Search — Theology Explorer

Isaiah 53 Origen Messianic prophecy Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53: modern claim that it refers to Israel, not Messiah, is historically novel

Ra claims Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant) is about Israel personified, not Jesus, and that Jews have always understood it this way

Isaiah 53:5 Suffering Servant Isaiah 53:5 Substitutionary atonement

Isaiah 53:5 — 'crushed for our iniquities': what does 'crushed' mean in context?

Ra claims Jesus was never 'crushed' as described in Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53 - seed/offspring Suffering Servant Isaiah 53 - seed/offspring New birth / born again

Isaiah 53 'seed/offspring': Ra's internal contradiction — he can't use Israel as both subject and the seed

Ra claims Jesus had no descendants ('seed') as required, and that 'seed' in Isaiah refers to physical offspring of Israel, not Jesus's followers

Isaiah 53:4-5 Suffering Servant Substitutionary atonement Isaiah 53:4-5

Isaiah 53:4 — people thought he was stricken by God, but he was actually suffering for others

Ra claims the passage says God struck Jesus, but that Jesus was never actually struck by God

Isaiah 53:10-11 Isaiah 53:9 Messianic prophecy Suffering Servant Isaiah 53:10-11

Isaiah 53:10-11 — 'prolonging his days' is a resurrection prophecy, not a failed prediction

Ra claims Jesus's days were never prolonged as Isaiah 53 predicts

Apologetics Problem of evil Atheist arguments

Q&A: What is the atheist's best argument against the God of the Bible?

Question from a viewer: what is the most effective atheist argument?

Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

People who jumped from the Twin Towers on 9/11 were not committing suicide — they were choosing the least terrible option available, which involved no moral culpability.

Q&A section: a viewer asks whether the 9/11 jumpers committed suicide.

Q&A 9/11 suicide

Mike Winger idea 2018-11-14

Q&A: Malice toward God means you've gotten something wrong — Job's model is to acknowledge speaking without knowledge and pray for your own heart.

Q&A on feeling bitterness toward God.

Job prayer faith Q&A

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-12

Zahnd claims Jesus 'edited' Isaiah 61 in Luke 4 — but Jesus stopped reading mid-sentence, he did not delete text

Winger examines Zahnd's most prominent proof-text for the 'Jesus edits the Bible' thesis: Jesus reading from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16–21).

Luke-4 Isaiah-61 hermeneutics discernment apologetics

Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Job's friends argued he deserved his suffering; God rebuked them at the end

Viewer asking for help understanding Job's friends in the book of Job

Job Job suffering and theodicy Elihu

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

problem of evil Cameron Bertuzzi logical problem of evil

Problem of evil as the strongest argument for atheism: suffering and evil as evidence (not logical disproof) against God's existence

Discussion of atheist arguments

John McCrae problem of evil John McCrae SIDS / sudden infant death

Personal account: two friends experienced SIDS (crib death/sudden infant death) and responded differently — one drew closer to God, one turned away

John shares a personal story illustrating different responses to suffering

Revelation eschatology Revelation theodicy

The Christian hope of eschatological restoration answers the problem of evil: God wiping away every tear, remaking of heaven and earth

Mike elaborates his response to the problem of evil using Christian eschatology

gospel grace human nature

Humans are worse than they think they are, but Christ loves them more than they know — the paradox of the gospel

John wraps up his reflection on suffering and human nature

forgiveness sin free will

Q&A: Why would God create a world where things can exist that go against his nature? Answer: free will theodicy and soul-building theodicy

Q&A question from Skyler about the existence of sin in a world created by a holy God

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

Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom Peter the Apostle

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

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom apostle sincerity

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 — Paul's own catalog of sufferings as direct first-person evidence of his willingness to endure persecution for Christ

Paul's own testimony as evidence of sincerity

Philippians Paul the Apostle apostolic martyrdom apostle sincerity

Philippians — Paul's pastoral management of his congregation's grief over his suffering as evidence that his persecution was a given, publicly known reality

Paul's suffering was so consistent and well-known that he had to repeatedly address the pastoral fallout from it