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All (13) Mike Winger (13)
Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

Transition to deacons: eldership is male; deacons are the question

Mike frames the deacon discussion.

eldership women deacons deacons
Mike Winger idea 2022-04-13

Craig Blomberg on early church deaconesses: common for centuries with pastoral care and baptism roles

Mike cites historical support for women deacons.

Two Views on Women in Ministry Craig Blomberg deaconess history
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-09

Pliny's letter to Trajan: early evidence of female deaconesses (c. 110 AD)

Mike provides extra-biblical historical evidence for female deacons.

Pliny the Younger Emperor Trajan Pliny's letter to Trajan
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Introduction of Papias: Bishop of Hierapolis in the early second century

First major evidence: the testimony and writings of Papias.

Papias Hierapolis early church history
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-20

Acts 21:8-9 — Philip the Evangelist and his prophesying daughters

Biblical and extra-biblical verification of Philip the Evangelist's daughters as contemporaries of Papias.

Acts 21:8-9 eyewitness testimony Papias early church history
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Pre-trib rapture and early church fathers: Mike acknowledges not knowing the answer and references Brian Brodersen's book.

Ian Connolly asks whether the pre-trib rapture was a recent invention not believed by early church fathers.

Pre-tribulation rapture Early church fathers Brian Brodersen
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Alexamenos Graffito: earliest known artwork depicting Christ on a cross shows a T-shaped cross

The Alexamenos Graffito is a piece of graffiti mocking a Christian named Alexamenos, dated between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD (possibly as early as 80 AD). It shows a person with a donkey's head on a T-shaped cross, and a man worshiping below.

crucifixion cross early church history
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Epistle of Barnabas (early 2nd century) depicts the cross as a capital-T shape

The Epistle of Barnabas, written in the early second century (within ~100 years of Jesus's death), represents the cross of Christ using the capital letter T, implying a crossbeam.

Moses typology crucifixion
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Justin Martyr (2nd century) explicitly describes two beams on the cross

Justin Martyr, one of the earliest Christian apologists, writing in the second century, describes Christ's cross as having two beams — ruling out the single-stake theory.

apologetics crucifixion cross
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Early NT manuscripts (P75, P66) abbreviate stauros with Tau-Rho symbol depicting a cross with crossbeam

In some of the earliest New Testament manuscripts, the Greek word stauros is abbreviated using the letters Tau (T) and Rho (P-shape), superimposed on each other to form a visual symbol. This combination appears to depict a man on a cross with a crossbeam.

crucifixion cross early church history
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: What did Constantine see — an X or a cross?

A viewer asks about Constantine's famous vision before the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Winger acknowledges the ambiguity without offering a firm answer.

early church history crux decussata Constantine
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-18

Church fathers have historical value — especially the earliest second-century writers — but should not be granted extra theological authority; they are windows into early church history, not infallible teachers.

Q: How much utility should we find in the church fathers? Should we view them with extra credibility?

Justin Martyr Polycarp Church Fathers
Mike Winger idea 2021-03-19

Marriage as sacrament is a later doctrinal development, not apostolic

As a supporting example against Catholic/Orthodox claims of unbroken tradition.

Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Marriage as sacrament