Search — Theology Explorer

A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian Faith

Page 15 quote: Boghossian's stated goal is to create a generation of Street Epistemologists who help people abandon faith and embrace reason

Mike reads page 15 of the book at length

Hebrews 11:1 Hebrews 11:1 Peter Boghossian Faith

The false definition of faith makes Christian claims appear unreasonable before dialogue even begins

Mike explains the downstream effect of Boghossian's redefinition

David Hume A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian

Boghossian self-contradicts by quoting David Hume approvingly: "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence"

Mike identifies a self-contradiction on page 45

Apologetics Capturing Christianity Cameron Bertuzzi

Cameron Bertuzzi (Capturing Christianity): inability to answer a question doesn't mean Christianity is false; testimony is a legitimate epistemic basis

Video clip from Cameron Bertuzzi with pastoral/apologetic advice for Christians facing SE

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

Q&A on John 14:2-3 "I go to prepare a place for you" — Mike's understanding of the intermediate state and the new heaven and new earth

Viewer question on the afterlife and the meaning of Jesus preparing a place

John 14:2-3 Revelation 21 eschatology new heaven and new earth intermediate state

Street Epistemology Anthony Magnabosco definition of faith

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

A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian Street Epistemology

Peter Boghossian's "A Manual for Creating Atheists" teaches that "I believe in God" secretly means "I pretend to know things I don't know"

Critique of Boghossian's framing of religious belief

evangelism dialogue between Christians and atheists faith as indifference to truth

Michael J. Hooper's definition: faith means you don't care about truth — and how this blocks evangelism

Examining an extreme atheist definition of faith

early church persecution destroying the temple accusation dialogue between Christians and atheists

Historical parallel: early church marginalized by accusation that Jesus wanted to destroy the temple — same dynamic as "faith is irrational" accusation today

Historical analogy for communication breakdown

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Tendency to view Gen Z through a negative lens — and why that must be corrected

McDowell describes an exercise he does with audiences

Generation Z authenticity Barna Research

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Why mainline churches are dying: no meaningful difference from wider culture gives people no reason to attend

McDowell gives the bottom-line diagnosis for mainline church decline

biblical authority cultural accommodation church attendance

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Q&A: Handling unreliable sources and fact-checking in a Wikipedia age — do your diligence, own mistakes, and nuance statements to match the strength of evidence

Final audience question about fact-checking and epistemic responsibility

Romans 7 biblical interpretation apologetics methodology fact-checking

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

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

Mike wraps the livestream with practical application.

Apologetics Evangelism Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Galatians 3:19, 24-25 — the Law was a temporary guardian "until the offspring [Christ] should come"

Pauline support for the Law's transitional termination at the first coming

Galatians 3:19 Galatians 3:24-25 Galatians 3:19 Galatians 3:24-25 paidagogos

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

The Law functions as a tutor to lead people to Christ—Sermon on the Mount sets up the gospel

Soteriological purpose of the Mosaic Law

Galatians 3:24 Galatians 3:24 Sermon on the Mount paidagogos

1 Corinthians 4:17 Luke 1 Corinthians 16:10 Paul Timothy 1 Corinthians 4:17

Undesigned coincidence: 1 Corinthians 4 and Acts 19 — Timothy's route to Corinth

McLatchie gives an example of undesigned coincidences between Paul's epistles and the book of Acts, confirming Luke as Paul's traveling companion.

undesigned coincidences Lydia McGrew historicity of the Gospels

Lydia McGrew's book on undesigned coincidences

Winger references Lydia McGrew's scholarly work as a resource for deeper study on undesigned coincidences.

John the Baptist Mark 10:2-12 Josephus John the Baptist Herod Antipas

Extra-biblical corroboration: Mark 10 — why Jesus taught about divorce in that context

McLatchie uses Mark 10's divorce passage to show Josephus provides context explaining why the teaching is historically plausible.

John the Baptist Luke 3:14 Josephus John the Baptist Herod Antipas

Extra-biblical corroboration: Luke 3 — soldiers on active duty near John the Baptist

McLatchie presents a subtle corroboration between Luke 3's soldiers and the specific military situation in the region during John the Baptist's ministry.

Numbers 23:19 Deuteronomy 21:23 resurrection deity of Christ Justin Martyr

Unlikely origin of the disciples' belief in the deity of Jesus — fifth argument

McLatchie introduces the argument that the disciples' belief in Jesus's deity is historically inexplicable without the resurrection, given the Jewish context.

