Search — Theology Explorer

Acts of Peter Acts 4 Tertullian apostolic martyrdom Peter the Apostle

Catalog of additional sources for Peter's martyrdom: Apocalypse of Peter, Ascension of Isaiah, Acts of Peter, Apocryphon of James, Dionysius of Corinth, Tertullian, Muratorian Canon

Demonstrating that Peter's martyrdom is attested by multiple independent streams of tradition

Philippians Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom apostle sincerity

Philippians — Paul's pastoral management of his congregation's grief over his suffering as evidence that his persecution was a given, publicly known reality

Paul's suffering was so consistent and well-known that he had to repeatedly address the pastoral fallout from it

James the brother of Jesus James the Just apostolic martyrdom Hegesippus legendary development

Hegesippus's account of James the Just's martyrdom — legendary elements identified and evaluated; the historical core extraction methodology applied

Primary patristic source for the martyrdom of James, with critical methodology

James the brother of Jesus F.F. Bruce apostolic martyrdom Hegesippus

F.F. Bruce's distillation of the historical core in Hegesippus: James killed because he refused to deny that Jesus was the Messiah, threatening the political stability of the Jewish leadership

Scholarly evaluation of what the Hegesippus account preserves historically

James the brother of Jesus Josephus apostolic martyrdom non-Christian attestation

Josephus, Antiquities 20: The death of James, brother of Jesus who was called Christ, under High Priest Ananus — a non-Christian, undisputed historical source

The strongest external confirmation of James's martyrdom — from a non-Christian Jewish historian

James the brother of Jesus James son of Zebedee Clement of Alexandria apostolic martyrdom Eusebius

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-250 AD, preserved in Eusebius) on two men named James: one thrown from the Temple pinnacle and beaten to death with a fuller's club, one beheaded

Additional patristic attestation of James's death, clarifying the two men named James

James the brother of Jesus argument from silence Paul the Apostle Justin Martyr

Absence of any recantation tradition for Peter, James, or Paul — an argument from silence that is evidentially significant given second-century apologetic engagement

The negative evidence: no source anywhere suggests any of these eyewitnesses recanted

James the brother of Jesus resurrection Paul the Apostle apostle sincerity

Conclusion: Peter, Paul, and James were sincerely convinced they had seen Jesus alive — the conspiracy/lying hypothesis is eliminated by the evidence

Summary conclusion of the main argument

resurrection eyewitness testimony apostle sincerity

Response to the objection "9/11 bombers were also sincere" — the distinction between sincere indoctrinated believers and sincere eyewitnesses

Q&A style engagement with the most common objection to the sincerity argument

James the brother of Jesus James's pre-resurrection unbelief resurrection Paul the Apostle criterion of embarrassment

Three embarrassing facts that authenticate the disciples' sincerity: Peter's denial, James's pre-resurrection unbelief, and Paul's role as persecutor of the church

The criterion of embarrassment applied to the three key witnesses

Revelation 6:11 eschatology martyrdom Revelation 6:11

Revelation 6:11 — question about whether the passage refers to martyrs specifically or all believers; Mike declines to give a definitive answer

Viewer Q&A on an eschatological passage

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

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

Why Mike gave only two poll options and why "trust" is the appropriate generic definition of faith

Explaining poll methodology

faith trust allegiance

faith evidence for Christianity belief without evidence

Non-Christians define faith as "belief without evidence" because they assume Christians have no evidence

Analyzing the poll divide

Billy Graham faith evidence

Randall Haynes: a Christian confused by poll wording who voted "belief without evidence" but actually agrees faith involves evidence

Examining individual poll respondents

faith belief without evidence double standard in faith definitions

Non-believer "Snoopit" acknowledges double standard: uses "trust" for human faith but "belief without evidence" for Christian faith

Examining skeptic responses to the poll

apologetics philosophical arguments for God anti-supernaturalism

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

Meta-observation about atheist argumentation

faith vs. reason faith as anti-intellectual former Christian atheists

Three former Christians define faith negatively — Volker Dittmer calls faith the logical opposite of intelligence

Examining former Christians' definitions of faith

Hebrews 11:1 Hebrews 11:1 former Christian atheists faith as hope vs. evidence

Greg Mater (former Christian) incorrectly cited Hebrews 11:1 as a definition of faith rather than a description

Examining a former Christian's use of Hebrews 11:1

Matt Dillahunty evidence for the resurrection God of the gaps

JD Flier defines faith as "belief in an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance" — the God-of-the-gaps argument

