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Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

1 Corinthians 14:22 — tongues are a sign for unbelievers only when interpreted; the apparent contradiction explained

Question about the apparent flip in 1 Corinthians 14:22-23 where tongues are a sign for unbelievers yet unbelievers will think speakers are mad.

1 Corinthians 14:22-23 spiritual gifts tongues 1 Corinthians 14:22-23
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Evangelizing resistant family members: heart attitude must precede strategy

Question from someone whose parents think religion is stupid and who fears being judged for sharing their faith.

evangelism prayer witnessing
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Revelation 7:4 — the 144,000 are a literal future group of ethnic Jewish men

Question about what the 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7:4 means.

Romans 11 Revelation 7:4 Jehovah's Witnesses tribulation futurism
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

2 Peter 2:5-6 does not settle the annihilationism debate

Question about whether 2 Peter 2:6 implies annihilation on final judgment day.

2 Peter 2:5-6 Sodom and Gomorrah hell annihilationism
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Early church creeds: authoritative insofar as they reflect Scripture, not equal to Scripture; beware anachronism

Question about the Athanasian Creed and whether it is biblical, specifically the implication that one must believe in the Trinity to be saved.

anachronism church history sola scriptura
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

No single biblical form of government; Christianity fits any system through principles

Question about biblical support for monarchy and the Christian attitude toward it.

Romans 13 theocracy justice Romans 13
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Genesis 1-11 genre: separating science from exegesis; evaluating young earth, Walton, and William Lane Craig's archetypal history view

Question about the creation account in Genesis and young earth creationism vs. modern science.

Genesis 1-11 John Walton hermeneutics Adam and Eve young earth creationism
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Old Testament believers were saved but lacked the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Question about whether Old Testament believers were born again and could be called children of God.

Acts 2 Psalm 51:11 John 14:17 David Acts 2 Abraham
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Nerdy hobbies are reconcilable with Christianity if kept holy and in moderation

Question about whether hobbies like comics, video games, and tabletop games should be abandoned.

Christian liberty holiness Sabbath
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Word of Faith 'little gods' teaching is serious enough to warrant leaving a church

Question from someone whose pastor teaches the Word of Faith 'little gods' doctrine and has rejected private correction.

Matthew 18 false teaching Matthew 18 church discipline
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Modern Israel and biblical Israel are continuous, but God's promises do not make every Israeli action righteous

Question about how modern political Israel correlates to biblical promises for Israel.

Romans 11 Abrahamic covenant Jewish people Romans 11
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are synonyms in the Gospels

Question about whether the two phrases refer to different things.

Matthew biblical theology Matthew kingdom of God
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Dual covenant theology is unbiblical; Jewish people need Jesus — Romans 10:1-4 and John 5:46

Final question about whether Jews can be saved without believing in Jesus through a special covenant.

Romans 10:1-4 John 5:46 Moses soteriology Messiah
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-20

Upcoming Passion Translation critique project with scholarly interviews

Mike previews December content plans.

textual criticism Bill Johnson Bible translation
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Would aliens disprove Christianity? The real question is not whether aliens exist but what Christian belief would be lost if they did.

Opening topic of the 20 Questions livestream

apologetics aliens and Christianity
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Aliens would not disprove any core Christian doctrine: God's existence, the Trinity, Christ's death and resurrection, justification by grace through faith, or the future resurrection.

Working through whether alien discovery threatens Christian beliefs

Trinity justification by faith apologetics
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

The Bible neither affirms nor denies the existence of aliens; Christians can follow the evidence without a presuppositional commitment either way.

Does the Bible say anything about aliens?

epistemology aliens and Christianity biblical silence
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

A theological decision tree for highly intelligent alien life: the key first question is whether they are merely intelligent or also eternal beings.

Thought experiment on hypothetical intelligent alien life

salvation eternal life aliens and Christianity
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

If intelligent aliens are sinless, they may be analogous to unfallen angels - no salvation offered, just a place in God's plan without redemption.

