Search — Theology Explorer

sanctification Christian witness anger

Anger is a universal human issue that even godly leaders fail to handle biblically, undermining their witness.

Opening framing for the session — establishing why anger matters for Christians.

Colossians 3:8 sanctification anger Colossians 3:8

Colossians 3:8 commands Christians to put off anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk — treating each as distinct.

Primary passage for the teaching; Mike introduces the list and his interpretive method.

Proverbs 27:4 marriage self-control anger

Proverbs 27:4 — anger and wrath are intensifying forces that cause a person to overreact and become a caricature of themselves.

Fifth Proverbs passage; Mike describes the distorting effect of anger on behavior.

Proverbs 15:1 self-talk prayer Q&A

Q&A: Applying Proverbs 15:1 inwardly — immediately turning to prayer when angry reorients perspective because addressing God changes the self-talk dynamic.

Q&A on using soft inner speech to de-escalate one's own anger.

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Introduction: surprise livestream responding to a video by Jim Majors, CEO of Atheist Republic, to help atheists and skeptics who may be receiving bad information

Mike explains he was prompted by a Twitter tip to respond to a specific atheist leader's claims about Christianity

methodology apologetics atheism

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Jim Majors, CEO of Atheist Republic (2.2M Facebook followers), is promoting a forthcoming book critiquing Christianity called 'Holy Proofreading: Correcting Christianity'

Mike introduces Jim's credentials and the context of the interview

apologetics atheism Atheist Republic

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Refutation: Koine Greek is literally the 'common language' — the word koine means 'common' — it was a simplified lingua franca spread through Alexander the Great's empire, the exact opposite of an elite dialect

Mike corrects the Koine Greek claim with a university linguistics source

apologetics New Testament Koine Greek

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Introduction: Jeremiah 10 and the Christmas tree question

Mike launches a surprise Monday livestream to address a common question before Christmas

Jeremiah 10 Jeremiah 10 Christmas trees Anachronism in Bible interpretation

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-20

Introduction of the skeptical objection: Paul didn't know much about Jesus

Mike opens by framing the topic as a response to a common skeptical objection he hears when doing Christian apologetics.

apologetics Paul the Apostle historicity of Jesus

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-20

1 Timothy 5:18 quotes Luke 10:7 alongside Deuteronomy 25:4 and calls both 'Scripture'

The author of 1 Timothy introduces two quotations with 'the Scripture says' — one from the OT and one from Luke 10:7 — implying canonical status for Gospel material in the first century.

Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7 1 Timothy 5:18 Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7 laborer deserves wages

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Introduction: Ben Shapiro asks Bishop Robert Barron whether he will go to heaven

Mike introduces the premise — an Orthodox Jew asks a Catholic bishop about his eternal destiny

salvation Orthodox Judaism Ben Shapiro

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Luke 18:18-24 — Rich Young Ruler: keeping commandments is not enough; Jesus reveals his hidden sin

Mike introduces a third parallel case from Jesus's ministry

Luke 18:18-24 law-keeping Luke 18:18-24 Rich Young Ruler

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-16

Introduction of Matt Dillahunty and announcement of upcoming resurrection debate

Mike pauses the video clip to identify Matt Dillahunty and announce a planned debate.

Matt Dillahunty The Atheist Experience resurrection of Jesus

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-16

Hebrews 11:1 — introduction and reference to Amy Hall's article at STR.org

Mike begins addressing the most commonly cited 'faith without evidence' passage.

Hebrews 11:1 faith Hebrews 11:1 Amy Hall

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

Introduction: Mike frames the livestream as an unemotional, logical case against the pro-choice position on the Roe v. Wade anniversary

Opening remarks establishing the tone and purpose of the livestream

abortion pro-choice pro-life

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

Introduction of the SLED acronym — four categories of differences between the unborn and born humans, none of which are morally relevant

Framework for responding to objections based on differences between embryos and adult humans

abortion moral status SLED acronym

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

Rape and incest exceptions fail logically — Guttmacher Institute data: less than 1% of abortions involve rape or incest

Mike revisits rape and introduces incest as claimed exceptions to the pro-life position

Planned Parenthood rape exception abortion statistics

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

Introduction: Hebrew Roots Movement defined as mostly Gentile believers who think they should obey the Law of Moses

Opening of the video; Mike explains he surveyed his audience for topic requests and this won the most votes.

Hebrew Roots Movement Law of Moses Torah

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

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 Hebrews 13:8 Law of Moses 119 Ministries Logos

Christian apologetics Gospel historicity reasons people leave the faith

Introduction: purpose of the stream and why the historicity of the Gospels matters

Mike opens the Tuesday livestream and frames the day's topic as important for faith retention.

Gospel historicity community tradition view oral history view

The two competing models: community tradition view vs. oral history view

Mike introduces the framework for the rest of the lecture.

Papias Hierapolis early church history

Introduction of Papias: Bishop of Hierapolis in the early second century

First major evidence: the testimony and writings of Papias.

Richard Bauckham Gospel historicity named individuals in Gospels

Introduction of the names-in-the-Gospels phenomenon as historical evidence

Third major line of evidence: the pattern of named vs. unnamed individuals in the Gospels.

John McCrae Capturing Christianity Cameron Bertuzzi John McCrae

Introduction: Mike Winger hosts a collaborative livestream with Cameron Bertuzzi and John McCrae examining the YouTube landscape for Christians vs. atheists

Opening segment establishing the premise of the livestream and introducing co-hosts

Capturing Christianity Christian apologetics Cameron Bertuzzi

Cameron Bertuzzi's background: photographer turned apologist after brother became an atheist; runs Capturing Christianity blog and YouTube channel

Cameron introduces himself to Mike's audience

John McCrae Trinity John McCrae argument from contingency

John McCrae's favored arguments: contingency, Kalam, J.P. Moreland's argument from consciousness; also finds psychological features of the Bible's content persuasive

John introduces himself and shares his apologetic focus