Search — Theology Explorer

Steven Anderson homosexuality violence

Clip 1: Anderson says he would push a button to kill every homosexual

Playing Anderson's first clip

Romans 3:21-24 justification by faith grace righteousness of God

Romans 3:21-24: The law leads to Christ — righteousness through faith for all who believe

The law's positive function: pointing to Christ

Isaiah 53:6 messianic prophecy substitutionary atonement Isaiah 53:6

Isaiah 53:6: The Lord caused the iniquity of all to fall on Jesus

Substitutionary atonement as the solution the law points to

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

Romans 10:2 discernment zeal without knowledge Romans 10:2

Advice to Anderson followers: recognize the problems and apply a filter

Pastoral counsel to people in Anderson's orbit

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

Analogy: Compositing Lincoln, JFK, and fictional David Palmer to "prove" Obama is a myth illustrates the fallacy of the mythicist composite method

Illustrating the logical fallacy in compositing pagan parallels

John F. Kennedy Abraham Lincoln Jesus mythicism Barack Obama

Job 2:10 moral evil ra calamity vs moral evil

Job 2:10 confirms ra as calamity: Job receiving evil = loss of children, livestock, health

Job passage used as a concrete example of ra meaning bad circumstances, not moral evil

Satan free will moral evil

Moral evil as the result of free will; natural evil as a separate category

Mike distinguishes two major categories of evil

Plato polytheism nature of God

Euthyphro dilemma fails for the Christian God but was valid against finite pagan gods

Historical-philosophical context explaining why the dilemma persisted

Q&A: If God gave us a wicked heart, can we blame him? — Shaking fist at God is foolish

Audience question on whether God bears responsibility for human sinfulness

salvation sin free will

Genesis Genesis free will human nature

Q&A: Were Adam and Eve created perfect? Free will is not an imperfection; sin through free will is

Audience question about the nature of Adam and Eve's creation

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Q&A: Luke 21 and preterism — is it fulfilled prophecy?

Question from a self-identified preterist asking why Winger does not see Luke 21 as fulfilled prophecy.

Psalm 22 Luke 21 eschatology preterism Psalm 22

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-24

Trinitarian harmony assumes unnecessary correlation: individual election does not logically require limited atonement

A second structural objection to the Trinitarian harmony argument.

election limited atonement Trinitarian harmony in the atonement

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-24

Negative inference fallacy: Romans 8 makes inclusive statements, not exclusive ones about the atonement's extent

Mike's main exegetical response to the Calvinist use of Romans 8.

Romans 8:29-32 hermeneutics limited atonement negative inference fallacy

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Ezekiel 33:11 — God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked

Mike demonstrates Old Testament consistency on God's wrath and mercy.

Ezekiel 33:11 repentance Ezekiel 33:11 God's wrath

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Believers not appointed to wrath — pre-trib rapture argument from 1 Thessalonians

Viewer raises the classic pre-trib rapture argument from 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians eschatology rapture tribulation

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

The etymological fallacy: a word's origin does not fix its meaning

The core linguistic error in the JW argument is the etymological fallacy — assuming that the root meaning of a word is always its current or proper meaning. Winger explains this is a recognized fallacy in linguistics.

etymological fallacy linguistics stauros

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Clarification: the etymological fallacy is a linguistic fallacy, not a logical fallacy

A viewer misunderstood Winger's use of the term "etymological fallacy," thinking he invented or misapplied it. Winger clarifies the distinction between logical and linguistic fallacies.

etymological fallacy linguistics stauros

apologetics exclusivity of Christ religious pluralism

Introduction: "All roads lead to God" is simultaneously the most common and one of the worst objections to biblical Christianity

Opening segment where Winger frames the topic and establishes his thesis

exclusivity of Christ religious pluralism analogy and illustration

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

Matthew 5:27-28 Matthew 5:21-22 lust inner life total depravity

Jesus raises the moral standard inward: lust as adultery, hatred as murder — God judges the inner person

Scriptural grounding for total depravity / the inadequacy of external goodness

apologetics epistemology relativism

Q&A: Relativism — "there is no truth" is self-refuting; "no one can know truth" is also self-refuting

Viewer question from Isabell Chris

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-31

Conclusion on household baptisms: infant baptism has no examples or instructions in the NT; household passages fall short

Winger summarizes his findings from Part 2 before moving to the circumcision argument.

biblical inspiration infant baptism believers baptism

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

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

Living Waters apologetic methodology Emilio Ramos

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

Elijah on Mount Carmel: biblical example of knowing vs. showing — he knew God was real, he showed others through evidence

Old Testament narrative case study illustrating the knowing/showing distinction

1 Kings 18 Elijah 1 Kings 18 Mount Carmel

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

On original sin: some form of sin nature is required by orthodoxy but the exact mechanism may be debated

Q&A: whether denying the imputation of Adam's guilt is outside orthodoxy

Romans 5 Romans 5 original sin anthropology

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

Mike does not hold to full Calvinist total depravity; the key disagreement is whether fallen humans can respond to the Holy Spirit's call

Question from Jason Staub about conditional election, prevenient grace, and total depravity — if Christ dies for all, why must a sinner overcome unbelief on their own?

soteriology free will Calvinism

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

1 Timothy 2:12-15 restricts women from the pastoral/authority role in the church, but does not prohibit co-ed Bible study or women's ministry generally

Question from Seanya about whether 1 Timothy 2:12-15 makes co-ed Bible studies unbiblical and how it affects women's ministry.

1 Timothy 2:12-15 women in ministry hermeneutics complementarianism

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-11

Christians must align with Christ first, not a political party

Broader point about Christian political engagement during social unrest.

Christian witness political allegiance Christ above politics

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-11

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was not about wisdom or knowledge in general but about moral autonomy through sinful rebellion

Response to Adriano asking why the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was bad if wisdom is generally a good thing in the Bible.

Genesis 2-3 wisdom Genesis 2-3 Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Timing argument: blessings purchased at the cross are not all present realities — healing is partially now, fully later

Disagreement with hyper-charismatic "claim healing now" theology, despite agreeing healing is in the atonement.

healing eschatology Holy Spirit

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Catholicism as doctrinal development — novel doctrines added over centuries, not apostolic teaching

Continuation of Fatima discussion; Mike's broader critique of Catholicism.

church fathers apologetics Catholicism

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Symmetry of creation and salvation: both occur through the Son

Theological reflection on Hebrews 1:2 and its implications

Genesis 1 John 1 Hebrews 1:1-2 Genesis 1 soteriology John 1

humility preaching methodology ministerial formation

Advice for young ministers: root out pride continually — comparing yourself to other ministers is a major red flag

Continued advice for Andrej Pollock on young ministry pitfalls

Hebrews 6:4-6 eternal security apostasy Hebrews 6:4-6

Hebrews 6:4-6 is the most challenging apostasy passage in the Bible; Mike is not yet ready to give a definitive answer on it

Question from Folky about the warning in Hebrews 6:4-6 regarding those who seem to have experienced salvation but then fall away

Calvinism soteriology total depravity

Calvinism: regeneration precedes faith — the Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner first, making belief inevitable

Question from Jason Staub about whether faith from a fallen nature is "fruitful" faith, touching on the Calvinist doctrine of regeneration preceding faith