Search — Theology Explorer

faith Christian apologetics reasonable faith

The 'faith = belief without evidence' definition makes Christians appear foolish and concedes the epistemic ground

Mike explains the rhetorical and theological consequences of accepting this definition.

hermeneutics faith apologetics methodology

Methodology: test the definition of faith against Scripture first, then the dictionary

Mike outlines his approach for the rest of the session.

Isaiah 41:22 evidence-based faith Isaiah 41:22 predictive prophecy

Isaiah 41:22 — predictive prophecy as God's proof of his own existence and authority

Mike's third Old Testament passage, showing God challenges false gods to prove themselves through prediction.

faith Christian apologetics definition of faith

Webster's dictionary definitions of faith: 'allegiance,' 'loyalty,' 'belief and trust in God' — the 'firm belief in something for which there is no proof' definition exists but does not represent biblical Christianity

Mike examines Webster's multiple definitions of faith.

Greg Koukl William Lane Craig apologetics resources

Recommended apologetics ministries and resources for Christians who want a robust, evidence-based faith

Mike provides a resource list for viewers who want to deepen their apologetics.

hermeneutics biblical interpretation contextual reading

Q&A: How to know you have the proper interpretation of Scripture — hermeneutics and contextual reading

Viewer question from Eric Seagardia.

Isaiah 53 Bible as historical document Isaiah 53 Pontius Pilate

Q&A: How to use the Bible as evidence with non-believers who don't accept it as God's word — the prophecy approach

Viewer question from Kate about apologetic method.

1 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians 1 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians

119 Ministries chosen as the representative case study for this video because they engage actual scripture

Mike explains his research methodology and why he selected 119 Ministries as his primary dialogue partner.

Paul rejection 119 Ministries Rhetorical manipulation

119 Ministries asks "can truth become not-truth?" — Mike identifies this as a misleading question that conflates truthfulness with universal applicability

Mike quotes and critiques a rhetorical question 119 Ministries poses to destabilize the traditional Christian position.

John 1 Hebrews 13:8 Law of Moses 119 Ministries Logos

119 Ministries' core philosophical claim: Jesus is the Word, therefore Jesus is the Bible, therefore obeying Jesus means obeying OT law — Mike calls this irrational

Mike introduces the central pre-Pauline argument of 119 Ministries: equating Jesus (the Logos) with the written Bible.

John 1 Malachi Moses Torah Logos

Mike gives five arguments for why Jesus is not the Bible

Systematic refutation of the 119 Ministries claim that Jesus = the written Word.

Hebrews 13:8 Genesis 12 Abraham 119 Ministries Old Testament application

119 Ministries uses Hebrews to argue Jesus does not change, therefore the Bible does not change, therefore you must obey OT law — Mike dissects this logical chain

Mike traces the logical steps of 119 Ministries from the immutability of Christ to the conclusion that Torah-observance is mandatory.

Hebrew Roots Movement World Mission Society Church of God God the Mother heresy

Comparison of Hebrew Roots reasoning to Mother of God cult — both use oversimplified philosophical principles to override Scripture

Mike broadens his critique to identify a general pattern: movements that start with a simplistic principle and then force-fit Scripture to it.

1 John 3:4 Law of Moses Torah Equivocation fallacy

1 John 3:4 — "sin is lawlessness" — Hebrew Roots argument: lawlessness = breaking Torah, therefore sin = breaking Torah, therefore obeying Torah is mandatory

Mike walks through the Hebrew Roots syllogism built on 1 John 3:4 in step-by-step form.

1 John 3:4 Equivocation fallacy 1 John 3:4 Anomia

Greek term anomia (lawlessness) does not exclusively mean violation of the Mosaic law — it has diverse NT usage

Mike makes a focused philological argument about the Greek word anomia.

Bible translation recommendation: Mike favors ESV and NASB, and advises reading multiple translations when a passage turns on a single word

Q&A: questioner asks which Bible translation Mike recommends, especially given the Hebrew/Greek issues discussed.

ESV NASB NKJV

John 1:1 Revelation of God Logos Jesus as the Word Pre-existence of Christ

John 1 Logos — what it means for Jesus to be the Word: Jesus is God's self-revelation, not the Bible itself

Q&A: questioner asks Mike to elaborate biblically on what it means for Jesus to be the Word.

