Search — Theology Explorer

discipleship evangelism church mission

The church must maintain evangelism as its primary posture toward unbelievers; community service without gospel proclamation is insufficient

Response to question about churches focusing solely on community service vs. discipleship and evangelism

Scripture authority spiritual discernment near-death experiences

Near-death experience books should be tested against Scripture and not used to supplement or replace it; the danger is NDE narrators becoming gurus with insider knowledge

Response to a question about the theological accuracy of books like 23 Minutes in Hell and 90 Minutes in Heaven

Ezekiel apologetics Ezekiel Tyre

Ezekiel's prophecy about the destruction of Tyre is a favorite apologetic prophecy, confirmed by non-Jewish and non-Christian historical sources

Response to question about compelling prophecies that might impress atheists

Isaiah 53 apologetics Isaiah 53 messianic prophecy

Isaiah 53 is a powerful messianic prophecy whose parallels to Jesus are so strong that people often do not realize it predates the New Testament

Continuation of response about compelling prophecies for skeptics

evangelism apologetics human responsibility

It is not the Christian's job to change minds; our responsibility is to present truth and build a case, while God holds unbelievers accountable for their own response

Sidebar comment after discussing apologetic prophecies

soul dualism body-soul distinction

Winger holds a dualist view of the soul: the soul is distinct from the brain and body, uses the body to interact with reality, and persists after bodily death

Response to question about the nature of the soul

apologetics methodology research method primary sources

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 William Lane Craig Big Bang

The Kalam Cosmological Argument leads from two premises to the conclusion that the universe has a cause with properties matching classical theism; William Lane Craig has defended it extensively

Response to question about atheist objections to the Kalam

Luke apostolic authority apostolos Barnabas

Modern-day apostles: the original apostles were unique authoritative founders whose authority is now held in the NT canon; the movement claiming ongoing apostolic offices is unbiblical, though the lowercase term can refer to missionaries

Response to question about whether modern-day apostles are biblical

1 John 4:2 Incarnation Scripture authority Messiah

1 John 4:2 — testing spirits by confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh carries the full theological weight of Messiah, incarnation, and OT fulfillment, not merely a verbal formula

Response to question about whether 1 John 4:2 is a sufficient test for false spirits

God's character divine judgment OT vs NT

Comparing OT and NT severity of divine judgment is a category error: the OT covers thousands of years of history while the NT covers only a brief first-century window

First counter-argument in response to whether God's punishment lessons in intensity over time

Colossians Romans 14 Colossians Romans 14 Christian freedom

The Sabbath is Saturday; Gentile Christians are free to observe or not observe it; the Sabbath did not move to Sunday; early church gathered on both days for different reasons

Response to question about whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday and whether it matters for Gentiles

John 1:1-14 Trinity Incarnation Christology

Jesus had no pre-existent human body; John 1:14 says the Word 'became' flesh, not that he switched bodies; the Incarnation was a genuine becoming

Response to question about whether Jesus had a human body before the Incarnation

Genesis 1 hermeneutics Genesis 1 demythologization

Biblical cosmology should not be assumed to match ancient Near Eastern flat-earth cosmology just because surrounding cultures believed it; Genesis radically demythologizes creation compared to the Enuma Elish

Response to question about Hebraic cosmology and the flat-earth interpretation

conscience stumbling block worship music

Worship songs with questionable original contexts may be acceptable in personal use but congregational use requires sensitivity to the consciences of all present

Response to question about whether it is okay to sing a song that in its original context is questionable but which people would interpret as worship to God

Romans 2 1 John 3:4 Hebrew Roots movement Romans 2 sin

The word 'law' in 1 John 3:4 does not specifically mean the Mosaic law but any law or command God has revealed; Gentiles had moral law before Moses

Response to question about whether Christians must keep the Mosaic Sabbath since sin is the transgression of the law

Hebrews 6 Hebrews 10 eternal security Hebrews 6 Hebrews 10

Hebrews 6 is best read as a corporate statement about Israel rather than individuals losing their salvation; Hebrews 10 is easier to reconcile with eternal security

Brief response to question about eternal security and Hebrews 6 and 10

John 8 Mary Magdalene textual criticism John 8

John 8 (woman caught in adultery) has significant textual critical issues; there is no good case for identifying her as Mary Magdalene; the absence of the man reflects a real double standard

Response to question about the woman caught in adultery

John 20:17 Mary Magdalene John 20:17 Thomas

John 20:17 — 'Do not cling to me' means do not grasp or hold on, not 'do not touch'; the Greek haptomai connotes holding on, explaining why Jesus also allowed Thomas to touch him later

