Search — Theology Explorer

Leviticus 1 Timothy 1:8 hermeneutics Leviticus Steven Anderson

Anderson misuses the Old Testament law by applying it selectively to one group

Critique of Anderson's theological method

Galatians 4:21 Galatians 4:21 Steven Anderson law and gospel

Galatians 4:21: Those who want to be under the law do not understand the law

Paul's argument against misapplying the law

gospel substitutionary atonement Steven Anderson

The gospel reframes Anderson's death-button: the button falls on Jesus, not on us

Applying substitutionary atonement to Anderson's rhetoric

God's love sin Steven Anderson

Two truths the world and Anderson each reject: all sin is terrible; yet God loves and saves

Symmetry of error between secular culture and Anderson

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

Q&A: Proverbs 16:33 and divine sovereignty — layered sovereignty model, not hard determinism

Audience question about whether God meticulously controls all things

Proverbs Job Proverbs 16:33 Proverbs free will Job

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-24

Double jeopardy objection answered: Ephesians 2 proves the elect were under wrath after the cross, i.e., already "double payment" on limited atonement

Mike turns the double payment argument against limited atonement.

Ephesians 2:1-3 divine justice limited atonement double jeopardy / double payment

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Critique of depersonalizing wrath: 'God hates sin but not sinners' is biblically insufficient

Mike critiques a popular pastoral slogan often used to soften the doctrine of wrath.

God's love divine judgment God's wrath

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Epistle of Barnabas (early 2nd century) depicts the cross as a capital-T shape

The Epistle of Barnabas, written in the early second century (within ~100 years of Jesus's death), represents the cross of Christ using the capital letter T, implying a crossbeam.

Moses typology crucifixion

Mike Winger idea 2019-10-02

Parachute analogy: three men jumping from a plane with a spacesuit, super suit, and parachute

Illustration to make vivid why "all religions work on their own terms" is nonsense

exclusivity of Christ religious pluralism analogy and illustration

Acts 2:40-41 faith infant baptism believers baptism

Acts 2:40-41 — only those who received the word were baptized, implying cognizant response

Further analysis of Acts 2 to show baptism requires comprehension and reception of the gospel.

Acts 10:2 Acts 10:33 Acts 10:44 Cornelius Holy Spirit infant baptism

Acts 10-11: Cornelius's household — all feared God, heard, received the Spirit, and spoke in tongues, excluding infants

Detailed exegesis of the Cornelius household baptism narrative.

Circumcision-baptism parallel breaks down on multiple fronts: faith requirement, compulsion, and gender exclusivity

Winger extends the critique of the circumcision-baptism parallel by pressing its internal inconsistencies.

Lydia faith baptism

typology baptism covenant

Circumcision and baptism share similarity as outward covenant signs but this similarity does not license importing infant practice

Summary of the circumcision argument section.

church fathers church history tradition

Q&A: There was no uniformity in the early church on any topic — "church fathers" is a misleading term

A viewer notes that early church diversity undermines appeals to monolithic tradition.

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

Internet atheism often operates by demanding unanswerable questions rather than engaging arguments honestly

Sociological and spiritual observation about common atheist engagement tactics

atheism epistemology witness of the Holy Spirit

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

Christians who struggle to sense the Spirit's witness still have access to evidence as a support, and doubt often traces to sin

Pastoral application for doubting Christians

Romans 1 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Romans 1 sin witness of the Holy Spirit

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

In the New Testament, "kurios" (Lord) replaces "Yahweh" — this is standard Greek translation convention, reflected in English by small-cap LORD

Question from Zanet about the Mark series — why is "Yahweh" rendered as "kurios" (Lord) in the Greek NT, and whether that changes the meaning.

Mark Mark kurios Yahweh

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

Jeremiah 29:11 is often misapplied as a personal prosperity promise; properly applied, it points to eternal hope in the New Covenant

Question from Brandi about whether verses like Jeremiah 29:11, written to Israel, apply to Christians today.

Jeremiah 29:11 hermeneutics prosperity gospel Israel

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-04

A Christian can struggle with addiction and still be born again; Christians struggle with sin

Q from Christian Liang about whether an addiction sufferer can be born again and saved.

1 Corinthians 5 John 3:3 1 Corinthians 5 salvation sin

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-04

Parental authority over adult children: diminishes naturally with age; adult children make their own decisions while still honoring parents

Q from Joel Larson about how much authority a father has over adult children, and whether it differs for sons vs. daughters.

