Parchment & Pen Blog

It was my first semester in seminary. Kristie and I were already living hand to mouth, trusting in the Lord for his provisions. With Katelynn just born and Kylee on the way, we looked with hopeful anticipation for the provisional hand of the Lord. Yahweh-yireh, “the Lord will provide.” If the Lord wanted me there, [...]

Added to the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series I was discussing religion with a gentleman not long ago. It was a very interesting conversation in which he recounted to me how he used to be a Christian in a Baptist church. But he left Christianity for Buddhism not too long ago. He [...]

I am not a charismatic.  It is hard for me to describe myself as a traditional cessationist either. I refer to myself as a “de facto” cessationist. What does this mean? Essentially, when it comes to the so-called supernatural sign gifts such as gifts of tongues, prophecy, workers of miracles, etc, I have never seen [...]

Added to the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series The other day I was listening to a radio program. The speaker is someone who is very popular in Evangelical apologetics. He is someone that I have learned a lot from and whom I respect a great deal. However, he propagated something that I [...]

Added to my “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series. Consider this story (adapted from a true story): Greg Jones was an evangelical Christian, active in his church, a regular preacher, teacher and served on the elder board. He says that he was addicted to fundamentalism. He slept, ate, and drank the truths of Christianity. [...]

Here is a question I recieved from someone as a follow-up to my last blog. Question: I have a deep love for the lady who I’ve been dating and I’m getting set to pop the question to her.  I love apologetics. You know that. I love teaching it as well. However, apologetics is not God. [...]

Added to the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series. Albert Einstein once said “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing . . . so is a lot.” I have been in discussions with a gentleman who reads this blog and, occasionally, will take one of my theology courses. The main topic of discussion [...]

*Added to the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series. Please note:there is intentional overstatement with the title for rhetorical effect. If you don’t like it, there is a good possibility that anything you say can and will be used against you in this blog and eventually turn into an “. . . And Other [...]

My tenth installment into the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” Series. Premise: We often make heaven such an esoteric place that no one really wants to go there. Since I was young, I was excited about getting to heaven. We all were. I remember when my mother told my older sister, Kristie (yes, my [...]

For my Intro students… As I have been reading and reviewing books and blogs over the years, my approach has changed. This was not an overnight change, but something that just happened the more involved I became in engaging those who were serious about teaching and learning with intellectual honesty and integrity (something that, I am [...]

Continuing with my series — “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” — I would like to register a complaint. In truth, I would like to register many complaints about the common Christian view of the afterlife, but I start here. This complaint is important because it not only represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the [...]

Added to the “and other stupid statements series.” During my ordination, one of the questions that I was asked by a seminary professor was “Are all sins equal in the sight of God?” I hesitated. Not because I did not have a strong opinion on this, but because I was not sure what the answer [...]