Parchment & Pen Blog

I know of only one person who I believed was being used by God significantly who had not been though some sort of faith crisis that caused them to doubt their beliefs at their deepest level . . . I am getting ahead of myself. As many of you are aware, I deal with many [...]

Absurd n. utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense. Bizarre n. markedly unusual in appearance, style, or general character and often involving incongruous or unexpected elements; outrageously or whimsically strange; odd. The human mind can entertain bizarre things. I remember when I was young, I had this nagging and, [...]

I see myself as an evangelical (lower case) Christian (uppercase) apologist. I think every Christian is an apologist to some degree. No, not a “professional apologist” like Rob Bowman, William Lane Craig, or Mike Licona, but we all have formulated some degree of warrant or justification for our faith. Just like everyone is a theologian, every [...]

(Paul Copan) The former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca once said: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  This simple advice has wide-ranging application—whether we’re settling personal disagreements, planning our schedules, or trying to build bridges with non-Christians. One area of bridge-building has to do with the creation-evolution “debate.”  In my [...]

Mr. Patton, I have been a believer for quite sometime – since I was eight. It’s a miracle, however, that I believe at all. I grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal home that was very legalistic and rigid. Since then I have changed a great deal in regard to my beliefs. I very much believe [...]

I believe in inerrancy. This means I believe that there are no errors in the Bible. Of course, this comes with the usual disclaimers which say that we must be talking about the original manuscripts and we must be assuming that the Bible is being interpreted correctly. In other words, none of our Bible translations [...]

This can’t be free long so get it now. MP3s Week 1: Does God Exist? Week 2: Reliability of the New Testament Week 3: The Resurrection of Christ Week 4: The Deity of Christ ______________________________________ HANDOUTS (Please forgive as these are unedited and may not exactly reflect the graphics and subjects as they played out [...]

Apologetics Boot Camp: Week 1 [ 1:09:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Apologetics Boot Camp: Week 2 [ 1:15:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Apologetics Boot Camp: Week 3 [ 1:07:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Apologetics Boot Camp: Week 4 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Let me familiarize you with some of the sound bites in the Mike Licona situation that have people upset: “It can forthrightly be admitted that the data surrounding what happened to Jesus is fragmentary and could possibly be mixed with legend, as Wedderburn notes.” “We may also be reading poetic language or legend at certain [...]

One of the greatest attacks on Scripture comes from those who misunderstand the doctrine of inerrancy. A couple of years ago this chart was brought to my attention. I did not think it was serious, but it really is. It is supposed to represent the thousands of contradictions in the Bible. However, all it really [...]

There are moments when I am proud to be an Evangelical. This is not one of them. I was listening to a discussion between two gentleman at the Credo House this afternoon. The conversation started as one man introduced another man to a guest scholar we have invited to the Credo House for our “Coffee [...]

Ed Komoszewski introduced me to Mike Licona a few years ago. Since then, I have been a Liconaite. His passion for and defense of the central truths of the Christian faith are exemplified not only by his passion for the issue, a love for Christ, and his scholarship, but a committment to honesty and integrity. Below is [...]

I remember in seminary, sitting under Dr. John Hannah. He was out of this world (although some would say, “No, Michael, you mean ‘out to lunch’!”). Students would purchase a special “Hannah quote book” just to write down the “Hannahisms.” There were so many. The things he would say… The paradigms he would cause you [...]