Question: According to Philip R. Davies, a British biblical scholar, prophetic books are primarily the product of scribes who imitated the traditional style of intermediaries and wrote for their own interest. Does it mean our prophetic books are fake? Answer: Philip R. Davies is an unbeliever.  He is not a Christian and it is not […]

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Question: I have been doing a lot of research on Biblical authorship. Recently, I came across an article entitled “A biblical text with ‘new’ facts about Jesus was found — and Christians ignore it.” In this article the authors claimed that Luke wrote a document called “The Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus.” Apparently, it was […]

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Question: From where did keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophecies other than 16 prophetic books? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prophetic texts identified as 2Q23, 6Q10, 6Q12 and 6Q13. Please respond to this because my Muslim friend asked me this and I’m confused. Answer: This Muslim person is not your friend, at least […]

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Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura?  I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible.   I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]

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[Editor’s note: This is a list of several questions, with the answers interspersed between them] Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection originally a Judeo-Christian view?  The idea of a crucified saviour is unique to Christianity (not Judeo-Christianity), of course.  In fact, execution by nailing to a cross was a fairly recent invention of the […]

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Question: I’ve been hesitant to ask this question because I suspect this would be slightly annoying to do on your part, but here it goes…    I read one of your past Q & As addressing unfulfilled prophecies on rationalWiki: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/can-you-explain-all-the-unfulfilled-old-testament-prophecies-listed-at-rationalwiki/ You may or may not know this, but some authors on rationalwiki have actually posted your […]

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Question: What would you say to someone who is skeptical about “dual prophecy” where the prophecy was already fulfilled in a sense but could also refer to Jesus? For example, some Jews would assert that Isaiah 53 is about Israel and not about Jesus. I suspect this is not the only prophecy where this objection […]

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Question:  Jewish Christianity was the actual Christianity because Jesus was thoroughly Jewish, kept the Torah, and never disciplined [editor: discipled?] the Gentiles. The earliest Christians were all Torah observant Jews and saw Jesus as their Messiah, nothing else. Jewish Christianity, which emphasized keeping the Torah (among other ideas), came into conflict with Greek and Latin […]

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Question: Did Alice Whealey prove conclusively that Agapius was translating the Syriac edition not of Josephus, but of Eusebius and did she refute the thesis that the Arabic fragment of the Testimonium supports its authenticity? Answer: I have not read Alice Whealy’s discussion of the Testamonium Flavianum in its entirety.  In fact, I have only […]

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Question: Why is the “God of Israel” fond of using woman’s metaphors, such as Babylon as a humiliated woman whose nakedness shall be uncovered (Isa. 47), Israel as an unfaithful wife who played the whore with many lovers (Jer. 3), Samaria and Jerusalem as two adulterous sisters who played the whore in Egypt (Ezek. 23), […]

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Question: Is Christian mysticism biblical or is it ok to do? I am thinking of practices such as lectio divina and the theosis, for example. Answer: This is an interesting question.  Actually, let me re-word your question if you do not mind.  Let me ask two questions. 1. Are some or all of the practices […]

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Question: Lately I’ve been thinking about the so-called “swoon” theory: the idea that Jesus survived His crucifixion, which you probably already know. I’ve been looking at what apologists are saying about it and have my own thoughts concerning their claims (the best source for apologetical arguments against the swoon theory I’ve currently come across is […]

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Thanks so much to Illumination Publishers, Toney Mulhollen and Amy Morgan, I now have two brand new books translated into Spanish.  They are de la sombra a la realidad (From Shadow to Reality) and hebreos: vivir por fe (Hebrews: Living by Faith).  Both are now available at www.ipibooks.com. de la sombra a la realidad    […]

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Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these:  [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]

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Editor’s Note:  This is a series of 14 questions, so I disperse my answers after the questions.  Most of these criticisms are already refuted elsewhere at the web site, but since this poor unfortunate believer has been assaulted with so many false claims, I am including answers to all of them below.  My responses are […]

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Dr. John Oakes is teaching a twelve-week, 24 hour class on the history of Christianity for a ministry training program in Port au Prince, Haiti.  The class began on 1/27/2024.  The power points, notes and audio will be made available here.  L’Histoire de l’Eglise PPT   Church History Notes   The first two classes were not successfully […]

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Question:  If Jesus was God’s son in a metaphorical sense, then Jews also called themselves God’s children. Israel was called God’s firstborn, and David was called God’s son. Thus, the reason of Jesus’ crucifixion depicted in the NT gospels seems baseless. And if Jesus was God’s literal son through spirit, then Adam also had no […]

