Parchment & Pen Blog

1. I will finish my series on imputation on Monday.  2. Ben Witherington writes on authorial intent hermeneutics. His three basic guidelines: 1) It means what is means, not what you want it to mean or your presuppositions determine it means. 2) Context is king. No proof texting. This is one of the biggest interpretive problems [...]

Continuing with our subject of the difficult doctrine of imputation, we now move to an interpretation of Romans 5. The question has come down to this: Is it possible that Adam’s sin has been credited or imputed to us in such a way that all men are born guilty of this sin of another before we ever exercise [...]

Provided by   D.A. LaGue In 155 A.D., an eighty-six year old man was brought out to the jeers of a crowded Roman arena.  As he was about to be nailed to a pyre and burned at the stake, he told the soldiers, ‘Leave me as I am.  The one who gives me the strength [...]

In the last post we discussed the problem of Original Sin, especially from an Evangelical Reformed perspective. Are we condemned for the sin of another. Let’s get some basic terminology down so that we can surf this wave with more balance. Proposed three types of sin: Personal Sin: Sins committed by the individual. All people [...]

Here is the trailer for the new Intelligent Design (ID) movie with Ben Stein. It looks like it is well done with a bit of humor that is going to drive many people mad. Get ready . . . Now, I want everyone to notice who is a rebel along with me and Ben. Yes, [...]

The concept of “Original Sin” has long been a vital part of Christian Orthodoxy yet is being challenged and redefined by many in the Church today. Even conservatives are beginning to question the validity of the traditional Evangelical understanding of the doctrine asking questions of its legitimacy in its current form of understanding. Perhaps John Calvin [...]

Many Christians believe in what they would call “the doctrine of preservation.” What they mean by this is that God has preserved the scriptures. More sophisticated expressions would argue that God has preserved the scriptures in the original languages, down to the very words. This is where the problem begins. When we look at the [...]

What is the “True” church? #2 During this program we attempt to further distinguish between the Protestant understanding of apostolic succession and that of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. In essence, Evangelical Protestants who find their roots in the Reformation define apostolic succession as a succession of teaching not necessarily succession in person. We also [...]