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All (28) Mike Winger (28)

Mike Winger idea 2022-08-15

Paul's actual behavior toward persecution shows he didn't strategically accommodate Roman sensibilities

Mike uses Paul's track record to refute the cultural-defense theory.

Acts 19 Acts 17 Emperor Trajan Acts 19 Acts 17

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

The Watchtower's three main biblical proof texts for the blood ban are Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:13-14, and Acts 15:29.

Mike transitions from historical/medical arguments to direct biblical exegesis of the passages the Watchtower uses.

Genesis 9:4 Leviticus 17:13-14 Acts 15:29 Watchtower Genesis 9:4 Leviticus 17:13-14

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-21

Background of 2 Maccabees 12: Judas Maccabeus burying fallen Jewish soldiers who were carrying idolatrous amulets

Historical and narrative context for the passage

idolatry 2 Maccabees 12:38-46 Judas Maccabeus

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-21

Catholic apologetic response: the amulets were 'lucky charms' not idolatrous — Jimmy Akin's baseball sock analogy

Catholic attempt to neutralize the mortal sin problem in 2 Maccabees

eisegesis Catholic Answers idolatry

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 — 'not everyone has this knowledge'; Winger argues this shows not all people know the God of the Bible; Sye says it refers to saving knowledge, not general knowledge

Winger's Scripture argument against universal conscious knowledge of God

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 general revelation knowledge of God saving knowledge

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Refutation: the only text Jim could be referring to is Jeremiah 10, written 600 years before Jesus — it describes carving a tree into an idol, not decorating a Christmas tree, and has nothing to do with New Testament Christianity or Roman practices

Mike carefully exegetes Jeremiah 10:1–5 to show what the passage actually means

Jeremiah 10 Old Testament exegesis idolatry

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:5: The passage explicitly calls the object an idol, not a tree

The passage self-identifies what it is describing

Jeremiah 10:5 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:5 Scarecrow analogy

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Psalm 115 as a parallel passage: idols have mouths but cannot speak

Connecting Jeremiah 10 to a closely parallel text

Jeremiah 10:5 Psalm 115:4-8 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:5 Psalm 115:4-8

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:6-9: The passage continues with explicit idol language, not tree language

Reading further in the passage to confirm the subject

Jeremiah 10:6-9 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:6-9 Pagan religion

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:10-15: The climax of the passage — idols vs. the living God

The passage reaches its theological conclusion

Jeremiah 10:10-15 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:10-15 Living God vs. false gods

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Other misapplied passages: 'prostituted themselves under every green tree' is about idols under trees, not trees themselves

Preempting another common proof-text used to condemn Christmas trees

Proof-texting Anachronism Idolatry under green trees

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-16

Isaiah 41:22 — predictive prophecy as God's proof of his own existence and authority

Mike's third Old Testament passage, showing God challenges false gods to prove themselves through prediction.

Isaiah 41:22 evidence-based faith Isaiah 41:22 predictive prophecy

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Predictive prophecy as criterion for divine inspiration

Jonathan McLatchie explains how the Bible itself uses predictive prophecy as a criterion for identifying divine inspiration.

Deuteronomy 18 Isaiah 41:21-24 Deuteronomy 18 divine inspiration predictive prophecy

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Acts 15:19-21 -- James decrees four abstentions for Gentiles: things contaminated by idols, fornication, what is strangled, and blood. The reason given: Moses has been preached in every city.

James's four-fold decree for Gentiles

James (brother of Jesus) Acts 15:20-21 table fellowship James (brother of Jesus) Acts 15:20-21

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

First-century Christians were pious, Torah-observant Jews who debated minutiae of Jewish law — making wholesale borrowing from pagan myths implausible

Cultural argument against the pagan parallels theory

early Christianity dying and rising gods pagan mythology

Mike Winger idea 2020-10-23

1 Corinthians 10 — food offered to idols has different rules depending on marketplace vs. temple context and whether a pagan makes it explicit

Mike addresses the idol food question in 1 Corinthians 10 as related to the Christian liberty discussion.

1 Corinthians 10 1 Corinthians 10:22 1 Corinthians 8 Christian liberty 1 Corinthians 10 idolatry

Mike Winger idea 2020-12-18

Refusing to sing Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation music is not legalism, but binding that refusal on others crosses into judgmentalism — this is a conscience matter analogous to Paul's 'meat sold in the marketplace' principle.

Q: Is it too legalistic to refuse to sing Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation music due to the doctrines of those churches?

1 Corinthians 8-10 — Meat Offered to Idols Bethel Music Hillsong Elevation Worship

Mike Winger idea 2020-12-18

Worship leaders bear collective responsibility to their congregations: presenting music in corporate worship is like preparing a meal for everyone — songs known to cause stumbling should be avoided.

Application of the meat-in-marketplace analogy to congregational worship leading.

1 Corinthians 8-10 — Meat Offered to Idols 1 Corinthians 8-10 — Meat Offered to Idols Christian Liberty / Conscience Worship Music and Discernment

Mike Winger idea 2021-01-08

Romans 14:23 — "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" — was not addressing all-encompassing anxiety about every decision

Question from Mr/Miss Spazzy Jazzy about a weak conscience producing doubt about everything basic

Romans 14:23 Romans 14:23 conscience faith

Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

1 Corinthians 10:20 — behind idols are demons: demons impersonate gods but do not possess the actual powers attributed to those gods.

Follow-up on the Exodus 12:12 question — are there actual spiritual entities behind the Egyptian gods?

1 Corinthians 10:20 Idolatry Ra 1 Corinthians 10:20

Mike Winger idea 2021-02-19

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 — OT sacrifices to idols are sacrifices to demons

OT theological foundation for demonic reality: those who sacrifice to idols actually sacrifice to demons.

