Search — Theology Explorer

hermeneutics proof-texting apologetics

Using scripture against scripture is bad methodology — it appears to create contradictions and 'the atheist wins'

Mike's methodological critique of how both sides typically argue

James 2:14-26 hermeneutics contextual interpretation James 2:14-26

Proper methodology: verse-by-verse contextual study of the passage being debated rather than countering with other passages

Mike's positive hermeneutical proposal

James 2:24 sola fide James 2:24 dikaioo

James 2:24 — 'justified by works and not by faith alone' means vindicated before people, not made righteous before God

Direct interpretation of the most contested verse in the passage

hermeneutics sola scriptura contextual interpretation

Mike's methodology: no extra-biblical quotes, no analogies to distract, no theological meanings read into plain words, no distorting context

Meta-reflection on interpretive method used in the study

1 Corinthians 3 hermeneutics exegesis 1 Corinthians 3

Method: read 1 Corinthians 3, present the Catholic interpretation, then do verse-by-verse exegesis

Establishing the exegetical methodology for examining the passage

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 purgatory Catholic apologetics purification

Catholic interpretation of 1 Corinthians 3: fire = purgatorial fire that purifies the believer

Mike fairly summarizes what Catholic apologists say about this passage

Catholic Answers purgatory 2 Maccabees 12:38-46

Jimmy Akin's (Catholic Answers) soft interpretation of 2 Maccabees: the passage presupposes that prayer can help the dead on their journey to heaven

Catholic apologetic reading of 2 Maccabees, specifically from Jimmy Akin

Matthew 18:34 Matthew 18:21-35 purgatory Matthew 18:34 Matthew 18:21-35

Q&A — Matthew 18:34 ('delivered to the torturers until he pays all') examined as a tertiary purgatory text

Viewer raises a third passage sometimes used for purgatory — the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-28

Carrier teaches that in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes events that occurred in outer space — a cosmic/celestial resurrection rather than an earthly one

Carrier's interpretation of the Pauline resurrection kerygma

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 resurrection Paul the Apostle

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-29

Isaiah 53: modern claim that it refers to Israel, not Messiah, is historically novel

Ra claims Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant) is about Israel personified, not Jesus, and that Jews have always understood it this way

Isaiah 53 Origen Messianic prophecy Isaiah 53

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-29

Rashi and ancient rabbinic Midrash confirm Psalm 22 was understood as messianic

Were there any ancient Jewish authorities who read Psalm 22 as messianic?

Psalm 22:27 Messianic prophecy Universal worship of God Psalm 22:27

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-29

Ancient rabbinical tradition: entire Old Testament is about the Messiah

Continuing discussion of Matthew's typological use of Hosea

Jesus in the Old Testament Ancient rabbinical interpretation Typology

Mike Winger idea 2018-04-11

Reason 3 refuted: The '41,000 interpretations' claim is a sourcing error; difficulty of some passages ≠ general cryptic nature

The skeptic claims the Bible is cryptic and subject to 41,000 different interpretations, citing a Wikipedia article.

inspiration tests 41000 denominations Christian denominations

Mike Winger idea 2018-04-11

Q&A: 1 Corinthians 7:12 — is Paul's 'I, not the Lord' statement inspired Scripture?

Viewer question: Should we consider 1 Corinthians 7:12 inspired since Paul explicitly says it is his opinion, not the Lord's?

1 Corinthians 7 1 Corinthians 7 marriage apostolic authority

preterism full preterism partial preterism

Preterism as one response to the 'failed prophet' problem

Mike introduces preterism as the main alternative to his own futurist interpretation, with no intent to attack preterists.

Mark 13:14 Mark 13:14 abomination of desolation let the reader understand

Four key points about the abomination of desolation in Mark 13

Mike summarizes his four-point analysis of what the abomination of desolation means for interpreting Mark 13.

Mark 13:15-23 Mark 13:15-23 great tribulation R.C. Sproul

Mark 13:15-23 — unparalleled tribulation: Mike takes Jesus at his word, not hyperbole

Mike reads the tribulation section and defends a literal reading against those who dismiss it as exaggeration.

Mark 13:28-31 this generation Mark 13:28-31 fig tree parable

Mark 13:28-31 — the fig tree parable and 'this generation' interpreted as the generation that sees the signs

Mike addresses the key contested phrase 'this generation will not pass away.'

Mark 13 synthesis Olivet Discourse Mark 13 synthesis long delay

Mark 13 synthesis: Jesus taught a long delay, not an imminent return

Mike draws the interpretive conclusion from the whole of Mark 13 before moving to Luke 21.

Matthew 10:23 Matthew 11:1 Matthew 10:5 contextual interpretation Matthew 10:23 R.C. Sproul

Matthew 10:23 — 'Son of Man coming' refers to Jesus arriving in the towns during the limited sending mission, not the second coming

Mike addresses the specific verse R.C. Sproul cites as evidence for an expected first-century return.

Daniel 11 Daniel 12 Daniel 11 Daniel 12 rebuilt temple

Q&A: Does the abomination of desolation require a rebuilt temple? Yes — based on Daniel 11-12

Viewer Martin Gradwell argues the temple is our bodies and thus no physical rebuild is required.

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

Ahn Sahng-hong: CoG teaches he was the Second Coming of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Father

The founder of CoG. Mike did a separate video showing Sahng-hong did not even claim to be Christ — he thought he was Elijah.

