Clifford A. Barbarick graduated cum laude from Pepperdine University with a bachelor's degree in religion in 2001, and followed that with a master of divinity in 2005. After four years at Baylor University, where he continues work on a doctor of philosophy in religion, he returns to his alma mater as a visiting instructor of religion. Along with Biblical Interpretation, he will teach The History of Early Christianity.
"Studying the origins of the New Testament often brings up important questions about how we understand the inspiration and authority of the sacred text," says Barbarick, who is particularly keen on teaching the development of the Christian canon. "I remember struggling with these questions as an undergrad and graduate student, and I so look forward to the chance to engage in those questions again as I try to guide my students through this maturation process."
Barbarick is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and returns to Malibu from Robinson, Texas, where he was the junior minister, and more recently, the family minister for the Robinson Church of Christ. His previous teaching appointments include speaking engagements at Baylor University, and a position as an instructor of record here at Pepperdine in 2007.
We ask: Who inspires you philosophically?
"Right now, I am most inspired by the Oxford philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch. She was driven by the question, “How is moral transformation possible?” and she pursued that important question with disciplined thinking, creativity, and imagination. Her philosophical essays stoke my own intellectual curiosity, and her novels ignite my imagination. Her pursuit for truth was at the same time a pursuit of beauty; and, therefore, even though she identified herself as an atheist, her work provides a compelling model for a student of religion like myself."