Search — Theology Explorer

Luke 24:18 John 19:25 eyewitness guarantors named individuals in Gospels Luke 24:18

Cleopas in Luke 24 and Clopas in John 19 — the same person as a named eyewitness source

Case study in named eyewitness sourcing: the road to Emmaus account.

Mary Magdalene Richard Bauckham resurrection

Women as named eyewitness sources at the death, burial, and empty tomb of Jesus

The Gospel pattern of naming women at the passion events as eyewitness sourcing.

empty tomb Gospel historicity Gospel of Peter

Second-century legends (Gospel of Peter) feature absurd embellishments absent from canonical Gospels

Contrast between canonical Gospels and known legendary accounts to illustrate the difference.

Mark 15:21 Matthew 27:32 Luke 23:26 eyewitness guarantors named individuals in Gospels passion narrative

Simon of Cyrene named with his sons Alexander and Rufus as eyewitness sourcing (Mark 15:21)

Another case study in named eyewitness sourcing from the passion narrative.

Richard Bauckham Gospel historicity Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Tal Ilan's Palestinian name database — confirming Gospel names match authentic first-century Palestinian onomastics

Statistical evidence from Jewish names scholarship supporting Gospel authenticity.

Jesus Seminar Gospel genre demythologization

The genre of the Gospels: from assumed mythology to recognized Greco-Roman biography

Historical shift in scholarly understanding of the literary genre of the Gospels.

ancient historiography Gospel genre Greco-Roman biography

Difference between biography and history as genres — and why biography is a historical genre

Clarifying what it means that the Gospels are ancient biography rather than history.

Richard Bauckham Jesus Seminar Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Q&A: The historical-critical method — recommended response is Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Q&A for a student in an early Christian philosophy course using the historical-critical method.

Hebrews 4:15 Christology impeccability of Christ peccability of Christ

Q&A: Can Jesus sin? Physically capable but character-incapable; peccability vs. impeccability debate

Q&A doctrinal question about the sinless nature of Christ.

Pontius Pilate eyewitness testimony Gospel historicity

Q&A: How did the Gospel writers know about private conversations (Jesus and Pilate)?

Q&A on the epistemological question of how private Gospel scenes were recorded.

Luke 22:41 Matthew 26:39 eyewitness testimony Holy Spirit inspiration private scenes in Gospels

Q&A: How did the disciples know what Jesus prayed in Gethsemane if he prayed alone?

Q&A on the epistemological basis for the Gethsemane prayer account.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 Pentecost apologetics fulfilled prophecy

Q&A: Did New Testament writers invent Gospel narratives from OT prophecies? — Refuted by extra-biblical confirmation of historical facts

Q&A from a persistent atheist questioner (Doug) suggesting Gospels were reverse-engineered from OT texts.

John 14:9 Trinity John 14:9 Jesus and the Father

Question: Did Jesus claim to be the Father in John 14:9?

Jacob Seiler asks why Jesus said he was the Father in John 14:9.

John 14:9 Revelation vs. Identity distinction Trinity Philip John 14:9

John 14:9 context: Philip asks to see the Father; Jesus responds with a revelation claim, not an identity claim.

Mike walks through the narrative context of John 14, noting the Last Supper setting and Philip's request.

Hebrews 1:1-3 Trinity Hebrews 1:1-3 Radiance of God

Hebrews 1 supports the distinction: Jesus is the radiance/imprint of God, not God the Father himself.

Mike cross-references Hebrews 1 to reinforce that seeing Jesus reveals the Father without Jesus being the Father.

John 14:10 John 14:13 Trinity John 14:10 John 14:13

John 14:10 reinforces Trinitarian distinction: Jesus is "in" the Father, not identical to the Father.

Continuing the John 14 exposition.

1 John 2:16 Prosperity gospel Lust of the eyes Lust of the flesh

Prosperity gospel critique: misappropriates OT promises to Israel, ignores Jesus's teachings on suffering and cross-bearing.

Continuing the prosperity gospel discussion.

Matthew 27 Apologetics Matthew 27 Saints resurrected at crucifixion

Matthew 27: saints raised from the dead at Jesus's death — why do only Matthew mention it?

Insects Are Cool (an atheist regular on the channel) asks why only Matthew mentions the resurrection of saints in Matthew 27.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Sexual immorality 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Homosexuality

1 Corinthians 6:9 lists sins (including homosexual practice) that preclude inheriting the kingdom; false teaching on these sins subverts the gospel.

Leanne Waters asks whether those who teach homosexual relations are okay are rejecting the true Jesus and true gospel.

1 Corinthians 6:9 1 Corinthians 6:9 Easy believism Gospel

Easy believism: allowing people to remain in lifestyle sin while claiming salvation is a false gospel.

Mike argues that teaching sexual sins are acceptable amounts to leading people to hell.

Galatians 5:22-23 Benny Hinn Galatians 5:22-23 Fruit of the Spirit

Slain in the Spirit is unbiblical; drunk/slain/shaking in the Spirit are all contrary to "self-control" as fruit of the Spirit.

Continuing the critique of charismatic practices.

Luke 16 (Lazarus and the rich man) Ghosts Luke 16 (Lazarus and the rich man) Demons / evil spirits

Are ghosts real? Mike's view: likely evil spirits, not the spirits of the dead.

Jim McGregor asks whether ghosts are real or evil spirits.

