Parchment & Pen Blog

Did Jesus have a middle name? This is one of the five most frequently asked questions online regarding Jesus. Although we get into some deep theological issues on Parchment & Pen, it’s good to step back once-in-a-while and listen to the questions being asked by our society. Here’s a quick answer to this frequently asked [...]

Here are a few ways that you increase your chances of diminishing your influence in the marketplace of ideas. 1. Be imbalanced: Militantly focus on a particular non-essential issue. Whether it be in defense of a particular Bible translation or a particular view of the end times, make it your purpose to push for the [...]

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 [...]

Join C. Michael Patton and Tim Kimberley as they discuss why God is not as emperically evident as we sometimes desire.

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What is the witness of the Spirit spoken of by Paul in Romans 8? This is something that I have not come to a definite conclusion on both exegetically or personally. Bare naked thoughts bring to mind some sort of subjective feeling that the Holy Spirit gives to all believers. Maybe a sort-of voice inside you [...]

How can Protestants justify their belief in sola fide (salvation by faith alone) when it does not seem to be existent prior to the sixteenth century? How do Catholics explain their belief in the Assumption of Mary when it was not dogmatized until the twentieth century? How do Orthodox justify their under-developed and often unbiblical beliefs concerning the atonement?  During the recording of Theology [...]

Well, this is quite a question. Are you orthodox or a heretic? Let me offer you my thoughts and then open this up for some discussion. The term orthodox can be defined in a few ways: 1. Historic Christian Orthodoxy: This refers to the sine qua non (the “without which not”) of Christian belief. This belief is [...]

What does it mean to use the Lord’s name in vain? This is a question that might seem self-evident to most people in western society. Whether you are religious or not, you would not even hesitate with your answer, “It means to say G-D.” I am sure that there are more people that can answer this [...]