Search — Theology Explorer

community advocacy YouTube reinstatement

Community campaign on Twitter restored the channel

Mike credits his viewers for mobilizing on Twitter and contacting YouTube to restore his channel.

YouTube reinstatement content moderation error

YouTube tweet acknowledging mistaken removal

Mike reads the official Team YouTube tweet confirming the video was mistakenly removed.

Hebrew Roots Movement 119 Ministries content flagging algorithms

Possible coordinated mass-flagging by Hebrew Roots Movement members

Mike speculates on how the video was taken down — mass flagging or algorithmic removal.

Hebrew Roots Movement love your enemies Law of Moses

Christian response to opponents: love and bless those who persecute

Mike addresses how he and his viewers should respond to those who may have gotten the video removed.

1 Corinthians 13 prophecy word of knowledge 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 "the perfect" does not refer to the completed canon — cessationism refuted

Q&A question about whether 1 Corinthians 13 latter half refers to the completed canon of Scripture.

1 Corinthians 13:12 eschatology face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12

1 Corinthians 13 face-to-face language connects to the new creation

Mike links 1 Corinthians 13:12 to the new heavens and new earth discussion.

faith in Christ Hebrew Roots Movement Law of Moses

Hebrew Roots Movement: Should Christians uphold the Law of Moses?

Q&A on whether Christians should uphold the Law as Jesus did, since he was sinless in following it.

typology Passover Law of Moses

Christ as fulfillment of OT ceremonial types (Passover, Day of Atonement)

Mike argues that trusting in Christ means participating indirectly in the fulfillment of OT ceremonial law.

evangelism apologetics Josh McDowell

Recommended apologetics resources: websites and books

Q&A asking for top suggested books and sources for apologetics and evangelism.

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy priestly celibacy

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy for priests and nuns is unbiblical

Mike addresses the Catholic sex abuse scandal as it relates to mandatory celibacy.

Revelation eschatology Revelation once saved always saved

Open theological questions Mike personally still has

Q&A asking what theological questions Mike still has unanswered.

New Testament generational curses deliverance ministry

Generational curses: Mike does not believe in them as commonly taught

Q&A on whether generational curses are biblical.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 elder bishop 1 Timothy 3

Husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3) refers to polygamy, not divorce

Q&A on the pastoral qualification "husband of one wife" in the pastoral epistles.

apologetics fulfilled prophecy divine inspiration of Scripture

Fulfilled prophecy as evidence for God

Q&A asking for apologetic reasons to believe in God.

apologetics resurrection of Christ evidence for God

Resurrection of Jesus as evidence for God

Mike lists the resurrection as a second major apologetic argument for God.

apologetics evidence for God ontological argument

Ontological argument: God's existence is necessary

Mike lists the ontological argument as a third apologetic reason for God.

apologetics monotheism cosmological argument

Kalam Cosmological Argument for God's existence

Mike presents the Kalam Cosmological Argument as a fourth reason to believe in God.

apologetics evidence for God naturalism

Arguments against naturalism as evidence for the supernatural

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

apologetics problem of evil evidence for God

Problem of evil is actually evidence for God, not against him

Mike responds to the objection from the problem of evil.

apologetics evidence for God personal experience of God

Personal experience of God and common sense as evidence for God

Mike closes his apologetics list with experiential and intuitive arguments.

typology seven feasts of Israel Christ as fulfillment of OT feasts

Upcoming video: The seven feasts of Israel as types of Christ

Mike previews his next scheduled video content.

Job Job suffering and theodicy Elihu

Job's friends argued he deserved his suffering; God rebuked them at the end

Viewer asking for help understanding Job's friends in the book of Job

Psalm 119 Mosaic law Torah law vs. commandments

Torah (law) vs. commandments: the words overlap but depend on context

Viewer asking how to differentiate between the law and the commandments

Genesis 1 Genesis 9 dominion mandate Mormonism Genesis 1

Image of God (imago Dei): grounds human value, authority over creation, and raises questions about communicable attributes

Viewer asking what it means to be created in the image of God

resurrection Gospel of Mark Trinity in Mark

Planned Gospel of Mark series to cover theology, apologetics, and resurrection debates

Response to viewer question about where the Trinity is in Mark

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

Islam resurrection apologetics

Why Christianity and not other religions: incompatible truth claims require choosing

Viewer asking how to respond to someone asking why they should believe Christianity and not another religion

