Search — Theology Explorer

1 Peter Romans 8 Revelation 2-3 1 Peter Romans 8 Revelation 2-3

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

James the brother of Jesus Josephus apostolic martyrdom non-Christian attestation

Josephus, Antiquities 20: The death of James, brother of Jesus who was called Christ, under High Priest Ananus — a non-Christian, undisputed historical source

The strongest external confirmation of James's martyrdom — from a non-Christian Jewish historian

James the brother of Jesus apostolic martyrdom James the brother of Jesus Stephen the martyr

Darrell Bock on the charge against James: "breaking the law" refers to his Christological allegiances and likely a blasphemy charge, paralleling Stephen's case

Scholarly interpretation of the legal charge against James in Josephus

resurrection eyewitness testimony apostle sincerity

Response to the objection "9/11 bombers were also sincere" — the distinction between sincere indoctrinated believers and sincere eyewitnesses

Q&A style engagement with the most common objection to the sincerity argument

eyewitness testimony apostle sincerity sincerity objection

Q&A: How to respond to the argument that members of non-Christian religions also die for their beliefs — eyewitness distinction restated

Viewer question on comparative religious martyrdom

Revelation 6:11 eschatology martyrdom Revelation 6:11

Revelation 6:11 — question about whether the passage refers to martyrs specifically or all believers; Mike declines to give a definitive answer

Viewer Q&A on an eschatological passage

John 14:2-3 Revelation 21 eschatology new heaven and new earth intermediate state

Q&A on John 14:2-3 "I go to prepare a place for you" — Mike's understanding of the intermediate state and the new heaven and new earth

Viewer question on the afterlife and the meaning of Jesus preparing a place

Billy Graham faith evidence

Randall Haynes: a Christian confused by poll wording who voted "belief without evidence" but actually agrees faith involves evidence

Examining individual poll respondents

Street Epistemology The Elephant in the Brain faith as loyalty signal

Reed (Street Epistemology YouTuber) argues that "belief without evidence" functions as a costly loyalty signal within religious in-groups

Examining another atheist's social-psychological theory of faith

faith vs. reason faith as anti-intellectual former Christian atheists

Three former Christians define faith negatively — Volker Dittmer calls faith the logical opposite of intelligence

Examining former Christians' definitions of faith

A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian Street Epistemology

Peter Boghossian's "A Manual for Creating Atheists" teaches that "I believe in God" secretly means "I pretend to know things I don't know"

Critique of Boghossian's framing of religious belief

Matt Dillahunty definition of faith faith as excuse

Matt Dillahunty's shifting definitions of faith: "excuse without good reason," "believing things you know aren't true," and "belief with evidence"

Critique of Dillahunty's inconsistency on faith

early church persecution destroying the temple accusation dialogue between Christians and atheists

Historical parallel: early church marginalized by accusation that Jesus wanted to destroy the temple — same dynamic as "faith is irrational" accusation today

Historical analogy for communication breakdown

resurrection of Jesus Street Epistemology faith and doubt

Street Epistemology question about ranking faith in pin-falling vs. resurrection — Mike argues it is designed to produce doubt, not seek truth

Q&A: Doug (Street Epistemology type) asks if faith in pin falling and faith in resurrection can be ranked

faith and knowledge epistemology of faith trust and allegiance

Shannon's question: if faith is trust with evidence, isn't it knowledge? Mike argues knowledge and faith can coexist

Q&A on the epistemology of faith

Romans 4 Genesis 15:6 justification by faith Abraham salvation by faith

How Old Testament believers were saved by faith before Christ — Romans 4 and Genesis 15:6

Q&A: JoseCJ asks how OT believers were saved before Christ's work on the cross

Romans 1:18-32 Romans 1:20 atheism Romans 1:18-32 cosmological argument

Romans 1:18-32 describes two divine judgments on those who suppress the evidence for God: sin and a debased mind

Q&A: Monica Poole asks how Street Epistemology relates to Romans 1

mustard seed faith disciples casting out demons little faith (oligopistia)

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

1 Timothy Titus 2 Timothy 1 Timothy Titus pastoral qualifications

Advice to a 15-year-old aspiring pastor: character comes before ministry; study the pastoral epistles

Q&A: Isaiah Jones (age 15) asks for advice on becoming a pastor

personal testimony experiential evidence for faith conversion experience

Mike's personal conversion testimony: depression before faith, joy and relationship with God after — and subsequent evidential verification

Q&A: Benjamin Acompo (skeptic) asks what evidence a 12-year-old Mike had at conversion beyond feelings

perseverance of the saints once saved always saved eternal security

Mike is undecided on once-saved-always-saved (eternal security) and declines to teach on it until he has biblical clarity

Q&A: Fabio asks about once saved always saved

youth ministry Generation Z discipleship

Introduction: topic framing — youth are both uniquely different from and fundamentally similar to previous generations

