devil , a being of great cunning and power. "The prince of the power of the air." "The prince of this world" "The god of this age'' . He can exert vast power onlyso far as God suffers him to do so. He shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night for~er. NOTE: This doctrinal statement, presented here as originally con­ ceived by the founders of the organization, has been and continues to be the stated theological position of Biola University In addition, the following explanatory notes indicate the organization's understanding and teaching position on certain points which could be subject to various interpretations. The Scriptures are to be interpreted according to dispensational · distinctives with the conviction that the return of the Lord for His Church will be premillennial , before the Tribulation, and that the millennium is to be the last of the dispensations. The existence of the creation is not explainable apart from the roles of God as the sovereign creator and sustainer of the entire natural realm. Concepts such as theistic or threshold ~olution do not adequately explain creation. Though there may be many fillings of the Holy Spirit, there is only one baptism which occurs at the time of regeneration. God gives His gifts to His people, in His sovereignty and not on demand. The charismatic manifestations (e.g., tongues and healing) had special significance during the r~elatory period of the New Testa­ ment apostolic era and are not at all a necessary special work of the Holy Spirit today. Confession before men is viewed as a tangible fruit of salvation and not as a qualifying condition for salvation.

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