Examining another atheist definition of faith

Matt Dillahunty resurrection of Jesus inference to the best explanation

Upcoming debate with Matt Dillahunty on whether belief in the resurrection is reasonable; science is not the only method of knowing

Announcing the Dillahunty debate and defending historical methodology

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

Tim McGrew Peter Boghossian Christian vs. non-Christian definitions of faith

Tim McGrew vs. Boghossian debate and a Facebook poll showing the same Christian/non-Christian split on the definition of faith

Corroborating evidence for poll results from an independent debate

evangelism faith evidence for Christianity

The definitional divide on faith is a communication barrier to evangelism — Christians must clarify they have evidence

Practical application of the poll findings

resurrection of Jesus Street Epistemology faith and doubt

Street Epistemology question about ranking faith in pin-falling vs. resurrection — Mike argues it is designed to produce doubt, not seek truth

Q&A: Doug (Street Epistemology type) asks if faith in pin falling and faith in resurrection can be ranked

faith and knowledge epistemology of faith trust and allegiance

Shannon's question: if faith is trust with evidence, isn't it knowledge? Mike argues knowledge and faith can coexist

Q&A on the epistemology of faith

Romans 4 Genesis 15:6 justification by faith Abraham salvation by faith

How Old Testament believers were saved by faith before Christ — Romans 4 and Genesis 15:6

Q&A: JoseCJ asks how OT believers were saved before Christ's work on the cross

Romans 4 Genesis 15:6 David Abraham Romans 4

Abraham and David in Romans 4 as Old Testament examples of justification apart from works

Exegesis of Romans 4 on OT salvation

Romans 1:18-32 Romans 1:20 atheism Romans 1:18-32 cosmological argument

Romans 1:18-32 describes two divine judgments on those who suppress the evidence for God: sin and a debased mind

Q&A: Monica Poole asks how Street Epistemology relates to Romans 1

1 Timothy Titus 2 Timothy 1 Timothy Titus pastoral qualifications

Advice to a 15-year-old aspiring pastor: character comes before ministry; study the pastoral epistles

Q&A: Isaiah Jones (age 15) asks for advice on becoming a pastor

Matt Dillahunty evidential apologetics resurrection of Jesus

Debate with Matt Dillahunty on the reasonableness of believing in the resurrection — hosted on Capturing Christianity

Final announcement about the upcoming debate

perseverance of the saints once saved always saved eternal security

Mike is undecided on once-saved-always-saved (eternal security) and declines to teach on it until he has biblical clarity

Q&A: Fabio asks about once saved always saved

youth ministry Greg Koukl apologetics

The book is motivated by McDowell's own children and 20 years of ministry focus on the next generation

McDowell explains the need driving the book project

apologetics truth discipleship

Holistic discipleship: the false dichotomy between relationships and truth must be rejected

McDowell and Mike discuss the thesis of the book

Generation Z authenticity Barna Research

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

McDowell describes an exercise he does with audiences

apologetics fact-checking trust

Gen Z fact-checks in real time — credibility and truth-telling are now more important than ever for teachers and pastors

McDowell describes speaking at Berkeley and observing real-time fact-checking

youth ministry apologetics Josh McDowell

Apologetic questions are being asked at younger and younger ages due to technology — Josh McDowell's observation about shifting ages of questioning

McDowell references his father Josh McDowell's observation from 55 years of ministry

evangelism apologetics Generation Z

Mike's rationale for being on YouTube: putting apologetics answers where people are already looking

Mike explains his YouTube ministry philosophy

parenting discipleship worldview

Practical parenting principle: integrate discipleship into activities you are already doing rather than adding new programs

McDowell addresses practical application for parents

youth ministry apologetics J. Warner Wallace

J. Warner Wallace's youth ministry lesson: teaching content vs. training for engagement — and the failure of candles-and-experience ministry

McDowell recounts how J. Warner Wallace transformed his youth ministry approach

Mormonism youth ministry Trinity

Apologetic mission trips: exposing youth to real intellectual and religious conflict as a discipleship strategy

McDowell describes the mission trip model developed with Brett Kunkle and J. Warner Wallace

evangelism Jesus apologetics methodology

The habit of assuming you know the question and answering it before truly listening — a common apologetics failure

McDowell reflects honestly on his own failures in apologetic conversations

evangelism love cultural engagement

Love communicates more than correct answers: valuing the person by taking their question seriously matters independent of whether the answer lands

Mike reflects on the principle of person-first engagement

parenting discipleship worldview

Practical idea: worldview movie nights — watch culturally relevant films with kids and discuss them

McDowell shares a practical tip while waiting for Q&A questions to come in