Parchment & Pen Blog

There used to be a time when your loyalty to the Protestant cause was judged by how much you hated Catholics. But today, with all the ecumenical dialogue, the Manhattan Declarations, the ECT council, and the postmodern virtue of tolerance, people are much more willing to let bygones be bygones. “Maybe we overreacted” is the [...]

It may surprise you to know that I don’t have much of a problem with the Apocrypha. I enjoy reading them. As well, as a Protestant, accepting or rejecting them does not really affect my standing in my tradition (nor should it). Granted, I don’t know of any magisterial Protestant churches which have ever accepted [...]

It is impossible to be certain about why the Reformation happened when it did. God’s providence is filled with mysterious movements. One cannot just “map” God. However, the Great Reformation of the 16th century was ripe for bringing about extraordinary reform and rediscovery of the fullness of the Gospel. Here are seven historical events which [...]

I want you to do something strange. Something we usually don’t do in 21st century American Christianity. Are you ready for it? Here it goes, try to remember all the details of the last sermon you heard! I know, Sunday is over, it’s time for the real world. But give yourself a few moments to [...]

Here is what I taught last Tuesday at the Credo House. In order to be a good Protestant, you must be a good anti-Catholic. I am not Catholic. I am Protestant. There are many doctrines of the Roman Catholic church that I am against, but there are many things that I appreciate about them. Both [...]

To have an understanding of Martin Luther it’s important to have a working knowledge of his multi-faceted world. Luther’s World Gutenberg Printing Press It’s hard for us to imagine life without mass produced books.  Throughout most of humankind, however, every single book was hand copied.  I’ll say it again just in case it didn’t stick: [...]

Wow, we’ve now arrived to the top three in our Top Ten Theologians series.  Whether you consider yourself a 5-point Calvinist, 4-point Calvinist, Arminian or something else; John Calvin should be a hero in your life.  In order to appreciate Calvin we need to have a working knowledge of his world. Calvin’s World A Post-Reformation [...]

There used to be a time when your loyalty to the Protestant cause was judged by how much you hated Catholics. But today, with all the ecumenical dialogue, the Manhattan Declaration, the ECT council, and the postmodern virtue of tolerance, people are much more willing to ignore the water under the bridge. “Maybe we overreacted” [...]