Question: Tertullian says that Sentius Saturninus was the governor of Judea at the birth of Jesus. Is Tertullian correct, or is he wrong here? Answer: I believe that Tertullian is wrong here. Saturninus ruled over Syria (and indirectly over Judea) from 9-7 BC, which is almost certainly too early for the birth of Jesus, which, […]
Question: [editor’s note, this is a rather long question] I want you to respond to the following article: “The Resurrection Story of Jesus” Claims of “resurrection appearances of Jesus” in the earliest source, 1 Cor., do not list time, place, circumstances, nor whether Jesus spoke or did anything other than “appear,” and, Jesus appears […]
Question: The Ebionites had very similar beliefs to the Koran about Jesus and the Bible. They believed that Jesus was merely a prophet (same in the Koran) and the Torah had been distorted with false texts. Specifically, laws relating to animal sacrifice were later corruptions (similar to the Koran). It makes me believe that the […]
Question: I wanted to ask you about quantum gravity. I read an article published recently that said that there has been a major break through in the theory and that they think that they might be close to unifying everything. The article was by Sustainability Times titled “Gravity Isn’t Relative Anymore.” Are they right in […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a two-part lesson on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians for the Iglesia de Cristo in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is also teaching a series of sermons from the Book of Hebrews. The classes will be in English, and translated into Spanish. Materials are posted here: […]
Dr. John Oakes is now leading a church planting in Merced, California. Please join us 11:00 Sundays at 500 Buena Vista Ave., Merced or on zoom at 342-225-5971 pw 857096. Also, join us for midweek devotional Wed. 7:30 at UC Merced Rm GLCR 120 or the same zoom. Also, visit our website at www.mercedchurch.com. 5/25 […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a short series of classes on the Church for the Merced Christian Church and the Alpha Omega Club April – June, 2025. Notes, PPTs and audio will be posted here. The Church Notes The Church PPT The Church Audio I The Church Audio II […]
Dear Reader: I do not normally publish articles written by others, but, once in a while, I read one which is so good, I publish it at the site. This is one exception. Greg Koukl is one of the preeminent apologists working today. He published this article which is a defense of the reality of […]
Question: When doing apologetics research I like to compare my pro theist view with a different opinion so I can see with one has more merit. Usually this brings me to Reddit, which is known for being a cesspool of toxic atheism. Sadly they don’t really give me any actual information to work with, they […]
Question: What is the author of Hebrews trying to tell us in Hebrews 9:8-9? There is a strange build up to these verses talking about the first tabernacle (which notably included the Ark in its description, which may differentiate it from the 2nd Temple). This build up leads into a strange verse claiming that the […]
Question: Dear doctor, I’ve been doing apologetic and history research and I wanted to ask you about Yahweh being a Midianite deity that Moses eventually adopted into their worship. Apparently this is the scholarly consensus. Does this theory have any proof? Why is it the scholarly consensus? Is there even any evidence or is it […]
Question: According to Christianity, the sacrifices mentioned in the Pentateuch are replaced by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, after which no sacrifice can take place, but the historical fact is that the followers of Jesus Christ went on participating in the sacrificial system of the temple in Jerusalem until its destruction in 70 […]
Question: According to Christianity, Jesus is the light (Isa. 42:6) and he came to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isa. 42:7). On the other hand, Muhammad is the Lamp Spreading Light (Sura 33:46) and who came to release Jews […]
Request: Thank you for responding to my earlier question regarding the blog post written by Bart Ehrman on Messianic Prophecy. Your answer was very helpful and I learned a lot from it. click here for article I was wondering if you could respond to one of his claims he makes later in the post. Ehrman lists […]
Request: Would you be willing to give a response to this blog post by Bart Ehrman? I hope that’s not too much to ask for since it’s rather short. https://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-and-the-messianic-prophecies/ The blog is about Old Testament prophecy and Jesus’ fulfillment of them. His main point is that the Gospel writers “worked backwards” and that their writings […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a lesson for the Los Angeles Church of Christ Sun 3/30 at 10:00 https://www.occhurchofchrist.com The lesson is on the “basics” of Christianity. What are the essentials of Christianity, without which, one is not saved by Christ? The outline and power point are here: Christianity The Basics Notes Christianity–The Basics […]
Question: According to the Qur’an (sura 2:83), God made a covenant with the Israelites: “Worship none but God; and be good to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; and speak nicely to people; and pray regularly, and give alms.” But no mention of sin-offering sacrifices as having God’s sanction. The Qur’an says (sura 22:37): “Neither […]
