Questions: Was Jesus born on Christmas? Why did god make antimatter? Answers: Jesus definitely was not born on Dec. 25 (or on Jan 7, which is the Orthodox Christmas) No one knows the date of Jesus’ birth. Anyone who says they do is wrong, and should be ignored, in my opinion. The Bible gives us […]
Question: What happens to people with mental problems when they die since they cant think about their actions? Answer: Your question is a good one. It is one example of a wide range of similar problems. What about the person who dies before birth or immediately after birth? What about the person who was at […]
Questions: My Hindu friend asked 4 questions, please help me with how to respond i. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda teach real Christianity. ii. Jesus taught Pantheism and Monism (as said by Swami Vivekananda). He claims that ultimately what is in the Gospels were written 40-100 years after Jesus’s death- and that’s why the real […]
Questions: My materialist friend says that we are just some cells that have not reached entropy yet. How should I answer this? Why would a loving God torture his sons in hell? Answers: On the first question, we are certainly more than mere cells. Your friend is taking an hyper-materialist stand here which will not […]
Paul Vasquez at IPI Books sponsored a two-part webinar on Science and Christianity by Dr. John Oakes March, 2021. IsThereaGod Audio I Is There a God Audio II Is There a God PPT ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a seven-part series of classes on the Book of Isaiah for both the San Diego Church of Christ and the Bakersfield Church of Christ March-April, 2021. Isaiah I Audio Isaiah II Audio Isaiah III Audio Isaiah IV Audio Isaiah Audio V Isaiah VI Audio Isaiah 60-62...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of lessons on types, prefigures and foreshadows in the Old Testament that point toward Jesus. The classes were taught for the Worcester Church of Christ March and April, 2021. The classes include historical foreshadows, prefigures of Christ, foreshadows in the tabernacle, in the sacrificial system and in the Jewish...
Questions: 1. As a Christian, do you believe, at least one ghost video is real, and if it is why does the soul stay on earth instead of going to heaven or hell? 2. Do we have evidence for Jesus’ miracles? 3. According to the standard big bang models, is God the cause? Answer: 1. […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on Old Testament/New Testament connections with his good friend Jerry Maday for the Worcester Church of Christ on several Wednesdays in March and April. The classes can be watched live at 7:30 Eastern time (4:30 Pacific time) on the following link: https://holycross.zoom.us/j/96477652791 It will be every Wednesday in March […]
Question: My question has to deal with skeptics/atheists when they claim they do not have the “burden of proof” in debates on God’s existence, origin of life, and other similar conversations. I have a hard time accepting/understanding why it’s okay to be skeptical of the Christian/theist worldview, but then say you don’t have to come […]
Question: Do we act because of our brain or because of our soul? Are all NDE (near death experiences) unreliable? Did Plato prove that the afterlife is real? Answer: Your first question is a good one, in my opinion. I do not think that this is a particularly “Christian” question. The Bible will not help […]
Question: Is it possible that the vile ruler of Daniel 11:21 is Vespasian? As he seized the kingdom by intrigue, he wasn’t a Roman royal and he plundered and looted etc. Answer: The vile ruler is Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled the Seleucid territories from 175-164 BC. I believe that if you look into it, you […]
Question: My question is in regards to these types of scriptures on prayer (I capitalised some of the bits I’m trying to unpack). 1 John 5:14-15. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–WHATEVER […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the Book of Hebrews for the Igresia de Cristo en Sao Paulo Brasil on successive Wednesdays in April and May, 2021. I am posting the power point and the audio. Unfortunately, we do not have the notes in Portuguese, so I am posting the notes in English. […]
Question; Why was there so much confusion even in the first and second century about whether Jesus Christ of Nazareth even existed as a historical person or not. One example of someone who questioned the reality of Jesus was Marcion of Sinope, a 1st century historical person. Also there were the Docetists, Gnostics and others […]
Question: Why does God allow natural disasters? Answer: God allows natural disasters because they are natural. This may sound like too simple an answer, but I believe it is the correct answer. God created a universe in which planets sustain life. In order for a planet to sustain life, it must have what we call […]
Question: I️ am reading through the gospels right now, I️ am in Luke. As I️ have been reading through it I️ have noticed a majority of the time after Jesus heals someone He tells them not to say anything. He also tells the demons to be quiet when they try to speak about Him. Why […]
