Question: I have been reading the book of Romans with some family members who believe salvation occurs by “praying Jesus into your heart” and that this salvation is not swayed by a lack of obedience towards God. It has been really exciting to go through Romans with them as it does not support these ideas […]

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[Editor’s note: This question is specific to the Indonesian translation of 1 Corinthians, although it is relevant to the general question about unknown languages and whether they are mentioned in the Bible] Question:  I am from Bandung, Indonesia.  One of my friends asked me about 1 Corinthians 14:2-4  What is  the meaning speak in tongues […]

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Question: I have done a Bible study about the COVID 19 Virus and I wanted to get your thoughts on it.  I was recently asked if I think that “meeting on line” would satisfy the command from when God said “Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habitat of doing but […]

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Question: First I’d like to thank you for your teaching and answers on the Evidence for Christianity website. You helped me in understanding some parts of the scriptures that troubled me. I have had paranoid schizophrenia for several years and I can easily get fearful of the future. I can feel that I could be […]

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Question: I would be very grateful for your advice, opinion or any information concerning the matter of the origin of hominids as modern anthropology sees it in contrast to the Biblical story. I decided to ask for your help because I have been translating your book From Shadow to Reality for Moscow Church of Christ […]

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Question: Hello. I want to ask some question if you don’t mind.  1. How do we relate the Law of Moses with the Christianity nowadays? I’m somewhat  confused because some sources I heard said that breaking the Moses Law does not mean you sin. So how do we consider this Law of Moses Only as […]

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Question: Hi Dr. John. I want to have a better understanding about Melchizedek and the relevance of him to Jesus.  Based on the text found in Gen 14:18 and Hebrews 7.  What is his relevance to Jesus Christ?   Thank you! Answer: Good to hear from you.  It just so happens that I just published a […]

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Question: What is your comment on the Ussher chronology?   He concluded that Adam was created in 4004 BC, and the flood covered the Earth 2348 BC, but this is incompatible with what we know about Egyptian history. The first king of Egypt, Menes died in 3150 BC (before the flood by 800 years!!!!)  Can the […]

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Question: I’ve been looking into commentaries regarding Matthew 21:28, the parable of the two sons. One commentary used this parable to explain how it does not necessarily matter the name an individual worships, as long as they are worshiping, connecting, and acting on the principles and power of universal love. As Christians, we happen to […]

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[Editor’s note: This is a rather long question, but the answer is below!] Question: This is on Daniel 9 and what Wiki has been saying about it. First of all, they say this has nothing to do with Jesus and the temple but it is about Jeremiah.  As stated here: “The seventy weeks prophecy is […]

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Question: Why does Job 25:4 say that no man born of woman can be pure if Jesus, born of woman, is pure? Answer: Job is unique among biblical writing.  It is an account of the Satanic attack on Job, on his own response, on the opinions of his friends Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar, Job’s responses and […]

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Question: If Jesus died for our sins…why should we need to be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins (besides the fact of it being a command)? Answer: I do not mean to be facetious, but the simple answer is “Because God said so.”  If God tells us to do something, it is not required […]

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Question: The Catholic Church says that we must be perfectly sinless before we can enter heaven. So we can’t go directly to heaven after death if we have sin in us because God does not allow imperfection to enter heaven.  Therefore the Catholic Church invented purgatory as a place to cleanse ourselves before we go […]

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Question: Please could you clarify the doctrine of original sin?  Some say there is such a thing as original sin and some deny this.  Why is it that believers, theologians and Bible students are unable to have a single conclusion about original sin? Please help me with my doubts about this.  1. What is the […]

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Question: In Mark 13: 25 there is “And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.” Here Jesus said stars of heaven shall fall….  According to astronomy and science stars will not fall but asteroids can fall, and when I google the idea some websites say stars […]

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Question: A Jewish Rabbi said that the Hebrew Tanakh (Tanach) and the Christian Old Testament are quite different . It seems Tanakh is not an Old Testament. More so, he said that Catholic Church misinterpreted  several important verses (over and over) of the Old Testament to suits New Testament claims in order to make it fit […]

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Question: Jehovah’s witnesses teach that no one goes to heaven after death. In proof of this they cite Acts 2,34 and they say that here Peter denies that David ascended into heaven and so if a man of God like David did not go to heaven it means no one go to heaven. Personally I […]

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Question: Jesus—who had no sin (Hebrews 4:15)—is said to be “perfected” (Hebrews 2:10). I can’t understand what Jesus was missing. What was still imperfect in him? Answer: The word translated as “perfect” from the Greek in the New Testmanet is teleos or teleon.  This word is not identical to the English word “perfect.”  It has […]

