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All (3505) Scripture Commentary (2329) Theology (144) Mike Winger (1014) Pulpit (18)
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-16

Q&A: How to use the Bible as evidence with non-believers who don't accept it as God's word — the prophecy approach

Viewer question from Kate about apologetic method.

Isaiah 53 Bible as historical document Isaiah 53 Pontius Pilate
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

Pro-choice philosopher David Boonin concedes the unborn is a human being at an early developmental stage

Mike cites an opponent of the pro-life position who nevertheless concedes key scientific facts

human development David Boonin A Defense of Abortion
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

The Hebrew Roots Movement tends to involve a progressive radicalization through increasingly extreme positions

Mike describes what he observes as a typical trajectory for people who enter the Hebrew Roots Movement.

Torah observance Hebrew Roots Movement Paul rejection
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

John 6:53 — "eat my flesh and drink my blood" is symbolic, not a basis for the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist

Q&A: an ex-Catholic questioner asks whether John 6:53 has legitimate Hebrew roots or is scripture-twisting in support of the Eucharist.

Hebrews 11 John 5 John 6:53-63 Abraham Hebrews 11 John 5
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

Paul's legitimacy as an apostle — Mike answers a claim that Paul was not a true Jew and therefore untrustworthy

Q&A: a viewer's sister and brother-in-law argue that Paul was not a true Jew and deceived his audience; they use this to reject his letters.

Acts 13 Paul Peter Paul rejection
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-07

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy for priests and nuns is unbiblical

Mike addresses the Catholic sex abuse scandal as it relates to mandatory celibacy.

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy priestly celibacy
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

How a Christian should deal with consuming grief over abortion

Response to a viewer involved in pro-life ministry feeling overwhelmed by abortion rulings

Philippians 4 John 16:33 abortion anxiety and prayer Philippians 4
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Image of God (imago Dei): grounds human value, authority over creation, and raises questions about communicable attributes

Viewer asking what it means to be created in the image of God

Genesis 1 Genesis 9 dominion mandate Mormonism Genesis 1
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Planned Gospel of Mark series to cover theology, apologetics, and resurrection debates

Response to viewer question about where the Trinity is in Mark

resurrection Gospel of Mark Trinity in Mark
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Literal vs. plain-sense biblical interpretation: read as intended, not mechanically literal

Viewer asking how literally to read the Bible, especially Genesis and Old Testament

Genesis Psalm 6 hermeneutics Genesis genre
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Marriage does not exist in heaven; relational bonds persist but are not exclusive spousal bonds

Second part of viewer's marriage question about afterlife

Matthew 22:30 Christ and the Church eschatology resurrection
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

John 3:13 — "No one has ascended" does not necessarily contradict Elijah's translation

Viewer asking about John 3:13 and its apparent contradiction with Elijah ascending

John 3:13 Moses divine authority Elijah
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Mike's personal testimony: heard the gospel at 12, found relief in forgiveness

Viewer asking about Mike's salvation experience

salvation sanctification forgiveness
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Authority over evil spirits and sickness comes from Christ's authority, not the believer's own

Viewer asking about Christians' authority over evil spirits and sickness

healing spiritual warfare authority of Christ
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Books like Job belong in the canon because Jesus accepted the Old Testament, and apostles were commissioned to teach

Viewer asking why books like Job are in the Bible if we don't know the author

Job apostolic authority biblical canon Job
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Four categories of worthy sources in Papias's framework

Mike breaks down what Papias considered authoritative sources for Jesus tradition.

Richard Bauckham Papias eyewitness hierarchy
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Bauckham's interpretation of "living and surviving voice" in Papias — literal, not metaphorical

Clarifying what Papias meant by preferring a "living voice" to written sources.

Richard Bauckham eyewitness testimony Papias
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Luke does not criticize prior Gospel narratives; he adds to them with more data

Distinguishing Luke's prologue from other ancient authors who criticize predecessors.

Luke 1:1-4 Luke Josephus Gospel reliability ancient historiography
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

John 15: Jesus's own definition of apostolic witness "from the beginning"

Third Gospel parallel to Luke's and Acts's "from the beginning" language.

John 15 Luke 1:2 Acts 1:21 eyewitness testimony John 15 Luke 1:2
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Bauckham's theory: named individuals are living eyewitness sources the author is appealing to

The positive explanation for why some individuals are named in Gospel accounts.

Richard Bauckham Gospel historicity eyewitness guarantors
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Q&A: Salvation of severely mentally handicapped people — accountability proportional to awareness

Q&A segment begins; first question about soteriological edge cases.

Matthew 11:21-24 salvation mental disability and accountability Matthew 11:21-24
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Q&A: The ending of Mark 16 — short vs. long ending; not a threat to Gospel reliability

Q&A from an atheist about the ending of Mark and supposed Gospel contradictions.

Mark 16:8 Mark 16:9-20 textual criticism biblical inerrancy Mark 16:8
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

John 14:10 reinforces Trinitarian distinction: Jesus is "in" the Father, not identical to the Father.

Continuing the John 14 exposition.

John 14:10 John 14:13 Trinity John 14:10 John 14:13
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Prosperity gospel critique: misappropriates OT promises to Israel, ignores Jesus's teachings on suffering and cross-bearing.

Continuing the prosperity gospel discussion.

