Question: Did Paul really write the pastoral epistles? Most scholars refuse this opinion and say that they were written later after Paul’s death. They say that the vocabulary and style are different from that of the seven undisputed epistles. Some have suggested that Paul used a secretary to write these epistles, probably Luke, because he […]
[Editor’s note: The one sending this comment read a Q & A at the site and took great exception to the article. My reply is below. The original article is here ] Comment: I am in absolute disagreement with your article on the Roman Catholic Church being able to claim its roots back to Pentecost, […]
Question: What is the way to respond to this question? Can God make a rock so big, he can’t move it? Answer: This is one of the classic “challenges” to the idea of the Christian God that atheists and agnostics throw out there. It is really a rather unsophisticated challenge, but for those who do […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the history of Christianity for the Los Angeles School of Ministry and Missions Nov 30-Dec 1 2018 and March 8-9, 2019. Notes and power point are here: church history notes Part I Church History Notes Part II Church History PPT Church History audio 1 Church History Audio […]
Dr. John Oakes is doing a teaching weekend for the Pioneer Valley Church of Christ March 1-3. This includes a class on Science and God at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst on Friday evening and a lesson on the existence of God on Sunday AM. For more information, contact Lee Callan at leemichaelcallan@gmail.com or go […]
Question: I want to ask you some questions about quantum mechanics, cause I know that’s your specialization. 1. I’ve read about the many-worlds interpretation and am wondering if it is true, and if it’s true then would this interpretation deny God’s existence? 2. I’ve also read about many-minds interpretation, but I am still confused about […]
Question: I believe the Holy Spirit is a person and I believe Jesus was conceived through the Holy spirit, but someone who thinks the Holy Spirit is not a person could ask me this question and I cannot find an answer..please help me ! The reasoning is this: If the Holy Spirit is a person of […]
Question: Some people think that Jesus was begotten by the father only at his resurrection because the apostle Paul said about Jesus that he was appointed Son of God by His resurrection ( Romans 1 – or the speech of Paul in the Act of the Apostle). I’m currently reading the Bart Erhman’s book “How Jesus […]
Question: Can you tell me if Jesus said anything about forming a religion around him. The only thing I can find is that he was going to build his church on Peter’s foundation. I believe he was here to show us a way of life not a religion. How wrong do you think I am? […]
Question: Is Zechariah 13:7 talking about the Messiah or is it about the false shepherd whom God strikes in Zechariah 11:17 or perhaps the false prophet in Zechariah 13: 1-6? Answer: The shepherd of Zechariah 13:7 is the Messiah. I know this for sure because in Matthew 26:31 the inspired gospel writer Matthew tells us […]
[Editor’s note: I am dispersing my answers among the questions. They will be in italics.] Question: I have been a believer of Jesus Christ for more than 10 years. Recently my brother who is an atheist challenged me with many absurd theories he found on the internet. That provoked me to look for solid evidence […]
Question: Doesn’t Revelation 17: 10 show that John got his vision during the sixth king, who is Vespasian? and the seventh king who is to come is Titus, who according to this verse will rule for a short time, and he did, from 79 till 81 AD? If this is true, then John got […]
Dr. John Oakes, working with Mark Hodge, Jeff Chacon and Keith Wright put together a series of Bible studies to help unbelievers to become Christians for the San Diego Church of Christ. The study series is here: Jesus Series
Dr. John Oakes gave a two-part series of sermons on the Kingdom of God April 29, May 5, 2019 and also a class on the kingdom for the Catalyst Conference May 4, 2019. Kingdom of God Catalyst Kingdom of God I Kingdom of God II...
Dr. John Oakes gave an Easter sermon in Bakersfield April 19, 2019. Resurrection Power...
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon in Bakersfield, California 4/5/2019 from Deuteronomy 8. Deut 8 Audio...
Dr. John Oakes taught on God and science, both at the University of Massachussetts and Bakersfield College recently. God and Science UMass God and Science Bakersfield...
