Question: What do you think of a theory that says that we are still living in the sixth day of the bible right now? Answer: I do not think that this is a good theory, to be honest. I hope I can say that without offending you. I am also not sure why it would […]
[Editor’s note: This is a long question with an even longer answer. The questioner makes some rather personal comments, so my response is more personal that I normally would use. Feel free to give me feedback. J. O.] Question: Bart Ehrman claims the Bible was changed and is unreliable in his book “Misquoting Jesus–The Story […]
Question: What does the Bible mean when it says that God made man from dust? Answer: No one takes the statement that God made man from the dust of the earth literally–at least not that I know of. As far as I know, no one believes that God literally swept up some dust and miraculously […]
Question: In your opinion which is better, theistic evolution, natural evolution or evolutionary creation? Answer: I see no measurable difference between natural evolution and evolutionary creation. One is an essentially atheist view, while the other comes from believers, but as far as science is concerned, they cannot be distinguished. Both propose that all living things […]
[Editor’s note: There are several questions here. Answers are interspersed in italics] I am struggling with questions! I have so many and need to discuss with someone. 1) There is nothing that exists that was not created by GOD, so why make wickedness/evil to begin with? I am currently teaching a class in which I […]
[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. […]
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 […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lesson on the Book of Ephesians for the San Diego Church of Christ. Ephesians Coming Home Devo Notes Ephesians Home Devo Audio ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a lesson for the singles in Bakersfield, CA Dec. 2020 on the Book of Hosea. Hosea 11:1-12:6 Notes Hosea 11:1-12:6 Audio ...
Dr John Oakes gave a series of classes on being in Christ for the Lifeway Region of the LA International Church of Christ. In Christ Audio I In Christ Audio II One Another III Audio One Another IV In-Christ Lifeway In Christ PPT ...
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 ...
[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 […]
Question: Why do you think aborting is a sin? My friend tells me that a fetus has no life before some weeks and you can abort him if he has no life. Answer: I assume that your friend would agree that it is wrong to take the life of a living breathing human being simply […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Question: I have 2 questions right now, I hope you can answer me. 1. Is the cosmological argument irrefutable? 2. Did the flood occur before prehistoric times, for example the ice age, or after it? Answer: Refutability is in the eye of the beholder! Here is the Kalaam Cosmological Argument: Premise: All things that […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a series of Christian Evidence classes for the Tucson Church of Christ. Notes, PPTs and audio are attached. Evidence for Jesus PPT EvidenceforJesus Audio History Archaeology and the Bible PPT Hist Arch and Bible Audio Christian Worldview PPT Christian Worldview Audio […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a lesson on the Christian and other worldviews for a campus conference this coming weekend Oct 24/25. The audio (but not the video) as well as the power point are available here. Christian Worldview PPT World View Audio […]
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 ...
[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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Question: When did the ice age occur in the Bible? Answer: The ice age is not mentioned in the Bible. Neither are dinosaurs, mass extinction events, saber-toothed tigers, Chinese people, the existence of microbes, the content of the atmosphere, the existence of planets, or any of millions of things that are not relevant to the […]
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 […]
Question: I have a question. In 2 Kings 1:1-18, at the end of vs 18 it says “The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel” My question is this: what is the book of annals of the Kings of Israel? Is it the same as the books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings? […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a four-part class on the Book of Galatians for the Bakersfield Church of Christ. The class is focusing on Paul’s teaching that salvation is based on what Christ did on the cross, that salvation is by faith and that life in Christ is based on the work of the Holy […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
[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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dr. John Oakes will be teaching a five-week class on the post-exile Old Testament books, including Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Esther, Nehemiah and Ezra. The theme of these books is God restoring his people to a relationship with him. There is much about the Kingdom of God here. The classes will be on five consecutive Saturdays […]
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
John Oakes did a series of midweeks on the reliability of the Bible in Bakersfield, summer, 2020 Reliability of Bible Manuscripts Reliability History Archaeology and Bible ...
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 ...
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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