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Author "john-oakes"

wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

[Editor’s note: This question is a follow-up from the class Answering the Hard Questions which we have been teaching the past three weeks.] Question: Hi guys! Thanks for the great apologetics series!  I left last session with two questions. One is regarding the use of the “copying error” as a tool for explaining discrepancies between texts. […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: 1. If humans created clones, would it be a sin to kill one of them? Would they have a soul? 2. If we have a lot of evidence of God, and a lot of fossil evidence of evolution, why do some people say one has to be true and the other one has to […]

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching, Jesus, Theology, Uncategorized .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of 15 sermons from the Gospel of John for the Bakersfield Church of Christ in Nov-Feb, 2020/21. Notes, power point and audio are attached.    John Whole Series Notes    John Whole Series PPT      John I Woman in Adultery audio    John II Meet Jesus Audio   ...

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

[Editor’s note: The one asking is Russian, which will explain some of the awkward wording below. The intent of the question is fairly clear] Question: We have a question from our readers. Can help us to answer, please?  I’m interested in a question about profanity. I have been made to understand that the word means […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

Question: If Jesus of Nazareth indeed did miracles, healed the sick and raised many dead people, was crucified and was resurrected, then why don’t we have documents by non-Christian authors (Romans or Greeks or others) within His lifetime or within the first century.  Many prominent leaders, kings, historians will surely have heard about such unique […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Q & A .

Question: “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”  Matthew 16:28 NIV. What did Jesus mean here? Is he referring to his second coming? Answer: In Matthew 16:28 appears at first glance to be a reference to the second […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Articles, Philosophy, PowerPoints, The Existence of God, Theology, World View .

Dr. John Oakes, along with his very good friends and colleagues, Dan Conder and Kedron Jones are teaching a series of three classes on Sat. 11/7, 11/14 and 11/21 at 9:00 Pacific Standard Time on answering the hard questions.   Here is the link to register for the class:   https://event.webinarjam.com/register/37/8rr9qan5 Topics include Why is there suffering […]

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wrote in Anthropology, Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Questions: I have two questions about the evolution theory and Christianity.  1. Where do Adam and Eve fit in evolution?  2. Is it okay for a Christian to think evolution is correct (because I think it is but some priests tell me that its wrong)? Thanks. Greg: There are two legitimate possible Christian views on […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Recently I got a question asked by a Muslim about the Bible and Jesus. It is this: The Bible says that anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:23). Using this verse they ask that if Jesus is the true Messiah by being crucified is he not cursed and […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Hi all at EFC, I was wondering, how do I help someone who asks “If God truly wants a relationship with me, why doesn’t he give evidence that he knows that I would have to believe in him.” Thanks. Answer: God provides us great mountains of evidence for his existence, and also that the […]

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wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Help me!    Mythicists insist that Josephus’ account of Jesus of Nazareth in BK XVIII of his *antiquities* is a wholesale forgery.   They also insist that the passage about “James the brother of Jesus who was called Messiah” is not, in fact, about Jesus of Nazareth but “Jesus, son of Damneus”   They also insist […]

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching, Prophecy .

Dr. John Oakes taught a series of classes for the Los Angeles School of Missions and Ministry Feb 4,5,11,12 2021.  He was co-teaching with Dr. Gregg Marutzky.  The books Dr. Oakes covered are Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.  Minor Prophets Audio 1    Minor Prophets Audio 2    Min Proph Audio 3   ...

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

[Editor’s note: This question was sent to me (John Oakes) and to my friend Douglas Jacoby. You will see both of our responses below, with Doug’s first.  It is posted both at my site and at Doug’s www.douglasjacoby.com] Question: Douglas and John, would you please address the issue of Christians smoking mushrooms, especially for healing, […]

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wrote in General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Hey all at EFC, how would you respond to this quote from Robert Ingersoll in 1885: “We now know that the Hebrews were never enslaved by the Egyptians, that the entire story (Exodus) is a fiction. We know this because there cannot be found in the Egyptian language one word of Hebrew origin and […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: There are some people influenced by NT Wright, and some are even Christians, who have doubt whether Paul was a genuine Christian.  It is said that one must study the second temple period of Jewish history if we want an unfiltered understanding of the first-century church and all things about Paul.  More so, it […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Bible critics and atheists say that none of the nine non-Christian writers like Thallus, Josephus, Tacitus and others actually wrote about Jesus of Nazareth of the Bible in their documents.  They say those documents were all fabrications by a Christian.  Your response? Response: This is quite simply a lie, and ought to be labeled […]

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wrote in General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there any extra-biblical evidence for the triumphal entry? Answer: No.  There is no mention of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  The non-believers who mentioned Jesus and Christians only mentioned the most general facts, such as their devotion to Christ, the death of Jesus, the fact that people believed in his resurrection […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: If everything comes from God, doesn’t that mean that evil comes from God as well? Thanks Answer: Yes and no, but more no than yes.  Let me explain.  God created everything, and it was all good.  In fact, it was very good (Genesis 1:31).  At creation, everything God made was good and there was […]

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wrote in Daniel, General, History, Q & A .

Question: Since the 360 day Hebrew calendar should be used when calculating the 70 weeks, if we calculated from 457 BC we would end up in 18 AD before the ministry of Christ. How can this be explained? David: According to whose authority must the 360 day Hebrew lunar year be used to make this […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, Philosophy, PowerPoints, Theology, Uncategorized, World View .

