Question: In discussing creation with a friend, we focused our discussion on the fact that the oceans are salty.  According to science, where did the salt come from?  When earth was first created, was the water that originally covered the earth fresh? Could salty oceans be a result of “the fall” (making the largest source […]

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Question: What proof is there that the Bible is true? Answer: To tell you the truth, this is a rather broad question.   My first answer is please just start looking around the web site.  We have more than 2500 articles, each of which is intended to answer your question!   But you asked, so […]

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Questions: I have a couple questions that are generally vague concerning God. 1.) Why is it that when I pray it seems as if I am talking to no one? Usually during prayer in a private space there is just silence and no indication of any connection with some sort of immaterial creator being of the […]

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Question: How do you know for sure that the Bible and Jesus is really the truth of God? – I was a Christian for a long time , not just religious.  I thought I was a born again and experienced things but nowadays some things (Objective info from psychology, learning about suffering, etc.) brought doubts […]

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Question: If miracles are to be considered divine singularities, is the scientific method appropriate for evaluating the occurrence of miracles?    Does recognizing the occurrence of miracles halt scientific progress since doing so would require recognizing the miracle as a divine singularity instead of a repeatable regularity, and also result in the scientist’s giving up being […]

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QUESTION: Why would non-Israelites want to take Yahweh seriously? He’s the god of Israel, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Each nation had its own god: Dagon, Chemosh,Molech, the Baals and Astartes etc. Yahweh is just one among many gods. A local god. A God of War. Because victory in battle was what they were preoccupied […]

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QUESTION: 1. What is a good resource for learning more about Calvinism and how to refute it. 2. How do you best defend the Word of God with someone who says “the Bible is not perfect.”  We obviously know of a few clerical errors but he uses those mistakes and others to justify his own […]

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Question: Have you ever heard of the Doctrine Molinism?   I haven’t studied concerning the process of salvation in awhile. The last place I essentially left off was being convinced of the ideology of this doctrine. And as of now I still hold to Molinism. Thanks much. Answer: I am copying and pasting an article from Google […]

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Question: Dear Dr. Oakes, while Googling the use of maritime drogues (a storm drogue is “a device external to a boat, attached to the stern and used to slow the boat down in a storm and to keep the hull perpendicular to the waves”), I found a link to a page at your site entitled […]

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QUESTION: I listened to your lesson on Baptism (thank you, it helped me to better understand this aspect of our walk in Christ). However, I am not able to find any scriptural passages where it mentions the followers of Jesus were baptized? (The 12 disciples) Scripture mentions they did baptise others. Can you help with […]

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Question: I had a recent debate with an atheist friend who claimed that those who believe in God have the burden of proof to support their claim.  I would like to hear your thoughts on this question.  Also, I came up with my own response shortly after debating my atheist friend.  It attacks the prolific misuse […]

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Question: I want to ask about a particular apologetics strategy know as Presuppositional Apologetics. What do you think about it?  Do you believe that you presuppose that God exists and that everything the Bible says is true off the bat? Or does it take reasons to reach this conclusion? I recently heard a good explanation […]

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Question: Which religion is correct? Answer: Because you sent this question to a web site with the name Evidenceforchristianity.org, it is fairly obvious that we believe that Christianity is the correct religion.   I am guessing that there is a more specific question behind this request.  Do you have a more specific question about why we […]

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Question: I have a question about sharing my faith with a Catholic friend who is mid-line atheist about why the saints are idolatry and about the holy trinity. Answer: For a person who is a mid-line atheist probably the question of whether worshiping saints is idolatry is irrelevant.   If a person believes that there is no […]

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Question: When trying to validate Jesus Christ, I often hear Christians say that there must be something special about Him since a number of His disciples died horribly for Him many years after His death. Or, because Christianity has lasted all these years, must be something to it. But couldn’t the same be said for […]

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QUESTION: Is religion merely a psychological phenomenon, as is commonly pushed by so many atheists? I have heard reports of studies that show there is some kind of “God part” of the brain or some kind of brain part that is sensitive to religious experience. How do we respond? Answer: I am assuming you are […]

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Question: What do I do?   I am 19. I have been a Christian for 3 years now and just recently I have started asking myself some very tough questions which in turn has left me very doubtful of my faith and left me oftentimes in despair.  The questions include:  Couldn’t God have saved us another way?  Why did […]

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QUESTION:  How do we know that Satan didn’t write the Bible?   How do we know that the true religion isn’t Buddhism for example and the Old and New Testament are the works of a devil/demon/Satan trying to trick us into doing wrong things like stoning adulteresses and non-believers? Satan could reveal himself as Jesus, claim […]

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Question: I love your website, it has helped me in many ways. I have a question that I’d love to get your take on.  When Adam was in the garden by himself, naming animals for whatever conceivable amount of time that he was there without Eve (hanging out with God, naming animals, all that), and Eve […]

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Question: I recently read an interview with atheist psychologist Steven Pinker about one of his books that he wrote. It was on a website (unfortunately,I can’t recall it).   The topic of concern is the apparent biological basis for behavior and the impact this has on the traditional understanding of the Free Will Doctrine. As you […]