1 John 2:16 Prosperity gospel Lust of the eyes Lust of the flesh
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Strong's Concordance is not a thorough Greek resource; Bible software lexicons provide better word definitions.

Mike explains methodology for Greek word study.

King James Version Bible study methodology Strong's Concordance
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

1 Timothy 2:11-15 context: instructions to men (avoid anger/quarreling in prayer) and women (modesty, inner vs. outer beauty).

Lady D asks about 1 Timothy 2:11-15 regarding women being silent and not having authority.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 1 Timothy 2:8-10 1 Timothy 2:11-15 Modesty 1 Timothy 2:8-10
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

1 Timothy 2:11-12 — women learning quietly with submission refers to the teaching context, not a prohibition on speaking at all.

Exegeting 1 Timothy 2:11-12.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 1 Timothy 2:11-12 Women in ministry Teaching elder role
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

1 Timothy 2:12 — "teach" and "exercise authority" may be two aspects of the same role, not two separate prohibitions.

Exegeting the grammar of 1 Timothy 2:12.

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 Women in ministry Complementarianism
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-27

Acrosolia tomb type - archaeologically confirmed matches Gospel descriptions

Physical archaeology of 1st century Jerusalem tombs

Acrosolia Archaeology
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-14

Cameron Bertuzzi's background: photographer turned apologist after brother became an atheist; runs Capturing Christianity blog and YouTube channel

Cameron introduces himself to Mike's audience

Capturing Christianity Christian apologetics Cameron Bertuzzi
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-14

Tim McGrew and Lydia McGrew's paper on miracles and the resurrection as a sophisticated cumulative case for Christianity

Cameron recommends a freely available academic paper

resurrection of Jesus Tim McGrew Lydia McGrew
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-14

Q&A: Can God give humans dominion and then interfere with that dominion? Parents analogy: giving children authority does not prevent parental intervention when abused

Q&A question from "The Messenger Reveals" about divine interference with human dominion

Genesis 1 Genesis 1 divine sovereignty human dominion
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-27

Pages 44-45: Boghossian romanticizes the Street Epistemologist as a hero rescuing people from the faith "virus"

Mike reads from pages 44-45

A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian Street Epistemology
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

Tacitus (Annals, 109 AD) as non-Christian confirmation of early Christian persecution, crucifixion of Christ under Pontius Pilate, and the movement's origin in Judea

Mike quotes Tacitus as an external, non-Christian source confirming early persecution

crucifixion of Jesus Pontius Pilate early Christian persecution
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

Prison epistles and other NT letters as evidence that suffering was a church-wide reality needing sustained pastoral address

The pervasive theme of persecution across the entire NT corpus

1 Peter Romans 8 Revelation 2-3 1 Peter Romans 8 Revelation 2-3
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

2 Peter 1:12-14 — Peter's awareness of his impending death and intent to leave a written legacy; response to Bart Ehrman's pseudonymity argument

Third biblical source for Peter's martyrdom awareness, with engagement with the Ehrman pseudonymity objection

2 Peter 1:12-14 Bart Ehrman apostolic martyrdom Peter the Apostle
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

1 Clement 5 (c. 95-97 AD) — non-apologetic, community-memory reference to Peter and Paul both suffering and dying for their faith

First extra-biblical source for Peter's (and Paul's) martyrdom

Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom Peter the Apostle
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

2 Timothy 4:6-8 — Paul describes himself as being poured out as a drink offering, anticipating his imminent death

Pauline text indicating Paul's awareness of and preparation for his own martyrdom

2 Timothy 4:6-8 Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-03

James the brother of Jesus as the leader of the Jerusalem church; Acts 15 and 1 Corinthians 15 as key evidence for his role and resurrection witness

Transition to James as the third focal figure

Acts 15 1 Corinthians 15 James the brother of Jesus Acts 15 1 Corinthians 15 James the brother of Jesus
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Jesus healed the paralytic to provide evidence for his authority to forgive sins — faith is evidence-based

Biblical example of evidence-based faith

forgiveness of sins paralytic lowered through roof faith grounded in evidence
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Disciples' failure to cast out demons vs. faith as a mustard seed — two distinct teachings not to conflate

Q&A: Haggar Vid asks about the disciples having little faith and the mustard-seed faith saying

mustard seed faith disciples casting out demons little faith (oligopistia)
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Book: "The Next Generation Will Know" co-authored with J. Warner Wallace

McDowell introduces his new book releasing May 1

youth ministry apologetics J. Warner Wallace
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

Why mainline churches are dying: no meaningful difference from wider culture gives people no reason to attend

McDowell gives the bottom-line diagnosis for mainline church decline

biblical authority cultural accommodation church attendance
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

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.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 William Lane Craig Isaiah 53 Psalm 22
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-01

Bart Ehrman acknowledges we probably have what the originals said, despite popularizing text-critical skepticism

Mike's nuanced engagement with a prominent skeptical scholar on textual transmission.

Bart Ehrman Biblical manuscripts Textual criticism
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

Biblical worldview should transcend culture wars rather than being shaped by either conservative or liberal culture

Opening monologue before Q&A begins

hermeneutics Scripture authority biblical worldview
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

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

Scripture authority spiritual discernment near-death experiences
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

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 methodology research method primary sources
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

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

Luke apostolic authority apostolos Barnabas
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

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

1 John 4:2 Incarnation Scripture authority Messiah