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Question: As an apologist, how do you always stand by your convictions and beliefs, as so often the arguments put forth to refute the Bible are so strong, rational and logical. Also, there is always the confirmation bias that could influence one’s judgement.  Thank you. Answer: A very good question.  I get literally thousands of […]

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Question: Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected passages which are sometimes in contradiction to each other for e.g. chapter 37:11-21 and chapter 38 are divergent accounts of one and the same course of events? Answer: Part of your description is a reasonable assessment of Jeremiah, and […]

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Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a question in which the person said that Christians have stolen Jesus out of the Old Testament, and taken him completely out of context.  I asked for specifics so that I could respond, and this is what came in. Question: Christians specifically misinterpreted Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 […]

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Question: Does Deuteronomy 12:30 forbid Christian apologetics toward other religions since we can’t inform ourselves about them?  Does the verse apply for learning about other religious practices as a whole or simply forbid taking part in the practices of other religions? Answer: This passage appears to be a command to not even learn about other […]

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Question: How would you refute the “paradox of the stone”? Answer: I assume you are asking me to refute the famous argument against the omnipotence of the God of the Bible.  Christians claim that God is omnipotent.  Yet, the argument goes, God is clearly not omnipotent, because he is not powerful enough to create a […]

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Question: The NT authors thought that Isaiah was describing the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world in Isaiah 53, but the fact is Isaiah is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They […]

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We do not normally repost the work of others at this web site, but in this case we are making an exception.  In a recent youtube post, Islamic scholar and apologist Jay Smith gives a presentation in which he challenges nearly every assumption on which the entire religion of Islam is founded. He questions virtually […]

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Question: Doesn’t Isaiah 44:28 force the Daniel 9:25 clock to begin at the same time as Erza 1:2? This would makeg the clock wrong as it ends in the mid-50s BC or around there? Answer: Good question.  I can see why someone might wonder about this.  In the Isaiah 44 passage we are told of […]

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Editor’s Note: The list of questions is long enough that I have interspersed the questions and the answers. Questions and Answers: 1. Are there any early church fathers preferably from 1st mid-century to the 2nd century who discussed the virgin birth of Jesus in their letters or literature? Yes, definitely.  Ignatius in his Letter to […]

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Question: Muslims say that Jews & Christians were commanded only to worship God and to practice regular prayer but Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others excluded such commandments. What’s your response? Answer: First of all, I cannot speak for Muslims, but Christians teach a LOT more than just worshipping God and practicing regular prayer.  It also teaches […]

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Dr. John Oakes gave a series of five lessons on practical Christianity for students at UC Merced Fall, 2023.  This is great material! Integrity Notes    Integrity PPT    Integrity Audio    Student Disciple Notes    Student Disciple PPT    Student Disciple Audio    Love God With All Your Mind Notes    Knowledge PPT   ...

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Dr. John Oakes gave a series of twelve lessons on the Old Testament for the West Coast School of Ministry, Fall, 2023.  Sorry, but two classes are missing. Old-Testament-Survey-Notes    Old-Testament-Survey PPT    OT Survey I    OT Survey Audio II    OT Survey Audio III    OT Survey Audio IV    OT Survey VI ...

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Dr. John Oakes taught and eight-part class for students at UC Merced Fall, 2023 Genesis Notes    Genesis PPT    Genesis Audio I    Genesis II Audio    Genesis III Audio    Genesis IV Audio    Genesis V Audio    Genesis VI Audio    Genesis VII Audio    Genesis VIII Audio    Genesis IX...

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Dr. John Oakes gave a class on Romans at UC Merced Spring, 2023 and a more-detailed class on the same topic for the West Coast School of Ministry. Romans Notes    Romans PPT    Romans Audio I    Romans Audio II    Romans Audio III    Romans Audio IV    Romans Audio V    Romans...

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Dr. John Oakes taught a number of classes for churches in Abidjan and Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire and Dakar, Senegal February and March, 2023.  Notes and Power Points are available elsewhere. Church History I Abidjan Audio    Church History II    Church History III    Church History IV    Church History V    Church History VI ...

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Dr. John Oakes gave a number of lessons when traveling in Accra, Ghana and Monrovia, Liberia.  Notes and PPT are available elsewhere at the web site. Great Bible Study Audio    Prob Pain Suff Audio    Worldview Ghana    Daniel Ghana    Revelation Ghana    The Holy Spirit Liberia    Freedom in Christ Liberia   ...

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Dr. John Oakes gave a series of five sermons in Merced winter, 2023. Shadow to Reality Notes    Shadow to Reality PPT    Shadow to Reality Audio 1    Shadow to Reality II    From Shadow to Reality II    From Shadow to Reality IV    FSTR Mer IV    From Shadow to Reality V...

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