Question: How do I prove it is more logical to propose that there is only one cause (God) than several causes or infinite causes? Isn’t it more reasonable to say that anything that exists has a cause, than anything that starts to exist has a cause? [editor’s note: he is talking about the difference between […]
Question: How do I refute the infinite past theory of the universe? Answer: The “infinite past” theory is normally called the idea of the eternal universe. This is the belief of Eastern cosmologies such as Hinduism and Buddhism, as pantheism requires an eternal universe. This idea is refuted by science. Before the 1940s physicists in […]
Question: 1. How do I convince my atheist friend that evolution does not contradict God? 2. How do I convince my young earth creationist friend that evolution does not contradict Adam and Eve or Genesis? Answer: I am fairly sure I already answered this question for you earlier. If not, then you can find a […]
Question: I want to ask one question. One skeptic New Testament scholar Robert McNair Price says that since our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth was a miracle working historical person who did many miracles like multiplying thousands of bread and fishes, raised the deaths, turning water into wine, healed the sick persons, resurrected, ascended and […]
Question: How to respond to a query about Jesus–whether he is a liar, a lunatic or God? Answer: I respond to this by asking the people to read my book “Reasons for Belief” (available at www.ipibooks.com). In this book I spend two chapters delving into the liar/lord/lunatic question. If they do not want to spend the […]
Question: Did the big bang just happen?? Answer: The phrase “just happened” has two meanings. It can mean that the thing happened quite recently. It can also mean that it happened, but that there was no cause or reason for it to happen. In other words, when we say it “just happened” we mean that […]
Dr. John Oakes, Dr. Gregg Marutzky and Dr. Steve Kinnard are teaching a class on the twelve “Minor Prophets” of the Old Testament Feb4,5,11,12 for the Los Angeles School of Ministry and Missions. The notes and power point and audio from Dr. Oakes are here. The Minor Prophets Notes LASMM Minor Prophets LASMM PPT […]
Question: Is time real and how did it start to exist? How can we still be evolving and be in God’s image? Answer: Is time real? I suppose that depends on how you define realness. This is a deep, philosophical question. However, I am going to duck the philosophical question of the definition of realness […]
Question: Why did God tell Hosea to marry a prostitute? Many from other religions such as Hinduism and Islam ask me this question. If God of the Bible is sinless how can he tell Hosea to marry a prostitute? Answer; Honestly, any fair-minded person could answer this for themselves. In the first three chapters of […]
Question: Is there mythology in the bible? Answer: The simple answer is no. According to the common, Western idea of mythology, the Bible has no mythology. The layperson’s definition of mythology is something like this: fictitious stories created by cultures to tell themselves about the nature of reality. The key word there is fictitious. If […]
Question: How would you respond to someone who says that the big bang is false because explosions don’t produce stuff like matter or energy? Answer: I would say, first of all, that this person is correct in that it is true that explosions do not produce “stuff.” However, his argument is incorrect for this reason. […]
Question: I have read on your website that you are in great support of the Cosmological Argument, but I have not been able to find what your thoughts are on the Teleological Argument (That everything is fine-tuned and directs to belief in a creator). I also know this argument is favored by Intelligent Design supporters […]
Question: We have plenty of evidence that the world didn’t start with an original couple, but Genesis says that it did. What are your thoughts on this? Answer: Actually, the evidence says that the universe started about 13.5 billion years before there were any people, and the earth began about 4.6 billion years before there […]
Question: How did Moses know what to write in Genesis? If we say God revealed things to Moses, why did he write allegorical things and why did he use literary figures? Answer: I have no reason to believe that Moses wrote Genesis. This is a tradition which has been accepted by many believers for a […]
Dr. John Oakes did an exegesis assignment for his masters degree program. The assignment is posted here. Exegesis Hosea 11.1 – 12.6 Here is a lesson from the same passage given for a singles devotional. Hosea 11:1-12:6 Notes Hosea 11:1-12:6 Audio […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say that evolutive processes ( like the creation of stars and animal evolution) need no God, and therefore who reject the idea of God on that basis? Answer: I believe that the processes of star-formation and animal evolution are natural processes which proceed according to the natural […]
Question: 1. Which do you prefer: the kaalam cosmological argument or the original cosmological argument of Thomas Aquinas? 2. How can one refute the idea of an eternal universe? Answer: That is an easy question. The kaalam cosmological argument is definitely the superior one. That is why it was proposed in the first place. Here […]
