Parchment & Pen Blog

If I were in charge of the universe, I would most certainly do things differently. Hey, this is a given. God already said that his ways are not my ways. I also know that his ways are better than my ways. I would just do some things differently. I doubt there is anyone who has ever escaped the [...]

The Discipline of Archaeology fits nicely with the world of the Bible. At its root the word archaeology consists of two Greek words: ἀρχαῖος and -λογία Archaeos means, “Ancient” and “ology” is “the study of.” The word Archaeology lexically refers to the study of the ancients. Since the Bible is an ancient book it makes [...]

You are either 100% correct in doctrine or you are not correct at all I believed this for a long time. A pastor I loved and admired once told me this. But if this is the case, we are all up creek skubalon –pardon my French. All of us have some things wrong. I am studying [...]

While no numbers such as these can be perfect, these are some charts that I keep up with using multiple sources, including the CIA, Religious Tolerance.com, patheos.com, and others. I thought I would share them. Click on the charts to enlarge.  

I went to a church the other day and it was not much different than a rock concert. Might I say, it was a very well done rock concert. Electric guitars, drums in their own sound area, smoke, lights, and two or three people singing the latest in contemporary worship music. There was a part of [...]

I want to briefly give you some of the more “mundane” causes of why we, as Christians, might experience doubt, whether it be doubt in the existence of God, doubt in his love for us, or doubt in our salvation. Personality causes: Some people are prone to doubt because it is in their DNA to doubt. [...]

Over at Patheos, a website I often contribute to, they have a post which many people tell about the books that most influenced them. You can see it here. Scroll over to page six to see mine.

Dealing with Doubt – Part 7: Uncertainty. Please note, this is both an extension on my doubt series but also the promised follow up to the “What if I Missed Something” post. There are many things that I know almost nothing about but intrigue me nonetheless. Architecture is one of them. Carpentry is another. Forensic psychology is [...]

First off, I write this as one who is theologically conservative with respect to the divine inspiration and authority of scripture.  I believe that scripture was originated by God concerning his self-revelation and it is inerrant in its original autographs. So with that I will say, the more I learn about Biblical criticism, the greater appreciation I have [...]

I just got a series of books put out by IVP all by James Emery White. One is called Christ Among the Dragons and the others are four booklets on apologetics, not more than 50 pages each. I have read through each and found them to be very valuable. The booklets are great to have [...]

Yes, we keep adding to them! 1. “Heads bowed, eyes closed . . .”: During a church service, you may hear a preacher abruptly break into this unexpected dialogue with the audience: “Heads bowed, eyes closed. If you have accepted Christ into your heart [more later], I want you to raise your hand.” Don’t get [...]

Some people, who have slaved for years learning Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, may find themselves saying, “You can’t really understand the Bible unless you’ve studied it in the original languages.” The nose starts to point down, and the person uttering these words begins staring out over his or her reading glasses with an all-knowing look [...]