Parchment & Pen Blog

“The history of Science is the history of bad ideas.” This is a quote that I heard recently. I think that it is a rather tongue-in-cheek way of expressing our (post)modern culture’s current attitude with respect to the authority of science. During the modern period, science was king. The scientific revolution produced hopes of a [...]

I sit here with a bit of a conflicted soul. On the one hand, I got the new issue of Christianity Today and found that it is devoted to the importance of doctrine in spiritual formation. Giddy. That is what I was when I read it. However, I also received an email yesterday that serves to [...]

"He Hates the Buildings" [ 2:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Most certainly, there are many more things I love about Christianity than what I hate. However, I thought I would spend a bit of time here and open up the conversation in a different direction. These are the top eight things I “hate” about Christianity, in order. (Oh, and since we have thousands of first-time [...]

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells a parable about the importance of forgiveness.  The message – whatever someone has done against you cannot compare to the wrong that God forgives us for.  Since God is willing to forgive a debt we cannot pay, we need to forgive others.  That means, whatever transgressions have been committed against [...]

Have you noticed the rise in psychic “hotlines” and TV shows nowadays? Five years ago, it would have been difficult to find even a psychic commercial on TV. Now, there are several half-hour infomercials, aired almost round the clock. Have you also noticed New Age music cropping up here and there, not to mention the [...]

It’s a privilege to be the newest contributor to the Parchment and Pen blog.  I’m new to Reclaiming the Mind Ministries as Creative Director and Instructor, but I’m not new to the concept of online seminary.  For five years I worked as the Senior Internet Designer for Dallas Theological Seminary (http://www.dts.edu).  Computer Programming genius (not [...]

It is one of those nights where someone should take the computer away from me, shut the internet down, and relieve me of all rights to this blog. Maybe there will be a miraculous advent and this post, after I hit submit, will vanish into the netherlands of cyberspace lost forever. Then I will just say [...]

It is obvious that so many places are relying on distance education—virtual distance education. After all, it is more convenient for all parties in many ways. People who would never have the option of going to seminary are now being trained by the best teachers the church has to offer. Institutions are able to stay [...]