About Dr. John Oakes
John Oakes was born and raised in Connecticut. He earned a BS in Chemistry at the University of Connecticut in 1977. John became a Christian as a graduate student in 1978 as part of a campus ministry in Boulder Colorado. It was in 1984 that John earned his PhD in chemical physics from the University of Colorado.
He and Jan were married the same year. They moved to Spokane, Washington, where John was a chemistry professor at Gonzaga University. From there they moved to San Diego, where they worked in the ministry from 1986-1988.
At that time John returned to teaching. He taught at UCSD, Mesa College, and other colleges in the area. In 1993 John and his wife and three children moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to work as a professor of chemistry and physics at Marian College. In 2000, their family returned to San Diego where John worked as a professor of Chemistry at Grossmont College until retiring in 2018. John and Jan moved to Bakersfield California in 2019, where he led the Bakersfield Church of Christ. He and Jan are now leading a new church planting in Merced, California. www.mercedchurch.com
John is the author of fifteen books. The first (1999), Is There a God? Questions of Science and the Bible, covers evidence for the existence of God and scientific questions raised by the Bible. His second book (2000) is Daniel, Prophet to the Nations. This exposition of Daniel includes practical applications and analysis of the prophetic content in Daniel. Third (2001) is Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences, an introduction to the evidence supporting faith in the Bible and in God. Next (2005) is From Shadow to Reality, which explores the numerous prefigures, foreshadows, types and antitypes in the Old Testament which bear witness to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
In 2008 John co-published That You May Believe with David Eastman. It is a study of the theology and practical implications of the miracles worked by Jesus. Next came Field Manual for Christian Apologetics (2011), which is a compilation of questions and answers regarding the reliability of the Bible and the Christian worldview. Dr. Oakes has published a four-volume set, The Christian Story: Finding the Church in Church History (2012-2023) which covers the entire span of the history of Christianity. His next work is Mormonism: What Do the Evidence and the Testimony Say? (2014), followed in 2016 by Golden Rule Membership with Linda Brumley as a co-author. It focuses in on the proper use of freedom in Christianity and the role of members in a Christian community. In 2020 John published In Christ–an investigation into the grace of God and Hebrews, Living by Faith, an exposition of the Book of Hebrews. In 2021 his book Speaking of God, which is a collection of group Bible studies, was published. All books are available at www.ipibooks.com.
John is the president of Apologetics Research Society, a California non-profit corporation. ARS sponsors the evidenceforchristianity.org website and many other projects. ARS has sponsored ten International Christian Evidences Conferences in LA, Chicago, Houston, Miami, San Diego and York, Nebraska. Topics have included Christianity and the Paranormal, Science and Christianity, Christianity and Culture, the Christian Worldview and more. John also writes a monthly newsletter through the evidenceforchristianity web site. He is also the force behind the ten-course sequence Certificate in Christian Apologetics offered by ARS.
John has taught adults, campus, singles and teens for more than 200 churches, in more than 80 countries and at 60 universities. Subjects he teaches include: God, Science and the Bible; History, Archaeology and the Bible; Daniel, Prophet to the Nations; From Shadow to Reality; How We Got the Bible; Revelation, Ezekiel, Post-Exile Prophets, Luke, John, Evidence for Jesus; The Problem of Pain and Suffering; Church History; Old Testament Survey; Hebrews; Christian World View; World Religions; Baptism: Into Christ; and many more.
As far as other interests are concerned, between serving as an appointed teacher, as a full time minister and as a husband and a father, to say nothing of his being an author, John is not left with a lot of free time. When he does have a bit of spare time he likes to run, hike and work in the garden.
Contact: 858-344-5323 john.oakes@gcccd.edu