John 20:17 Trinity John 20:17 Jesus as mediator

John 20:17 — Jesus says "my Father and your Father, my God and your God": Jesus as mediator connects believers to the Father.

Rodriguez asks why Jesus refers to the Father as "my God" in John 20:17.

1 Timothy 2:5 John 20:17 1 Timothy 2:5 John 20:17 Jesus as mediator

1 Timothy 2:5 mediator concept underlies John 20:17 — Jesus is the one mediator between God and man.

Continuing the John 20:17 discussion.

Matt Dillahunty Resurrection of Jesus Apologetics debates

Upcoming debate with Matt Dillahunty on April 11 on the resurrection of Jesus.

Mike announces the upcoming debate as a prayer request.

Gospel of Peter Literary analysis

Mark's unadorned narrative vs legendary Gospel of Peter's elaborate details

Contrasting early and late accounts of the resurrection

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 Gary Habermas Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

1 Corinthians 15 creed - pre-Pauline formula dated within 5 years of crucifixion

Earliest written testimony to resurrection appearances

Galatians 1:18 historeo Galatians 1:18 Eyewitness testimony

Greek term 'historeo' - Paul's formal eyewitness inquiry in Jerusalem

Galatians 1:18 - Paul's investigative visit to Peter

Competing traditions Silence as evidence

No competing Jewish or pagan tradition claiming the tomb was occupied

Absence of alternative explanations in ancient sources

Mike Licona Jewish burial customs

Jewish practice of marking and remembering spiritual leaders' burial sites

Why Jesus's grave would be noted and remembered

Acrosolia tomb type - archaeologically confirmed matches Gospel descriptions

Physical archaeology of 1st century Jerusalem tombs

Acrosolia Archaeology

Preparation day Sabbath Internal consistency

Burial on day of preparation before Sabbath - corroborated across Gospels

Internal consistency of burial timeline

Joseph Blinzler Women observers

Women observing the burial - multiply attested detail

Additional corroboration of historical memory

Criterion of embarrassment Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea - multiply attested, named, testable, criterion of embarrassment

Joseph as historical figure validating burial account

Q&A: Shroud of Turin and evidence issues

Discussion of physical evidence claims

Shroud of Turin

Swoon theory Naturalistic explanations

Rebuttal of swoon theory - physical evidence against resuscitation

Addressing alternative naturalistic explanations

resurrection of Jesus Tim McGrew Lydia McGrew

Tim McGrew and Lydia McGrew's paper on miracles and the resurrection as a sophisticated cumulative case for Christianity

Cameron recommends a freely available academic paper

resurrection of Jesus Tim McGrew apologetics accessibility

The level of philosophical sophistication available for defending the resurrection surprises many skeptics and Christians alike

Mike and Cameron reflect on accessibility and depth of resurrection arguments

monotheism empty tomb post-resurrection appearances

Q&A: If an atheist accepts that a creator God exists, why should that God be the Christian God? Answer: cosmological arguments narrow the field to monotheism; historical evidence for the resurrection identifies Christianity specifically

Q&A question from Emily Towler about identifying which God among creation stories

resurrection of Jesus Non Sequitur Show Paulogia

Apologist/counter-apologist "Paulogia": Cameron had a debate with him on the resurrection on the Non Sequitur Show

Q&A from Nick J about Paulogia's series on the resurrection

Josephus empty tomb swoon theory

Refutation of Paulogia's claim that Romans denied honorable burial to crucifixion victims: Josephus explicitly says Romans made an exception for Jews

Mike provides a specific example of responding to a resurrection objection

atonement gospel apologetics

Closing message from Mike to skeptics: the evidence for Christianity is robust and surprising; Jesus really died for sins; God is personal and loves people; life is not purposeless

Mike's closing address to skeptic viewers

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-27

Tim Barnett (Stand to Reason): faith is not an epistemology but a way of trusting; knowledge and trust are distinct categories

Video clip from Tim Barnett responding to Boghossian

Mark 2 William Lane Craig Stand to Reason Tim Barnett

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-27

Closing appeal: false intellectual barriers constructed by Street Epistemology prevent people from seriously considering the gospel

Mike's closing statement

Evangelism Gospel Street Epistemology

resurrection apostle sincerity conspiracy hypothesis

Introduction: purpose of the video is to examine whether the original resurrection eyewitnesses genuinely believed their claims about Jesus rising from the dead

Opening segment; Mike establishes the core question for the livestream

Sean McDowell martyrdom The Fate of the Apostles

Primary source citation: Sean McDowell's book "The Fate of the Apostles" as the main resource for this content

Mike credits his primary source before diving into the evidence

early Christian persecution first-century Christianity

Establishing premise: general persecution was the normal reality for first-century Christians from the very beginning

Mike lays foundational context before presenting specific apostolic martyrdom evidence

crucifixion of Jesus Pontius Pilate early Christian persecution

Tacitus (Annals, 109 AD) as non-Christian confirmation of early Christian persecution, crucifixion of Christ under Pontius Pilate, and the movement's origin in Judea

Mike quotes Tacitus as an external, non-Christian source confirming early persecution

Pliny the Younger Emperor Trajan early Christian persecution

Pliny the Younger's letter to Emperor Trajan (112 AD): institutionalized Roman policy of executing Christians who refused to recant

Second external Roman source confirming systematic persecution