Theological decision tree: sinless eternal aliens

salvation free will aliens and Christianity
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

If aliens are sinful and redeemable by their own works, that contradicts the nature of the cross; God's holiness is the same across the universe.

Theological decision tree: sinful aliens who can self-redeem

atonement works righteousness holiness of God
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Jesus is the only potential savior even hypothetically; a second incarnation-death-resurrection on another planet is ruled out by Romans 6:9-10.

Theological decision tree: how would aliens be saved?

Romans 6:9 Romans 6:10 atonement incarnation aliens and Christianity
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Speculative scenario: aliens made in the image of Adam (not directly God's image) could share in the fall and thus in Christ's redemption as a kind of extended humanity.

Theological decision tree: how Christ's death could extend to aliens

federal headship Adam atonement
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

UFO sightings: the Christian worldview has a third explanatory option beyond aliens or government - angelic/demonic activity.

UFO sightings and Christian worldview

Ezekiel Ezekiel demonology apologetics
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Hugh Ross on the difficulties of space travel make alien visits to earth implausible; demonic activity is a more probable explanation for credible UFO sightings.

Physical plausibility of alien visits vs. demonic activity

demonology UFOs Hugh Ross
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Some people abandon faith over UFO sightings because they do not consider alternative explanations like demonic activity; alien existence is not a defeater for Christianity.

Spiritual danger of UFO-driven deconversion

spiritual warfare apologetics UFOs
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 - Paul says "not the Lord" meaning he gives apostolic instruction without a direct quote from Jesus; believers married to unbelievers should not divorce.

Question about 1 Corinthians 7:14 and sanctification of unbelieving spouse

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 apostolic authority marriage 1 Corinthians 7:12-14
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

"Sanctified" in 1 Corinthians 7:14 does not mean saved; it describes the practical, behavioral influence a believing spouse has on an unbelieving one and on the children.

Meaning of "sanctification" in 1 Corinthians 7:14

1 Corinthians 7:14 semantic range marriage sanctification
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Many Christian doubts about heaven and death are psychological rather than intellectual; manufactured skepticism exploits unthought-through questions to create irrational doubt.

Question: can someone know for sure that heaven is real?

faith apologetics doubt
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Biblical faith is not groundless belief but trust based on revelation and evidence; the response to psychological doubt is to exercise trust grounded in good reasons.

How to respond to psychological doubt

Abraham faith fulfilled prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Hebrews 13:2 - entertaining angels unawares; the word angelos means messenger but probably refers to spiritual beings here, based on OT cross-references (Genesis 18-19).

Question on Hebrews 13:2 - hospitality and angels

Hebrews 13:2 Genesis 18 Genesis 19 Abraham angelos angelology
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Entertaining angels unawares is a super-rare event in Scripture; the main application of Hebrews 13:2 is the importance of showing kindness to strangers, not predicting frequency of angelic visits.

Application of Hebrews 13:2

Hebrews 13:2 hermeneutics angelology Hebrews 13:2
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Angels do occasionally interact tangibly with creation; 2 Kings example of Elisha's servant needing eyes opened, and angelic armies that physically engaged enemies.

Do angels interact tangibly with creation?

2 Kings 6 spiritual warfare Elisha angelology
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Romans 8:28 is the biblical basis for saying "good things are coming" in hard times; the phrase is fine if stripped of materialistic or time-specific implications.

Is "good things are coming when you face struggles" biblical or prosperity gospel?

Romans 8:28 suffering providence prosperity gospel
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Revival is biblical; Mike defines it as significant corporate repentance and walking rightly with God, not primarily as an outpouring of spectacular spiritual gifts.

Question: is revival biblical?

Holy Spirit repentance revival
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

An over-sensitive conscience may result from equating every guilty feeling with sin; Romans 14 and Mike's dedicated video on conscience address calibrating the conscience rightly.