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Question: What is the meaning of “All Israel will be saved” in Romans 11:26? Does it teach that every single Israelite will be saved? If some Israelites are lost (for example Judas Iscariot) why did Paul say “All Israel will be saved”? Maybe Paul it referring to a future event in which every single member […]

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Question:  If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance? Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context.  Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double prophecies.”  […]

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Question: Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration, doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context.  Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double […]

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Request: I had a conversation with someone who knocked on my door from a “nondenominational” church. They meet on Saturdays. Can you point me in the right direction to figure out why meeting on Saturdays matter?  Response: The answer is that meeting on Saturday does not matter.  Christians can meet on Saturday or on Sunday […]

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Question: I am trying to understand how the early Christians viewed the Sabbath, how the non-Sabbath keepers justified a neglect of the fourth commandment and particularly if we can really be clear that God doesn’t intend for us to continue upholding the seventh day as a day of rest (doing no work, also taking into consideration […]

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Question: Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse? Answer: The story about the young man losing his clothes seems a surprisingly insignificant detail to include in the Gospel of Mark. This has caused many to wonder why Mark included it (including you!).  The most reasonable answer I have heard is that this […]

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Question: I have a question. In a recent video that I saw, an atheist argued that the Bible teaches that Christians are to have a hostile and distasteful attitude toward nonbelievers. He cites 2 John 1:9-11 as evidence of this claim which says, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching […]

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[Editor’s note: I received a long and somewhat rambling set of comments and questions from someone. I asked for a more succinct set of comments and questions so that I could respond. You will see below that the shorter version is still a bit unfocused, but this person asks sufficiently important questions that I felt […]

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Question: I believe the Holy Spirit is a person and I believe Jesus was conceived through the Holy spirit, but someone who thinks the Holy Spirit is not a person could ask me this question and I cannot find an answer..please help me !  The reasoning is this: If the Holy Spirit is a person of […]

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Question: Some people think that Jesus was begotten by the father only at his resurrection because the apostle Paul said about Jesus that he was appointed Son of God by His resurrection ( Romans 1 – or the speech of Paul in the Act of the Apostle).  I’m currently reading the Bart Erhman’s book “How Jesus […]

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Question: My friend has argued that needing to be baptized with water to receive salvation is a false doctrine. Her argument is based on the idea that the baptism Jesus established is entirely spiritual- a baptism of the Holy Spirit- and baptism with water is only a “work” one does out of obedience after one […]

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Question: I know the story in Genesis 38:8-10 is not talking about masturbation. I know some people call masturbation Onanism, even though the scripture is clearly not talking about this. However, could this scripture be used to forbid the use of condoms and contraceptives? Is continuing the family line not a moral obligation as it […]

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Question: In reading the account of woman’s creation in KJV, NIV, ESV, etc. she is mentioned as being formed out of Adam’s ribs, however the direct Hebrew translation is not ribs but “Angular Organ(s)”.  Also, the Hebrew word “adm” is used when referring to “human, person, or man” and “Adam”. So my questions are 1) […]

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Question: Is Isaiah 25:6-8 a dual prophecy – of the resurrection of Christ and of the second coming of Christ?  The background of the question is the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14.  I have read in Kenneth Baileys book “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels” that the Jews believed […]

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Question: Since I want follow Jesus I wonder how to deal with certain situations.   Jesus said that we must not refuse to give to anyone who ask us to give them something. (Matthew 5:39).  What if we are asked to give a bribe?  Also, many beggars ask for money as a way of life without […]

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Question: Regarding 2 Cor 12:1-7 many people believe that Paul went to the third heaven. But why would Paul speak in the third person here? Isn’t this his own experience? I have difficulty to believe Paul was saying he himself went to heaven because He wrote in the third person seemingly speaking of someone else. […]

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Question: Please help me to understand this apparent contradiction.   Jesus said that we must observe every detail of the commandments and precepts of the law of Moses.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:19: ” Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the […]

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Question: I have recently seen someone try to argue that God has no problem with men raping women. They used a few scriptures to “support” this opinion and each one was unfaithfully paraphrased. However upon looking at these scriptures I noticed that Deuteronomy 22:25 says the man should be put to death, but in verse […]

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Question: Is PSALM 14 7 ” someone out of zion ” or “salvation out of zion” Answer: The Hebrew word in question here is yeshua.  It is the word translated as salvation in most Bibles, which is the word equivalent of the names Joshua and Jesus, both of which are yeshua in Hebrew.  The word Jesus means salvation. […]

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