World Mission Society Church of God Ahn Sahng-hong false Christ

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

Kim's hermeneutic: rip a single word from a verse, build a doctrine on it, ignore the surrounding context — this prevents members from reading the Bible properly

Summary statement on Kim's overall biblical interpretation method.

hermeneutics proof-texting Joo-Cheol Kim

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

1 Corinthians 16:2 shows early Christians gathering on the first day of the week; Kim claims this proves they went to work that day, not that they worshiped

Mike cites 1 Corinthians 16:2 — 'on the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up' — as further evidence of Sunday gathering.

1 Corinthians 16:2 proof-texting Sunday worship 1 Corinthians 16:2

Luke 9 Matthew 16 Mark 9 Jesus Luke 9 Matthew 16

Matthew 16 / Mark 9 / Luke 9 — 'Some standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom' refers to the Transfiguration, not the Second Coming.

Ra claims Jesus predicted his imminent return and was proven a false prophet because all disciples are now dead.

Matthew 24 Daniel Second Coming eschatology Matthew 24

Matthew 24 — Jesus lists wars, earthquakes, and famines as signs that should NOT alarm believers about the Second Coming, not as signs that it is near.

Ra argues Matthew 24's signs are always being fulfilled, therefore the prophecy is meaningless. Winger argues Ra misreads the passage's intent.

hermeneutics apologetics Aron Ra

Ra's rhetorical rant: prophecy 'appeals to the paranoid' and Christians 'arbitrarily shift between literal and metaphorical.' Winger identifies this as ad hominem and misrepresentation.

Winger analyzes a section of Ra's video that he characterizes as rhetorical rather than argumentative.

Zechariah 9:9 apologetics Jesus Aron Ra

Zechariah 9:9 — Ra claims it is not Messianic and requires Gentile conversion and expanded Israeli borders for fulfillment. The text contains none of those requirements.

Ra argues Christians misappropriate Jewish prophecy for Jesus.

hermeneutics contextual interpretation Bible interpretation

Hermeneutics: the art and science of biblical interpretation provides objective, repeatable standards for determining correct meaning — not based on personal opinion.

Viewer question about how Winger measures whether his interpretation is correct.

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Winger reads 1 Kings 18:36-37: Elijah prays 'let it be known this day that you are God in Israel' — explicit language of producing knowledge

Winger continues exegeting 1 Kings 18 in support of evidential apologetics

1 Kings 18:36-37 knowledge of God Elijah evidential apologetics

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Sye: evidential apologetics aims to convince people of something they didn't already know — but Scripture says they do know; the purpose of giving evidence should be to expose suppression, not fill ignorance

Sye's summary critique of evidentialism

Romans 1 1 Kings 18 Romans 1 knowledge of God suppression of truth

Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

1 Kings 16:25 — Omri 'did more evil than all who were before him,' implying qualitative, not merely quantitative, differences in wickedness.

Mike moves from the law to narrative descriptions of individuals to show that Scripture uses qualitative language about degrees of evil.

1 Kings 16:25 hierarchy of sin 1 Kings 16:25 Omri

Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

The unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) — Mike is not fully settled on the interpretation but identifies the key exegetical questions: is it calling the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan, a continuous act of resistance, or any negative speech about the Spirit?

Q&A section: a viewer asks about the unforgivable sin.

Matthew 12 hermeneutics Q&A unforgivable sin

Mike Winger idea 2018-11-14

Malice (Colossians 3:8) is bottled-up anger that becomes a twisted, bitter lens through which a person sees someone — the opposite of wrath.

Third element of the Colossians 3:8 list; Mike defines malice as stored bitterness.

Colossians 3:8 marriage relationships Colossians 3:8

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-12

Shame is Zahnd's primary rhetorical device; his Rorschach accusation is a projection of his own method

Winger analyzes Zahnd's use of psychological shaming and his Rorschach test analogy from the book.

hermeneutics discernment false-teaching

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-12

Zahnd claims Jesus 'edited' Isaiah 61 in Luke 4 — but Jesus stopped reading mid-sentence, he did not delete text

Winger examines Zahnd's most prominent proof-text for the 'Jesus edits the Bible' thesis: Jesus reading from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16–21).

Luke-4 Isaiah-61 hermeneutics discernment apologetics

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-05

Refuting the 'temple prostitution' interpretation of Romans 1 with historical scholarship

Q&A question about whether Romans 1 only condemns exploitative or temple-based homosexuality, not loving committed same-sex relationships.

Matthew Vines Romans 1 hermeneutics homosexuality Greek exegesis

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-05

Matthew Vines' approach to Scripture is driven by a prior commitment to affirm homosexuality, not honest exegesis

Q&A question about advocates like Matthew Vines who try to make homosexuality fit within Scripture.

Matthew Vines Romans 1 hermeneutics eisegesis false teaching

Jeremiah 10 Jeremiah 10 Christmas trees Anachronism in Bible interpretation

Introduction: Jeremiah 10 and the Christmas tree question

Mike launches a surprise Monday livestream to address a common question before Christmas

Jeremiah 10 Hermeneutics Jeremiah 10 Anachronism

Anachronism: the fundamental interpretive error in reading Jeremiah 10 as being about Christmas trees

Mike identifies the method error before examining the passage

Jeremiah 10:1-2 Contextual interpretation Jeremiah 10:1-2 Ways of the nations

Jeremiah 10:1-2 context: 'Don't learn the ways of the nations' is not a blanket prohibition

Reading the passage from the beginning