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 idolatry Deuteronomy 32:16-17 demons behind idols

Mike Winger idea 2020-12-04

God's posture toward the backslidden is always welcoming return — the prodigal son parable and Jeremiah's call to Israel demonstrate this.

Question from Ethan Zaragoza, who drifted from faith for 1.5 years and fears God is done with him.

Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Luke 15 Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Repentance

Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

Ghosts, the witch of Endor, and demonic impersonation of the dead

Lindsay Kelso asked whether the Bible supports ghosts, and whether those who claim to see them are actually encountering demons.

1 Samuel 28 Leviticus 19:31 Deuteronomy 18:11 Samuel Catholicism afterlife

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-26

Idolatry ancient and modern: literal idol worship still exists; covetousness is idolatry; some Catholic practices parallel ancient idolatry; smartphone use threatens prayer life.

Al Naps asks about modern-day idolatry and whether excessive Christian YouTube consumption is problematic; also asks if Winger worries about being idolized.

Ephesians 5:5 Colossians 3:5 Roman Catholicism prayer idolatry

Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Does God have a sense of humor? Yes — Scripture confirms it, and pleasure/humor are good gifts not inherently sinful

Q4 from Silas Abrahamson: Does God have a sense of humor?

Psalm Matthew 7 God's character asceticism humor

Mike Winger idea 2020-03-11

"Water under the earth" (Psalm 136:6, Exodus 20:4) = the ocean. Exodus 20:4 prohibits idols of things in heaven, on earth, or in the water under the earth — if this isn't the ocean, then the idol prohibition doesn't cover fish/sea creatures. Psalm 24:2: "founded upon the seas, established upon the rivers" — earth (dry land) is simply above water level.

Water under the earth — the ocean

Exodus 20:4 Psalm 24:1-2 Psalm 136:6 water under the earth Exodus 20:4 Psalm 24:1-2

Mike Winger idea 2022-02-11

Do Modern Translations Hide Mythology?: Why do modern translations hide so much mythology? Leviathan and Behemoth are animals. Isaiah 34: 14, Lillith is an owl. Psalm 96: 5, Gods are idols and not demons. I fear this leads to materialism.

Q&A question: Do Modern Translations Hide Mythology?

Isaiah Isaiah demons

Mike Winger idea 2024-05-31

Responding Biblically to Idols: Was it biblical for the man in Iowa to destroy the Satanic Temple display at the state capitol last December? How should Christians respond to the public display of literal idols in our society?

Q&A question: Responding Biblically to Idols

Satan

Paul's actual behavior toward persecution shows he didn't strategically accommodate Roman sensibilities

The Watchtower's three main biblical proof texts for the blood ban are Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:13-14, and Acts 15:29.

Background of 2 Maccabees 12: Judas Maccabeus burying fallen Jewish soldiers who were carrying idolatrous amulets

Catholic apologetic response: the amulets were 'lucky charms' not idolatrous — Jimmy Akin's baseball sock analogy

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 — 'not everyone has this knowledge'; Winger argues this shows not all people know the God of the Bible; Sye says it refers to saving knowledge, not general knowledge

Refutation: the only text Jim could be referring to is Jeremiah 10, written 600 years before Jesus — it describes carving a tree into an idol, not decorating a Christmas tree, and has nothing to do with New Testament Christianity or Roman practices

Jeremiah 10:5: The passage explicitly calls the object an idol, not a tree

Psalm 115 as a parallel passage: idols have mouths but cannot speak

Jeremiah 10:6-9: The passage continues with explicit idol language, not tree language

Jeremiah 10:10-15: The climax of the passage — idols vs. the living God

Other misapplied passages: 'prostituted themselves under every green tree' is about idols under trees, not trees themselves

Isaiah 41:22 — predictive prophecy as God's proof of his own existence and authority

Predictive prophecy as criterion for divine inspiration

Acts 15:19-21 -- James decrees four abstentions for Gentiles: things contaminated by idols, fornication, what is strangled, and blood. The reason given: Moses has been preached in every city.

First-century Christians were pious, Torah-observant Jews who debated minutiae of Jewish law — making wholesale borrowing from pagan myths implausible

1 Corinthians 10 — food offered to idols has different rules depending on marketplace vs. temple context and whether a pagan makes it explicit

Refusing to sing Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation music is not legalism, but binding that refusal on others crosses into judgmentalism — this is a conscience matter analogous to Paul's 'meat sold in the marketplace' principle.

Worship leaders bear collective responsibility to their congregations: presenting music in corporate worship is like preparing a meal for everyone — songs known to cause stumbling should be avoided.

Romans 14:23 — "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" — was not addressing all-encompassing anxiety about every decision

1 Corinthians 10:20 — behind idols are demons: demons impersonate gods but do not possess the actual powers attributed to those gods.

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 — OT sacrifices to idols are sacrifices to demons

God's posture toward the backslidden is always welcoming return — the prodigal son parable and Jeremiah's call to Israel demonstrate this.

Ghosts, the witch of Endor, and demonic impersonation of the dead

Idolatry ancient and modern: literal idol worship still exists; covetousness is idolatry; some Catholic practices parallel ancient idolatry; smartphone use threatens prayer life.

Does God have a sense of humor? Yes — Scripture confirms it, and pleasure/humor are good gifts not inherently sinful

Do Modern Translations Hide Mythology?: Why do modern translations hide so much mythology? Leviathan and Behemoth are animals. Isaiah 34: 14, Lillith is an owl. Psalm 96: 5, Gods are idols and not demons. I fear this leads to materialism.

Responding Biblically to Idols: Was it biblical for the man in Iowa to destroy the Satanic Temple display at the state capitol last December? How should Christians respond to the public display of literal idols in our society?

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