Mike Winger idea 2019-02-07

Transition to full-time online ministry

Mike announces he is adding a donation button to BibleThink.org to support transitioning to full-time ministry.

full-time ministry BibleThink.org seek first the kingdom of God

Islam Jehovah's Witnesses Trinity

Defending the Trinity against Jehovah's Witnesses: Mike's teaching video addresses their specific objections

Viewer asking for Bible verses to defend Trinity against JW challenges

Genesis Psalm 6 hermeneutics Genesis genre

Literal vs. plain-sense biblical interpretation: read as intended, not mechanically literal

Viewer asking how literally to read the Bible, especially Genesis and Old Testament

Proverbs 2 Corinthians 6:14 marriage sanctification Proverbs

There is no single "the one" person to marry — biblical principles guide spouse selection, not divine designation

Viewer asking whether there is only one possible spouse and how that relates to free will

Mosaic law Sabbath New Covenant

Sabbath observance: Mike does not believe Christians are required to keep the Sabbath

Viewer asking about proper Sabbath observance

Job apostolic authority biblical canon Job

Books like Job belong in the canon because Jesus accepted the Old Testament, and apostles were commissioned to teach

Viewer asking why books like Job are in the Bible if we don't know the author

Mark 16:8 Mark 16:9-20 textual criticism biblical inerrancy Mark 16:8

Q&A: The ending of Mark 16 — short vs. long ending; not a threat to Gospel reliability

Q&A from an atheist about the ending of Mark and supposed Gospel contradictions.

Bart Ehrman Gospel reliability harmonization

Bart Ehrman's argument that harmonizing the Gospels means writing a new Gospel — Mike's refutation

Q&A addressing Ehrman's specific anti-harmonization argument.

Bart Ehrman Gospel reliability harmonization

Q&A: Bart Ehrman's claim that harmonizing Gospels means writing a new Gospel — video reference

Second pass at the harmonization question with a specific resource recommendation.

Luke 2:2 fulfilled prophecy apologetics methodology circular reasoning objection

Q&A: Using the Bible to prove the Bible — not circular reasoning when done correctly

Q&A on the epistemological objection to using Scripture to validate Scripture.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 Pentecost apologetics fulfilled prophecy

Q&A: Did New Testament writers invent Gospel narratives from OT prophecies? — Refuted by extra-biblical confirmation of historical facts

Q&A from a persistent atheist questioner (Doug) suggesting Gospels were reverse-engineered from OT texts.

Revelation 3:19 metanoia Repentance Revelation 3:19

Question: Does "repent" (metanoia) mean godly grief/sorrow?

Christopher White asks about a video by Creation Liberty Evangelism claiming metanoia means godly grief and sorrow.

King James Version Bible study methodology Strong's Concordance

Strong's Concordance is not a thorough Greek resource; Bible software lexicons provide better word definitions.

Mike explains methodology for Greek word study.

2 Corinthians 7 metanoia 2 Corinthians 7 Repentance

Metanoia definition: a complete change of thought, attitude, and behavior regarding sin and righteousness — not inherently grief.

Reading the lexical definition from Bible software.

Contextual reading Bible study methodology Hermeneutics

Bible study tip: spend more time reading the text itself before turning to commentaries.

Joey Fisher asks for study tips for going deeper in the Bible.

Bible study methodology Commentaries Critical thinking in theology

How to use commentaries well: seek their reasoning, not their conclusions; read multiple commentaries.

Continuing Bible study methodology advice.

Blue Letter Bible Bible study resources

Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org) recommended as a free online resource for Bible study.

Practical resource recommendation in the study tips section.

Apologetics Gospel reliability Argument from silence

Argument from silence is a poor historical method: uniqueness to one Gospel does not discredit the account.

Responding to the implicit skeptical argument behind the Matthew 27 question.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Sexual immorality 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Homosexuality

1 Corinthians 6:9 lists sins (including homosexual practice) that preclude inheriting the kingdom; false teaching on these sins subverts the gospel.

Leanne Waters asks whether those who teach homosexual relations are okay are rejecting the true Jesus and true gospel.

Exodus Apologetics Exodus Archaeology and the Bible

Secular and archaeological evidence for the Exodus exists but Mike cannot present it in detail; early vs. late dating debate.

Patrick Mosher asks if there is secular historical or archaeological evidence for the Exodus.

Biblical inspiration Biblical epistemology Apologetics methodology

Proper epistemology for trusting Scripture: demonstrate Bible is from God, then trust it — rather than requiring external proof for every claim.

Mike's methodological note on the Exodus question.