Parchment & Pen Blog

The following is a practical guide to biblical interpretation following a three step process that I have used for years. The Bible is two-thousand years old and often seems very archaic. This makes it hard to know how it applies to us. It can be very frustrating as all Christians are encouraged to read their [...]

(Lisa Robinson) I have found one of the biggest differences between good Bible reading and Bible reading that is disjointed or otherwise skews what is being communicated, is how we understand the relationship between what is transpiring through the Bible’s narrative vs what we read as directed towards us.   It is understanding what is descriptive [...]

Just after my wife and I were married, she worked as a teller at a bank. One of her co-workers was a devout Muslim who was schooled in Muslim apologetics against Christianity. Every day she would come home with a list of objections that he had to the Bible. Three out of four times the [...]

I came across the following chart on page 136 in the new book A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis by Craig L. Blomberg.  Heeding caution from this chart will ruin many dramatic points in sermons across the country but will end up being more accurate, which will in turn be more honoring to the Lord. [...]

It is easy to think that good exegesis automatically makes good theology. I remember the “wars” that some of the theological profs had with the exegesis profs at seminary. One theology prof used to come into the library where I worked and we would have coffee together. He would complain that certain exegetical profs were not [...]

We recently witnessed the 493th anniversary of the event that sparked the Protestant Reformation.  Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg door in hopes that the Church would re-examine its practices in light of its Biblical mandate.  Luther was so convinced based on investigation into what the Bible said, that he challenged this [...]

For those who don’t know what proof-texting is – it is finding passages of scripture that supports whatever position you want to uphold.    Typically what happens is that an assertion is made, which generates disagreement.   The opposer will list a passage of scripture or a string of passages as proof that that assertion is [...]

I worked on these all night last night. Feel free to use. I could not find any visual aid in distinguishing among the prevalent types of literature represented in each book, so I made one. As well, I could not find any chart that breaks down the books according to percentage. I had to put [...]

Accommodation theories are very popular today when it comes to the Scripture. No matter what the issue, if it seems to folkish, bizarre, or mythological, we can explain it by saying that God was simply “accommodating” to a contemporary way of thinking, not actually affirming the detailed reality of this stuff. Whether it be the [...]

Those of us who believe the Bible is the inspired authoritative word of God believe that it is relevant for our lives today. In fact, we believe that the Scripture guides our thoughts and paths, giving us instruction on a daily basis. But what do we mean by that? Does the Bible speak to everything? [...]

Some people, who have slaved for years learning Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, may find themselves saying, “You can’t really understand the Bible unless you’ve studied it in the original languages.” The nose starts to point down, and the person uttering these words begins staring out over his or her reading glasses with an all-knowing look [...]