Search — Theology Explorer

Paul the Apostle Resurrection of Jesus Eyewitness testimony

Twitter response 7: Signed first-century testimony from Pilate — Paul is a better answer

Seventh respondent; Mike argues Paul's conversion is more powerful than any Pilate testimony could be.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Evidence dismissal

Summary: the Twitter examples reveal the slogan creates unreasonable expectations to dodge evidence

Mike wraps up the Twitter survey analysis.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Existence of God Epistemology

Problem 3: The slogan results in rejecting any claim you want — confirmation bias

Third of five critiques of the slogan.

Moral argument for God Existence of God Prophecy

Evidence for God's existence: design, morality, prophecy; God as necessary being

Mike briefly asserts a positive case that God's existence is not extraordinary but expected.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Special pleading

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

Fourth of five critiques.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Carl Sagan Miracles

The slogan formalized as a syllogism — and why it fails at premise 4

Mike reconstructs the argument in syllogistic form, attributed to critics of Sagan's argument ("argumentum Sagani").

Epistemology Prior probability Human probability estimation

Problem 5: The slogan misapplies prior probability — humans are bad at estimating probabilities

Fifth and final critique, focused on the prior probability dimension.

Resurrection of Jesus Miracles Prior probability

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 Richard Swinburne Prior probability

Richard Swinburne has done serious academic work on the prior probability of the resurrection

Mike cites a scholar who has engaged the probability question rigorously.

Resurrection of Jesus Epistemology Prior probability

Evidence can overcome even extremely low prior probabilities — the question is "did it happen?" not "what are the odds?"

Mike's positive epistemological alternative to the slogan's approach.

David Hume Christopher Hitchens Miracles

David Hume's confirmation bias: he used the prior improbability of miracles to refuse even examining the evidence

Mike connects Hume's philosophical approach to the confirmation bias critique (Problem 3).

David Hume Christopher Hitchens Miracles

Hume's anti-evidential stance is the philosophical ancestor of New Atheist ridicule tactics

Mike traces the intellectual lineage from Hume to modern internet skepticism.

Epistemology Prior probability Confirmation bias

Practical illustration: reliable coworker Jeff missing work — evidence overcomes prior probability

Mike uses an everyday scenario to illustrate how evidence should override prior probability.

James the brother of Jesus Paul the Apostle Resurrection of Jesus James the brother of Jesus

The cumulative case for the resurrection: what evidence we actually have

Mike assembles the positive evidence for the resurrection after dismantling the slogan's objections.

Existence of God Prior probability New Testament reliability

Adding corroborating evidence: reasons to believe God exists and Scripture is reliable further overcome any prior improbability

Mike adds to the cumulative case by connecting evidence for God and Scripture to the prior probability question.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Epistemology

Mike's positive replacement for the slogan: evidence makes a claim believable when data is better explained by the hypothesis being true

Mike offers a rigorous epistemological alternative to the slogan.

Romans 1 Romans 1 Hardened heart Apologetics and spiritual condition

Intellectual clarity requires spiritual health — Romans 1 on the connection between spiritual state and clear thinking

Mike adds a theological qualifier to the apologetics discussion.

Apologetics Evangelism Limits of apologetics

Apologetics is useful and important but should not be overstated — it works differently for different people

Mike's pastoral qualification on the limits of apologetics.

Capturing Christianity Tim McGrew Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Recommendation: Tim McGrew discussion on Capturing Christianity channel for deeper philosophical analysis of the slogan

Mike directs viewers to further study.

Q&A begins; note on busyness and the importance of deliberate margin in life

Transition to live Q&A.

Christian living

Youth ministry Discipleship Pastoral ministry

Q&A: Tips for young first-time pastor doing outreach to youth/college-age in a congregation of older saints

Pastoral question from a viewer.

Apologetics Atheism Motivation for anti-religion

Q&A: Have you asked atheists why they even care what people believe about God?

Question from Sadie Mayo.

Greg Koukl Evangelism Tactics (book)

Q&A: Tips for evangelizing to peers before military training — Greg Koukl's Tactics recommended

Viewer heading to military training asks about evangelism strategies.

Christian living Church accountability Pastoral correction

Q&A: Is it wrong to approach a pastor who taught something theologically unsound?

Viewer question about church accountability.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 William Lane Craig Isaiah 53 Psalm 22

Q&A: How to deal with coworkers who want proof of God's existence — resources recommended

Viewer (law enforcement officer) asks how to engage atheist coworkers.

Luke 10:23-24 Hardened heart Apologetics and spiritual condition Luke 10:23-24

Q&A: Is a particular heart condition needed to see the reliability of evidence? — Luke 10:23-24 discussed

Viewer asks about the relationship between spiritual state and ability to assess evidence.

Evangelism Apologetics and spiritual condition Conversion

Former atheists: some came to faith through argumentation, others through experiential transformation first

Part of the answer about heart condition and evidence.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Fire-breathing dragon analogy

Q&A: Fire-breathing dragon analogy — why the resurrection is not analogous to fantastic claims

Viewer tests the slogan with a car vs. dragon analogy.

