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All (59) Scripture Commentary (9) Theology (1) Mike Winger (49)
Scripture Commentary article 2021-04-05

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona — Kindle highlights from 'The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus'. 110 highlights.

Colossians 2:9 Phil 3:21 Christology Apologetics Resurrection
Scripture Commentary article 2018-04-20

Was God’s Wrath Satisfied in Christ or Paid in Hell?

Was God’s wrath satisfied in Christ? If so then how can sinners suffer God’s wrath in hell? This question is one that is often asked by Calvinists to those who do not hold to the teaching of Calvinism.

1 Corinthians 2:14 Colossians 1:21 Colossians 3:3 Soteriology Calvinism Atonement
Scripture Commentary article 2015-09-04

Purposeless evil?

Calvinists often talk about “purposeless evil.” In fact, Dr. James White, a Calvinist apologist from Alpha and Omega Ministries , has stated that if God did not ordain all things including the evil actions of men, then evil has no purpose. Dr.

Acts 2:22-23 Acts 2:23 Acts 4:27–28 Soteriology Calvinism God's Sovereignty
Scripture Commentary article 2015-03-24

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Gregory Koukl — Kindle highlights from 'Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions'. 123 highlights.

Luke 20:24 Luke 20:4 Mark 2:9 Apologetics
Scripture Commentary article 2013-01-11

God’s conditions: From doing to seeing in John 6:30-33

In my last post , I talked about how Jesus showed the unbelieving crowd, who followed Him in John 6, that the “work” which result is meant to bring the crowd to belief , is God’s work. When Jesus shared that it is God’s work, not the work of the crowd, the crowd demanded a work from Jesus.

John 6:27 John 6:30 John 6:31 Soteriology Calvinism John 6
Scripture Commentary article 2012-07-29

Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ

Robert Bowman, J. Ed Komoszewski, and Darrell L. Bock — Kindle highlights from 'Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ'. 100 highlights.

1 Cor. 15:24 1 Kings 8:27 1 Thess. 1:3 Trinity Christology Apologetics
Scripture Commentary tweet 2025-07-06

@Ashwin_Vengayil @Truth_matters20 That’s a very plausible solution assuming they are unbiased in how they are taking the measurements. But obviously for Adam to see the stars they would have to be made to have the light teach him in days. Maybe the w...

@Ashwin_Vengayil @Truth_matters20 That’s a very plausible solution assuming they are unbiased in how they are taking the measurements. But obviously for Adam to see the stars they would have to be mad

debate
Scripture Commentary tweet 2025-06-27

@ModChristChurch @PeterNDecker @sister_slay They claimed that they did and some claimed to have seen them, but several claimed to have seen them only in a vision or supernaturally...and I think 8 of them left the church! If this was such an important...

@ModChristChurch @PeterNDecker @sister_slay They claimed that they did and some claimed to have seen them, but several claimed to have seen them only in a vision or supernaturally...and I think 8 of t

debate
Scripture Commentary tweet 2025-06-18

@Reneechop Paul connects the time sequence order of creation with Eve’s deception. What we know from a careful reading of Gen 2 is that god creates Adam (2:7), then plants a garden and puts Adam in it (2:8). Then God causes the trees to supernatural...

@Reneechop Paul connects the time sequence order of creation with Eve’s deception. What we know from a careful reading of Gen 2 is that god creates Adam (2:7), then plants a garden and puts Adam in i

general
Theology verse entry

Matthew 28:5-10

Sections: debate_points, exegesis, greek_analysis

Matthew 28:5-10 resurrection,women witnesses,commission,angels,Jesus,egalitarian
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Correction for complementarians: the husband is NOT the priest of his home

Mike disagrees with many complementarians, including pastors he has respected, on this point.

headship universal priesthood of believers complementarian correction
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

Bethel as the center of a worldwide movement: apostolic network, Jesus Culture, and BSSM

Mike establishes the scope and infrastructure of the Bethel movement globally

revival Bethel Apostolic Network Jesus Culture
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

BSSM's goal: create cultural seeds — students trained to go back and transform other churches

Mike explains the deliberate strategy behind the school's design

Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry church culture Anaheim Vineyard
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

Bethel's prophetic training exercise: pair off, give a 'word of knowledge' about your partner, then celebrate whether right or wrong — the goal is creating a risk-taking culture, not accurate prophecy

Mike plays a video of a Bethel training session to show how prophetic culture is manufactured

spiritual gifts Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry social engineering
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-07

Adrenaline rush physiologically explains small incremental improvements in vision, pain, and strength — making it irresponsible to publish a healing video based on these responses.

Physiological explanation for the apparent improvements seen in the eye-healing video.

healing fraud psychosomatic response adrenaline
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-07

People forget wrong guesses and remember right ones — the psychological principle behind why cold-reading / divine guessing appears more accurate than it is.