Mike opens the livestream and introduces the session topic with Dr. Sean McDowell

youth ministry Greg Koukl apologetics

The book is motivated by McDowell's own children and 20 years of ministry focus on the next generation

McDowell explains the need driving the book project

apologetics truth discipleship

Holistic discipleship: the false dichotomy between relationships and truth must be rejected

McDowell and Mike discuss the thesis of the book

Generation Z authenticity Barna Research

Tendency to view Gen Z through a negative lens — and why that must be corrected

McDowell describes an exercise he does with audiences

apologetics fact-checking trust

Gen Z fact-checks in real time — credibility and truth-telling are now more important than ever for teachers and pastors

McDowell describes speaking at Berkeley and observing real-time fact-checking

youth ministry apologetics Josh McDowell

Apologetic questions are being asked at younger and younger ages due to technology — Josh McDowell's observation about shifting ages of questioning

McDowell references his father Josh McDowell's observation from 55 years of ministry

parenting discipleship worldview

Practical parenting principle: integrate discipleship into activities you are already doing rather than adding new programs

McDowell addresses practical application for parents

truth Generation Z worldview

Gen Z's underlying worldview challenge: a consumer culture that conditions them to expect reality to conform to their desires rather than conform to external reality

McDowell identifies the deeper worldview issue beneath Gen Z's post-truth tendencies

evangelism Jesus sexuality

Strategy for LGBTQ conversations with non-Christians: start with listening, ask about their story, do not lead with the biblical sexual ethic

McDowell describes how he approaches LGBTQ questions with non-Christians

marriage discipleship LGBTQ

Strategy for LGBTQ conversations with Christians: still lead with questions, then move to Scripture on God's design for marriage and sexuality

McDowell addresses the same topic from the angle of a Christian asking

evangelism Jesus apologetics methodology

The habit of assuming you know the question and answering it before truly listening — a common apologetics failure

McDowell reflects honestly on his own failures in apologetic conversations

evangelism love cultural engagement

Love communicates more than correct answers: valuing the person by taking their question seriously matters independent of whether the answer lands

Mike reflects on the principle of person-first engagement

parenting discipleship worldview

Practical idea: worldview movie nights — watch culturally relevant films with kids and discuss them

McDowell shares a practical tip while waiting for Q&A questions to come in

sexuality nature vs. nurture LGBTQ

Q&A: Has McDowell's strategy on LGBTQ issues changed since "A New Kind of Apologist" (2016)?

Audience question about McDowell's evolution on LGBTQ apologetics

apologetics Sam Harris parenting

Q&A: Advice for a homeschool mom — expose kids to real-world ideas rather than sheltering them; the principle of strategic exposure

Audience question from a homeschooling mother

Southern Baptist Convention Barna Research The Myth of the Dying Church

Q&A: Why is church attendance dropping? Glenn Stanton's "The Myth of the Dying Church" — mainline churches are dying, not Bible-believing churches

Audience question about church decline, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z

marriage gospel Millennials

Millennial and Gen Z church return: life-stage markers like marriage and children are happening later or not at all, making the expected return uncertain

McDowell addresses the question of whether lapsed young people will return

church culture worship community

Q&A: Traditional vs. contemporary worship music — worship is not primarily about personal enjoyment; cross-generational blending is ideal

Audience question about worship style preferences

Romans Paul youth ministry Romans

Q&A: Rooting youth in the person and work of Christ — requires both good theology (who Jesus is) and practical application (how to live it out)

Audience question about how churches can help youth be rooted in Christ

Romans 7 biblical interpretation apologetics methodology fact-checking

Q&A: Handling unreliable sources and fact-checking in a Wikipedia age — do your diligence, own mistakes, and nuance statements to match the strength of evidence

Final audience question about fact-checking and epistemic responsibility

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 Carl Sagan Cosmos (TV show)

Origin of the slogan: Carl Sagan coined "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"

Mike traces the historical origin of the slogan before critiquing it.

William Lane Craig Resurrection of Jesus Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens applied the slogan to God and the resurrection in debates with William Lane Craig

After explaining Sagan's origin, Mike describes how the slogan was weaponized in atheist apologetics.

David Hume Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Miracles

David Hume as possible earlier source of the idea behind the slogan

Mike traces the philosophical lineage of the slogan back to the 18th century.

Apologetics Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

How the slogan functions in practice: a rhetorical device to dismiss evidence without engaging it

Mike describes the actual real-world usage pattern he has encountered when presenting evidence for Christianity.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Definition of extraordinary

Mike Twitter-polled atheists to understand how they define the terms in the slogan

Rather than strawmanning skeptics, Mike sought direct input from atheists on his Twitter following to understand how they define "extraordinary."

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.