Parchment & Pen Blog

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 [...]

Dealing with doubt – Part 6: The Day I Quit Believing I have not talked about this publicly before. I have not bogged about it. I have not used it as a sermon illustration. And never spoken of it before while I was teaching. It took me long enough to tell my wife about what [...]

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul affirms the goal of becoming “all things to all people” when communicating the gospel.  Providentially, Paul’s own cultural background enabled him to speak with credibility in Athens—one of the Roman Empire’s cultural centers (Alexandria and Tarsus being the other key cultural hubs at this time). According to Ben Witherington, “Paul [...]

Sam Storms has joined the Theology Unplugged cast! Here is our second installment of a three part series called “How Long Should Your Doctrinal Statement Be?”

How Long Should Your Doctrinal Statement Be 3 [ 36:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have been teaching theology now for over ten years. Teaching theology carries the burden of not only education, but one of correction. When it comes to heresies about the doctrine of the Trinity, there are two that stand out more than any other as being common among average Christians: subordinationalism and modalism. I will talk about modalism [...]