Search — Theology Explorer

Genesis 1-2 Genesis as history vs. mythology Genesis 1-2 Young earth creationism Old earth creationism

Genesis 1-2 and the age of the earth: Winger is no longer confident in young-earth creationism based on exegesis alone; plans a full research project.

Question from Ethan Tucker about whether early Genesis is mythology or history.

Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Luke 15 Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Repentance

God's posture toward the backslidden is always welcoming return — the prodigal son parable and Jeremiah's call to Israel demonstrate this.

Question from Ethan Zaragoza, who drifted from faith for 1.5 years and fears God is done with him.

Evidence for God Christopher Hitchens Spiritual disciplines

Tips for an atheist starting to believe: gather intellectual reasons for God, practice spiritual disciplines, and make choices that shape belief.

Question from Emil Codrin about how to start believing after a lifetime of atheism.

1 Corinthians 12 Cessationism Baptism of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 12

Baptism of the Holy Spirit as a post-salvation experience with mandatory tongues is not supported by Scripture; authentic gifts are preferred over formulaic fake ones.

Question from Lauren Breon about whether the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a separate experience with prayer language is scriptural.

Revelation 13 Mark of the Beast Revelation 13 Mark of the Beast COVID vaccine

The COVID vaccine is not the mark of the beast; Winger would take it, and dismisses mark-of-the-beast vaccine claims as theological irrationality.

Bonus question from Solomon Paparazzi via Sarah Zimmerman: should a Christian take the COVID vaccine?

Psalm 18:20-24 Psalm 51 Romans 3 David justification by faith Abraham

Two senses of righteousness: relational/situational versus standing before God

Bella asked how David can claim righteousness in Psalm 18:20-24 when Scripture says no one is righteous.

1 Timothy 2:8 imputed righteousness worship holy hands

Lifting holy hands: holiness comes from imputed righteousness, not personal moral purity

Embedded in the Psalm 18 discussion — the worship lyric "I lift up holy hands" was the prompt for the question.

Genesis 1 Job 40-41 Genesis 1 young earth creationism age of the earth

Dinosaurs and the age of the earth: three intra-Christian views summarized

Madison Torres asked how dinosaur fossils fit with Adam and Eve and the biblical timeline.

judgment age of accountability heaven

Severe dementia and moral accountability: judgment follows capacity

Mario Tucci connected the question to Mike's earlier teaching that babies go to heaven and asked whether it applies to those with severe dementia.

Mormonism Islam resurrection

Religion as social control: a compliment, not a refutation

Summer Monsoon asked how to respond to the claim that religion is just a mechanism for social control and helps people cope with death.

1 Timothy 3 Galatians 3:28 Matthew 23:8-12 servant leadership overseer episkopos

Ministry titles and the clergy-laity distinction: what Jesus really forbade in Matthew 23

Chris Horn asked whether Matthew 23:8-12 prohibits using ministry titles like pastor or elder.

Matthew 13:24-30 free will theodicy problem of evil

Why God creates people he foreknows will reject him

Our Fish asked why God would create people he knows will not choose him.

evangelism Greg Koukl apologetics

Sharing the gospel with resistant loved ones: grace, strategy, and the book Tactics

Hannah/Henry Belvall asked for advice on humbly sharing Jesus with struggling loved ones who become defensive.

Romans proof-texting discernment false teaching

Protecting against false doctrine without a complete Bible knowledge: read in context and check the text

Katie, a newly saved teen (about 10 months old in the faith), asked how to guard against false teaching when she has not yet read the entire Bible.

Romans 16:20 Hebrews 2:14 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 millennium eschatology Satan

Fate of the devil: destruction, lake of fire, and whether Satan is annihilated

New Testament Theologist cited Romans 16:20, Hebrews 2:14, and 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 to ask about the ultimate fate of Satan.

Ephesians 1:11 Calvinism free will providence

God is in control: sovereignty without divine determinism

Wade Nelson asked whether "God is in control" is a meaningless platitude implying divine determinism.

Luke 11:24-26 atonement false teaching spiritual warfare

Generational curses: pastoral concern and theological rejection

Studio asked whether believers can be cursed by ancestral actions or ethnic heritage (specifically Native American bloodline).

Holy Spirit discernment prophecy

Testing whether a vision or impression is from the Holy Spirit

UK Dove Girl asked how to know whether a lucid open-eyed vision comes from the Spirit rather than the subconscious.

Hebrews 7:7 spiritual authority Levitical priesthood Abraham

Pronouncing a blessing on others: Hebrews 7:7 and mutual blessing in the body of Christ

Andrej asked whether saying "I bless you" to someone implies a hierarchical superiority that is inappropriate between equals.

Isaiah 9:6 John 14:16 Trinity Christology incarnation

Isaiah 9:6 — "Everlasting Father" as a title for Jesus: representational fullness of God

Leslie Johnson asked why Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus "Everlasting Father" if he is not the Father within Trinitarian theology.

Deuteronomy 18:22 1 John 2:18 Jeremiah Johnson discernment prophetic accountability eschatology

Political prophecies, false prophets in 2020, and the antichrist

Joe Burton asked whether the wave of false political prophecies might be setting up the antichrist to appear as a savior.

evangelism repentance personal holiness

Ministry in strip clubs: evangelism principles and personal holiness

Carmen described joining a ministry that goes into strip clubs to spend time with women there and received family backlash.

discernment false teaching church discipline

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: channeled content, demonic origin, pastoral danger

Rachel joined a church prayer group using the devotional Jesus Calling and found concerning content.

Galatians 1:8-9 2 Corinthians 11:4 Jude 3 sola scriptura Galatians 1:8-9 Kenneth Copeland

Another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4): prioritizing doctrine over teachers

Chip Ludick asked why Paul warned the Corinthians about "another Jesus" in 2 Corinthians 11:4 and how it applies today in light of John 17:3.