Question: What do you think about the fact that the number of Christians is constantly getting less and less? This personally worries me. [Editor’s note: A follow-up question to my answer came in since this was posted. This person saw a claim that only 10% of the people in Mexico are Christians and this seemed […]
Question: 1. Why do some people say the earth was created 6000 years ago? (since the bible does not mention this at all) 2. Why do you think God loves us so much? 3. Is your website Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or a different type of Christianity? Answer: The reason that some Christians claim that the […]
Question: What are some good arguments to support this statement: Evolution needs to have an intelligent creator so it can work? Answer: Normally I write out answers to all questions, but in this case I am going to do something different. I am going to give you a list of resources you can use to […]
Question: What are your thoughts on the theorem of an eternal universe because of the quantum world? Answer: To tell you the truth, I have never seen quantum theory used to defend belief in an eternal universe. The steady-state theory, also known as the theory of continuous creation, was formerly defended by a minority of […]
Question: Do you think God made the sun by himself, or do you think used physical laws as a plan so the sun could be created from the elements? Also, should we find a scientific explanation of what we read in Genesis or we should just interpret it as something merely poetic and not literal? […]
Dr. John Oakes and Jerry Maday are teaching a 7-week class on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 Eastern time on Jesus in the Old Testament, beginning 3/3/2021. The notes and audio from John Oakes’ part of the class will be posted here. The class can be attended by going to the following zoom link: https://holycross.zoom.us/j/96477652791 Jesus […]
Question: Many say that in the age of science it’s absurd to say that Bible is reliable when it says that the Creation took 6 days to complete and God created man when evolution is proven. How do I answer them? I’m not a science student but how can we answer such questions? Answer: I […]
Questions: Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another book or source? If the last statement is true then would that mean that the only reliable thing in the Bible are in the New Testament? Answer: First of all, Moses was only responsible for a limited portion of the Old Testament. Almost certainly he did […]
Question: I have three questions. 1. The New Testament says that non believing Jewish leaders were accused of handing Jesus over to be killed by the Romans. The first century Jews did not deny this historical fact, as they knew that they played a role in killing Jesus by handing him to the Romans soldiers. […]
Question: Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another book or source? If the last statement is true then is the only reliable part of the Bible the New Testament? Answer: First of all, Moses was only responsible for a limited portion of the Old Testament. Almost certainly he did not write Genesis. There is […]
Question: How do you thing the gospel writer Matthew could have gotten information about Pontius Pilate wife’s dream regarding Jesus in his Gospel? What kind of person do you think Pilate was? For this question please see these two links: [Editor’s note: these are two articles in which Bart Ehrman argues against the reliability of […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a series of lessons for the Lifeway Church of Christ (part of the Los Angeles Church of Christ) on two successive Wednesdays 12/2 and 12/9 on being In Christ. These lessons come from a book titled In Christ (www.ipibooks.com) Notes, power point and audio are available here: In-Christ Notes […]
Question: Dr. William Lane Craig and others have pointed out that first century Jews were not waiting for humble Messiah who will suffer, let alone will rise from the dead. They waited for king who would free them from the Romans. But I found information in a video about Dr. Knohl who decoded an inscription […]
Question: How would you respond to someone who says the universe is self-thinking and conscious? How would this work in terms of the universe creating itself and also fine tuning? Would that prove pantheism? Answer; As you appear to recognize, you are describing a view of the cosmos known as pantheism. This is a theology […]
[Editor’s note: An excerpt from the article this question refers to, as well as a link to the article are found after my response to her question. It would be a good idea to look at the link in order to understand the issue being raised] Question: What do you make of this article that […]
Question: I have tried to find some info about kabbalah on your site and didn’t find any. If I understand correctly, Kabbalah is an invention of the Middle Ages from Jewish people who were involved in the occult. I even saw something about a kabbalistic upside down Christmas tree which troubled me. I have interacted […]
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