Ephesians 1-3 Hebrews 6 perseverance of the saints eternal security once saved always saved

Once saved always saved: Mike withholds judgment due to genuine biblical tension

Viewer asking about eternal security / once saved always saved

Mormonism evangelism Jehovah's Witnesses

Strategy for protecting college students from JWs and the Mother God cult (World Mission Society Church of God): inoculate, don't isolate

Viewer on a college campus encountering JWs and World Mission Society Church of God

1 Corinthians 11:16 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11:16 women in worship

1 Corinthians 11:16 head coverings: Mike does not believe it is binding today but acknowledges difficulty

Viewer asking whether women should still cover their heads based on 1 Corinthians 11

salvation sanctification forgiveness

Mike's personal testimony: heard the gospel at 12, found relief in forgiveness

Viewer asking about Mike's salvation experience

healing spiritual warfare authority of Christ

Authority over evil spirits and sickness comes from Christ's authority, not the believer's own

Viewer asking about Christians' authority over evil spirits and sickness

Christian worldview abortion Christians and politics

Christians should engage in politics as salt and light; political views must be biblically tested

Viewer asking whether Christians should get involved in politics, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.

1 Peter 2 Peter Jude 1 Peter 2 Peter descent into hell

Did Jesus go to hell? Mike does not think he was tortured there; references 1-2 Peter and Jude on descent

Viewer asking whether Jesus went to hell between death and resurrection

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

1 Timothy 5 Mosaic law New Covenant tithing

Tithing is an Old Testament concept; Christians are required to give but not mandated to a 10% figure

Viewer asking Mike to reconcile his teaching that the tithe is not required with the obligation to give

pastoral ministry church and denomination integrity in ministry

A pastor considering a church of a different denomination should front-load doctrinal disagreements before accepting the role

Viewer who is a young preacher considering pastoring a church with doctrinal differences from his own convictions

eyewitness testimony Gospel historicity apologetics preparedness

Most Christians assume Gospel eyewitness origins without being able to defend it

Mike identifies a gap in typical Christian preparedness against scholarly skepticism.

Bart Ehrman community tradition view oral transmission

Bart Ehrman's telephone-game argument against Gospel reliability

Mike quotes and plays audio of Bart Ehrman presenting the community tradition / oral telephone-game view of Gospel transmission.

Bart Ehrman Jesus Seminar Son of Man

The Jesus Seminar and the consequence of rejecting eyewitness origins

Mike explains what is at stake if the Gospels are not rooted in eyewitness accounts.

Acts 21:8-9 eyewitness testimony Papias early church history

Acts 21:8-9 — Philip the Evangelist and his prophesying daughters

Biblical and extra-biblical verification of Philip the Evangelist's daughters as contemporaries of Papias.

James John Matthew Peter James John

Papias's key quotation about seeking living witnesses over written sources

The primary Papias text Mike uses to establish the eyewitness-guarantor model.

Richard Bauckham Papias eyewitness hierarchy

Four categories of worthy sources in Papias's framework

Mike breaks down what Papias considered authoritative sources for Jesus tradition.

1 Timothy 1 Richard Bauckham elders (early church) apostolic appointment

Richard Bauckham's identification of elders vs. disciples and the function of elders in preserving doctrine

Scholarly framework for understanding Papias's use of "elders."

Bart Ehrman community tradition view telephone game analogy

Main conclusion from Papias: eyewitness guarantors refute the telephone-game model

Core argument against Ehrman's telephone-game analogy using Papias as evidence.

Bart Ehrman Mike Licona telephone game analogy

Ehrman's telephone-game argument as a debate tactic used selectively against less-informed audiences

Mike critiques Ehrman's rhetorical strategy.

Richard Bauckham Jesus Seminar community tradition view

Bauckham's argument: Papias assumes oral tradition's value depends on derivation from living eyewitnesses

Theoretical implication of Papias's framework for evaluating the community tradition view.

Matthew Mark Luke Richard Bauckham Matthew Mark

The timing of Gospel writing corresponds to the last generation of living eyewitnesses

Argument that the Gospels were intentionally written when eyewitnesses were dying out.

Luke 1:1-4 Luke eyewitness testimony Gospel historicity Luke 1:1-4

Luke 1:1-4 — Luke's prologue as an explicit historical/eyewitness methodology statement

Second major line of evidence: the Gospel of Luke's own self-description.