BibleThinker

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Why does God let Satan cause so much harm? Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

Do you think there are other biblical ideas to consider about this? Please share them in the comments so you can help others think biblically.

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

10 Questions with Mike Winger (Episode 4) Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:

1. 0:38 {Is God Abusive?} Does a Christian’s relationship with God mirror what an abusive relationship would look like in other scenarios?
2. 18:34 {Are Healings being Hindered Today?} What does James 5:13-15 look like today? Are we missing something today that is hindering more healings from the Holy Spirit?
3. 25:28 {Is Charity Meaningless Apart from the Church?} A pastor I listen to says that any community service/charity work that is not done through the Church or a Christian organization is meaningless to God. What are your thoughts on this?
4. 32:02 {Does Sin Separate Believers from God?} I often hear that sin "breaks fellowship" or causes "relational unforgiveness" (to quote GotQuestions.org), but is there Scripture to show that sin can, in any way, separate a Christian from God (Hebrews 10:19)?
5. 37:48 {Are We Called to Love AND “Like” Others?} Do I have to like a brother in Christ? I know I should love my neighbor and not hate anyone, but there are some personalities I don't like. Is that sinful?
6. 42:00 {Who Will be Told by Jesus to “Depart”?} How is it that some people can cast out demons in Jesus’ name but then be told, “Depart from me for I never knew you”? How do I avoid that fate?
7. 44:29 {Removing Shoes on Holy Ground?} What is the significance of people taking their shoes off in the presence of God in the Old Testament?
8. 46:43 {Overcoming the Pressure of Comparison} How do I stop comparing myself to others? As a college student, I’m surrounded by a highly competitive environment and I find myself comparing my grades and career to others. How do I overcome this?
9. 51:27 {Jews vs. Christians – Same God?} Do current Jews and Christians worship the same God? They claim to worship the God of Moses and the saints, but reject part of God.
10. 55:50 {Solomon: Salvation & “The Book of His Acts”?} My question is, was Solomon saved? Did he repent after what he did? what is the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41)?
11. 1:02:47 (Just for fun!) BONUS Q: In LOTR Return of the King, it is mentioned that 3 days are needed to gather more forces. Before Aragorn leaves. However, only 1 day seems to pass. How do you reconcile this?

THIS is the video I mentioned which goes into detail on promises about getting what we pray for in faith.

Quick announcement: I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is that I'll only be doing 10 questions each Q&A instead of 20. The good news is that I'll be doing the Q&As every Friday instead of every other Friday. While I have the first question ready to go, I take the other 9 from the live chat. Just show up in time for the stream to begin and, once you see me live on camera, post your question in the chat.

I’m Mike Winger and my goal is to help people think Biblically about everything.

My website: BibleThinker.org

Jesus' Parable of the Wineskins Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

What are your thoughts on this parable?
Do you think I've understood it correctly?

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

10 Questions with Mike Winger (Episode 3) Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:

1. 0:03 {What if God Has No Free Will?} Does God lack free will Himself, since He cannot act outside of or contrary to His nature? If so, doesn’t that make His actions questionable?
2. 20:31 {How Did John have Materials to Write?} Were papyrus and writing supplies expensive? How did John, banished to the Island of Patmos, have all the necessary items to write down his Revelation?
3. 23:22 {Should we Infer Doctrine from Scripture?} Is it wrong to base doctrine on inference? Is it ever legitimate? E.g., the context of Hebrews 12:1 says nothing about saints watching us from Heaven, but some say it’s implied by the word “witnesses.”
4. 31:43 {Where is the 2nd Coming in Scripture?} Where does it say in the Bible that the Messiah will have a second coming? Does Jesus tell His disciples that He won’t be fulfilling all of the Old Testament prophecies just yet?
5. 36:29 {Did Jesus Always Have Power to Heal?} Regarding when Luke 5:17 says, “The power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal,” did Jesus not always have this power, or does Luke emphasize it here because of what happens next? What’s your take on this?
6. 42:01 {Do Our Prayers Affect Others’ Salvation?} Do our prayers for the unsaved actually increase their chances of being saved, vs. if they didn’t have anyone praying for them?
7. 48:52 {Our Sinful Flesh vs. Spiritual Warfare} How can I discern the difference between demonic influence and my flesh when it comes to sinful struggles?
8. 52:52 {Which Scripture is God-Breathed?} In 2 Timothy 3:16, when it says “All Scripture is God-breathed…” what would the author have meant by “Scripture”? Because as far as I know, books like Jude and Revelation hadn’t been written yet.
9. 55:00 {About Asexuality} Is asexuality real? I know believers who say they’re asexual (not sexually attracted to anyone). I think this may be true of me, but could it just be God guarding my heart from lust over the years?
10. 1:01:25 {Physical Appearances of Jesus Today?} Does Mark 13:21-23 refute present-day claims of Jesus physically appearing to people, or is this a misapplication of the text?

