Parchment & Pen Blog

Right now, in my home office, I have material about the Crusades all over the place. It is a paradise to me. I have notes and random thoughts scribbled on various pieces of paper, DVDs, self-made maps, and my precious notebooks which, in theory, contain the most articulate expression of my teachings – before it [...]

Theological opinions are hard to change. Once they have set in, they are usually there to stay. The theological glue that makes ideas stick early in your studies is, for better or worse, rock solid. It must be that same stuff they use on your teeth. I have one fake tooth glued to the root of [...]

Not long ago, I met with an old friend of mine who is a “swinger.” For those of you who don’t know, swinging is when both partners in a committed relationship agree to have a sexually open relationship. This guy was married and came in to talk to me about – you guessed it – marital problems. The [...]

I have a lot of fight stories from when I was a teenager. I went to rough schools that held scrapping as a prerequisite to coolness. Being thought of as tough was about the best compliment you could receive. I was thought of as tough. I coveted this title. I needed it for self-esteem. Fight stories [...]

I just talked to my wife on the phone about forty-five minutes ago. Everything seemed fine. She was a little distracted and wanted to get off the phone for some reason at the end. She did not tell me why. It was an abrupt ending. As many of you know, my marriage to Kristie has not been [...]

I am a Calvinist; others are Arminian. I believe in a premillenial eschatology; others are amillenial. I am a traducianist with regards to the creation of the soul; others are creationists. I believe in reasoned inerrancy; others believe this is an archaic naive doctrine. There are many points of doctrinal division I am going to have [...]

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, [...]

It is no secret that our culture today has been/is undergoing a massive paradigm shift with regards to the way people come to know truth. The atmosphere of the intellectual landscape has changed. For many, confidence, certainty, and dogmatism have been replaced with doubt, skepticism, and agnosticism. All truth claims are held in high suspicion. [...]