Question: Is water baptism (immersion) essential for salvation ? Answer: Yes, it certainly is. Biblically, baptism is WHEN one is forgiven of sins and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-41). Acts 22:16 provides further evidence, as Paul is told, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized, and […]
Question: Dear doctor. I have been reading your articles and while I agree with many things you say there are some I disagree with such as Trump and the issue of illegal immigrants. I don’t think it’s fair for you to say that Trump and his supporters are all cold hearted individuals. The Bible talks […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture titled “The Bible and Evolution” at UC Merced 2/28/2025. He presented the idea that evolution is a viable scientific theory, but that the evidence points very strongly to the conclusion that the process is not a fully natural, random one, but that God has intervened at various times and […]
Question: In Isaiah 42:11 God is clearly saying that He will send the people of Kedar (i.e., the Arabs) a Prophet and they should “rejoice” and “raise their voices” in happiness. Also, “Let the desert and its towns raise their voices;” is clearly referring to Arabia, since Arabia is known to be made of mostly […]
Question: Concerning the exegesis of Zechariah 12:10, I read that the word translated “pierced” or “killed” theoretically could go either way, but how about the structure of the sentence? Jews seem to see it as not referring back to “ME” in the sentence where as the Christian interpretation is it does. Answer: I am not an […]
Question: If God’s Son had to be sacrificed, then why did the OT prophets not tell their generations in detail and leave it to the NT authors who interpreted passages like Isa. 52:13-53:12 to strengthen their case? If it was pre-planned, then why was God hesitant to reveal his son’s details to his beloved nation? […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on Church History for the West Coast School of Ministry this Spring. All notes, PPT and audio will be posted here: Church History Notes Notes Church History PPT Church History I Audio Church History II Church History III Church History IV Genesis […]
[Editor’s note: The article below concerns an article the inquirer found by Richard Carrier. Carrier is an atheist who tries to present himself as a scholar, but who writes fantastically poorly reasoned nonsense. My suggestion: Do not waste your time reading his blog, but it is up to you.] Request: Could I ask you to […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a seven-week class on Christian Theology at UC Merced, Wednesday nights at 7:30 in Rm GLCR 120, beginning on 2/5/2025. For those not in the Merced area (most of you!), I will be posting the notes, power point and audio here: Christian Theology Notes Christian-Theology Merced Christian Theology […]
Question: It’s is common knowledge that the early church held to what is called baptismal regeneration. We can find this through quotes and epistles from the fathers. What about quotes on infant baptism? I’m sure you’ve read a few that can supported infant baptism. What is your response to these quotes? Also, if we are […]
Question: I have a Catholic vs. Orthodox Church-based question… Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or the Son and the Father? Where in scripture can we find an answer and what are your thoughts on this? Answer: It is not my job, or even my desire, to clear up a controversy between these […]
Question: My question is about the story in John’s gospel about the woman caught in adultery. This has always been one of my favorite, go-to, stories about Jesus to share with people. So, I was pretty disappointed when I learned from a textual critic standpoint that the story is very weak and was likely a […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a ten-part, twenty hour class on Christian Apologetics for a ministry training program in Haiti. The class will be taught in English, but translated into French. Notes, power point and audio will be posted, with the notes in English, but the PPT and audio in both languages. Existence of God […]
Question: My question is about the story in John’s gospel about the woman caught in adultery. This has always been one of my favorite, go-to, stories about Jesus to share with people and to teach on. So, I was pretty disappointed when I learned that from a textual critic standpoint that the story is very […]
Question: I’ve been reading a good amount on the Old Testament canon. Jesus quoted some of the Deuterocanonical texts. The writer of the book of Hebrews did so as well. This books mention events that happened in the Deuterocanon as well. Not to mention that many early church fathers quote the Deuterocanonical books as well. […]
Question: Please clear up for me the discussion below I found on line in which the writer tries to argue that the resurrection of Christ was invented by the later Christians for religions reasons: Christian apologists and conservative scholars have tried to argue that, while there was a belief in a coming general resurrection, the […]
Question: Could you please make a response to this atheist who claims Galatians 1:9 is an interpolation?https://vridar.org/2011/06/03/a-case-for-interpolation-does-not-rely-on-manuscript-evidence/ Response: First of all, I am pretty sure you are talking about Galatians 1:19, not Galatians 1:9. This question has been “out there” in the internet lately, so I assume you made a little error in your question. […]
