Search — Theology Explorer

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.

Kent Hovind BioLogos Young earth creationism

Hovind vs. Falk (BioLogos) debate moderated by Mike: the debaters talked past each other on different topics.

Justin Barnes asks Mike about the debate he moderated between Kent Hovind and a BioLogos evolutionist.

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.

1 Timothy 2:15 1 Timothy 2:15 sozo Women in ministry

1 Timothy 2:15 — "saved through childbearing" does not refer to eternal salvation but to restored/elevated status.

Addressing a commonly misunderstood verse.

Apologetics methodology Evangelism Pantheism

How to evangelize pantheists: demonstrate Christianity is true rather than directly refuting pantheism.

Michael Gilbert asks how to evangelize to pantheists and polytheists and prove their views false.

Apologetics methodology Evangelism Hinduism

Evangelizing Hindus: ask why they believe, listen to their evidence/reasons, then compare with the reasons for Christianity.

Continuing the evangelism methodology for polytheism/Hinduism.

Mike Winger idea 2019-02-27

Rudolf Pesch's argument on Mark's omission of Caiaphas's name

Dating Mark's source material by historical details

Rudolf Pesch Caiaphas Dating methodology

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-14

Questions are not arguments: unanswered questions do not constitute evidence against Christianity; they only reveal gaps in human knowledge

Cameron makes a methodological point after the theodicy discussion

apologetics methodology philosophical method questions vs. arguments

historical methodology early Christian persecution Roman imperial religion

Argument that Roman cultural attitudes toward Christians in 50-year span (first to early second century) remained consistent, so early second-century sources reflect first-century reality

Responding to the objection that 109/112 AD sources are too late to apply to the apostolic period

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

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

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

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

Explaining poll methodology

faith trust allegiance

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Poll manipulation: atheists voted fraudulently as Christians to skew results; example of Jen admitting it

Discussing poll integrity

poll methodology atheist activism

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

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

Matt Dillahunty resurrection of Jesus inference to the best explanation

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

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 Jesus apologetics methodology

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Q&A: Handling unreliable sources and fact-checking in a Wikipedia age — do your diligence, own mistakes, and nuance statements to match the strength of evidence

Final audience question about fact-checking and epistemic responsibility

Romans 7 biblical interpretation apologetics methodology fact-checking

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

Twitter response 6: Alien video recording of the resurrection — PhD-level absurdity

Sixth respondent, reportedly holding a PhD, demands alien video recording as extraordinary evidence.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Unreasonable skepticism

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

Problem 4: The slogan results in ignoring good evidence via double standards and special pleading

Fourth of five critiques.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Special pleading

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

Evidence can overcome even extremely low prior probabilities — the question is "did it happen?" not "what are the odds?"

Mike's positive epistemological alternative to the slogan's approach.

Resurrection of Jesus Epistemology Prior probability

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

Footnotes are the most reliable method for tracking primary sources and objective evidence in apologetics research

Response to question about finding primary sources in a sea of biased online content

apologetics methodology research method primary sources

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Objection: God of the gaps — and the response from information theory

McLatchie addresses the most popular objection to intelligent design: the God of the gaps fallacy.

God of the gaps inference to the best explanation Jonathan McLatchie

Apollonius of Tyana Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus

Mythicists must composite multiple figures (Dionysus, Horus, Asclepius, Apollonius, Hercules) to approximate Jesus — historians reject this method

Exposing the composite methodology of Jesus-myth parallels

miracles epistemology naturalism

Methodological principle: dismissing miracle claims in historical sources reflects worldview bias, not following the evidence

Responding to the claim that miracle claims in historical sources can be safely dismissed

Richard Carrier criteria of authenticity historical methodology

Richard Carrier's claim that all historians have concluded the criteria of authenticity are invalid is false — most historians still embrace the criteria

Audience Q about the methodology of validating historicity of Christ

Mike Licona criteria of authenticity historical methodology

Licona published a critique of the Keith/Le Donne volume in the Bulletin for Biblical Research, arguing scholars are too pessimistic about the criteria

Licona's scholarly engagement with the debate over historical criteria

John Dominic Crossan Mike Licona criteria of authenticity John Dominic Crossan

John Dominic Crossan in debate with Licona affirmed the use of criteria — demonstrating that most historians still rely on them

