Theology & Biblical Studies

“Knowledge is power!” was the promise of the Enlightenment. Yes, in a thousand ways, and the great universities of the modern world have birthed that reality And yet, even as it was coming into being there were those who saw knowledge differently. The poet Byron lamented that “those who know the most mourn the deepest.” More recently the Librarian of Congress has wondered if our unprecedented access to information has made us wiser as a people. Why is knowing the world so full of promise and peril at the very same time?

The annual Institute of Biblical Studies, sponsored by Chesterton House, Bethel Grove Bible Church, and New Life Presbyterian Church, is designed to teach from the Scriptures, challenging participants to deepen their knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. Past speakers have included Dr. D.A. Carson, Dr. Walter Kaiser, Dr. Roger Nicole, and Dr. Richard Pratt.

Can We Know the World—and Still Love the World? On Vocation and the Common Good

Christianity is built upon an historical event--the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But what is the evidence for that event? Historian Mike Licona will provide an overview of that evidence.

The New Testament has many joyful directives on how to get a Christian life up and running and then keep it running: Run the race. Keep the commandments. Strive first for the kingdom. Sow to the Spirit. Follow Jesus. These are all powerful practices which set up and maintain a Christian life. But there’s one practice that yokes believers to Jesus Christ in his greatest work. The key to it is the sober truth that Jesus Christ did not die and rise alone. Believers share in these events in painful and glorious ways.

The annual Institute of Biblical Studies, sponsored by Chesterton House, Bethel Grove Bible Church, and New Life Presbyterian Church, is designed to teach from the Scriptures, challenging participants to deepen their knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. Past speakers have included Dr. D.A. Carson, Dr. Walter Kaiser, Dr. Roger Nicole, and Dr. Richard Pratt.

The Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Christian Virtue

Following his award-winning book Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary on Sin, theologian Cornelius Plantinga is now turning his attention to Christian virtue, the topic of this year's annual Institute of Biblical Studies.