Genesis 2 Numbers 30 Genesis 2 honoring parents parental authority

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Apparitions of Mary at Fatima — three interpretive options; not sufficient to validate Catholic Marian dogmas

Question from Cody Skinner about Catholic apparitions at Fatima and messages to the shepherd children.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 apologetics miracles Catholicism

1 Corinthians 14:5 hermeneutics gifts of the Spirit tongues and salvation

1 Corinthians 14:5 — Paul wishes all spoke in tongues, implying not everyone does

First Corinthians passage introduced as evidence against the tongues-salvation requirement

Christian ethics video games witchcraft

Fantasy magic vs. actual witchcraft: the distinction matters for whether a video game element is spiritually dangerous

Applying principles to the specific RPG magic question

Luke 22:36 Christian ethics martyrdom Luke 22:36

Christians may use lethal force in self-defense but not premeditated violence; Christian pacifism is mistaken

Applying the Luke 22:36 principle to the Christian ethics of self-defense

Exodus 7 Satan Exodus 7 Pharaoh's magicians

Exodus 7: Pharaoh's magicians reproduced some of Moses's signs — two possible explanations: sleight of hand or demonic power

Q&A from Garrett De Jong about how the magicians duplicated the signs

Exodus 7 Exodus 7 Pharaoh's magicians demonic power

Pharaoh's magicians' inferior reproductions reveal lesser power than Moses — turning fresh water to blood instead of reversing the Nile

Evidence that the magicians operated with limited power

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-02

In the Old Testament law the tithe went to Levites and priests, not to local pastors — so enforcing a 10% tithe should logically send money to Jewish Levites

Continuing the argument against applying the Malachi tithe to modern churches

hermeneutics tithing Levites

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-02

New Testament giving priorities: the poor, the persecuted church, local ministers, and generosity as lifestyle — not limited to 10%

Constructive answer on what Christian giving should look like without a tithe mandate

James 1 Corinthians 9 James 1 Corinthians 9 Christian giving

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-02

Sexual sin is uniquely grave — it is a sin against one's own body in a way other sins are not

Expounding on 1 Corinthians 6:18 within the broader passage study

1 Corinthians 6:18 sexual immorality body as temple fornication

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-09

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 — walking by faith not by sight, preferring to be with the Lord

Reading and applying 2 Corinthians 5 to the soul sleep question

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 intermediate state 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 walking by faith

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-09

"No man knows the day or the hour" — taking Jesus literally against rapture date-setting

Applying Matthew 24:36 to rapture date-setting

Matthew 24:36 false prophecy second coming Matthew 24:36

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-09

Thanksgiving as a biblical holiday in practice though not in name

Applying the holiday criteria to Thanksgiving

Christian liberty Thanksgiving gratitude

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-17

Regeneration precedes faith — the core of Calvinism, which Mike rejects

Mike identifies what he sees as the single unifying point underlying all five TULIP points.

Calvinism Arminianism Total Depravity

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-17

Deutero-Isaiah / multiple authorship of Isaiah — Mike skeptical

Q from "Skeptic Reviews" about the scholarly view that Isaiah had multiple authors.

Isaiah Isaiah 53 Isaiah 52 Jesus Isaiah Isaiah 53

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-23

Mike affirms free-will salvation against Calvinism but insists rejection of Calvinism must be theological, not emotional

Mike gives his own position on Calvinism while counseling the questioner.

election Calvinism free will

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-30

Oneness Pentecostalism: critique of modalism and concern about authoritarian/bully theology

Question from Stephen Serrano about Oneness Pentecostalism.

Trinity heresy Oneness Pentecostalism

Mike Winger idea 2018-09-26

Mark 10:17-18 — Why does Jesus ask why he is called good? Implicit claim to deity

A viewer asks Mike to explain Mark 10:17-18, the rich young ruler passage.

John 10:11 2 Corinthians 5:21 Mark 10:17-18 John 10:11 Ray Comfort deity of Christ

Mike Winger idea 2018-09-26

Preferred pronouns — Mike cannot use false pronouns because it constitutes dishonest support of a delusion

A viewer asks whether Christians should use preferred pronouns as this becomes a larger cultural issue.

Christian ethics cultural engagement gender identity

Mike Winger idea 2018-09-26

Does intercourse constitute marriage? — No; vows before witnesses and God define marriage

Mike reads an email asking whether sleeping with someone makes you married.

1 Corinthians 6:16 Deuteronomy 22:28-29 Exodus 22:16 marriage one flesh sexual ethics

Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Word of Faith 'little gods' teaching is serious enough to warrant leaving a church

Question from someone whose pastor teaches the Word of Faith 'little gods' doctrine and has rejected private correction.

Matthew 18 false teaching Matthew 18 church discipline

Romans 8:28 suffering providence prosperity gospel

Romans 8:28 is the biblical basis for saying "good things are coming" in hard times; the phrase is fine if stripped of materialistic or time-specific implications.

Is "good things are coming when you face struggles" biblical or prosperity gospel?

1 Corinthians 12 tongues charismatic theology gifts of the Spirit

Using frequency of tongues-speaking as a spiritual credential is spiritually abusive; Mike refuses to disclose personal charismatic experiences in that context.

Spiritual abuse in hyper-charismatic circles around tongues-speaking

White lies are a moral compromise; giving oneself permission for them breeds untrustworthiness. Better alternatives: honest deflection ("I don't want to talk about it") or full honesty.

Question: are white lies okay to spare a spouse's feelings?

marriage ethics lying

ethics pastoral care lying

Exception case for deception: Alzheimer's patients at an advanced stage cannot process truth; pacifying untrue statements may be the compassionate and functionally honest option since understanding is absent.

White lies and Alzheimer's care