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All (3732) Scripture Commentary (1418) Theology (156) Mike Winger (2139) Pulpit (19)

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Did Jesus perform miracles as God or purely as a human in right relationship with God?

Viewer raises a Christological claim used to support charismatic miracle theology.

Bill Johnson miracles Christology

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Acts 13:48 — 'appointed to eternal life' and the election/free will question

Viewer asks about the Calvinist proof text in Acts 13:48.

Acts 13:48 election Calvinism Molinism

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Positional 'in Christ' removes believers from the domain of God's wrath

Mike clarifies how believers relate to divine wrath in light of the question about prosperity gospel preachers.

Ephesians 1-3 in Christ salvation Ephesians 1-3

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Why doesn't the death penalty for homosexuality apply today? — Old Testament law and Christ

Viewer asks why the Old Testament death penalty for various sins does not apply under the new covenant.

new covenant progressive revelation the cross

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Atheists (Dan Barker) also use the cross-vs-stake argument to discredit Christianity

Beyond JWs, some atheists promote the idea that Jesus did not die on a cross. Winger specifically names Dan Barker, known in online atheist circles as an authority on New Testament Greek, who argues Christians are wrong about even the basic shape of the cross.

apologetics Dan Barker atheism

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

The Watchtower did not always believe the torture-stake doctrine; the change occurred in 1931

Historical evidence shows the Watchtower itself used cross imagery and taught that Jesus died on a cross until 1931. The shift from cross to torture-stake was a doctrinal change introduced by Rutherford.

cross torture stake Watchtower

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Christians worship God, not the cross symbol; cross use is a reminder, not icon worship

Winger clarifies that Christians do not worship the cross as an object. It serves as a reminder of what Christ accomplished. The pagan origin argument for the cross is irrelevant — pagans used Greek before the NT was written in Greek; usage context determines meaning.

atonement idolatry worship

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

The real Watchtower error: denying the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, not just the shape of the cross

Winger argues that the cross-shape dispute, while useful in exposing Watchtower unreliability, is secondary to the far more serious Watchtower error: they deny that Jesus's death on the cross was sufficient to pay for sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9 John 19:30 justification by faith atonement Ephesians 2:8-9

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11 — literal or metaphorical?

A viewer asks about 1 Corinthians 11 and head coverings. Winger gives his current tentative view without claiming certainty.

1 Corinthians 11 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11 authority

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Sinless perfection — not achievable in this life; a new body required

A viewer asks about sinless perfection. Winger holds that sinless perfection is a future reality (resurrection/glorification), not a present one.

pride glorification resurrection

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Can a Christian be demon-possessed? Winger argues no, based on Jesus's parable of the unoccupied house

A viewer asks whether Christians can have an unclean spirit/demon, and whether Winger's view implies deliverance ministry is only for unbelievers.

Matthew 12:43-45 Todd White exorcism Holy Spirit indwelling

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Does the Watchtower's New World Translation include a sign above Jesus's head on the stake?

A viewer asks whether the New World Translation includes the Gospel detail of a sign above Jesus's head, since that detail would complicate the torture-stake theory.

John 19:19 New World Translation cross torture stake

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Would you wear a gun necklace if Jesus had been shot? Yes — the cross symbolizes the instrument of our salvation

A viewer asks how to respond to the JW/Watchtower question: if Jesus had been shot, would you kiss a gun? Winger says he would possibly wear a gun necklace in that scenario — because the point is not the instrument but what was accomplished.

Galatians 6:14 1 Corinthians 1:18 atonement apologetics Watchtower

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Is it wrong to wear a cross necklace? No, unless it becomes an idol or icon for protection

A viewer asks whether wearing a cross necklace is sinful. Winger says no in principle, but warns against specific misuses.

Q&A: Did Jesus perform miracles as God or purely as a human in right relationship with God?

