Opening Question

Ellie, Fred, and Paul are joined by Dr. Matt Jenson, a fellow Torrey faculty member and systematic theologian. In this episode, the four of us discuss the role of the theologian in the life of every Christian - what spiritual, practical, and hermeneutical lessons we can learn from them, and how theologians impact the way we read and study Scripture. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Guest: Dr. Matt Jenson
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

A little bit of a Part 2 to our last episode (Why a different tutor every session?), where Paul, Fred, and Ellie wrap up the conversation about the mystifying and magical teaching schedule. Then we embark on a new question: What actually makes a Torrey session good? Do students and faculty agree when a discussion has been successful? What, my friends, makes for a good discussion anyway? 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

Torrey students’ cohort and mentor stay the same, but every single class session has a different tutor. In fact, students don’t even know who their tutor will be when they come to class! Why this variety and mystery? Ellie, Paul, and Fred talk through one of the most bewildering parts of Torrey’s pedagogy - and even reveal a little of the magic of how the massive teaching schedule comes together each semester. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

So much of your energy in college seems to be spent on a non-transferable skill: writing academic papers! Why do your professors make you write so much, and what do they think you’ll gain from the process? Is academic writing like eating your vegetables - not very fun, but worth it in the end? Join Fred, Paul, and Ellie as we unpack this love-to-hate topic. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

Ellie unapologetically stole a real opening question from one of Dr. Laurie Wilson’s sessions with Torrey seniors - but to make up for it, Laurie agreed to be the very first guest on Opening Question! Ellie, Paul, Fred, and Laurie discuss the value of a Torrey education, both during and after college, with Augustine's On Christian Teaching as their guide.  

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Guest: Dr. Laurie Wilson
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

It seems like new things are always the best things - there’s better technology, better medicine, better scientific advancement today than 10 years, 5 years, even 1 year, ago. But is that true for ideas, as well? Do ideas get better with time, or can we still learn things from the philosophers of old? Join Ellie, Paul, and Fred in our quest to discuss what CS Lewis calls “chronological snobbery” in today’s episode. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

You might get the impression that we love to ask questions over here, but we don’t care so much about the answers at the end of the road. Far from it. In this episode, Ellie, Paul, and Fred lay out all the answers you ever wanted to hear. Okay, maybe not. But we do talk through some answers. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

With no exams to test your knowledge, no cheat sheets with plot summaries, and just a big stack of books to show for a semester’s worth of work….what exactly can you say you “learned” in your first semester of Torrey? Paul, Fred, and Ellie talk through some misconceptions about what we all think learning is today. Is college just about memorizing facts and figures - or about something more long-lasting? 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

Here’s something that drives new students crazy: we don’t tell them their grade until the very end of their final oral exam! But we’ve got lots of good reasons for withholding this seemingly central token of modern education. Hear from Fred, Ellie, and Paul to find out why. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey

Books change, tutors come and go, but your cohortmates are forever. When students begin their time in the Torrey Honors College, they are assigned to a cohort that is theirs for all four years. What is our reasoning behind keeping cohorts the same? What are the academic goods of pursuing an education with the same group of people? Ellie, Fred, and Paul talk through this Torrey tradition in today’s episode. 

Hosted by: Ellie Martin, Dr. Paul Spears, and Dr. Fred Sanders
Executive Producer: Ellie Martin
Editor and Producer: Timothy House

----------
Torrey Honors College is the undergraduate honors program at Biola University. We bring together students with different backgrounds from all over the world in pursuit of a common goal.

At Torrey Honors, students read deeply from some of the best books ever written. They gather with close friends to spend hundreds of hours in discussion, searching out answers to big questions together — all while guided by a faculty mentor. And when they graduate, students enter a community dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuing Christ both personally and vocationally.

Learn more at https://www.biola.edu/torrey