Search — Theology Explorer

A Manual for Creating Atheists Peter Boghossian Faith

Page 43-44: Boghossian claims faith removes wonder and curiosity; Mike counters that faith enhances his intellectual engagement

Mike quotes and rebuts pages 43-44

Atheism Nihilism Morality

Mike argues that atheism, consistently followed, leads to nihilism — no morality, purpose, beauty, love, personhood, free will, or meaning

Mike offers his counter-worldview assessment

Peter Boghossian Street Epistemology Socratic method

The SE tactic in practice: be friendly, don't disclose your agenda, and ask "how do you know that?" repeatedly

Mike describes the practical method of Street Epistemology

Street Epistemology Psychological manipulation Socratic method

Guest John explains why the SE questioning tactic is effective but potentially manipulative: it exploits inability to articulate beliefs under surprise

Video clip from guest John (from "What Do You Mean?")

Greg Koukl Stand to Reason A Manual for Creating Atheists

Greg Koukl contrasts his book "Tactics" with Boghossian's book: both use questions, but Koukl cares about truth and intellectual virtue while Boghossian cares only about instilling doubt

Video clip from Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason)

Street Epistemology Doubt Psychological manipulation

The distinction between asking questions and using questions: SE uses questions as tools for instilling doubt, not seeking answers

Mike synthesizes the previous clip and explains SE's fundamental problem

Matt Dillahunty The Atheist Experience Morality

Q&A: Calling God a "moral thug" (Matt Dillahunty) is logically incoherent within theism because God is the grounding for morality

Question from Mariano Rogers about Matt Dillahunty's rhetoric

historical methodology early Christian persecution Roman imperial religion

Argument that Roman cultural attitudes toward Christians in 50-year span (first to early second century) remained consistent, so early second-century sources reflect first-century reality

Responding to the objection that 109/112 AD sources are too late to apply to the apostolic period

James the brother of Jesus scholarly consensus Paul the Apostle Gary Habermas

Gary Habermas's scholarly consensus claim: early data report the martyrdoms of Peter, James the brother of Jesus, and Paul; few scholars doubt this

Citing the scholarly consensus on apostolic martyrdoms

apostolic martyrdom 1 Clement Candida Moss

Refutation of Candida Moss's argument that "suffered unto death" in 1 Clement is not a reference to martyrdom, using Polycarp's parallel usage

Addressing a specific scholarly objection to the martyrdom reading of 1 Clement

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

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

faith belief without evidence biblical definition of faith

Some Christians erroneously voted for "belief without evidence" — Mike argues this view is unbiblical

Accounting for anomalies in poll results

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

Hebrews 11:1 Hebrews 11:1 former Christian atheists faith as hope vs. evidence

Greg Mater (former Christian) incorrectly cited Hebrews 11:1 as a definition of faith rather than a description

Examining a former Christian's use of Hebrews 11:1

Matt Dillahunty evidence for the resurrection God of the gaps

JD Flier defines faith as "belief in an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance" — the God-of-the-gaps argument

Examining another atheist definition of faith

Matt Dillahunty resurrection of Jesus inference to the best explanation

Upcoming debate with Matt Dillahunty on whether belief in the resurrection is reasonable; science is not the only method of knowing

Announcing the Dillahunty debate and defending historical methodology

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

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

Gospel of Mark verse-by-verse Bible study

Mike announces a verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark beginning in May

Ministry announcement

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

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

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

McDowell addresses practical application for parents

parenting discipleship worldview

Mike Winger idea 2019-04-24

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

sexuality nature vs. nurture LGBTQ

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.

Circular reasoning Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Self-defeating argument

Problem 1: The slogan is self-defeating — it does not meet its own standard

First of five critiques of the slogan.

Equivocation fallacy Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Definition of extraordinary

Problem 2: No clear definition of what "extraordinary" means — equivocation fallacy

Second of five critiques.