Why you should stop saying "I’m spiritual but not religious" - Click Here

Quick announcement: I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is that I'll only be doing 10 questions each Q&A. The good news is that I'll be doing the Q&As every Friday instead of every other Friday.

I’m Mike Winger and my goal is to help people think Biblically about everything.
My website: BibleThinker.org

What Prosperity Preachers Hide From You Feb 07, 2024

Show notes

We do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

10 Questions with Mike Winger (Episode 2) Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:
1. 0:05 {Does Exodus Condone Abortion?} Does exodus 21:22 really condone abortion? I've seen multiple commentaries and translations, and it does really seem like abortion is accepted as the baby's life appears to be less valuable.
2. 10:58 {How Long to Date Before Marriage} Is being in a long-term dating relationship wise? And how long should you wait for someone to make the decision to marry you or not?
3. 14:32 {Why Did God Create Drugs?} Why would God create psychedelics, since they lead so many astray?
4. 20:39 {“Too Much Bible”?!} How would you respond to the phrase “Too little Spirit, too much Bible”? I’d love to know how to respond.
5. 25:03 {Can I Marry a Divorced Person?} My fiancée came to the Lord after our relationship started and I recently found out that she has been divorced twice. Has she been forgiven, or should we call off the marriage?
6. 30:17 {Why Did God Give the Law First?} Why did God, knowing everything, give the Law first and not go straight to grace with Jesus?
7. 35:50 {Can Christians File Restraining Orders?} Does 1 Corinthians 6 apply to restraining orders? A boy in a Christian household was harassing my sister, and my parents were told it was wrong of them for filing a restraining order.
8. 42:34 {Eternal Forgiveness vs. Accountability?} Why does the Bible say we will give an account for every idle word if we will be forgiven?
9. 48:45 {The Father’s Spirit or Spirit of Christ?} In Matthew 10:20 the Spirit is the Father's Spirit, but elsewhere it says the Spirit is that of Christ. How does this work with the Oneness vs. Trinitarian views?
10. 52:22 {Personal Relationship = Biblical?} Does the Bible actually talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus?

Links:

2nd Most Powerful Argument Against God Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

The idea is that God, as the Christian describes Him, cannot exist, since a loving God would reveal Himself to the non-resistant non-believer and He does not. Therefore, such a loving God must not exist. I think this is a truly challenging argument, not only because it tackles what feels like a very real world issue (I admit) but because arguing against it can quickly put you into the position where you are no longer arguing so much about philosophy or logic but where you are pigeon-holed into a situation where people will think you are personally attacking individuals. In other words, when I say that humans are accountable to know that God exists, this argument can quickly turn things into the social foul of saying that people have bad motives or are otherwise insincere. What starts as a philosophical view of the apparentness of God's existence turns into a bullying situation where the Christian is painted as personally attacking others. I reject that framing but I realize that many will continue to see things in that perspective, sadly.

This is a short video and it doesn't get into all the issues related to "Divine Hiddenness." It only covers a couple aspects of it. Other arguments should be made about how apparent God's existence is and to address other issues. I hoped to simply do some work that would build a bit of a bridge past the sense of personal offense many feel on this issue and open them up to another way of seeing things.

