Podcast

Weekly Cultural Update: Traditional Dating Apps; Jehovah's Witnesses Blood Policy Shift; Pope Leo in France; Smartwatches for Kids in China

Traditional Values in Dating Apps: The Match Group relaunched the Upward dating app for "next gen traditionalists" seeking marriage and family through modern courtship, reflecting a growing desire for stability and traditional relationship roles. 

Jehovah's Witnesses Update on Blood Policy: The governing body of the Jehovah's Witnesses announced that accepting individual blood components—such as red blood cells, plasma, and platelets—is now a matter of personal conscience, though their core prohibition on whole blood transfusions remains intact. 

Pope Leo’s Reception in France: Pope Leo drew massive crowds in France, including over 800,000 people for a papal mass in Paris, highlighting a shift in the country from an "inherited Christianity" to a "chosen Christianity". 

Smartwatches over Smartphones in China: Hosts Scott Rae and Erik Thoennes discuss why parents in China are giving their children scaled-down smartwatches instead of smartphones to help set healthier boundaries around technology. 

Listener Question: Church Hopping: The hosts address an audience question regarding church hopping, exploring when personal preference becomes too dominant a factor in choosing a church body—a situation the first-century church never had to consider. 

Listener Question: Public Neutrality: The episode tackles a listener query about neutrality in public settings, assessing whether genuine neutrality exists in the public square and how Christians should navigate public involvement.

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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.  

Books

Apologetics for an Ever-Changing Culture

In a culture whose needs and obstacles to faith are continuously shifting, Christians are wise to ask themselves: How do we share and defend the gospel with relevance for today? Apologetics for an Ever-Changing Culture is a practical how-to guide for conveying and upholding the Christian faith in our contemporary cultural …more
AUTHOR, SPEAKER & BIOLA APOLOGETICS PROFESSOR
Dr. Sean McDowell is a gifted communicator with a passion for equipping the church, and in particular young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. He connects with audiences in a tangible way through humor and stories while imparting hard evidence and logical support for viewing all areas of life through a Biblical worldview.

Where Is Sean?

Upcoming Event
ReGeneration Forum - Western Seminary - 10/16-17/26
Milipitas, CA
October 16, 2026
Services - FBC Dallas - 10/18/26
Dallas, TX
October 18, 2026
Substack

From Sean's Newsletter

Newsletter · September 25, 2026

Regret and the Bible

I don’t have a lot of regrets in life.

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Newsletter · September 12, 2026

Is There Really Legendary Development in the Gospels?

Skeptics often claim that we see legendary development and narrative progression within the four Gospels.

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Newsletter · July 11, 2026

Do You Love Truth? 7 Questions to Gauge the Truth.

A question I’ve been sitting with lately is surprisingly simple:

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