Parchment & Pen Blog

Last night Kay and I attended the world premiere of a new film. I could wax eloquent and say this was the first time I’ve ever attended a movie premiere, and it was, but when we use that language it conjures up the idea of limousines, red carpets, stars in formal attire, paparazzi and other [...]

(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 [...]

Naturalism takes for granted the following tenets: Nature is all there is. All reality is comprised of or rooted in matter. There is no supernatural—no Creator, no miracles, no souls, no angels, no life after death. Science becomes the only (or best) means of knowledge.  Richard Dawkins is a four-point naturalist.  Such a position, however, [...]

1. Young Earth Creationism (YEC) The Skinny: Belief that the universe was created miraculously by God around ten thousand years ago (or less). Explanation: YECs often insist that their view is the only way to understand and remain faithful to the integrity of the Scriptures. For them, options which integrate evolution or an old earth paradigm compromise [...]

There was quite a bit of reaction to my comic the other day. I suppose that I should just get out of the comic business, but that darn iPad is just too inviting to draw out some fun stuff here and there. Here is the first one I posted two days ago: It is funny, [...]

by Paul Copan In my last post, I mentioned my brief interaction with Richard Dawkins when he came to Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale last month. A week later, I responded to Dawkins at Nova in an open forum. (Here is one of the video clips from the Q&A time that followed—on “If God [...]

One of my all-time favorite movies is “Elf.” Our family probably watches it three or four times every Christmas season. The child-like naivety of “Buddy” the elf is more than enough to make anyone smile. He believes in Christmas. He most certainly believes in Santa. It takes us back to the time when we, who’s [...]