John Mark Reynolds

It's all found in Plato.

Recent Essays

Sometimes Government Must Act

John Mark Reynolds | Theology, Politics | 05.29.2009

What should be done when parents rely on religion instead of medicine to heal sick children? Christians know we are all broken. Nobody is perfect and so no human being can be trusted with total power. Institutions are ofte... Read More...

Sonia Sotomayor: Educate and then Confirm

John Mark Reynolds | Politics | 05.26.2009

Sonia Sotomayor is President Obama’s pick for the court. From the point of view of conservatives, she is probably as good a pick as President Obama was going to make. Something new may come out about her, but if not conserv... Read More...

When Athens Met Jerusalem

John Mark Reynolds | Philosophy, Theology | 05.25.2009

From time to time, professors here at Scriptorium Daily put something into book form rather than blog form. Below is the preface to my new book, When Athens Met Jerusalem: An Introduction to Classical and Christian Thought. I... Read More...

Three Thoughts for This Year’s Graduates

John Mark Reynolds | Education | 05.22.2009

Today eighty students will become perpetual members of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. Here are three thoughts for this day . . . and a reminder that the day itself is not the reward for the study. The re... Read More...

Michael Vick, Animal Rights, and Killing People

John Mark Reynolds | Culture | 05.21.2009

Michael Vick tortured dogs and watched them fight for pleasure and money. This is not only against the law, but morally disturbing. Michael Vick has served jail time for his bad behavior and now is coming out. Some people... Read More...

Call Our Bluff- Stop Blaming California Voters

John Mark Reynolds | Politics | 05.20.2009

California voted "no" to more taxes. Hopefully Jerry Brown will not take us to court for voting, again, against the will of the state establishment. We can assume the LA Times will call us names for it. Only an elite alrea... Read More...

Not Typical, I Hope: Some Pro-Choice Rhetoric I Hear

John Mark Reynolds | Philosophy, Education, Politics | 05.19.2009

When I was a young man working for a home electronics firm, a pro-life commercial suddenly appeared on the televisions that formed one wall of the store. The manger, who was white, began to swear. After so many years, I a... Read More...

Obama’s Notre Dame Speech: Courageously Missing the Point

John Mark Reynolds | Education, Politics | 05.17.2009

When a few protesters interrupted President Obama’s speech at the Notre Dame graduation by shouting, “Stop killing our children!” the student body replied by chanting, “Yes, we can.” This inadvertent juxtapositio... Read More...

California, the Propositions, and the Problem

John Mark Reynolds | Culture, Politics | 05.17.2009

I moved to California fifteen years ago and fell in love with the state. There is so much to see and do that one could easily vacation here forever without exhausting the wonders, natural and man made. One a single day, o... Read More...

Building an Ark and Cutting the Grass: Coming Problems for the Obama Administration?

John Mark Reynolds | Misc., Politics | 05.16.2009

A small piece of rotten wood falls from house siding, suggesting the termites that are consuming the structure. A popular ruler decides not to go out to war with his troops and King David's reign is never the same again. ... Read More...

Five Practical Economic Tips for Recent Grads: What I am Hearing

John Mark Reynolds | Culture, Education | 05.15.2009

Torrey students are very bright and I am lucky enough to hear from them every day. As a new cohort heads into society, or when speaking to recent graduates about the economy, what am I hearing? What tips do they give me to sh... Read More...
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Miscellaneous Notes

Contact Me!

Reynolds' Blogroll

Hugh Hewitt
hughhewitt.townhall.com
Ancient Faith Radio
ancientfaithradio.com
The Corner at NRO
corner.nationalreview.com
Evangelical Outpost
evangelicaloutpost.com
The Perseus Project
(ancient texts)
www.perseus.tufts.edu
Free Republic
freerepublic.com
Box Office Mojo
boxofficemojo.com
BBC News
www.bbc.com
Daily Kos
dailykos.com
Huffington Post
huffingtonpost.com
Packers Plus
www.jsonline.com
MiceAge
miceage.com
MousePlanet
mouseplanet.com
Leiter Reports
leiterreports.typepad.com
Post-Darwinist
post-darwinist.blogspot.com
Red-Blue Christian
www.redbluechristian.com
Panda's Thumb
pandasthumb.org
Touchstone Blog
merecomments.typepad.com
Uncommon Descent
uncommondescent.com
California Republic
californiarepublic.org
Acton Institute
acton.org
Antiochian Orthodox Church Website
antiochian.org