Question about having an overly sensitive conscience

Romans 14 Romans 14 conscience sanctification
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Ephesians 1-3 as the foundation for resting in total forgiveness; believers are holy and without blame before God in love (Ephesians 1:4) and have bold access to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4).

Pastoral counsel on conscience and assurance of forgiveness

Ephesians 1-3 Hebrews 4 Ephesians 1:4 conscience grace forgiveness
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Women speaking in Bible study (reading, praying, giving commentary but not teaching) - Mike's short answer is that none of those things are prohibited; the restriction relates to formal teaching authority.

Question about women speaking during Bible study

women in ministry egalitarianism gender roles
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Judges 11: Jephthah's vow - the Spirit being "upon" Jephthah means military enablement, not moral/ethical guidance; the Spirit did not sanction his vow or its fulfillment.

Question about Jephthah's vow and the Spirit being upon him

Judges 11 Holy Spirit Jephthah vows
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Jephthah's daughter: the text is ambiguous - she may have been killed as a burnt offering or dedicated as a lifelong virgin servant at the temple; Mike slightly leans toward the literal sacrifice reading.

What happened to Jephthah's daughter?

Judges 11 hermeneutics Jephthah vows
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Jephthah's vow was sinful rebellion: the law expressly forbids human sacrifice; God repeatedly states he never wanted it and judges Israel for practicing it.

Why Jephthah's fulfillment of the vow was wrong

Judges 11 Jephthah vows Judges 11
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

The book of Judges follows a downward trajectory of increasingly flawed deliverers (Gideon → Jephthah → Samson) to show Israel's depravity and create expectation for the true Deliverer - Jesus.

Theological purpose of the book of Judges

Judges hermeneutics Judges typology
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Jewish feasts were commanded for Jews in Israel, not universally for all people; Gentiles were never given the Mosaic law and are not obligated to keep the feasts.

Question: why don't Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

Hebrew Roots Movement Gentiles covenant theology
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

A future millennial observance of feasts does not obligate Christians now; present-tense New Testament teaching (Romans 14) is the relevant authority for current practice.

Millennial feast observance and current Christian obligation

Romans 14 Romans 14 eschatology Hebrew Roots Movement
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Discipling a believing-but-disengaged parent: focus on the will problem; build bridges through his interests rather than direct confrontation.

Question about discipling an unengaged believing father

Lee Strobel evangelism J. Warner Wallace
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

For new Christians evaluating commentaries: trust your Bible more than commentators; blueletterbible.org is recommended as a generally reliable free resource.

Question from a new Christian about evaluating Bible teachers and commentaries

hermeneutics discernment commentaries
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Assurance about a loved one's salvation: if they professed faith and their life evidenced it, trust they are in heaven; if they clearly rejected Christ, honest uncertainty is appropriate.

Question: how can you know a loved one went to heaven?

salvation assurance death and afterlife
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

The year of Jesus's death (AD 26-36, with 30 and 33 as top candidates) is difficult to pin down precisely due to ambiguity in reckoning Tiberius's regnal years in Luke 3.

Question about the exact year of Jesus's death

Daniel 9 Luke 3 Daniel 9 messianic prophecy chronology of Jesus
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

The flood narrative: "destroy all flesh" is a sweeping statement not meant to be woodenly literal - fish dying would be an example of over-literalism.

Question about fish surviving the flood if God said he would destroy all flesh

Genesis flood Genesis 6-9 hermeneutics Genesis flood Genesis 6-9
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

White lies are a moral compromise; giving oneself permission for them breeds untrustworthiness. Better alternatives: honest deflection ("I don't want to talk about it") or full honesty.

Question: are white lies okay to spare a spouse's feelings?

marriage ethics lying
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-11

Exception case for deception: Alzheimer's patients at an advanced stage cannot process truth; pacifying untrue statements may be the compassionate and functionally honest option since understanding is absent.

White lies and Alzheimer's care

ethics pastoral care lying
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