Explanation of the cognitive bias that makes Todd White's guessing seem supernatural.

prophecy confirmation bias cold reading
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-07

Q&A: Could demons be behind Todd White's healings? Mike thinks the visible examples are explainable by natural means; for unexplained cases the options are God acting despite doctrinal error, or demonic — but Christians should not default to 'demonic' for things that are merely unusual.

Viewer question from Jas Stewart about demonic involvement in Todd White's ministry.

discernment Todd White speaking in tongues
Mike Winger idea 2018-04-18

Reason 7: Astrological 'snake oil' — rare celestial events exploited as prophetic signs

Seventh reason people fall for false predictions.

false prophecy Jewish calendar blood moons
Mike Winger idea 2018-03-28

David Hume's argument: miracles are impossible, therefore no testimony can ever establish a miracle

Beginning of the skeptics section; examination of David Hume's philosophical objection

resurrection miracles David Hume
Mike Winger idea 2018-03-28

Core pattern across all skeptics: a priori rejection of the resurrection regardless of evidence — Mike calls this blind faith

Synthesis and conclusion of the skeptics analysis section

resurrection apologetics methodological naturalism
Mike Winger idea 2018-08-29

Aaron Ra's claim: snakes and donkeys cannot talk — Mike's rebuttal

Ra claims the Bible is factually wrong because snakes and donkeys cannot talk, citing Genesis 3 and Numbers 22

Genesis 3 Numbers 22:28 Genesis 3 Numbers 22:28 Serpent in Eden
Mike Winger idea 2018-04-11

Reason 6 addressed: Scientific foreknowledge in the Bible — prophecy is superior to scientific insight as apologetic evidence

The skeptic argues an inspired Bible would contain scientific knowledge humans couldn't have had (e.g., quantum mechanics, germ theory). Mike largely treats this as a restatement of Reason 5.

Genesis 1 Hebrews 11:3 Genesis 1 inspiration tests scientific foreknowledge
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-07

Arguments against naturalism as evidence for the supernatural

Mike lists arguments against naturalism as another category of evidence for God.

apologetics evidence for God naturalism
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Luke 2:52 — Jesus grew in wisdom, demonstrating genuine human limitations on omniscience

Continuing answer on Mark 13:32 and Jesus's limited knowledge

Luke 2:52 kenosis omnipotence omniscience
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Second-century legends (Gospel of Peter) feature absurd embellishments absent from canonical Gospels

Contrast between canonical Gospels and known legendary accounts to illustrate the difference.

empty tomb Gospel historicity Gospel of Peter
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Q&A: Why is Samson in the Hebrews Hall of Faith? Was Samson saved?

Q&A question about Samson's presence in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:32 Samson salvation saving faith
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Using materials from false teachers: distinction between promoting a false teacher's work vs. using theologically sound songs/content from a problematic source.

Question about whether to stay in a church that uses materials from false teachers.

Bill Johnson False teachers Bethel Music
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-27

Boghossian redefines atheism to make it a claim about evidence rather than a position about God's existence

Mike turns to the second major redefinition in chapter 2

Atheism A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Anthony Magnabosco defines faith with two tiers: trust for natural claims, "untestable truth" for supernatural claims

Examining the top Street Epistemology YouTuber's definition of faith

Street Epistemology Anthony Magnabosco definition of faith
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Atheist responses to evidence for God ultimately reduce to anti-supernaturalism

Meta-observation about atheist argumentation

apologetics philosophical arguments for God anti-supernaturalism
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

Problem 4: The slogan results in ignoring good evidence via double standards and special pleading

Fourth of five critiques.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Special pleading
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

The prior probability of the resurrection cannot be assessed by counting how many people have naturally risen — category error

Mike drills into the specific error of applying natural-process probability to a theistic miracle claim.

Resurrection of Jesus Miracles Prior probability
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Critique of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry: prophetic activation exercises using Uno cards reduce prophecy to social engineering and fabrication.

Winger pivots to critique hyper-charismatic practice, using Bethel's published school curriculum as a concrete example.

Matthew 18 Matthew 18 Bethel Church Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

James 3 on the tongue: words start fires — practical impact, not metaphysical creation

Cross-reference used to support the interpretation of Proverbs 18:21

Proverbs 18:21 James 3 Proverbs 18:21 word of faith tongue and speech
Mike Winger idea 2018-09-26

Worship music evaluation — two questions: is the song sound? Do I want to partner with the movement?

A viewer asks whether worship music should contain Scripture and doctrine, and whether Chris Tomlin and Jesus Culture are fine.

discernment worship music Bethel
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-15

Though gifts cannot be taught, believers can grow in their expression and use of already-given gifts

Nuanced development of the spiritual gifts question.

1 Corinthians 14 2 Timothy 1:6 1 Corinthians 14 Elijah Spiritual gifts
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-29

False signs and wonders: miracles do not authenticate a religion; Satan has real but limited supernatural power

Question from 'spazzy jazzy' about a Japanese friend who believes a false religion because of a miraculous healing her mother received.

