Parchment & Pen Blog

Help me out here folks . . . Let’s have some fun and for those (like me) who are Evangelical, don’t take yourself too seriously. (Take note, I am talking about pop-evangelicalism). I will start. 1. If you are asked about the history of the church and you give the history of your local building [...]

I just got an email from someone who has been involved in The Theology Program. They were concerned about the apparent contradictions in the Scripture. She brought up the often referred to discrepancies involved in the morning of the resurrection. I wanted to share it with you so that I could inquire as to how [...]

I need your help, and I have something to update you on. First, your help… 1. As you all know, the Credo House is approaching its final days of the build out. Things are moving along nicely, but it is now time to get creative. I informed everyone recently about how one of the tables [...]

Believing in the sovereignty of God is not an option of yes, no, or maybe within the Christian context. If the Bible is our authoritative guide, one must believe that God is sovereign. It is not unlike the issue of predestination. That God predestines people to salvation is not up for debate, what is up [...]

Editor’s note: Dan originally posted this essay on Feb 19, but had second thoughts on how he had worded some things. In the Feb 18 issue of the New York Post, there is a cartoon depicting two policemen standing over a rabid chimp that one of them had just riddled with bullets. As it lay [...]

I am perfectly aware that apologetics as an intellectual enterprise does not produce faith. I am neither Pelagian nor Semi-Pelagian. I recognize the limitations of the human mind and, more importantly, the human will to understand and accept God outside of the sovereign movements of the Holy Spirit. Having said this, I am a firm [...]

As Valentine’s Day was approaching, naturally the atmosphere was thick with merchandise marketing and sentimental expressions befitting the spirit of the day.  So it was no wonder that as I was driving into school the other day, the radio station that was tuned in to my car, hosted callers telling of their significant others, the [...]

How hard it is to avoid the innate desire that we all have to confirm our prejudices through our studies. Our pursuit of truth, more times than not, resembles an exercise of a passionate search for evidences that fit our presupposed conclusions. In other words, we know what we know, then we seek to confirm [...]

Mark Juergensmeyer’s book Terror in the Mind of God claims that religion is violent by nature. It tends to “absolutize and to project images of cosmic war”—even if the ultimate goal is peace and order. To prevent violence and bloodshed to get to this point, religion needs the tempering influence of “rationality and fair play [...]

I don’t think that there is a more valuable phrase that I have learned than this. “The palatability of a doctrine does not determine its veracity.” I believe this is true. There are two key words here: “palatability” and “determine.” Palatability refers to appeal, tastefulness, and emotional response to something. “Determine” according to the dictionary [...]

Charisma: “Power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.” Over the years I have learned that people enter the ministry for a variety of reasons. Among these reasons are: 1. Passion for the Gospel due to a life that has been recently transformed. 2. A “calling” through [...]