Response to question about why Jesus would not let Mary touch him but later allowed Thomas to touch him

N.T. Wright Pauline theology New Perspective on Paul

N.T. Wright's New Perspective on Paul: Winger is mildly opposed but has not read enough Wright to engage substantively

Response to question about N.T. Wright's view on Paul's epistles

Matthew 6:14-15 Philippians 2:13 assurance of salvation forgiveness Matthew 6:14-15

Matthew 6:14-15 has a direct and uncomfortable application; persistent unwillingness to forgive may be evidence of not being in Christ, not a cause of losing salvation

Response to question about applying Matthew 6:14-15 to life situations

1 Corinthians 10:13 temptation 1 Corinthians 10:13 suicide

1 Corinthians 10:13 refutes the idea that any temptation including suicidal impulse is unavoidably overpowering; God always provides a way of escape; the sense of enslavement is often a lie believed about oneself

Response to question about Christianity and suicide and whether God ever gives more than one can bear

Matthew 26:39 atonement Matthew 26:39 Gethsemane

The necessity of Christ's atonement is biblically defensible; Jesus's Gethsemane prayer implies there was no other way to redeem fallen humanity

Response to question about whether God needed Christ's sacrifice in order to cleanse us for indwelling by the Holy Spirit

John 16 Calvinism soteriology free will

Winger rejects irresistible grace: God's Spirit convicts all people universally but some freely reject him; Winger believes he personally would likely not believe without the Spirit's work

Response to question about whether Winger would believe in the Resurrection without God's testimony

Romans 14 Romans 6 1 Corinthians 10:13 Romans 14 temptation sanctification

Multi-step biblical strategy for overcoming lust: believe 1 Cor 10:13, make no provision for the flesh, remove high-value stumbling blocks, and fight temptation at its earliest stage not its peak

Response to question about being enslaved to the sin of lust

Deuteronomy 5:2 Genesis 26:5 Abraham 119 Ministries Deuteronomy 5:2

Genesis 26:5 does not prove Abraham kept the Law of Moses

Response to a Hebrew Roots proof text about Abraham

Exodus 12:49 Hebrew Roots movement Gentiles and the Law Exodus 12:49

Exodus 12:49 does not teach that all Gentiles were under the Mosaic Law—it refers to resident aliens within Israel

Response to a Hebrew Roots proof text about Gentiles and the Law

Messianic Messianic Judaism completed Jew

Q&A: "Messianic" is a synonym for "Christian"—every believer in Jesus is messianic in the biblical sense

Response to audience question about non-Jews identifying as Messianic

1 John 3:4 1 John 3:4 anomia lawlessness

Q&A: 1 John 3:4 — "sin is lawlessness" refers to transgression of God's commands broadly, not specifically the Law of Moses

Response to a Hebrew Roots proof text

Leviticus servant laws slavery in the OT Leviticus servant laws corporal punishment

Q&A: Mosaic Law on servants — corporal punishment was permitted; killing or maiming a servant freed them; Winger defends this as reasonable in historical context

Response to a question about slavery and beating in the OT law

Romans 2:12 Hebrew Roots movement Gentiles and the Law Romans 2:12

Q&A: Romans 2:12 undermines the claim that everyone has always been under the Mosaic Law — Winger does not know how Hebrew Roots explains it

Engagement with a counter-question about Hebrew Roots consistency

Ezekiel apologetics Ezekiel biblical prophecy

Q&A: Winger has not fully responded to Digital Hammurabi's rebuttal of his Tyre prophecy video — discusses the two main counter-points

Apologetics discussion about Ezekiel's Tyre prophecy

Ezekiel 26 Zechariah 9 Zechariah 7:1 Ezekiel 26 Alexander the Great prophecy of Tyre

Objection and response: the pronoun shift in Ezekiel 26 and Zechariah 9

Addressing the objection that the plural pronoun in Ezekiel 26 still refers only to Nebuchadnezzar.

Isaiah 53 Isaiah 42 Isaiah 49 Isaiah 53 Suffering Servant messianic prophecy

Objection: Isaiah 53 is about Israel, not Jesus — and response

McLatchie addresses the modern rabbinic argument that Isaiah 53's Suffering Servant is a personification of the nation of Israel.

deity of Christ Jonathan McLatchie pagan deity parallels

Objection: Jesus's deity borrowed from pagan deities — and response

Addressing the popular online claim that the deity of Jesus was borrowed from pagan mythologies.

God of the gaps inference to the best explanation Jonathan McLatchie

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.