• College,  Stories

    Freshman Foresight

    Written by Jennifer Wenzel Forget Ring by Spring. James Zapata, a human biology major, puts this stereotype into perspective. “There are so many people here that you can build a genuine friendship with. That should be the point of dating: to get to know people genuinely without that agenda,” he says. “We fall into the trap of pursuing the goal above the person…which is a huge mistake. Pursue people for who they are and seek to love them as who they are.” Pursue People. Brian Glaze, a biblical and theological studies major, emphasizes the importance of developing friendships. “The number one enemy to any relationship is complacency. Relationships require consistent…

  • Stories,  Uncategorized

    Letter From The Editor

    Three days. Three days was all it took for God to change how I viewed my life in America. In three days I met people that will be a part of my story for the rest of my life. The Lord broke my heart for the people of Haiti in three days. I continued to photograph the church dedication while the children clapped and sang. I knew that if I didn’t take the time to remember I was worshiping our Creator with Haitian brothers and sisters, I’d regret it. So I let my camera rest around my neck. I found a spot in one of the back pews and took…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Stumble-Worthy

    Written by Morgan Mitchell “Like That” Being a freshman can be stressful. Well, stressful is an understatement: new classes, new home, new friends, new town and new weather. For many, the first few weeks are a hectic, chaotic blur that gets forgotten and tucked away as you adjust. For me, not so much. I had difficulty adjusting to two things in particular: the heat — San Diegans never get weather above 90 degrees — and the dress code. One day, I got up and checked the weather report. 100 degrees! I groaned and dug through my closet for the outfit that would keep me away from heat stroke the most.…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Lackluster: Why Hide Your Light?

    Written by Elise Anderson An Uncomfortable Question Musicians in worship bands are all religious… Right? Matt and Danny defy this assumption. The two young atheist friends were enjoying their Friday night in Downtown Disney sitting by the fountain in front of the House of Blues. The melodic sounds of that night’s band played softly in the background. With hearts and love for music, the two men use their rhythmic talents to play for church services on Sunday mornings. The two also share a common view on Christians. “They are generally good people, but I guess that depends on the denomination,” Matt explained. Neither had a single negative thing to say…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Suitably Sacred

    Written by Jennifer Wenzel Grammy for “Best Gospel Album.” Mixtape downloaded over 100,000 times in 48 hours. A breakthrough into secular music. $3 million net worth. Newest album debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with nearly 89,000 copies sold in the first week. And a relationship with Jesus Christ. Lecrae has garnered the attention of both secular and Christian audiences with his music. But Christians have accused him of being “of the world” due to his success. They believe he should not engage in such a temporal culture. His response? In a broadcast interview on Ed Stetzer’s Christianity Today blog “The Exchange” in May 2013, Lecrae gave his…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Expansive: Why Christian Artists Can Be Bold

    Written by Candace Guereque Exhibiting Boldness Nery Gabriel Lemus, whose exhibit I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Mewas displayed in Biola’s Earl and Virginia Green Art Gallery this fall, is a local artist from the Los Angeles area. Choosing no preferred medium, he lets art take him where it leads him. Lemus’ exhibit consisted of art made in a handful of ways—photographs from his childhood; words oil-painted on colorful backdrops; a reunion captured on video; and even halves of the American and Guatemalan flags stitched together. Grateful for the many privileges he’s had in his upbringing and education, Lemus draws predominately from his childhood and the many racial tensions…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Wired: We Have The Technology

    Written by James O’Hearn Surely the warmest spots “Down Below” are being saved for the plague of transhumanism, recently landed upon the as-of-yet unsuspecting Christian community. What is transhumanism, you ask incredulously, perhaps wondering to yourself why you’re talking to a magazine. It sounds dangerous! It sounds new-fangled, and not old-fangled at all! Probably, you narrate, the devil’s work. Transhumanism is defined by that fount of knowledge we call Wikipedia as something rather complex having quite a lot to do with technology and the future. What, you ask in utter confusion, does that actually mean? In simpler terms, it’s the idea that what we think of as the traditional human…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Weightless: Starving Our Words of Meaning

    Written by Torie Hamilton “And yet what a subtle magic there was in them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have a music of their own as sweet as that of viol or lute. Mere words! Was there anything so real as words?” This quote comes from the classic, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Beautiful and intentional words such as Wilde’s have the unique ability of communicating with the human soul and inspiring others to use words with purpose in mind. However, more often than not, such immediate inspiration has become a rare reaction to words in modern…

  • Stories,  Trending

    Hemmed In

    Written by Melissa Wills The Biola Student “_I feel pressured to be the perfect Christian_.” “_I struggle to find community because I feel like I have to put myself out there to be a part of a group_.” “_I feel like I am constantly putting on this façade because if I were to open up about my real struggles people will judge me_.” Walking from a dorm room to the Caf, one will pass a diverse community of students, often laughing, saying hi to every person on every corner, surrounded by groups of friends. Never once would it seem that any one of those students was struggling to find himself…

  • Local,  Stories

    The Northern Wild

    Written by Stephen Day In my Mind I sat outside by the fire for a long time, staring into the warm tongues of flame as they wrapped themselves around the dry pine logs, wondering why I couldn’t write. Every time I picked up a pen or opened my laptop to place words where they should be, my mind would drift away, leaving nothing but a frustrating inability to produce any work and another long evening staring at blank pages. Placing a fresh log onto the waning fire, I finally accepted that my heart wasn’t here. I didn’t want to write about nature and camping. I didn’t want to write about…

  • College,  Stories

    Retrospective

    Written by Mystiana Victorino The Point Magazine emerged in 2006 when Tamara Welter, a journalism professor, had a dream to create a student-produced campus publication. Public relations professor Carolyn Kim, then sophomore Carolyn Wallace, served as the first editor in chief. “The vision was to provide a magazine that could do justice to sensitive issues, pop the Biola bubble and give a human face to its subjects,” said Kim, who still recalls pitching the idea to the school provost. The Point has enjoyed eight years of publication, yielding 18 issues that have tackled controversies and unearthed some bizarre nuggets of information. These 11 stories from our archives provide an apt…

  • Global,  Stories

    Fighting Fiercely: A Response to the Ebola Crisis

    Written by Alissa Sandoval I returned to my desk unable to focus. My mind was still lingering in the chaos that I had just left. Busy yourself, my head said. So I tried. There was physical straining on my heart – it was distracting. Everyone speaking to me sounded distant even though they were only sitting two or three feet away from me. The exhaustion from unfulfilling sleep all caught up with me at once. Push it down, my mind ordered. You’re at work; you need to pull yourself together. There was an inner battle of heart vs. head ensuing – my heart was winning. My heart was breaking and…