It sounds like a bad joke gone wrong: What does a former professional baseball player, a post-punk musician, a jujitsu master, the protestant reformation, and Sodom and Gomorrah have in common?
The answer: Veritas International University (VIU).
After fifteen years in Southern California, VIU moved its operations to New Mexico in 2024 to unite the VIU archaeology and Biblical history program with the main campus—and develop roots in the Southwest.
As a fully accredited institution (TRACS), VIU has three schools within its organization: archeology, apologetics, and Biblical and theological studies.
President, Dr. Joseph Holden was a former professional baseball player, who chose to formally attend Bible college instead of living the dream. Dr. William Roach, dean of apologetics, is a competitive jujutsu martial artist. And VIU’s archeology dean—Dr. Steven Collins—has, if his excavation turns out to be correct, made one of the greatest discoveries in modern history: namely, the notorious city of Sodom and Gomorrah, as many broadcasts, new stories, and TV shows have featured.
Yet they find a home within a unique school of higher education.
I caught up with President Dr. Joseph Holden to discuss the school and its future in New Mexico.
Dr. Holden, give our readers some background on the school. When did it start? And what are the goals of the school?
VIU was founded in 2008 on October 31, the same date the protestant reformation kicked off when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenberg. Our mission is to equip Christians to communicate the Scriptures and defend the faith. We accomplish this by offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses, emphasizing the exposition of the Bible, apologetics, and Biblical archeology from a classical perspective in the tradition of Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas.
You were a professional baseball athlete, playing in the US and abroad. How did you go from sports to theology?
As any athlete knows, it’s difficult to give up a sport you love and have trained for all your life. But eventually, I had to decide whether I was going to labor for something temporal or for something eternal. Once that decision was made, God opened the doors wide to study His Word and dedicate more time to grow in my faith. It was the best decision I ever made, it changed my entire life. In the years that followed my decision, I became aware that God was using my baseball days to foster discipline, teamwork, focus, and character. There was no wasted time.
Why did you move from Southern California to New Mexico?
There are two main reasons. First, the move seemed wise since New Mexico lacked an option for an accredited evangelical Christian higher education for its residents, we wanted to fill that void. Previously, if someone wanted a Christian higher education, they would have had to travel to the nearest schools in Colorado, Texas, or Arizona. A second motivation was to unite our Albuquerque satellite campus, where our Archaeology and Biblical History programs were located, with our main campus.”
With all the unique personalities found within your university, what are the common classical elements that bring you all together?
That’s easy, it’s our love for Jesus and the passion to equip God’s people. Academically speaking, our faculty and staff share a common belief in the classical approach to education and the traditional approach to the Bible and apologetics. This is extremely important considering the current challenging climate in religious education that has opted for a more ‘inclusive’ and ‘modern progressive’ approach to the various doctrines of the Christian faith. This is especially noticeable when it applies to the doctrine of Biblical inspiration and inerrancy, as well as to God’s nature. These doctrines have the greatest impact on our understanding of God and the authority of His word.”
How do you envision VIU growing in the Southwest?
As we are faithful to our calling to love, equip, and support our students, the Lord will take care of the organic growth. In addition, our generous and faithful donors play a crucial role in VIU fulfilling its mission in New Mexico. This will enable us to maintain staffing, faculty, and introduce new degree programs, including training in the exposition of the Bible. Moreover, our statewide radio program Paratus on KLYT will not only equip our listeners, but also effectively get the word out about Veritas.
VIU will begin in-class courses soon, offering a course on Augustine of Hippo and his work Confessions. To learn more about Veritas International University, go to https://viu.ves.edu.
Brian C. Nixon, Ph.D., is Chief Academic Officer and professor at Veritas International University in Albuquerque. As a writer, musician, and artist, his interests surround the philosophical transcendentals: truth, beauty, and goodness. You can contact Brian via his Bandcamp email address: https://briancharlesnixon.bandcamp.com
