Search — Theology Explorer

Philip Payne Man and Woman, One in Christ Gen 2:24

Payne's second argument: the man (not the woman) leaves father and mother, which implies equality rather than male authority.

Egalitarian argument from Genesis 2:24

Gen 2:24 marriage priority family unit

The real point of 'leaving father and mother' is that the marriage relationship takes priority over the parental relationship.

Mike's interpretation of Genesis 2:24

Philip Payne Gen 2:24 parental authority

Payne's third argument: father and mother sharing authority over the son before he leaves shows egalitarian parental authority.

Egalitarian argument about shared parental authority

husband-wife scope Gen 2-3 universal female submission rejected

Critical distinction: Genesis 2-3 is about HUSBANDS and WIVES, not men and women in general -- 'know your place' language wrongly presupposes universal female submission to all men.

Limiting the scope of the Genesis teaching

Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

1 Timothy 5:1-2: 'older women' does not mean women elders; equivocation fallacy

Mike addresses another passage sometimes cited for women elders.

1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 5:1-2 presbuteros equivocation fallacy 1 Timothy 3

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Keener's third argument: Greek church fathers and modern scholars agree Junia was an apostle

Mike considers this the weightiest of Keener's three arguments.

Romans 16:7 John Chrysostom Craig Keener Romans 16:7 John Chrysostom

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Bauckham reevaluated examples but brought no new counter-evidence

Mike notes a limitation in Bauckham's rebuttal.

church fathers Richard Bauckham scholarly methodology

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Burer responds to Bauckham's specific example critiques and addresses Chrysostom

Mike evaluates Burer's defense against Bauckham's objections.

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom Michael Burer Richard Bauckham

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Sonship benefit #4: Internal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit

Mike identifies the fourth and final element of Paul's sonship teaching.

Galatians 4:6-7 circumcision Galatians 4:6-7 Holy Spirit

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

The original context: judaizers challenging sonship status of Gentiles, slaves, and women

Mike grounds the passage in its original historical situation.

judaizers sonship status inheritance rights

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

The egalitarian exaltation of eldership: making it an all-or-nothing test of Christ-status

Mike identifies what he sees as a major problem in the egalitarian framework.

eldership reductio ad absurdum Christ-status

Mike Winger idea 2022-07-18

Church history argument introduced: Chrysostom supposedly shows kephale doesn't mean authority

Mike introduces the second egalitarian argument — Kathleen Kroeger's use of Chrysostom.

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom church history argument Kathleen Kroeger

Mike Winger idea 2022-07-18

Hippocrates: the brain, not the heart, is the cause of intelligence

Mike examines what Hippocrates, the father of medicine, actually believed about the head.

medical argument rebuttal Hippocrates Clinton Arnold

Colossians 3:19 Colossians 3:19 pikraino (embitter) authority and abuse

'Do not be harsh' (do not embitter) implies husband's authority

Mike argues the warning against harshness actually confirms authority.

Ephesians 5:31-32 Genesis 2:24 creation order Ephesians 5:31-32 Genesis 2:24

Marriage grounded in creation (Genesis) and salvation (Christ and church), not culture

Mike argues the passage's own grounding prevents culturally-bound interpretations.

Genesis 1-2 Ephesians 5:31-32 Romans 13:1 Genesis 1-2 Ephesians 5:31-32 Romans 13:1

Rebuttal: marriage is not merely a human institution -- Genesis, Jesus, and Paul all ground it in God

Mike dismantles the 'human construct' argument with multiple scriptures.

Ephesians 5:23-25 Christ and church analogy Jesus' authority Ephesians 5:23-25

The Christ-church analogy strengthens rather than undermines submission

Mike argues the Christ parallel destroys the mutual submission reading.

1 Corinthians 15:28 Trinity 1 Corinthians 15:28 eternal subordination

God is the head of Christ: 1 Corinthians 15:28 and the Son's submission to the Father

Mike addresses how God being the head of Christ supports the headship chain.

Craig Keener doxa inconsistent interpretation

Egalitarian interpretations of 'glory' all use two different meanings for the same word

Mike critiques egalitarian inconsistency with the term doxa.

honor chain headship chain Gospel of John

Glory as honor connects the entire passage: headship chain produces honor chain

Mike shows how the honor interpretation unifies the passage.

Tom Schreiner BDAG exousia

Exousia CAN be used symbolically: BDAG, Greek fathers, and Diodorus of Sicily support this

Mike counters Keener's claim that symbolic exousia is 'unnatural Greek.'

1 Corinthians 11:10 1 Corinthians 11:10 exousia kalumma

Early textual variant substitutes 'covering' (kalumma) for 'authority' (exousia) in verse 10

Mike provides additional evidence from manuscript tradition.

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11:3 women in ministry complementarianism eldership

Final conclusions: male headship is biblical, complementarian, and to be celebrated

Mike delivers his overall conclusions for the passage.

Mike Winger idea 2022-12-04

The utter silence view has a plain reading advantage but relies on verses out of context

Mike acknowledges the surface-level appeal of this view while noting its limitations.