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the question of pain and suffering in central Massachussetts 3/3/2019. Problem of Pain and Suffering...
Dr. John Oakes gave a class in Holyoke, Massachussetts on reaching out to postmoderns. Christianity and Postmodernism...
Dr. John Oakes taught a six-hour class on the Book of Daniel in Bakersfield in February, 2019. Daniel Part I Audio Daniel Part II Audio Daniel Part III Daniel Part IV Daniel Part V Daniel Part VI Daniel Part VII Daniel Part VIII...
Question: I had a question about a couple of things that I heard an atheist bring up the other day. How do you respond to an atheist that says they can’t believe in the Bible because of some of the things that are in there like talking snakes, talking bushes, unicorns or even the time […]
Question: I have heard it said that if all the New Testament manuscripts were lost, the entire NT could still be replaced merely by the quotes from the church fathers…except for a scant few verses. My questions: 1. Who all has done a study to verify this? 2. How accurate were the quotations by the […]
Question: My brain is overheated since i’m trying to reconcile the apparent contradictions we find in the narratives of the apparitions of Jesus after his resurrection. For example, Jesus said to the disciples to go to Galilee and that He will precede them there and then they will meet Him in Galilee. (Matthew)….but no….Jesus appeared […]
[Editor’s note: When this question came in to the web site, I was absolutely shocked to find that I had never posted an answer to this most basic of questions. So, I am publishing this as an article as well.] Question: While sharing my faith with a person of another religion, he was questioning me […]
Question: While sharing my faith with a person of another religion, he was questioning me about why my God is so cruel to kill people when He is zealous.? I was going through Old Testament books and see lot of battles, killings etc.. I just want to be clear about what God want us to understand when […]
Question: Is Malachi 3:1 calling Jesus Christ a Messenger or a Angel of the covenant? Answer: First of all, Malachi 3:1 is about John the Baptist, not about Jesus. Like John said about himself, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (John 1:23) In Matthew […]
Question: I have three questions: 1- I have searched and found that there is division between scholars about dating the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Although some believe that they were written before 62 AD because there is no mention of Paul’s death or destruction of Jerusalem, most scholars believe that they […]
[Editor’s note: This is a series of two questions and answers] Question: Why do Muslims think that we worship the same God? Answer: The reason they say we worship the same God is because we worship the same God. Muhammad believed that the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians was the […]
[Editor’s note: I received two remarkably similar questions within hours of each other, so am combining them below. I hope it is not confusing.] Question: I have few questions that have weighed on the back of my mind for a while. How is God in control when people have free will? They can sin against […]
Question: [editor’s note: this is a rather long question with an even longer answer, so be patient] I came across a write up on the fact/fiction of the Resurrection of the Lord herehttp://capturingchristianity.com/fact-fiction-resurrection-jesus-comprehensive-case/ My questions to you won’t focus on street epistemology but on the last comments of this article from Bob. His line […]
Question: My friend has argued that needing to be baptized with water to receive salvation is a false doctrine. Her argument is based on the idea that the baptism Jesus established is entirely spiritual- a baptism of the Holy Spirit- and baptism with water is only a “work” one does out of obedience after one […]
Questions: 1 – In Luke 24 we read that two disciples met Jesus and talked with him but did not know him! We read also about Mary Magdalene who did not know Jesus at first in John 20. Jesus appeared again in John 21 to the disciples but they did not recognize him!!! Doesn’t this support the […]
I am now on the last leg of my travels, in Lusaka, Zambia. Lessons are at the web site. Africa 2019 Journal Jan 3-10 Abuja Nigeria I arrive in Abuja at 5:00 AM. Abuja is a city of five million. It is the second city of Nigeria and is the political capital. It is a […]
Dr. John Oakes is on a missionary teaching trip to Nigeria, Togo, Republic of Congo and Zambia. Notes, PPTs and audio will be posted. Revelation-PPT Revelation notes Revelation Abuja audio 1 Revelation Abuja audio 2 Revelation Abuja audio 3 Revelation Abuja audio 4 Daniel PPT Daniel notes Daniel Abuja audio Hebrews Living […]
Question: “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” Genesis 6:6 NIV I wanted to know if God regretted making humans, then can we conclude that he made a mistake making humans. What would it mean if we say that God makes mistakes? Answer: This is […]
John Oakes taught a four-day thirty hour class on Church History for the Los Angeles School of Mission and Ministry. This is a lot of material!!! Church History audio 1 Church History Audio 2 Church History Audio 3 Church History Audio 4 Church History Audio 5 Church History Audio 6 Church History Audio 7 Church...