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Question:   (editor’s note:  This question is a follow-up to earlier ones.  Some unedited earlier correspondence is below) I am now starting to have more confidence in the Scripture, and starting to see truth from error. So you’re saying Prof. Ehrman is on one side and that side is to work against God, and this is […]

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Question: Since the orignial writings where inspired by God, but we can’t have the 100% perfect translation what would be the best Bible to read that would be closest to the Greek and Hebrew text?   What is different between the the manuscripts we have compared to the original writings?  Any numbers wrong ?  Are there any […]

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QUESTION: I’ve listened to numerous debates by famous Christian apologists (William Craig, Douglas Jacoby, Mike Licona, ect.) and I noticed that in some of their arguments they regard the Athiests of having a presupposition (naturalism, materialism, etc.) for not believing in God. However, I was wondering what if we asked that same question about Christians? […]

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Request: I have a former student who is in college and really questioning his faith and is starting to believe in the arguments presented by Hitchins and Dawkins. Recently he posted this "question" asking for people to comment and give him feedback. I am looking for anyone who could help me give some meaty and […]

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Question: Proverbs 6:6-8 says that an ant has no ruler. Is this a scientific inaccuracy? Would the conclusion be different if God were to say this instead of the wise man? Would it be a biblical error when Jesus asks "Why are you thinking these things in your heart?" Would it not be more accurate […]

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Question: Just wondering what you might think about this?   Editor’s note:  This is from a person who was forwarded a chain e-mail which claims that NASA has discovered proof of a missing day which can explain the "day the sun stood still" in Joshua.  The unfortunate e-mail contents are copied below.   Response:  This is one of those Christian […]

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Question: First I want to say what an awesome website you have. Great resources topics and Bible Study!  I never really questioned the scriptures much and I still have no doubt the Bible is God’s word.  However I have recently questioned if the Bible can be God-inspired and at the same time contain some human […]

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Comment:  (Editor’s note:  This one is a comment, a response, another comment and another response) I do not view Christianity as a socially healthy phenomenon–I think it hurts far more than it helps, that it retards our growth globally. To prolong its survival isn’t an attractive proposition for me.   Response: I do not question the contention […]

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Question: I am the son of a Baptist minister and admit that I long ago dismissed Christianity as the most convoluted, indefensible patchwork of complete nonsense perpetrated on mankind in the last 2000 years. I believe this as strongly as you apparently believe in your inherited Jewish God from the magnanimous Jesus (oh, we lucky […]

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Question: Just a random thought here.  Scripture says:  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8   How do you reconcile that Christ is God, yet the God of the OT appears to be nothing like the God of the NT i.e. Jesus Christ.   Can you ever hear Christ telling his Church to go […]

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Question: Many non-Christians see the Bible as just another book rather than accepting that it is inspired. What do we say to the non- beliver about the Insipriation of Scriptures? Answer: To be honest with you, Randy, this is really too broad a question for me to frame a reasonable answer.  My simple answer is send them […]

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Question: I am a Christian, but I am tempted to let go of my faith.  My faith is based on fear (eternal damnation, hell, etc.).  I just want to know  any evidence of the authenticity of Christianity which is different from other religions.  Others also have their divine scriptures and revelations.  What makes Christianity different […]

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 Question: I’ve just learnt that you’ve had a really big ‘quake in San Diego. You’re remarkably assured on this subject and bacteria in your apologetics. I wonder if you still feel the same. Answer: Well, if I hold to a world view and it is shaken by something like an earthquake, then it certainly was not a very […]

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Question: Could you point me towards any resources that would help me preach the gospel to one of my former students who has embraced Taoism?  Answer: Forgive me for stating the obvious, but your best resource is the Bible, and more specifically Jesus.  I would point my Taoist friend toward the scriptures and toward Jesus.   […]

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Question:  If there is so much evidence supporting the validity of the Bible. Why do some Biblical scholars still remain so skeptical? Answer:  Those who do not accept the validity of the Bible ought to speak for themselves.  It is not my place to determine the motives of other people.  Obviously, the reasons people choose […]

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Question:  Would you help me?  I see many answering the questions:  Is the Bible true?  Is the Bible inspired?  Is the Bible the Word of God?  I have a different question that I do not find answered anywhere — at least, not answered in so many words.  Those other questions start with the Word of […]

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Question: Someone once said something like this "Even if someone tells me the truth, I will above it hold God’s truth". I can go online and search for the ark of the covenant, or Noah’s ark, and I can find all sorts of lies. I can go online or to libraries and find books talking […]

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Question: I believe in God and all that his Bible says. So my question is in answering unbelievers who think we (humans) were put here by extraterrestrials. To me that idea is very silly, yet they seem to have their own set of  "evidences" that confirms their beliefs. what do I say to these people? […]

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Many atheists seem to dismiss the belief in the "supernatural". Is the word supernatural in the Bible? Are Christians making assumptions, or portraying God in a way that is non-Biblical.  I probably haven’t thought about this much, but saying "supernatural" means saying "magic" or "impossible" to a non-Believer. How can we explain this to a […]

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Question: Are there any examples of failed Prophecies in the Bible and scientific contradictions in the bible as claimed by some books? Answer: No, there are not. Of course, there are people who say that there are, and I have heard such claims. For example, in a debate held last June in Chicago, the claim […]

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