Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought

Though there are a multitude of Christian scholars in different fields working on the Big Questions - those questions of perennial human concern about how we should live, what is real, what is beautiful, what is good - there are few resources in the Christian academic world for enabling interdisciplinary, collaborative work on these questions, and fewer yet for translating such scholarship into formats accessible to a broader, non-academic audience. Biola University's Center for Christian Thought (CCT) will capitalize on this opportunity with the following main activities: Residential Fellowships and visiting-scholar appointments to facilitate sustained, interdisciplinary, collaborative research; Three RFPs, each focused on a timely Big Question; Dedicated staff and web resources for the translation of this scholarship to broad non-academic audiences; Yearly interdisciplinary conferences; Pastor-in-residence program and regular pastors; luncheons; Annual course-development competition; Public lectures and accessible resources translating scholarly work on the Big Questions to broad, non-academic audiences; Well-designed and well-networked website that will feature the work of the Center Expected outputs and outcomes include: 12 book manuscripts, 36 journal articles, 3 edited volumes, 3 special-theme journal issues, 135 conference-paper submissions, 12 podcasts, 30 brief video interviews, 6 new courses developed, 12 multi-view papers, 6 sermon series; 65 emerging and established scholars networked, 3 conferences, 600 pastor-attendees at 3 pastors' luncheons, 6 senior-scholar public lectures with 600 attendees. Plausible enduring impacts include: Increased emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to the Big Questions among Christian scholars; Decreased anti-intellectualism in evangelical Christian culture; Significant progress in knowledge concerning our three focal themes