Resurrection of Jesus Eyewitness testimony Historical evidence

Twitter response 1: Jesus appearing across the globe with stories from all nations as required evidence

First Twitter respondent's example of what extraordinary evidence for the resurrection would look like.

Moral argument for God Existence of God Prophecy

Evidence for God's existence: design, morality, prophecy; God as necessary being

Mike briefly asserts a positive case that God's existence is not extraordinary but expected.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Carl Sagan Miracles

The slogan formalized as a syllogism — and why it fails at premise 4

Mike reconstructs the argument in syllogistic form, attributed to critics of Sagan's argument ("argumentum Sagani").

Resurrection of Jesus Epistemology Prior probability

Evidence can overcome even extremely low prior probabilities — the question is "did it happen?" not "what are the odds?"

Mike's positive epistemological alternative to the slogan's approach.

Resurrection of Jesus Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Epistemology

Mike's positive replacement for the slogan: evidence makes a claim believable when data is better explained by the hypothesis being true

Mike offers a rigorous epistemological alternative to the slogan.

Romans 1 Romans 1 Hardened heart Apologetics and spiritual condition

Intellectual clarity requires spiritual health — Romans 1 on the connection between spiritual state and clear thinking

Mike adds a theological qualifier to the apologetics discussion.

Christian living Church accountability Pastoral correction

Q&A: Is it wrong to approach a pastor who taught something theologically unsound?

Viewer question about church accountability.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 William Lane Craig Isaiah 53 Psalm 22

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.

Resurrection of Jesus Historical evidence Fire-breathing dragon analogy

Q&A: Fire-breathing dragon analogy — why the resurrection is not analogous to fantastic claims

Viewer tests the slogan with a car vs. dragon analogy.

Resurrection of Jesus Jesus mythicism Historical Jesus

Jesus-as-myth parallels to dragon analogy — internet claims of mythological foundations are "hokum"

Mike briefly addresses the mythicist position.

Apologetics Evangelism Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Closing: five diagnostic questions viewers can use in conversation to expose the slogan as confirmation bias

Mike wraps the livestream with practical application.

Scripture authority spiritual discernment near-death experiences

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

soul dualism body-soul distinction

Winger holds a dualist view of the soul: the soul is distinct from the brain and body, uses the body to interact with reality, and persists after bodily death

Response to question about the nature of the soul

apologetics William Lane Craig Big Bang

The Kalam Cosmological Argument leads from two premises to the conclusion that the universe has a cause with properties matching classical theism; William Lane Craig has defended it extensively

Response to question about atheist objections to the Kalam

apologetics William Lane Craig Kalam Cosmological Argument

Many internet objections to the Kalam are so philosophically poor that William Lane Craig addressed them in a YouTube video rather than a scholarly paper

Continuation of Kalam discussion

1 John 4:2 Incarnation Scripture authority Messiah

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

Matthew 5:17 Matthew 5:17 pleroo prophetic fulfillment

After Jesus fulfills a prophecy, we do not continue to await its fulfillment—completion changes the expectation

Logical implication of fulfillment language

Matthew 5:17 typology Matthew 5:17 Levitical law

The Law in Matthew is not merely instructive but predictive—even ritual laws point to who Jesus is

A key interpretive insight about the nature of the Law

Galatians 3:24 Galatians 3:24 Sermon on the Mount paidagogos

The Law functions as a tutor to lead people to Christ—Sermon on the Mount sets up the gospel

Soteriological purpose of the Mosaic Law

Messianic Messianic Judaism completed Jew

Q&A: "Messianic" is a synonym for "Christian"—every believer in Jesus is messianic in the biblical sense

Response to audience question about non-Jews identifying as Messianic

Luke 2:49 incarnation hypostatic union Luke 2:49

Q&A: Jesus likely knew his messianic identity by age 12 (Luke 2 temple incident), but what he knew before that is uncertain

Theological question about the development of Jesus's self-awareness

second coming Holy Spirit kingdom of God

Q&A: The kingdom of God is wherever God rules as king—inaugurated by Christ, to be consummated at the second coming

Theological definition of the kingdom of God