Luke 14:26 plain reading verses out of context Luke 14:26

Mike Winger idea 2022-12-04

Personal examples of questions being used to control meetings

Mike provides real-world illustrations of how questions can be used to control group discussions.

Mormonism questions as manipulation group dynamics

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Definition of patriarchalism as the third position

Mike defines Christian patriarchalism and its spectrum.

patriarchalism male authority spectrum of views

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Men and women are not interchangeable but are equal in dignity

Mike explains the practical meaning of equal dignity with different roles.

Genesis 1:26 Genesis 1:28 Genesis 1:26 Genesis 1:28 non-interchangeability

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Three areas where the Bible speaks of women having authority: (1) over children

Mike begins listing specific biblical domains of women's authority.

Ephesians 6:1-2 parental authority Ephesians 6:1-2 women's authority over children

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo hapax legomenon

Introduction to the authenteo debate: the most contested word in the passage

Mike begins the massive section on authenteo, the word translated 'have authority' or 'exercise authority' in 1 Tim 2:12.

Chrysostom Irenaeus authenteo

Church fathers' understanding of authenteo as 'authority'

Mike surveys how early church fathers understood and used the word authenteo.

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo church fathers

Additional church fathers and their testimony on 1 Tim 2:12

Mike provides further patristic evidence for how authenteo was understood in the early church.

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo have authority translation

Application of authenteo conclusion: 'have authority' is the correct translation

Mike summarizes the full case for translating authenteo as 'have authority.'

1 Timothy 2:15 church fathers 1 Timothy 2:15 Messianic interpretation

The Messianic view is an early patristic interpretation, not a modern invention

Mike notes that several church fathers held this view.

1 Timothy 2:15 Genesis 3:15 Tom Schreiner 1 Timothy 2:15 Genesis 3:15

Schreiner's objection 1: the Messianic view requires seeing 'she' as Mary

Mike addresses Tom Schreiner's first objection to the Messianic interpretation.

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

Bill Johnson's background: pastor in Weaverville, then moved to Bethel Redding in 1996 with revival as his non-negotiable condition

Historical background on how the Bethel movement began

church history Bill Johnson Bethel Church

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

John 5:19 refutes Johnson's teaching that God responds to human declarations — Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing, not the reverse

Mike cites a specific text to challenge one of Johnson's specific claims about how God responds to human proclamation

John 5:19 prayer Bill Johnson healing theology

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Tip 2: Evaluate your responsibilities — write them down as a concrete exercise

Second of seven tips. Mike turns the video interactive by asking viewers to write down their main life responsibilities.

self-examination responsibility practical discipleship

Mormon theology Heavenly Father God was once a man

Mormon definition of God: 'Heavenly Father,' a being who was once a man, died, was resurrected, and progressively became God — and has a wife.

The Mormon conception of God is radically different from the Christian one, beginning with the claim that God was once a human being.

hermeneutics proof-texting Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith misuses a Jesus quote to argue that the Father 'laid down his body' just as Jesus did — Mike identifies this as 'bad Bible study.'

Mike critiques Smith's exegetical method in the King Follett Sermon, where Smith splices two separate Jesus quotes to derive the doctrine of the Father's mortality.

Trinity Christology incarnation

Christian definition of Jesus: the eternal God made flesh, second person of the Trinity, one with the Father in being.

Second vocabulary comparison: the word 'Jesus.' Mike establishes the orthodox Christian Christology before presenting the Mormon alternative.

Mormon Christology pre-existence spirit children

Mormon definition of Jesus: born in the pre-existence as a spirit child of Heavenly Father and his wife, one of many spirit children — and Satan's brother.

The Mormon Jesus was not eternally pre-existent as God but was the first spirit-born child of the physical Heavenly Father and Mother.

Trinity Shield of the Trinity three persons one being

Christian definition of the Trinity: three persons in one being — not three gods in one God. Mike introduces the Shield of the Trinity diagram.

Third vocabulary comparison: the word 'Trinity.' Mike introduces the classic visual diagram used to explain Trinitarian orthodoxy.

Christian-Mormon dialogue monotheism Mormon polytheism

Christian monotheism: 'there is only one God' — meant literally. Mormon missionaries and teachers claim to affirm this, but use a different definition.

Fourth vocabulary comparison: the phrase 'only one God.' Mike recounts personal conversations with Mormon missionaries and seminary teachers in Utah.

polytheism McConkie Mormon worship practices

Recent LDS leader McConkie argued Mormons should not worship Jesus, only the Father — revealing internal tension over polytheistic implications.

Mike notes an internal LDS controversy where a leader tried to resolve the polytheism problem by restricting worship to the Father alone.

Mormon afterlife telestial kingdom LDS soteriology

Mormon telestial kingdom: lowest level, for the wicked who may burn off sin in hell before arriving; no access to God the Father or Jesus, only the Holy Spirit visits.

Details of the lowest tier of the Mormon afterlife.