Clint Arnold


For the first time in 20 years, Biola’s Talbot School of Theology has a new man at the top.

In May, Biola’s Board of Trustees approved longtime Talbot professor and respected New Testament scholar Clinton E. Arnold to take the reins from Dennis Dirks as dean of Talbot.

Here are six things you should know about him as he steps into the new role.

  1. His Biola roots are deep. Arnold was led to the Lord by a 1927 Biola graduate, the Rev. George H. Jantzen, at a church near Bakersfield, Calif. He went on to attend Biola, earning a B.A. in communications (1980) and an M.Div. from Talbot (1983). After earning a Ph.D. in 1986 from the University of Aberdeen (under famed New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall), he returned to teach at Talbot in 1987, where he has served in various roles ever since, most recently as chair of New Testament language and literature.
     
  2. The same goes for his family. Arnold met his wife, Barbara (’82), while the two were undergraduates at Biola. They have three sons: Jeffrey (’09), Dustin (’11), a current Rosemead School of Psychology student, and Brandon, a current Biola undergrad.
     
  3. He’s not just an academic. Arnold is heavily involved in practical ministry, serving as an overseer and treasurer at Whittier Hills Baptist Church.
     
  4. You may have read his work on the Bible. Arnold is the co-creator and general editor of both the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary and the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — two widely used, award-winning commentary series. He’s also authored dozens of other articles and books.
     
  5. You may have read his work in your Bible. Arnold wrote the notes on Colossians and Philemon for both the ESV Study Bible and the Apologetics Study Bible. He also serves on the translation oversight committee for the English Standard Version.
     
  6. He’s got strong leadership experience. In 2011, Arnold served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society, the leading professional organization of evangelical biblical scholars and pastors. He continues to serve on the society’s executive committee.

Bonus fact for theology buffs: Arnold organized the theological debate of the century (so far). In November 2010, Clint planned and moderated a debate about the controversial “New Perspective on Paul” between N.T. Wright, Thomas Schreiner and Frank Thielman as part of the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting. It was the highest-attended conference in ETS history.