Collected Quotations

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
"In the name of Our dearly beloved homeland, We call on Our faithful sons of the fatherland to fulfill their sacred duty to the fatherland, to obey the tsar in the heavy moment of national trials, and to help Him, together with the representatives of the people, to guide the Russian Empire on the road to victory, welfare, and glory. May the Lord God help Russia!"
from the abdication of Nicholas II
"Where do we go from here?"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(Musical Episode)
"Khan!"
James Tiberius Kirk
(Star Trek II)
"…but where is the fourth?"
Socrates (Timaeus)
"I went down to the Piraeus with Glaucon, the son of Ariston…"
Socrates (Republic)
"…the story will save us, if we are persuaded by it…"
Socrates (Republic)
"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
Jesus Prayer
"I believe, o Lord, and confess that thou art truly the Christ the son of the living God…"
Liturgy of the Western Rite Orthodox Church
"I will not cease from mental fight, / Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand / Till we have built Jerusalem / In England's green and pleasant land."
William Blake
"Who's there?"
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
"Who shall be Pendragon in the time when Saturn descends from his sphere? In what world did he learn war?"
Merlin, That Hideous Strength

Biographical Sketch

Biographical Sketch

John Mark Reynolds is the founder and director of the Torrey Honors Institute, and Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Biola University. In 1996 he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Rochester.

John Mark Reynolds' Curriculum Vitae
PDF (36KB)

Publication Overview

Dr. Reynolds' first book, Three Views on the Creation and Evolution Debate, was co-edited with J.P. Moreland. His latest book, Towards a Unified Plationic Human Psychology, is a close examination of Plato's view of the soul as seen in the Timaeus. Several of his technical articles have been published on philosophy of religion as well as popular articles in journals such as The New Oxford Review and Touchstone.


Lecturer and Speaker

Dr. Reynolds lectures frequently on ancient philosophy, philosophy of science, home-schooling and cultural trends. He regularly appears on radio talk shows, including the Hugh Hewitt Show, and activelly blogs on cultural issues. For speaking requests email Michael Fatigati


John Mark Reynolds

John Mark and his wife Hope have four homeschooled children: L.D., Mary Kate, Ian and Jane. John Mark and his family love Disneyland and make frequent trips to the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ with his students at the Torrey Honors Institute of which John Mark is the founder and director.


Top 10 Books

I am reminded by the folk at America's best magazine, Touchstone, that C.S. Lewis published a famous "top ten list" of the books which most influenced his life. I am not listing the best books or the books that impact me now, but the books that have influenced the course of my life. To make the top ten list (or the close 20) is to have read the book more than five times, carefully, and not for work. The top ten list must have influenced my life for more than five of my forty years. Books in the top ten list should still be meaningful, thus giving some slight preference to the grown up me.

1. The Bible

I don't remember a time when the stories of this book were not being read to me and I read it every day. My parents raised me in an atmosphere super-saturated with this Book of Books.

2. That Hideous Strength (C.S. Lewis)

Torrey is based on the image of Saint Anne's in this book. This is the truest account of the state of the West written in the last one hundred years.

3. Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)

I have read this book every year of my life since seventh grade. Even the smallest hobbit can do great things for God.

4. Republic (Plato)

The two years spent with this book and Al Geier were the most academically productive of my life. Since then, I have come to find almost every truth needed in the pages of this book, saving only the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Nicholas and Alexandra (Massie)

This book seized my imagination and shaped my view of politics forever.

6. A Severe Mercy (Vanauken)

My favorite book on love, marriage, and the problem of pain.

7. Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)

I still hope the elevator in Sutherland will open to Narnia someday.

8. Divine Comedy (Dante)

The most influential book of the last four years of my life.

9. Timaeus (Plato)

This is the first and last word on science for me.

10. Reason in the Balance (Johnson)

The book that still shapes the educational experience at Torrey.


Top 5 Movies

1. Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Anything by Andrei Tarkovsky
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5. Sense and Sensibility