Question: What is the evidence that the very early church believed in the bodily resurrection of Christ? Answer: I get a lot of questions from visitors to the website in which they ask me to respond to skeptics who deny the resurrection of Christ. These deniers have a right to say what they say and […]
Question: I have recently read claims that Paul’s supposed vision on the road to Damascus are just hallucinations. Critics claim that the word used by Paul to describe the event refers to spiritual sight not a physical appearance. Could you respond to his claims about Paul? This really bothered me, and I am struggling. Can […]
Question: I’ve come across this interesting question that Catholics love to argue for… if we all interpret the Bible a specific way and we can even agree or disagree with certain church fathers, who’s interpretation is correct? Holding to “sola scriptura” seems like it comes down to someone’s word vs someone else’s word at the […]
Editor’s note: This is a long but important question with an even longer answer! Question: Kind of a tough question here that has been on my mind for a couple years now… I’ve been reading up about free will, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience and am having trouble reconciling these things with the Christian faith/ […]
Question: How was it that Jewish scholars can ignore the prophecies of Daniel chapter 9:24-26 about when the Messiah would come? This prophecy clearly points to Jesus. Answer: I do not think it is fair to say that Jewish scholars simply ignore Daniel 9:24-28. In fact, a number of Jewish authors have commented on this […]
Question: My question is this, Is there technically the same and/or more evidence for Jesus/resurrection and his existing than there is for guys like Abe Lincoln and George Washington exosting (historical figures that everyone accepts as real men even though we’ve never seen them)? Abe and George are in school textbooks with a few anecdotes […]
Editor’s note: This question is most likely coming from a Muslim source who is trying to undercut the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts. He/she is attempting to undermine the evidence, to claim its strength is exaggerated by believers. Question: Not all NT writings are attested by 5000+ manuscripts. Thus, by stating […]
Question: Some Apostolic-Pentecostal Christians claim that being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) is the correct form of baptism, and disregard baptism in the name of the Trinity (Matt. 28:18-20). They claim that there is a great importance concerning what you are baptized into. My question is this: are these baptisms the […]
Question: When Jesus was called Son of God, was it meant literally or in metaphorical sense? Muslims argue that Jesus was called Son of God in metaphorical sense because of his close relationship with God or so and I want to refute that idea (That it was metaphorical) from Biblical and Historical view on Jesus […]
Question: Is it plausible that God made earth and the universe “Look” old, when it’s really only a few thousand years old? This could after all glorify him and be a testimony to his craftsmanship. Perhaps the cosmic background radiation carbon dating, and other like data could all have been made to seem old? Same […]
Question: The Jewish expectations of the Messiah as described in Micah 5 were not met by Jesus since, although “being the Messiah”, he lacked the traits of a “ruler.” Christians now absurdly believe that Jesus’ kingdom was spiritual, yet this prophecy actually refers to the earthly kingdom. The same is true of Zechariah 9:9–10, which […]
Question: I was having a conversation with a friend about how Christianity overall makes positive impacts in the world/society. His rebuttal was that Finland and Denmark are consistently ranked the happiest countries in the world and less than a quarter of their population even believes in a god. They also have much lower crime rates […]
Editor’s note: This is a rather long question, with many parts, but the answer is down below! Question: Hindu religious texts (Puranas) contain several cosmological descriptions that intriguingly align with modern scientific understanding. While these alignments may not be exact or systematically scientific, they can be interpreted as reflections of profound philosophical and observational insights. […]
Question: The Gospel authors weave OT passages and themes into their various portraits of Christ, e.g., John’s Gospel fabricated a narrative that depicts Jesus being offered sour wine to fulfill the second half of Psalms 69:21, but that lacks anyone trying to poison Jesus to fulfill the first half of this passage. In reality, there […]
Question: I was reading Ephesians chapter 1 yesterday and there’s all this talk of predestination, such as in verse 4,5,11. Does this affirm the U in the TULIP acronym (unconditional election)? What is your response? Also, what’s your response to verse 13 saying we were marked with the Holy Spirit at belief, versus receiving the […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from a questioner who wanted to know how important is the statements in the Babylonian Talmud about a certain Jesu who was hanged on the eve of the Passover. This passage is often mentioned as non-Christian support for the reality of Jesus and the fact of his crucifixion. Therefore, […]
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