Q&A: Acts 13:48 — 'appointed to eternal life' and the election/free will question

Positional 'in Christ' removes believers from the domain of God's wrath

Q&A: Why doesn't the death penalty for homosexuality apply today? — Old Testament law and Christ

Atheists (Dan Barker) also use the cross-vs-stake argument to discredit Christianity

The Watchtower did not always believe the torture-stake doctrine; the change occurred in 1931

Christians worship God, not the cross symbol; cross use is a reminder, not icon worship

The real Watchtower error: denying the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, not just the shape of the cross

Q&A: Head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11 — literal or metaphorical?

Q&A: Sinless perfection — not achievable in this life; a new body required

Q&A: Can a Christian be demon-possessed? Winger argues no, based on Jesus's parable of the unoccupied house

Q&A: Does the Watchtower's New World Translation include a sign above Jesus's head on the stake?

Q&A: Would you wear a gun necklace if Jesus had been shot? Yes — the cross symbolizes the instrument of our salvation

Q&A: Is it wrong to wear a cross necklace? No, unless it becomes an idol or icon for protection

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

Six pluralist slogans to be addressed: the primary claim and five derivative phrases

The emotional appeal of pluralist slogans: kindness, avoiding anger, hope, tolerance

Logical analysis of "all roads lead to God": three possible meanings, two incoherent

Refutation of "all religions work": Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre as a test case

9/11 terrorists and suicide bombers: sincerity and sacrifice do not validate a belief system

Pluralism is insulting to actual religions: each has a different destination and goal

Parachute analogy: three men jumping from a plane with a spacesuit, super suit, and parachute

Second meaning of pluralism: no religion works, but everyone ends up with God anyway — hidden personal religion

Christianity verified by public revelation, not private imagination — this is where it shines in apologetics

Slogan 3: "All religions teach basically the same thing" — superficial similarities mask fundamental contradictions

Christian worldview distinctives: personal God, imago Dei, sin, grace, salvation by faith

Buddhism's fundamental claims contradict Christianity: impersonal reality, illusion, no enduring self, cessation as goal

Islam's fundamental claims: closer to Christianity but built as a rejection of it — different God, no grace, no cross

The logical stalemate: if someone claims to agree with all religions simultaneously, they cannot agree with you

Slogan 5: "Sincere people will be okay" — sincerity is not a sufficient standard

Conclusion: Jesus is the only way because he alone paid the full price for sin; Christianity makes real sense of human suffering

Religious pluralism summarized as dangerous, not merely wrong: a false diagnosis that makes you feel good while killing you

Q&A: Is the God of Islam the same as the God of Christianity?

Q&A: Are people who deny the Trinity but believe in salvation by grace through faith saved?

Q&A: Don't all religions claim exclusivity? — Yes, even pluralists are exclusivists

Q&A: Why did God allow bears to kill 42 children for mocking Elisha? (2 Kings 2:23-24)

Q&A: Is it wise to tell someone their deceased Catholic loved one is in heaven?

Q&A: Marcus Borg as an example of a scholarly universalist with weak arguments

Introduction and five-part outline for analyzing infant baptism biblically

Infant baptism is an in-house issue — important but not essential for fellowship

Winger states his position up front: infant baptism is not supported by Scripture

Matthew 28:18-20 — baptism follows discipleship/belief, not precedes it

Acts 2:38 — baptism is commanded alongside repentance, ruling out infants; "for your children" means descendants not infants

Acts 2:40-41 — only those who received the word were baptized, implying cognizant response

Baptism is always a response to faith in the NT — the consistent universal pattern

Part 2: Introduction to the household baptism argument for infant baptism

Acts 10-11: Cornelius's household — all feared God, heard, received the Spirit, and spoke in tongues, excluding infants

Acts 16:31-34: Philippian jailer's household — all heard the word, believed, and rejoiced, excluding passive infants

Acts 16:15: Lydia's household baptism — likely no infants present given her context as a traveling businesswoman

Three additional passages show "household" belief language does not imply infants: John 4:53, Acts 18:8, Philippians 4:22

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