Exodus 7 Mark 13:22 discernment evangelism Exodus 7
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

Framing the question: Does one fraudulent religious figure (Brian Simmons) justify skepticism about all religious authors, including the Gospel writers?

Question from Robert asks whether Brian Simmons being a "nut" should make us skeptical of Paul and the Gospel authors the same way.

Brian Simmons Passion Translation Anti-supernatural bias
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

Psychological profile of apostles: they were not prone to hallucinations or delusion; even Anthony Flew called Paul a first-rate philosopher.

Fourth distinction: the mental/psychological credibility of the witnesses.

Acts 12 Paul the Apostle Hallucination theory Peter the Apostle
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-26

Getting close to God and overcoming demonic oppression — prerequisites and warnings

Professor of Everything asks for advice on getting close to God and overcoming demons and oppression.

repentance pride spiritual warfare
Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

The NT reliably narrates events where Jesus was alone — he could have told disciples, and Holy Spirit aided gospel authors

Q19 from Stephen Richeson: How do we know the NT is reliable for events where Jesus was alone, such as the temptation in the wilderness or Gethsemane?

John 14:26 eyewitness testimony Holy Spirit inspiration temptation of Jesus
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-30

Putting out a fleece (asking God for a sign) is not inherently wrong but carries dangers of presumption and heart projection.

Question 5 from AZF Stories about whether Christians should ask for signs like Gideon's fleece.

Judges 6 Gideon signs Judges 6
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-30

Psalm 82 gods (elohim) most likely refers to earthly rulers ironically addressed as divine beings, not literal supernatural deities.

Question 10 from RaHR17 about who the gods in Psalm 82 are; engages Michael Heiser's divine council worldview.

1 Samuel 28 John 10 Psalm 82 Michael Heiser 1 Samuel 28 John 10
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-30

The Holy Spirit speaks through fruit, track record, and confirmation from other believers; not every decision requires supernatural direction.

Question 14 from Gel Stapper (Netherlands) about how the Holy Spirit speaks personally, after leaving a hyper-charismatic church.

Ezekiel 13 Holy Spirit discernment wisdom
Mike Winger idea 2020-01-08

The JW blood transfusion example actually comes from Watchtower proclamations, not biblical interpretation. John notes the Bible's manuscript tradition makes it more reliable than modern media like video. Even supernatural direct knowledge could still be questioned by skeptics.

Additional response to Q1 — JW example and textual reliability

textual criticism textual criticism Watchtower
Mike Winger idea 2020-03-11

Matthew 4:8 (Satan shows Jesus all kingdoms from a high mountain) — this must be supernatural, not visual. The highest local mountains are ~2,700 ft. Even flat-earthers can't see China from Israel. Satan showed Jesus these things supernaturally. The theological point: Jesus succeeds where Israel failed — resisting idolatry at the "high places" where Israel repeatedly fell.

Satan's temptation on a high mountain — theological, not geographical

Matthew 4:8 temptation of Jesus temptation of Jesus flat earth
Mike Winger idea 2020-03-16

Psalm 91 is NOT a guarantee of divine protection from all disease. Satan himself quoted Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus to jump off the temple (Luke 4:9-12). Jesus responded: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." God CAN protect, but demanding supernatural protection while doing reckless things is testing God, not trusting him.

Psalm 91 and COVID — don't test God

Psalm 91 Luke 4:9-12 temptation of Jesus temptation of Jesus Psalm 91
Mike Winger idea 2020-04-15

Jesus's omniscience during incarnation: Mike disagrees that Jesus had NO supernatural knowledge while on earth. He knew Nathanael under the fig tree (John 1:48) and "what was in the heart of man" (John 2:25). Philippians 2:5-9: Jesus "emptied himself" — voluntarily limited ACCESS to omniscience while retaining it. Like knowing something but not being able to recall it at will.

Jesus's knowledge during incarnation — kenosis

Philippians 2:5-9 John 1:48 kenosis Philippians 2:5-9 Jesus supernatural knowledge
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-12

Four things to know before historical investigation of Jesus: (1) Historical investigation is limited — historians intentionally bracket inspiration of Scripture. (2) Failure to confirm ≠ denial it happened. (3) History is probabilistic — the best verdict is "extremely likely," never 100%%. (4) Scholars are people with biases — Bart Ehrman rejects miracles by methodology, not evidence ("as a historian you're not allowed to posit miracles").

Framework for historical investigation of Jesus

Bart Ehrman Mike Licona Bart Ehrman
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-31

The colt arrangement was likely a pre-arranged passphrase, not supernatural knowledge — Jesus had extensive prior contact in Bethany and could have sent someone ahead to arrange it.

Analysis of the "password" phrase in Mark 11:2-6

Mark 11:2-6 Mark 11:2-6 donkey symbolism
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