John Oakes is teaching a series of sermons from Hebrews Hebrews 1 audio Hebrews Ch 2 sermon Hebrews 3 sermon Heb 4 & 5 Jesus, the Perfect High Priest Hebrews 6 Sermon...
Question: I know the story in Genesis 38:8-10 is not talking about masturbation. I know some people call masturbation Onanism, even though the scripture is clearly not talking about this. However, could this scripture be used to forbid the use of condoms and contraceptives? Is continuing the family line not a moral obligation as it […]
Dr, John Oakes taught a series of lessons for the Pilgrim Valley Church of Christ in Central Massachussetts March, 2019 God and Science UMass Christianity and Postmodernism Living by Faith Heb 11 Mass Problem of Pain and Suffering
John Oakes preached a sermon on faithfulness to God. Malachi” Faith or Faithful? audio...
Editor’s note: This article was shared with me recently by a believer who uses the web site. The author, a rabbi, proposes that a contributing factor to the fall of Babylon to Persia was that Nabonidus (the father of Belshazzar and king of Babylon, see Daniel 5) cooperated with Cyrus in order to obtain the […]
Question: How were the books of the Bible chosen? Do we know how many children Joseph and Mary had? Answer: I answer your first question in great detail in my book “Reasons for Belief” which is available at www.ipibooks.com. I am also attaching a shorter version of notes on canon to this e-mail. HOW WE […]
Question: I have a question concerning the little horn of the fourth beast in Daniel 7:24. While you claim that the little horn was Domitian, http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/who-is-the-bible-antichrist-today.html claims it represents the Catholic Church. Would you have any thoughts on this claim? Answer: I believe that those who claim that the eleventh horn in Daniel 7 is the Roman […]
Question: Jehovah’s Witnesses state that Constantine made the Bible pagan, Hence their New World Translation. Do you have any evidence against this as nobody yet has been able to provide me something that backs up their claim. Thanks very much. Answer: This claim is so blatantly unfounded that for anyone to make the it they […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon for the Bakersfield Church of Christ 12/08/2018 on Hebrews 11. Power Point and audio are attached. Living by Faith Audio HebrewsLivingbyFaith
I do not post a lot of book reviews or recommendations, but for this one I am going to make an exception. I just finished reading a brand new book–published only in the last few weeks–by Peter J. Williams. It is available from Crossway Books. The title is Can We Trust the Gospels? In this book […]
Question: Why are there so many divisións in Christianity? Why can’t we all be one? Answer: I have already answered this question, and am copying an earlier answer but am amplifying the response a bit. The reason there are so many denominations is a matter more of history than of anything else. There really was […]
Question: In one of your articles, you said you used to be an atheist, but now you believe in God. Why did you change your mind about the existence of God and why did you choose Christianity? Why not Judaism or Islam, Hinduism? Have you read the texts of other religions? If so, why do […]
Question: We use the fact that Jesus cast out demons as evidence of his power. However, I have noticed that other religious leaders also cast out demons, such as Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and even African wizards. How is it possible that others can do this sort of thing? What does it mean, given that Jesus […]
I have several questions: How can I believe in God when I grew up from a background of science and critical thinking? What about evolution? What if we believe and God commands us to kill someone? What is the most compelling scientific evidence or argument available? If you can, please provide three scientific arguments. What […]
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