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.

Matthew 28 empty tomb resurrection of Jesus Matthew 28

Earliest Jewish polemic presupposes the empty tomb — Matthew 28

McLatchie points to the earliest Jewish counter-argument to the resurrection as presupposing the tomb was empty.

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Acts 9: Saul is converted and called as the apostle to the Gentiles, but immediately begins preaching in synagogues to Jews -- the Gentile mission has not yet begun

Survey of Acts chapter 9, Paul's conversion

Acts 9:15 Acts 9:20 Paul the Apostle Acts 9:15 Acts 9:20

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Paul preaches in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14) -- his standard method is synagogue first, then the broader city. His message presents Jesus as fulfillment of the law and prophets.

Survey of Acts 13:14, Paul's first missionary journey

Acts 13:14 Paul the Apostle fulfillment theology Acts 13:14

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Acts 13:38-39 -- Paul: forgiveness is proclaimed through Jesus, and through him everyone who believes is freed from all things from which they could not be freed through the law of Moses

Paul's synagogue sermon in Pisidian Antioch

Acts 13:38-39 Paul the Apostle justification Law of Moses

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Romans 6:15 refutes 119's interpretation of Romans 6:14 by context

Contextual argument using the immediately following verse

Romans 6:14 Romans 6:15 Law of Moses under the law Romans 6:14

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

119 Ministries is used as the dialogue partner because they actually engage with challenging passages

Methodological note on choosing 119 Ministries

hermeneutics Hebrew Roots Movement 119 Ministries

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Galatians 3:25 — we are no longer under the guardian (the law)

Surveying Pauline uses — fifth instance

Galatians 3:25 faith in Christ Law of Moses under the law

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

Q&A: Are the dead conscious after death? Are loved ones watching over us? — Believers go immediately to God's presence; watching over us is uncertain

Viewer Q&A about the state of the dead and whether loved ones watch over the living.

Ecclesiastes resurrection soul sleep intermediate state

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

Caution against Christians consuming antagonistic atheist YouTube content without a clear apologetic purpose

Winger advises viewers about atheist YouTube channels after a question about responding to 'Prophet of Zod.'

apologetics media discernment

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-13

Mike explains why he is doing a video to refute Steven Anderson

Introduction to the video

Steven Anderson biblical gospel media platforming of fringe teachers

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-13

Advice to everyone else: unsubscribe, stop watching, starve Anderson's platform

Practical counsel on engaging (or not) with Anderson's content

media discernment Steven Anderson platform and influence

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

Paul's eschatology: 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:20-22 show an intermediate disembodied state after death, before the final bodily resurrection

Paul's two-stage eschatological framework

2 Corinthians 5:8 Philippians 1:20-22 Paul eschatology intermediate state

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

1 Thessalonians 4: Jesus will "bring with him" the dead in Christ, whose spirits are reunited with raised bodies — a transformer/transformative resurrection

Paul's 1 Thessalonians 4 passage on resurrection and the coming of Christ

1 Thessalonians 4 Paul eschatology intermediate state

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationism defined: miraculous gifts belonged to the apostolic era only, served a unique founding purpose, and ceased before the canon closed.

Winger reads a definition from Theapedia. He contrasts it with continuationism, which holds the gifts are normative and available today.

cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

Euthyphro dilemma introduced: is something good because God wills it, or does God will it because it's good?

Mike introduces a classical philosophical challenge to theistic ethics

Euthyphro dilemma Socrates Euthyphro

1 John 2:2 kosmos 1 John 2:2 propitiation

1 John 2:2 refutes Trinitarian harmony: Jesus is propitiation for the whole world, not just believers

Mike applies 1 John 2:2 directly against the Trinitarian harmony argument.

1 Timothy 2:1-6 unlimited atonement universal salvific will 1 Timothy 2:1-6

1 Timothy 2:1-6 — God desires all people to be saved; Christ gave himself as ransom for all

Mike's central proof-text for the Father's universal salvific intention.

Ephesians 2:1-3 election limited atonement intercession

Ephesians 2 refutes the intercession argument: the elect were still under wrath after the cross, before believing

Mike uses Ephesians 2 as a direct rebuttal to the Calvinist intercession/atonement link.