Search — Theology Explorer

Apologetics Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Introduction: The slogan "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" as a reason people reject the resurrection

Mike opens by framing the entire talk around evaluating this popular skeptical slogan, which he says is the primary reason many people reject the resurrection of Christ.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Gullibility vs. denial Epistemology

Personal sympathy for the slogan: the desire not to be gullible

Mike acknowledges the psychological appeal of the slogan before dismantling it.

Circular reasoning Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Self-defeating argument

Problem 1: The slogan is self-defeating — it does not meet its own standard

First of five critiques of the slogan.

Apologetics Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Mike asks Twitter: what specific historical evidence for the resurrection would count as "extraordinary"?

Mike probes the practical application of the slogan to the resurrection specifically.

Resurrection of Jesus Eyewitness testimony Historical evidence

Twitter response 1: Jesus appearing across the globe with stories from all nations as required evidence

First Twitter respondent's example of what extraordinary evidence for the resurrection would look like.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Prophecy

Twitter response 4: Bible found on the moon, photos from 2000 years ago, predictions — absurd demands

Fourth respondent's example of extraordinary evidence — illustrating how the slogan leads to unreasonable expectations.

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 Resurrection of Jesus Early creed

Twitter response 5: Contemporary writings of life, death, resurrection with originals — we have near-contemporary documents, especially 1 Corinthians 15

Fifth respondent example; Mike pivots to addressing 1 Corinthians 15 as key early evidence.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Unreasonable skepticism

Twitter response 5 continued: demands 12 angels, 12 prophets, 12 languages simultaneously — unreasonable historical expectation

The same respondent adds a preferred but unreasonable standard.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Unreasonable skepticism

Twitter response 6: Alien video recording of the resurrection — PhD-level absurdity

Sixth respondent, reportedly holding a PhD, demands alien video recording as extraordinary evidence.

Paul the Apostle Resurrection of Jesus Eyewitness testimony

Twitter response 7: Signed first-century testimony from Pilate — Paul is a better answer

Seventh respondent; Mike argues Paul's conversion is more powerful than any Pilate testimony could be.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Evidence dismissal

Summary: the Twitter examples reveal the slogan creates unreasonable expectations to dodge evidence

Mike wraps up the Twitter survey analysis.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Existence of God Epistemology

Problem 3: The slogan results in rejecting any claim you want — confirmation bias

Third of five critiques of the slogan.

Epistemology Prior probability Human probability estimation

Problem 5: The slogan misapplies prior probability — humans are bad at estimating probabilities

Fifth and final critique, focused on the prior probability dimension.

Resurrection of Jesus Miracles Prior probability

The prior probability of the resurrection cannot be assessed by counting how many people have naturally risen — category error

Mike drills into the specific error of applying natural-process probability to a theistic miracle claim.

Existence of God Prior probability New Testament reliability

Adding corroborating evidence: reasons to believe God exists and Scripture is reliable further overcome any prior improbability

Mike adds to the cumulative case by connecting evidence for God and Scripture to the prior probability question.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Epistemology

Mike's positive replacement for the slogan: evidence makes a claim believable when data is better explained by the hypothesis being true

Mike offers a rigorous epistemological alternative to the slogan.

Romans 1 Romans 1 Hardened heart Apologetics and spiritual condition

Intellectual clarity requires spiritual health — Romans 1 on the connection between spiritual state and clear thinking

Mike adds a theological qualifier to the apologetics discussion.

Apologetics Evangelism Limits of apologetics

Apologetics is useful and important but should not be overstated — it works differently for different people

Mike's pastoral qualification on the limits of apologetics.

Apologetics Atheism Motivation for anti-religion

Q&A: Have you asked atheists why they even care what people believe about God?

Question from Sadie Mayo.

Greg Koukl Evangelism Tactics (book)

Q&A: Tips for evangelizing to peers before military training — Greg Koukl's Tactics recommended

Viewer heading to military training asks about evangelism strategies.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 William Lane Craig Isaiah 53 Psalm 22

Q&A: How to deal with coworkers who want proof of God's existence — resources recommended

Viewer (law enforcement officer) asks how to engage atheist coworkers.

Luke 10:23-24 Hardened heart Apologetics and spiritual condition Luke 10:23-24

Q&A: Is a particular heart condition needed to see the reliability of evidence? — Luke 10:23-24 discussed

Viewer asks about the relationship between spiritual state and ability to assess evidence.

Evangelism Apologetics and spiritual condition Conversion

Former atheists: some came to faith through argumentation, others through experiential transformation first

Part of the answer about heart condition and evidence.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Fire-breathing dragon analogy

Q&A: Fire-breathing dragon analogy — why the resurrection is not analogous to fantastic claims

Viewer tests the slogan with a car vs. dragon analogy.

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

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

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

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

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

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

Response to a Hebrew Roots proof text about Abraham

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

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

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

Messianic Messianic Judaism completed Jew

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

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

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

apologetics cumulative case apologetics Jonathan McLatchie

Introduction: cumulative case for Christianity

Mike Winger introduces Jonathan McLatchie and the format for the livestream — seven lines of argument for Christianity, each with an explanation, example, and objection.

Deuteronomy 18 Isaiah 41:21-24 Deuteronomy 18 divine inspiration predictive prophecy

Predictive prophecy as criterion for divine inspiration

Jonathan McLatchie explains how the Bible itself uses predictive prophecy as a criterion for identifying divine inspiration.

Ezekiel 26 Ezekiel 26 Nebuchadnezzar Alexander the Great

Prophecy of the destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel 26)

McLatchie presents Ezekiel 26 as a case study in fulfilled non-messianic predictive 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 52:13-53:12 Suffering Servant substitutionary atonement messianic prophecy

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 as messianic prophecy — full reading

McLatchie reads and introduces the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 53 as the premier example of messianic prophecy.

Isaiah 52:13 Isaiah 6:1 Isaiah 2 Suffering Servant deity of Christ Jonathan McLatchie

Argument for the deity of Christ from Isaiah 52:13 — "high and lifted up"

McLatchie presents one of four arguments for the deity of the Messiah embedded within Isaiah 52-53.

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.

divine inspiration Jonathan McLatchie unity of Scripture

Unity of the Bible as a second argument for divine inspiration

Mike Winger introduces the unity of Scripture as a distinct argument from prophecy for divine inspiration.

Zechariah 2 Zechariah 4:8-9 Jonathan McLatchie intricate harmonies Zechariah 2

Divine plurality in Zechariah 2 — Yahweh sent by Yahweh

McLatchie gives Zechariah 2 as an example of intricate harmonies pointing to the Trinity in the Old Testament.

Hosea 11:1 Proverbs 30:1-4 Hosea 11:1 divine sonship Jonathan McLatchie

Proverbs 30:1-4 — God and his Son in the Hebrew Bible

McLatchie highlights Proverbs 30:1-4 as an often-overlooked text implying the divine sonship within the Hebrew Scriptures.

Mark 2 Isaiah 63:7-10 Psalm 78:40 Holy Spirit Mark 2 Jonathan McLatchie

Isaiah 63 — Three persons of the Trinity in the Old Testament

McLatchie presents Isaiah 63:7-10 as containing all three persons of the Trinity within a single Old Testament passage.