Are you wondering what I would consider the STRONGEST argument against God? Well, in terms of persuasiveness, it would be the Problem of Evil.
I have a video on that right here.

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

10 Questions with Mike Winger (Episode 1) Jan 26, 2024

Show notes

"Satan's Guide to the Bible" is a popular video pretending to represent scholarship in general while only promoting selective skeptical talking points. I'll tackle that as the first question today. The rest come from you, in the comments section during the live stream.

Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:

1. 0:18 {Satan’s Guide to The Bible?} There is a dangerous video gaining popularity, called "Satan's Guide to The Bible," that illustrates a pretend children's Sunday school class learning from Satan as their substitute teacher. He claims that pastors keep secrets from their congregants, but that he will reveal those secrets and tell them the truth. Can you please analyze this video and refute its false claims about the Bible?
2. 38:34 {Was Evolution Used by God?} Genesis 1:24 sounds like God created animals through evolution (at God’s command) – “The Earth brings forth…” V. 11 also uses the same language. Interestingly, it’s not used with water, birds, animals & man. Thoughts on why this may be?
3. 42:56 {Israel – Male & Female?} What is the explanation for God referring to Israel as male (Hosea 14:5-6) and as female (Jeremiah 3:6)? Is it context related, or is there another explanation?
4. 45:42 {Bethlehem & The Messiah} Did people not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (John 7:41-43 NIV)? I feel like that would have cleared up some of their issues with Him being the Messiah!
5. 47:38 {Does Deuteronomy Prohibit Witnessing to Cults?} Does Deuteronomy 12:30 prohibit current Christians from learning about other worldviews/religions/cults in order to evangelize them and utilize appropriate apologetics techniques?
6. 50:14 {Why Did God Appoint Unfaithful Leaders?} Why did God choose bad kings if He knows every heart? Saul, Solomon, Jeroboam, Hazael, and Jehu all turned away, but were directly chosen by Him. Why not choose kings He knew would stay faithful?
7. 55:00 {The Divine Council Theory} I heard you once say you didn't agree with Michael Heiser's views on the Divine Council. What part of it do you not agree with?
8. 59:25 {Speaking in Tongues} When did “speaking in tongues” change from being real human languages that the speaker didn’t naturally know to being a non-human/Spirit language?
9. 1:05:24 {Biblically, how is “Neighbor” Defined?} Is there a biblical definition for the term “neighbor”? I've always thought it was a term used to describe a non-believer who shows love to a Christian (or means them no harm).
10. 1:08:28 {Interpreting the Book of Acts} How do we interpret the book of Acts? Is it a reasonable interpretation that it’s merely a transitional period and that we have to be careful how much doctrine we take from it?

Resources:
Two different Christian takes on the Exodus:
1. Early dating - Titus Kennedy
2. Late dating - Inspiring Philosophy

On the dating of the book of Daniel: CLICK HERE
Did Jesus say the end would happen soon? CLICK HERE
Evidence for the empty tomb: CLICK HERE
Tom Holland’s book “Dominion” about Christian values undergirding modern values: CLICK HERE
SOME info from me on Psalm 82 and why I don’t hold Heiser’s view: CLICK HERE
Theology in Acts: CLICK HERE

I’m Mike Winger and my goal is to help people think biblically about everything.

My website: BibleThinker.org

Is Coffee Sinful? Maybe Jan 21, 2024

Show notes

This question was such a good reminder for me. I appreciate it.

I'm Mike Winger and my goal is to help people learn to think biblically about everything.

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

My pushback against the Christian Poverty Movement. Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

I really hope that those who have freely chosen to be part of communal living or to sell all they have will pay close attention to the actual verses of Scripture I use here and how consistently the Bible makes it clear that this command is not for all believers. I've made several different points which each seem quite powerful in proving that this movement has misapplied some verses and missed the meaning of others.

You can freely do so, but to tell everyone that they are obligated to do so is not only demonstrably unbiblical, it comes with a lot of heartache and can cause whole communities of Christians to become a burden on their neighbors.

My website: https://BibleThinker.org

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