Search — Theology Explorer

hermeneutics Trinity philosophical presuppositions

Analogy to Trinity denial: some reject the Trinity not from scripture but from a philosophical conviction that 'three in one' is impossible, then read the Bible through that lens.

Bypassing the Bible — analogy

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis Levites priestly roles

The Levite analogy: Levites had exclusive priestly roles based on tribal lineage (nature), not ability — yet non-Levites were not less human. Groothuis addresses but does not defeat this.

Mistake #4: Levite analogy against Groothuis

Levites nature-based roles temporary vs. permanent

If countless generations under Levitical role restrictions for hundreds of years is acceptable, why would one lifetime of gender-based role differences be dehumanizing?

Mistake #4: Levite analogy continued

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis Levites prophets

Groothuis's rebuttal that prophets had more authority than Levites is a red herring — Levites were the regular, widespread spiritual authorities throughout Israel.

Mistake #4: Levite analogy — responding to Groothuis's counter

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis nature-based roles Davidic kingship

Additional analogy: only a son of David could be king of Israel — this eliminates most people from the highest authority by nature, yet does not make them less human.

Mistake #4: Davidic kingship analogy

nature-based roles Israel as chosen nation election

Israel as God's chosen nation is another example: other nations could not qualify no matter how faithful, yet this does not make them less human.

Mistake #4: Chosen nation analogy

government analogy authority structures logical consistency

Mike's rebuttal: the argument that complementarianism causally relates to domestic violence does not pass the 'smell test' when applied consistently to other authority structures.

Mistake #5: Rebuttal via analogy

authority structures Ed Citronelli church abuse

Extending the analogy: church authority has been abused, boss-employee relationships have been abusive — should we abolish all authority structures?

Mistake #5: Rebuttal via analogy continued

Mike Winger idea 2022-03-14

Analogy: the curse made farming harder (thorns/thistles) but farming isn't bad; similarly, the curse made submission harder (conflict) but submission/authority isn't bad.

Analogy for understanding the curse's relationship to pre-existing good things

Gen 3:16-19 thorns and thistles analogy curse makes good things harder

Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

Fishing analogy: egalitarians reel in 'false positives' for women in leadership

Mike uses an analogy to describe the egalitarian evidence pattern.

false positives in exegesis egalitarian evidence critique

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Analogy: scholarly assumption that Jesus didn't speak Greek

Mike draws a parallel to another uncritically absorbed scholarly assumption.

Jesus speaking Greek Peter Williams scholarly assumptions

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Priesthood is necessary but not sufficient for eldership

Mike proposes replacing 'irrelevant' with 'insufficient for' in Grenz's claim.

eldership qualifications necessary but not sufficient

Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 — speaking gifts (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, tongues, interpretation) seem available to women by analogy with prophecy

Mike examines another gifts list and finds it would be arbitrary to say women can prophesy but not have other speaking gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 word of wisdom word of knowledge

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Westfall's choir robe analogy: all differences subsumed under identity in Christ

Mike examines another bridge-building analogy from Westfall.

Cynthia Long Westfall choir robe analogy clothed in Christ

Mike Winger idea 2022-07-18

Ephesians 5:23 — the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church

Mike presents the second key headship verse with the Christ-church parallel.

Ephesians 5:23 headship Ephesians 5:23 Christ and church analogy

headship submission definition head-body analogy

What submission DOES mean according to Mike Winger

Mike provides his positive definition of submission.

Galatians 3:28 1 Peter 3:7 Galatians 3:28 1 Peter 3:7 equal inheritance in Christ

Wife as precious vessel and co-heir -- equal inheritance in Christ

Mike explains the vessel analogy and spiritual equality.

Ephesians 5:21-24 headship Christ and church analogy Ephesians 5:21-24

Ephesians 5:21-24 -- instructions to wives including headship analogy

Mike teaches through the major passage on marriage.

Ephesians 5:23 Ephesians 5:28 Ephesians 5:23 head-body analogy Ephesians 5:28

Head-body analogy throughout Ephesians 5 reinforces husband's leadership role

Mike traces the head-body metaphor through the passage.

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.

Craig Keener slavery objection logic same principles test

The slavery objection's logic: same reasons for submission = same rules apply

Mike explains the logical structure of the slavery objection.

Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34 1 Corinthians 11:3 creation order Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34

Biblical justifications for wifely submission vs slave obedience are completely different

Mike lists the actual biblical reasons for each and compares them.

Mike Winger idea 2022-03-28

The physical strength difference between men and women may explain the absence of female military leaders — an analogy to firefighter standards.

Practical consideration for military leadership

military leadership physical strength firefighter standards

1 Corinthians 11:5-6 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 shaving analogy argument from shame

Paul's first argument: shaving analogy (verses 5-6)

Mike identifies five distinct arguments Paul makes to support head coverings.

1 Corinthians 11:5-6 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 analogy argument cultural distance

Hair as a natural covering extends to cloth covering: Paul's analogical reasoning

Mike explains how Paul connects natural hair covering to cloth covering.