Licona's debate with Crossan as evidence of continuing scholarly use of criteria

multiple attestation eyewitness testimony criteria of authenticity

The criteria of authenticity are not magical — they are common-sense principles: prioritize early sources, eyewitness reports, unsympathetic sources, multiple independent attestation

Explaining what the criteria of authenticity actually are

Richard Carrier Bart Ehrman Jesus mythicism

Advice to those influenced by Richard Carrier: read other skeptical scholars — Ehrman, Lüdemann, Casey — who have proper training in historical Jesus scholarship

Practical guidance for those following Carrier's mythicist arguments

Plutarch Mike Licona historical methodology

Licona's book Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? required classicist review to avoid errors in Plutarch material — illustrating disciplinary boundaries

Personal example of the importance of disciplinary specialization

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

Study plan: Hebrew word analysis, context, origin of evil, and other questions

Mike outlines the teaching structure for the session

Isaiah 45:7 Isaiah 45:7 biblical interpretation methodology Hebrew exegesis

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-31

Introduction and five-part outline for analyzing infant baptism biblically

Mike Winger opens the livestream by laying out the structure of his biblical analysis of infant baptism, listing the five areas he will cover.

infant baptism paedobaptism believers baptism

epistemology apologetic methodology

Introduction to apologetic methodology and its complexity

Opening remarks framing the episode goal of simplifying a complicated theological debate topic

presuppositionalism apologetic methodology evidentialism

Overview of major schools of apologetic thought: presuppositionalism, evidentialism, fideism, classical

Winger names the main competing frameworks within Christian apologetics

Living Waters apologetic methodology Emilio Ramos

Background: Winger recently debated Pastor Emilio Ramos on apologetic methodology at Living Waters

Personal context explaining why the topic is fresh, and why the episode was created on short notice

Holy Spirit epistemology faith and reason

Christians have confident, warranted belief in Christianity apart from evidence through the Holy Spirit

Core thesis introduced: knowledge of Christianity's truth comes primarily through the Holy Spirit, not evidence

epistemology knowing vs. showing apologetic methodology

Knowing vs. showing: two distinct epistemic tasks

The foundational framework distinction that organizes the whole presentation

Romans 8 Romans 8 assurance of salvation epistemology

The witness of the Holy Spirit is the primary means by which Christians know Christianity is true

Application of the knowing/showing framework to Christian epistemology

epistemology faith and reason warrant

The inner witness of the Holy Spirit gives Christians warrant regardless of external evidence

Explaining how the witness of the Spirit functions as epistemic justification independent of external arguments

epistemology fideism faith and reason

When the Holy Spirit's witness conflicts with external evidence, Christians are warranted in trusting God over evidence

Addressing the case where scholarly or empirical evidence seems to contradict Christian faith

William Lane Craig knowing vs. showing apologetic methodology

Credit to William Lane Craig's article in Five Views on Apologetics for the knowing/showing framework

Attribution of intellectual source material

evangelism prophecy knowing vs. showing

When showing Christianity to others, only external evidence and arguments are available, not the Spirit's witness

Explaining the asymmetry between knowing and showing in evangelism/apologetics

1 John 5:9-10 testimony epistemology witness of the Holy Spirit

1 John 5:9-10: the witness of God is greater than the witness of men; believers have it in themselves

Biblical grounding for the epistemological framework; key proof text for the witness of the Spirit

testimony epistemology faith and reason

Nearly all human knowledge rests on testimony from credible witnesses, not direct personal observation

Defending testimony as a valid epistemological category in response to empiricist objections

1 John 5:9-10 epistemology witness of the Holy Spirit 1 John 5:9-10

God's witness is categorically greater than human testimony because God has all knowledge and cannot lie

Logical grounding for why the Spirit's witness has epistemic priority

epistemology demythologization warrant

The German student scenario: a Christian surrounded by hostile scholarship still has warrant through the Spirit

Thought experiment to test the view's robustness in adverse intellectual environments

atheism epistemology faith and reason

It is epistemically wrong to require Christians to answer every argument or question before their faith is valid

Critique of the epistemic standard often imposed by internet atheism

atheism epistemology witness of the Holy Spirit

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

Sociological and spiritual observation about common atheist engagement tactics