Parchment & Pen Blog

Theology

Why I Believe the Canon is Theoretically Open (And Am Fine With It)


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The term “canon” refers to the accepted books of the Scriptures. The Protestant canon contains 66 books, while other Christian traditions will vary, adding a few books often referred to as the Deuterocanonical books (“second canon”) or the “Apocrypha.” A commonly accepted understanding among most Christians of all traditions is that the books that belong in [...]

Doubting Calvinists


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No, I did not say “Doubting Calvinism.” Although I am a master of typos, this blog is about something different. First, every reader needs to know that I am a Calvinist. And while the “doctrines of grace” are not the most important issues in theology, I believe in them very deeply and find that they [...]

Is Bad Doctrine Sin?


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It is hard for me, as a teacher of theology, to consider anything worse than bad doctrine in the church. When people’s views of God become distorted, their lives follow suit. When someone believes  it is always God’s will to heal their sickness, they are going to be left disillusioned and riddled with spiritual pain. When peripheral issues [...]

All Conversions are Not Equal (Part I)


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There was a funny scene in an otherwise forgettable movie (and that’s not so much a criticism as a confession that I actually can’t remember what it was) in which a couple of average white Americans pretending to be renowned Japanese scientists – complete with Japanese name tags –  introduced themselves to someone who asked [...]

The Father, Son, and the Holy Bible


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The problem with many Evangelicals is that we can come dangerously close to worshiping the Bible. As Evangelical theologian James Sawyer once said in jest, we worship the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Bible. Now, by this I do not mean we actually set the Bible up in a shrine in our house, throw it away [...]

Fifteen More Myths about Bible Translation


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1. Perhaps the number one myth about Bible translation is that a word-for-word translation is the best kind. Anyone who is conversant in more than one language recognizes that a word-for-word translation is simply not possible if one is going to communicate in an understandable way in the receptor language. Yet, ironically, even some biblical [...]

Best Selling Bibles of 2012


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Dollar Sales 1. New International Version 2. King James Version 3. New Living Translation 4. New King James Version 5. English Standard Version 6. Holman Christian Standard Bible 7. New American Standard Bible 8. Common English Bible 9. Reina Valera 1960 10. The Message Unit Sales 1. New Living Translation 2. New International Version 3. [...]

Five Reasons I Reject the Doctrine of Transubstantiation


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The doctrine of Transubstantiation is the belief that the elements of the Lord’s table (bread and wine) supernaturally transform into the body and blood of Christ during the Mass. This is uniquely held by Roman Catholics but some form of a “Real Presence” view is held by Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, and some Anglicans. The Calvinist/Reformed [...]

 

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Theological Word of the Day

argumentum-ad-populum
(Latin, “appeal to the people”) This type of argument is an oft-used fallacious argument where one will appeal to the popularity of a position as evidence of its truthfulness. For example, one may say that aliens must exist since so many people believe in them. This does not mean that one should not take into [...] continue reading