James White Trinity baptism church history

Oneness Pentecostalism and baptism: standing firm on Trinitarian faith with grace

Reagen Bechtold's family are Oneness Pentecostals who wanted him/her to be re-baptized in their formula after already being baptized in a Trinitarian church.

1 Samuel 28 Leviticus 19:31 Deuteronomy 18:11 Samuel Catholicism afterlife

Ghosts, the witch of Endor, and demonic impersonation of the dead

Lindsay Kelso asked whether the Bible supports ghosts, and whether those who claim to see them are actually encountering demons.

eschatology Christian witness kingdom of God

Closing exhortation: Christians bring hope to the world, not from the world

Closing remarks at the end of the 20 Questions livestream.

salvation resurrection cremation

Cremation does not threaten resurrection or salvation

Anonymous questioner facing financial hardship asks if cremation prevents resurrection or constitutes sin. A nearby pastor told the questioner that cremation is pagan and only burial is biblical.

Genesis 3 Genesis 3 resurrection cremation

Dust-to-dust theology supports cremation being theologically neutral

Mike grounds the cremation discussion in Genesis and the nature of death as returning to dust.

Daniel 3 resurrection fire cremation

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: death by fire carries no threat to eternal future

Mike uses Daniel as a typological support that fire or destruction of the body does not threaten resurrection.

Luke 23 Leviticus Luke 23 Leviticus burial

Burial symbolism matters even though cremation is permissible

Mike affirms cremation is acceptable but argues for the value of burial symbolism and honoring the dead.

James 1:17 1 John 1:5 prayer incarnation James 1:17

Visualizing God in prayer — dangers of anthropomorphism, suggestion to visualize light

Marty Moxie asks how to see God when praying since the mind naturally wants to picture a person.

Proverbs 8 1 Corinthians 1 typology Holy Spirit Christology

Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 — typological connection to Christ, not the Holy Spirit

Steven Rivers asks whether Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 could be the Holy Spirit and whether Hebrew/Greek pronouns clarify the gender.

Romans 11:25-32 eschatology Messianic Jews prophetic fulfillment

Romans 11:25-32 — partial hardening of Israel, fullness of the Gentiles, and end-times caution

Trevor T asks about Romans 11:25-32 and whether the rising number of Messianic Jews in Israel signals prophetic fulfillment.

evangelism Trinity apologetics

New Christians' obligation to evangelize and defend faith — know your limits

Stephanie, a new Christian and former LDS member, is being actively challenged by LDS family and friends on the Trinity and other doctrines. She asks whether new Christians are obligated to defend and evangelize.

incarnation omniscience William Lane Craig

God's timelessness and sequential thought — divine omniscience outside time

Jason and Alana ask how a timeless God could have sequential thoughts, especially the decision to create time.

Mormonism biblical inerrancy Trinity

Non-negotiable Christian doctrines — essentials vs. secondary issues

DJ Diner asks what doctrines Christians should plant their flag on and never back down from.

Matthew 18 Ephesians 5:8-14 Matthew 18 church discipline restoration

Exposing works of darkness (Ephesians 5:8-14) — when to involve church vs. police

Michael Francisco has a family member claiming to be Christian who sells food with vulgar messages and is supplying alcohol to minors through her business.

Luke 23:43 1 Peter 3:19 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 intermediate state Luke 23:43 Hades

Paradise in Paul's vision, the thief on the cross, and Lazarus — same place?

David's Kinion Memoirs asks whether paradise in Paul's third-heaven vision, Jesus's promise to the thief, and the Lazarus/Abraham account are the same place.

John 3:16 Psalm 5:5 Proverbs 6:16-19 God's love God's wrath John 3:16

How can God love the world and also hate sinners? Psalm 5:5 and Proverbs 6:16-19

Fly Serve Disciples asks how God can love the whole world (John 3:16) while Psalm 5:5 says God hates evildoers.

marriage encouragement discipleship

Wife more spiritually mature than husband — encouragement over competition

Lil Mik Nick asks for advice when a wife is more spiritually mature than her husband who has admitted it.

Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 1 in Christ Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 1

Unconfessed sin at death — positional vs. conditional righteousness; in Christ theology

Popham asks if a born-again Christian who dies suddenly with an unconfessed momentary sin (not a lifestyle) goes to hell.

Revelation 21 millennium eschatology second coming

Where are we judged — earth, heaven, or in between? Eschatological timeline

Damon Brook asks where humans are located during the final judgment.

Matthew 27:52-53 Lazarus crucifixion Matthew 27:52-53

Saints rising from tombs after the crucifixion (Matthew 27) — who were they?

James and Lindsey ask about the people coming out of tombs after Jesus's resurrection in Matthew 27 — did they continue living or ascend?

repentance pride spiritual warfare

Getting close to God and overcoming demonic oppression — prerequisites and warnings

Professor of Everything asks for advice on getting close to God and overcoming demons and oppression.

Matthew 10 calling missions Matthew 10

Knowing God's will for major decisions — acting without certainty

Simply Put asks how to know if God is guiding him and his wife to move to remote Alaska for missions.

Matthew 10:23 Matthew 10 Mark 6 eschatology Matthew 10:23 Son of Man

Matthew 10:23 — 'before the Son of Man comes' refers to Christ's first-coming arrival, not the Second Coming

Kelly Book asks about Matthew 10:23 and why Mark's parallel account does not include the phrase 'before the Son of Man comes.'

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Proverbs 16:5 repentance pride grace

Covert narcissism and Proverbs 16:5 — misunderstanding grace; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Giant Mushroom Tree is being diagnosed with covert narcissistic personality disorder and fears Proverbs 16:5 means they are unsavable.