Resurrection of Jesus Jesus mythicism Historical Jesus

Jesus-as-myth parallels to dragon analogy — internet claims of mythological foundations are "hokum"

Mike briefly addresses the mythicist position.

Apologetics Evangelism Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Closing: five diagnostic questions viewers can use in conversation to expose the slogan as confirmation bias

Mike wraps the livestream with practical application.

Bart Ehrman Biblical manuscripts Textual criticism

Bart Ehrman acknowledges we probably have what the originals said, despite popularizing text-critical skepticism

Mike's nuanced engagement with a prominent skeptical scholar on textual transmission.

1 Corinthians James the brother of Jesus 1 Corinthians Paul the Apostle Resurrection of Jesus

Paul and James as enemy/skeptic witnesses to the resurrection — more powerful than Pilate would be

Mike argues we already have the category of evidence (non-follower witnesses) that skeptics demand.

soul dualism body-soul distinction

Winger holds a dualist view of the soul: the soul is distinct from the brain and body, uses the body to interact with reality, and persists after bodily death

Response to question about the nature of the soul

apologetics methodology research method primary sources

Footnotes are the most reliable method for tracking primary sources and objective evidence in apologetics research

Response to question about finding primary sources in a sea of biased online content

John 8 Mary Magdalene textual criticism John 8

John 8 (woman caught in adultery) has significant textual critical issues; there is no good case for identifying her as Mary Magdalene; the absence of the man reflects a real double standard

Response to question about the woman caught in adultery

Matthew 6:14-15 Philippians 2:13 assurance of salvation forgiveness Matthew 6:14-15

Matthew 6:14-15 has a direct and uncomfortable application; persistent unwillingness to forgive may be evidence of not being in Christ, not a cause of losing salvation

Response to question about applying Matthew 6:14-15 to life situations

Romans 2:12 Gentiles and the Law Romans 2:12 conscience and natural law

Romans 2:12 establishes that some people were never under the Law of Moses; Gentiles are accountable through conscience

Biblical evidence for different accountability standards for Jews and Gentiles

Amos Amos 1-2 Jonah Amos Gentiles and the Law Amos 1-2

OT prophets (Amos, Jonah) judged Gentile nations on moral grounds, not Mosaic Law violations

Additional evidence that Gentiles were never under the Mosaic Law

Matthew 28:20 Hebrew Roots movement Great Commission Gentiles and the Law

Three problems with the Hebrew Roots use of Matthew 28: it misreads Matthew 5, ignores everything Jesus commanded, and contradicts how the Apostles actually applied it

Winger's three-pronged critique of the Matthew 28 argument

resurrection apologetics apostolic martyrdom

Apostles were willing to die repeatedly for the resurrection—this demonstrates sincerity without needing proof they were offered a final recantation option

Brief apologetics note on the resurrection and martyrdom argument

apologetics cumulative case apologetics Jonathan McLatchie

Introduction: cumulative case for Christianity

Mike Winger introduces Jonathan McLatchie and the format for the livestream — seven lines of argument for Christianity, each with an explanation, example, and objection.

Zechariah 2 Zechariah 4:8-9 Jonathan McLatchie intricate harmonies Zechariah 2

Divine plurality in Zechariah 2 — Yahweh sent by Yahweh

McLatchie gives Zechariah 2 as an example of intricate harmonies pointing to the Trinity in the Old Testament.

undesigned coincidences eyewitness testimony Jonathan McLatchie

Undesigned coincidences — definition and how they demonstrate historicity

Winger asks McLatchie to explain undesigned coincidences as a distinct argument for the historicity of the New Testament.

Big Bang natural theology Kalam cosmological argument

Kalam Cosmological Argument — everything that begins to exist has a cause

McLatchie presents the Kalam Cosmological Argument as part of natural theology.

natural theology Jonathan McLatchie cosmic fine-tuning

Bayesian approach: fine-tuning evidence favors theism over atheism

McLatchie articulates a Bayesian argument: the fine-tuning evidence is far more expected on theism than on atheism.

1 Corinthians 15 Acts 1 Luke Craig Keener 1 Corinthians 15 resurrection of Jesus

Historical case for the resurrection — basis and overview

McLatchie introduces the historical argument for the resurrection of Jesus, which is the seventh main line of argument.

John 21 Paul Peter Origen

Martyrdom of Peter and Paul as evidence for the sincerity of resurrection belief

McLatchie cites the willingness of the apostles to die for their testimony as evidence they genuinely believed in the resurrection.

Acts 1 James the brother of Jesus John 7:5 Josephus resurrection of Jesus Acts 1

James the brother of Jesus — conversion from skeptic to martyr

McLatchie presents the conversion and martyrdom of James, Jesus's brother, as particularly strong evidence for the resurrection.

Mary Magdalene empty tomb criterion of embarrassment

Empty tomb evidence — women as primary witnesses

McLatchie presents the role of women as primary witnesses to the empty tomb as evidence for its historicity.