Parchment & Pen Blog

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 [...]

“Grant to us that we sit on you right hand and left hand in glory.” Such were the presumptuous words of James and John to Jesus (Mark 10:35). I have often wondered who will have such places of prestige in heaven. Who will shine like stars? Who will have the brightest halos? Who will have [...]

1.  Focus only on the issues that make or break Christianity. Realize this: People can and do easily get off course, discussing, debating, and getting depressed over issues that are not linchpin issues to Christianity. From the details of creation/evolution to the inerrancy of Scripture, some people’s faith can be quite disturbed—quite unnecessarily disturbed. For example, [...]

I have asked a few respected Evangelical scholars and authors to contribute on the issue of Christians and doubt. I am grateful to each one of these men for not only contributing here, but being the type of scholar who deals with such issues with openness. I am posting them one at a time over [...]

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. [...]

Dear friends, This is written to those of you who I know and are without Christ. By that I mean you have never fallen on your face before Christ and asked for forgiveness. Many of you are friends—close friends—whom I have talked to about Christ, but you are unconvinced. I would love to be able to push a [...]

There is no special nobility for believing in God. Most people at their best, using their common sense, believe in God. In fact, conservatively speaking, ninety-percent of all societies and peoples have all believed in a God of some sort. In our Christian dominated society, I rarely come across a true atheist. It is quite a novelty. [...]

This morning, at 5:12am, after a ride on my stationary bike, I was taking a walk through my neighborhood. As often as I do this, I look up to the heavens and speak to God. This morning started out as any regular ol’ morning. There was no reason to think I was going to meet [...]

As many of you know, Billy Graham and Charles Templeton were evangelists who rose to fame in the 40s (Graham, of course, is still an evangelist). Early in their careers they were friends – close friends. Many have said Templeton was the one that everyone thought was going to overturn the world with the Gospel. However, [...]

One of the most perplexing questions I struggle with concerning Satan is this: Wait . . . first let me get something out on the table. I believe in Satan. No, not as an impersonal force of evil. No, not as the sin which exists within all of us. And certainly not as God’s equal on [...]

“Someday, maybe.” Such was the perpetual attitude of a doctor that I was doing my best to win to Christ. I was a young, enthusiastic Christian and thought I had all the answers. He was a seeker seeking answers. What a great combo when we were introduced! Our first evening together was spent discussing many [...]

Many things are easy to believe. It’s easy for me to believe that I just finished counseling a couple who are getting married next week. Why? Because I just experienced it. It’s easy for me to believe that I am writing on my computer right now. Though I don’t have the first clue as to [...]