Dr. Brian Toews’ Blog

I direct the Center for University Studies at PBU. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the study abroad program. PBU in partnership with bestsemester.com sends students to study for a semester abroad, usually the junior year. One of our students, Holly, just returned from Uganda. I had the chance to sit down with her the other day and talk about her experiences of the people and culture, as well as her studies. She was overall ecstatic about her time in Uganda. But what left a lasting impression on her was how difficult is was to make a lasting difference in people’s lives. She was discouraged over the complexity of the problems there and how one’s labor offers such small rewards. I think Holly was expressing something we all desire, that is to do greats things for God. It raises the question how the Lord judges greatness.

Posted by Philadelphia Biblical University at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am currently reading Voltaire’s book, Candide. I became interested in reading this when I read something that asked whether Christians should be optimistic or pessimistic. The story is about a young man, Candide, whose mentor always taught him that everything that happens is for the best in this world. The story follows Candide through an incredible series of tragedies and calamities that he observed and experienced himself. In a future blog I will let you know how it ends. But for now, I have two texts running through my mind – “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity� and “All things work together for good.� What is a biblical view on optimism and pessimism?

Posted by Philadelphia Biblical University at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today my class in The Old Testament was set to discuss the book of Judges. I thought that we would discuss Judges 2 which is good overall introduction to the book. A student, however, raised his hand and had a question about Samson. I don’t think I could have planned a better class discussion. I want my students to be creative participants in shaping the class. It is amazing how one question or observation took us back to the biblical text to search it out.

Posted by Philadelphia Biblical University at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the summer a number of faculty, staff, and students read Robinson Crusoe by William DaFoe. The story is sort of a combination of the Prodigal Son and Job. I set up a time for us to have dinner together and discuss the book. We shared a meal together and jumped into our discussion. The book is a great testament to the grace and providence of God. It also highlights the significance of the Word of God in Crusoe’s life. Most of us had questions about the ending (which I won’t spoil for you). It was interesting how the different ideas we shared about the book’s ending changed the book’s overall meaning. I think we all came to a better understanding of the story, at least I did.

Posted by Philadelphia Biblical University at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)