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All (2226) Mike Winger (2226)

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Responding to online skeptics who call God evil and Christianity irrational: focus on one argument, watch for dumping tactics

Q9 from Dora Ashby: Skeptics say belief in God is irrational, that Christians must approve of rape and torture, and that God is evil. How to respond?

apologetics atheism debate strategy

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Praying against "spirits of laziness, offense, depression" — most are human failures not demonic spirits; Jezebel spirit is not a biblical category

Q10 from Arfish: Is it biblical to pray against spirits of offense, laziness, depression, confusion? What is the Jezebel spirit and is it real?

James 4 Revelation 2:20 personal responsibility Jezebel James 4

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Mary did not remain a perpetual virgin — Scripture clearly indicates she had other children with Joseph after Jesus

Q11 from Lovisa Bengtsen: Did Mary remain a virgin? Were the brothers of Jesus actually cousins? If she had other sons, why did John need to care for her?

James (brother of Jesus) John the Apostle John 19:26-27 James (brother of Jesus) John the Apostle brothers of Jesus

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Using secular music in worship: not wrong in principle, but wisdom demands sensitivity to the congregation

Q13 from Rohin John: What are your thoughts on using secular music with half secular and half Jesus-focused lyrics as worship?

worship music secular music pastoral wisdom

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

1 John 3:4-10 does not teach sinless perfectionism — the Greek present tense indicates habitual lifestyle of sin, not single acts

Q14 from Shauna Whitting: Does 1 John 3:4-10 mean you are not a real Christian if you still struggle with sin?

1 John 2:1 1 John 3:4-10 habitual sin limited atonement propitiation

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Free will does not mean freedom from consequences — the golden calf judgment illustrates this

Q15 from Jill Sworzel-Stix: If God gives us free will to worship him, why did he have Moses command the Levites to kill 3,000 people who chose not to (Exodus 32:28)?

Responding to online skeptics who call God evil and Christianity irrational: focus on one argument, watch for dumping tactics

Praying against "spirits of laziness, offense, depression" — most are human failures not demonic spirits; Jezebel spirit is not a biblical category

Mary did not remain a perpetual virgin — Scripture clearly indicates she had other children with Joseph after Jesus

Using secular music in worship: not wrong in principle, but wisdom demands sensitivity to the congregation

1 John 3:4-10 does not teach sinless perfectionism — the Greek present tense indicates habitual lifestyle of sin, not single acts

Free will does not mean freedom from consequences — the golden calf judgment illustrates this

Are individuals made by God? Yes — through both direct soul creation and divine foreknowledge/providential design

Passion for God fading: treat it as a red flag, diagnose sin, then take outward spiritual actions to let the heart follow

Levitical purity laws: ritual uncleanness restricted temple access and contact — many laws have pragmatic sanitary value

Kalam as a bridge to Christianity; deism rebutted; Mormonism incompatible

Long ages in Genesis 5 — multiple interpretive views

John 21:24-25 does not support Orthodox/Catholic oral tradition

Should Christians be shaken by brilliant atheist philosophers like Graham Oppy?

Alternative to the Sinner's Prayer for leading someone to salvation

Deuteronomy 22 rape law — two scenarios and the woman's protection

Why is Esther in the Bible? Self-defense in Esther 8-9 is not problematic

Baptism: biblical basis and urgency; no reason to delay

Praying for healing for a child with a birth defect — contentment vs. miracle prayer

1 Corinthians 5:11 "do not eat with them" — does not apply to family relationships

Politics in the pulpit — biblical worldview yes, partisan politics no

Caution against broadly judging the church as disunified; American church worldliness is the real local issue.

Brief assessment of Spurgeon; no strong opinions on Swedenborg or Watchman Nee.

Dancing is not inherently sinful; Christians should apply liberty-with-responsibility rather than blanket prohibition.

Putting out a fleece (asking God for a sign) is not inherently wrong but carries dangers of presumption and heart projection.

Overcoming laziness requires creating structured tasks, improving energy through exercise and diet, and reading Proverbs.

God physically appearing to everyone would not necessarily eliminate unbelief; unbelief is often a heart issue, not an evidence problem.

Mark 14:36 refutes Oneness Pentecostal modalism by demonstrating distinct wills between Father and Son.

The gospel presentation should be adapted to the individual; the content stays constant but the approach changes.

God chose to redeem through the cross to display his love, patience, righteousness, and desire for relationship simultaneously.

Mark 5 demoniac: Jesus was not tricked by the demons; the swine destruction may have been demonic sabotage that God repurposed for good.

Gluttony is an underaddressed sin in the American church; fasting is a practical corrective; no need for strict calorie counting.

Joseph Smith was a demonstrably false prophet; modern Mormonism is a victim of his fraud.

The youths mauled by bears in 2 Kings 2 were not small children but likely young adult men mocking Elisha's prophetic authority.

Abstract objects like numbers are timeless and immaterial but lack causal powers; a mind fits the criteria of being spaceless, timeless, non-material, AND capable of causing something.

Objection to Premise 1: the composition fallacy — just because every part of the universe has a cause doesn't mean the whole does. Response: this misunderstands the argument; it's about a CLASS of things (things that begin to exist), not parts composing a whole.

Isaac Asimov memorial panel discussion: Lawrence Krauss and Neil deGrasse Tyson debated "what is nothing" for two hours. The philosopher on the panel was visibly frustrated, saying nothing means NOT ANYTHING.

Objection to Premise 2: maybe the universe is infinite in the past. Response: an actually infinite past is impossible — you could never traverse infinite moments to arrive at the present.

Why the cause must be PERSONAL: (1) a mind uniquely fits spaceless/timeless/immaterial yet has causal powers, (2) state-event causation from timelessness requires a decision to act, (3) absence of determinism in nothingness requires libertarian free will.

Q&A: A sermon claiming that struggling with addiction or fearing hell means you're not a Christian is unbiblical. Paul rebuked the Corinthians for sin without denying their faith; 1 John 4:18 says fear indicates incomplete realization of God's love, not absence of salvation.

Q&A: How to test if a financial blessing is from God. Look at whether it came through godliness, follow biblical prayer principles (asking in God's will, not selfish motives), and use money to seek God's kingdom first.

Q&A: An infinite universe causing our universe in a "bounce" still faces the same problems — an infinite past of cycles can't be traversed, and a meta-timeline outside ours would need its own cause.

Q&A: When a Christian feels static in their walk, the answer is to fall in love with Jesus again rather than legalistically checking boxes. Pray for increased love and dedication; remember first works (Revelation 2, Ephesus).

Closing: Mike encourages viewers who are convinced to start seeking God, praying, and paying attention to Christ. He promotes Braxton Hunter's YouTube channel as a resource for apologetics.

Drew's Question 1: Why did God communicate through literature? Literature demands interpretation, leading to contradictory sects and suffering (e.g., JW blood transfusions). If God couldn't do better, he's not omnipotent; if he didn't know, not omniscient; if he didn't care, not omni-benevolent.

John McCrae adds: our sin nature explains interpretive divergence — we read preferences into Scripture. The Bible calls us to strive for truth (narrow gate), which makes the relationship with Christ richer. Drew's question is really just the problem of evil focused on one aspect.

Drew's Question 4: If God knows who will choose him, why not only create those people and skip earthly suffering? If free will is the answer, that implies heaven lacks free will (since there's no suffering there), making earth better than heaven.

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