1 Corinthians 11:15 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 11:15 peribolaion

Payne's pivotal claim: verse 15 shows hair done up IS the covering (not analogy)

Mike explains Payne's hinge interpretation of verse 15.

Philip Payne peribolaion Alan Padgett

Alan Padgett and Philip Payne: even with equivalence, hair replaces cloth covering

Mike examines the revised arguments of hair-up proponents.

1 Corinthians 11:5-6 1 Corinthians 11:15 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 analogy argument 1 Corinthians 11:15

Why verse 15 is an analogy: four reasons supporting the traditional cloth covering view

Mike builds his case that Paul is making an analogy, not an identification.

peribolaion Preston Massie testicle theory refuted

How the testicle view does NOT fit 1 Corinthians 11: five additional problems

Mike presents his own challenges to the view from the passage itself.

German scholarship Gospel origins anti-Semitism in scholarship

Analogy to overturned German scholarship on the Gospels and Greek myths

Mike argues that entire schools of scholarly thought can be wrong and get overturned.

image of God sons of God inviolable status

Pillar 3: Women's status as image bearers and sons of God is inviolable

Mike introduces the critical third pillar that prevents abuse.

soft complementarianism patriarchalism application spectrum

The big question: how far do we draw the application beyond marriage and eldership?

Mike frames the central application question of the video.

Pharisees Sabbath analogy fence around the Torah

Pharisee fence analogy: how far do we extend rules about gender roles?

Mike uses the Pharisees' approach to Sabbath rules as an analogy.

Deborah women voting Pharisee analogy

Women voting: no biblical case for restricting it

Mike addresses whether women should be allowed to vote.

transgender athletes Serena Williams sexual dimorphism

Sports analogy: men and women are fundamentally different and not interchangeable

Mike uses sports examples to illustrate fundamental male-female differences.

John Piper John Piper Deborah submission to all men

Women do NOT need to submit to all men — only their husbands

Mike rejects the idea of general female submission to all males.

Mike Winger idea 2023-11-22

View 3: Women saved spiritually by literally having children

Mike evaluates and rejects the view that bearing children contributes to women's spiritual salvation.

1 Corinthians 7 1 Timothy 2:15 Romans 3:28 1 Corinthians 7 justification by faith 1 Timothy 2:15

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

Logical inconsistency: Watchtower permits organ transplants but forbids blood transfusions, despite using the same 'eating equals IV injection' logic to condemn both.

Mike exposes the self-refuting nature of the Watchtower's 'IV equals eating' argument.

Watchtower doctrinal hypocrisy organ transplant doctrine

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Restaurant rescue shows as an illustration of blind spots to one's own problems

Illustrative analogy within Tip 3 about honest self-assessment.

self-deception self-examination blind spots

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

James 2:15-16 — the man who tells the needy 'go, be warm and filled' without helping; a parallel to dead faith

Analyzing the illustration James gives in vv.15-16

James 2:15-16 dead faith ophelos James 2:15-16

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

James 2:26 — 'faith apart from works is dead' — the body/spirit analogy shows two kinds of faith, not faith vs. works for salvation

Verse-by-verse analysis of James 2:26

James 2:26 dead faith living faith James 2:26

1 Corinthians 3:4-15 Paul Apollos works

Reading of 1 Corinthians 3:4-15

Scripture reading of the first key passage

1 Corinthians 3:9-10 hermeneutics Paul ministry

Transition from planting/watering analogy to building analogy in 1 Corinthians 3:9-10

Structural analysis of the passage's two analogies

1 Corinthians 3:15 hermeneutics salvation purgatory

'Saved as through fire' is an idiom/analogy, not a description of a purifying fire experience

Addressing the specific phrase Catholics emphasize in v. 15

eisegesis Catholic Answers idolatry

Catholic apologetic response: the amulets were 'lucky charms' not idolatrous — Jimmy Akin's baseball sock analogy

Catholic attempt to neutralize the mortal sin problem in 2 Maccabees

Mike Winger idea 2018-09-05

The 'never be rebuilt' clause: Phoenician Tyre was permanently destroyed. What replaced it was a Greek city under Alexander — a new foundation, new population, new identity — not a restoration.

This is the most debated element of the Tyre prophecy; Winger addresses it with historical citations.

Ezekiel 26 apologetics Bible prophecy Ezekiel 26

Romans 1 sin general revelation Romans 1

Winger argues Romans 1 teaches that people have been given sufficient information but may not currently believe it, because sin causes suppression and exchange of truth

Winger's counter-reading of Romans 1

Romans 8 Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 8 Ephesians 2:8-9 Calvinism

Soteriology enters: Sye argues if a person contributes anything to their salvation (including the choice of faith), salvation becomes a work; leads into the faith-as-a-gift debate

Sye introduces Calvinist soteriology as the foundation for the apologetic difference

Romans 1 general revelation Romans 1 suppression of truth

The beachball analogy: you cannot suppress what you don't already hold; Sye uses this to prove people must have truth to suppress it

Sye's illustration for the suppression of truth in Romans 1