Dr. John Oakes gave a class on Modernism and Postmodernism for the Dacca Church of Christ in Bangaladesh Saturday 10/24/2020.  The class is not necessarily a condemnation of either modernism or postmodernism, but discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both, as well as where they fall short of being helpful to a Christian worldview.  Here […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Archaeology, Articles, Foreshadows and Prefigures, Jesus, Manuscript/Textual Issues, Prophecy .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of lessons for the Spokane Christian Church 8/23/2020.  The lessons were intended to increase the faith, both of members and visitors.  One lesson is From Shadow to Reality–a lesson about finding Jesus in the Old Testament.  Shadow to Reality Notes  Shadow to Reality PPT   Next was a lesson on […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: In John 9:39 Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world.” But then in John 12:47-48 Jesus says “I did not come to judge the world but to save it.” Are these not a contradiction and how do we resolve this? Answer: A great question.  I had never noticed this potential contradiction.  When […]

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wrote in General, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Questions: I have 3 questions to ask you. Why did God not do anything when Abraham has a concubine and when Solomon had multiple concubines?  What did Jesus mean when he said that if your eye causes to see a women lustfully pluck it out and when a hand causes you to sin cut it […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Social Issues .

Question: What do you think about people that criticise christianity, because they reject the idea of using a condom. Thanks Answer: The Bible does not address the topic of birth control.  Birth control techniques on the ancient world were primarily through abortion–either by the taking of poisonous herbs in non-fatal dosages, or by surgical killing […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

[Editor’s note: this question is an “insider” question from someone in the churches of Christ. For those who are not part of this fellowship, please understand and perhaps excuse that I am publishing a question that you may not be able to relate to.] Question: I am a college student and a part of the […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Social Issues, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Does our Eurocentrism harm the way we live in the church? Some say that our Eurocentric or Western perspectives hinder our reading of religions. Therefore, we cannot talk about the inferiority of other religions as this would be Eurocentric. Answer: I am guessing that you have read an article which claims that Eurocentrism is […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Why do you think God allows natural disasters?  Also, why do people not believe in God, although its clear that he exists? Thanks. Answer: This is a common question.  The atheist asks the Christian believer why God, if he is so loving and so powerful, does not prevent natural disasters.  Actually, I assume that […]

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wrote in Announcements, Articles, Bible Teaching, Jesus .

Dr. John Oakes gave a podcast on the Book of Hebrews, sponsored by Illumination Publishers (www.ipibooks.com), on four successive Mondays.  Here are the power point and notes for the class:  Hebrews PPT  Hebrews Notes   The audio for class #2,3 are here:  Hebrews Webinar II Audio  Hebrews Webinar III Audio  Hebrewd IV Audio  Here are the […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Archaeology, Audio, Existence of God, Other Religions, Philosophy, Prophecy, Theology, World View .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of classes on Christian Evidence topics for the Tucson Church of Christ in October, 2020   EvidenceforJesus Audio Tucson    History Archaeology and Bible Audio    Christian Worldview Audio Tucson   Christian Worldview PPT                                  ...

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching .

Dr. John Oakes gave a four-part class on the Book of Galatians September to November, 2020.  The title is Galatians: Living by Law vs Living by the Spirit.  Galatians Audio I    Galatians Audio II    Galatians Audio III  Galatians Audio IV    Galatians Whole Class Notes    Galatians Whole Class PPT        ...

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching, Uncategorized .

Dr. John Oakes gave a four-part eight-hour class on the post-exile prophets in Bakersfield September, 2020  Repent, Return, Restore, Rebuild Audio I    Repent, Return II Audio    Repent Return Restore Rebuild III    Repent Return Restore Rebuild IV    Repent Return Restore Rebuild notes    Repent Return Restore Rebuild PPT          ...

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching .

John Oakes gave a series of nine sermons from the Book of Luke Aug – Oct, 2020 in Bakersfield, CA  Luke I Upside Down  Luke II Savior in a Manger    Luke III Help for the Poor    Luke IV Jesus Calls Disciples AudioLuke V Jesus and Women    Luke VI Jesus and the Poor Audio ...

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wrote in General, Miracles, Q & A .

Question: Do coincidences happen? Or does God cause them? Thanks Answer: This is a fun question to think about.  I am sure many believers have asked themselves this intriguing question. My answer is yes, of course coincidences happen.  For example, when someone wins the super lottery, it is a fantastic coincidence that they happened to […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: What would you answer to someone that asks you: what if universes are the only thing that doesn’t need a Creator? I hope you can answer me, thanks Answer: The Bible says in Proverbs 26:5, “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.”  So, I will […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Questions: I listened to all the 1 hour lectures you gave at a university recently. The evidence about the life of Christ, and lack of info about other claimed messiah types like Zoroaster was very helpful. I’m definitely struggling with your views on a approx 14 million yrs old earth ( I’m not sure that […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A .

Question:  Is it true that Christianity endorsed Hermeticism at the beginning? Answer; I am going to guess that you saw someone somewhere claim that Christianity borrowed its belief system in part from Hermeticism. The simple answer to your question is a hard no.  No, Christianity never has endorsed Hermeticism and especially primitive Christianity certainly did […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Please respond to this article: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-body/    Is it true that Jesus’ resurrected body was a spiritual one only according to 1 Peter 3:18, and that we too will have spirit, not physical bodies in heaven? Answer: First of all, you will do well to not listen to Jehovah Witnesses, both in person and […]

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