With churchgoing in decline in the US, what is the relevance of the church today? What’s the significance of the Bible using the language of family to describe the church? And what do we say to the person who insists that they can have a vibrant spiritual life but don’t need the church? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest colleague in OT, Dr. Carmen Imes, from her new book, Becoming God’s Family.

Dr. Carmen Imes is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Talbot. She is passionate about helping students and other laypeople engage the Old Testament and discover its relevance for Christian identity and mission. She is best known for her books Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (IVP 2019) and Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters (IVP 2023). Imes has appeared on over 100 podcasts and radio shows and releases weekly "Torah Tuesday" videos on her own YouTube channel.

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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.

To kick off 2026, Sean and Scott discuss:

• The Top 5 Religious Trends to Watch in 2026
• A federal judge's ruling about teachers' rights to inform parents about a child's gender identity.
• Arguments for allowing organ donation prior to death
• A New York Times feature on near-death experiences
• Listener followup on our recent episode about alcohol

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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.

What is alternative medicine? What does the Bible have to say about it? What is the connection between one’s faith and one’s health? We'll answer these questions and more with our guest, Ohio State University Professor Dr. Donal O'Mathuna, around his book, Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook.

Dr. Donal O'Mathuna, a native of Ireland, is Professor in the College of Nursing at Ohio State University. He is the author or co-author of nine books, and has served on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Ethics Research Review Committed and has contributed to several ethics initiatives for WHO.

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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.