Question: I’ve been reading an article by Stephen Hawking on his theory of the “Spontaneous Quantum Creation of the Universe” and would love to hear your comments and a way of refuting this theory. I know you have a greater knowledge of science than I do, so I believe you are in a good position […]
Question: Some people say that there are no unambiguous prophecies about Jesus in the OT, hence such verses are open to interpretations. For example, even in one of the strongest prophecy about Jesus, Isaiah 53:10 it says, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord […]
Questions: Why are there so many translations of the Bible and why are there so many denominations? Did God actually walk the earth with Adam and Eve? Answers: You are asking three different questions, with very different answers. The reason there are so many translations into English is, quite simply, because there is a market […]
Question: What is the meaning of the old and the new wineskins in Luke 5:33-39? Answer: In Luke 5:33-39, Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God, and its specific realization in the church. The “old wineskin” is a metaphor for the Old Covenant, or it is the Jews who follow the Law of Moses, […]
Question: How many disciples followed Jesus at the peak of His ministry? Or more precisely, how many were there at the time of John 6:66? “After hearing this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” Answer: That will depend on what you mean by “disciple” and by what you mean […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a series of classes for the Mexicali Church of Christ July 7-9, 2018. The classes are in English, translated into Spanish. The PPTs are in Spanish. Clase Malachias Audio Taller de Santiago 1 Audio Taller de Santiago 2 Taller de Santiago 3 Hechos 20 Sermon Audio ...
Dr. John Oakes and Austin Ferrell taught a lesson on evidence for who Jesus is for a teen camp in San Diego June 19, 2018. The class focuses in on the incredible claims of Jesus versus other world religion leaders, on the fulfilled prophecies of Jesus and on the resurrection. Incredible Claims Audio...
John Oakes gave a sermon in May, 2018 which was an introductory sermon to a three month series for the Pomerado Region of the San Diego Church of Christ. The title of the sermon is Thoughts on Acts and Church History. It emphasizes the reasons for the remarkable growth of church in the first century. ...
Question: My wife and I recently were having a conversation about the book of Daniel. She had been reading Daniel 8, and was wondering what it meant, especially about the part with the goat overthrowing the ram. After pondering the imagery for a while, I recalled a few points from your teaching on the subject […]
Question: Is all food clean? Did Jesus declare all food clean? In mark7:18-19 it seems to say Jesus made all food clean but I was told that in the Niv that sentence was added on to the scripture, I wanted to know is this scripture telling us that all food was clean. Answer: The simple […]
La Pregunta: Si usted tiene algún comentario como respuesta a mi e-mail sera bienvenido. Sin embargo me gustaría dejarle saber que encontré una escritura que me resolvió las dudas al respecto, entonces tranquilo, no es tan necesaria su respuesta. Solo si usted considera correcto decir algo sera bien recibido. Muchas gracias y por favor excúseme […]
Question: If God is a God of love and forgiveness, why can’t God forgive sin without a sacrifice of blood? If God is a God of Justice, then how can it be just for Jesus to die for my sins? What I am really really struggling with why it is that, if God is Love, […]
Question: I have a question regarding Jesus as being God. It is clearly stated in the Gospel of John, and in some of the epistles that Jesus is God as well as the Son of God. But after some research I found that the reliability of the Gospel of John and of those epistles are […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a 15 hour Old Testament Survey class in San Diego. The notes, audio and power point are here. OT-Survey-Notes OT-Survey-PPT OT Survey Audio 1 OT Survey Audio 2 OT Survey 3 OTSurvey 4 OTSurvey 5 OT Survey 6 OT Survey 7 OTSurvey […]
Question: What’s presumptive sin? Answer: Do you mean presumptuous sin? I assume that you are using the term presumptive and presumptuous interchangeably, but let me know if I am not correct. I had heard of this term, but had never given much time to considering the definition or implications. So…. I did some research and […]
Thanks to the amazing contribution and help of Cory Wadstrom, Evidence for Christianity now has a podcast. We will be finding different modes to make this podcast available, but in the meantime we invite you to check out our first of many podcasts to come at this link: https://soundcloud.com/cory-wadstrom/podcast-ep-1-rough-draft?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email
Question: Since Jesus lived under the Hebrew calendar, does this imply that our “Sunday” begins on Saturday evening and the Lord’s Supper should be observed at that time? After all, when the church was established in Acts, they all lived under the Hebrew calendar. Since most Christians today have their Sunday services on the actual day […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon in San Diego on 3/25/28 on Philippians 3. The Title is Our Confidence in Christ. Philippians 3 Notes Philippians 3 PPT Philippians 3 Audio
Dr. John Oakes taught a class encouraging all to be devoted to knowing and understanding the Scriptures in San Diego 3/7/18. Notes, PPT and audio are atached. Devoted to the Apostles Teaching Notes Devoted to Teaching PPT Devoted to Teaching Audio
Question: What is the holy grail and is it relevant to Christian doctrine? Answer: Classically, the Holy Grail is the actual chalice used for drinking the wine used at the Last Supper on the night before Jesus was killed. During the Middle Ages many people became fascinated with relics. These were physical objects which were […]
Question: Can man be moral without God? What about atheists who claim one doesn’t need religion to be moral? Does every bit of morality we have stem from the Bible? What about cultural differences? Answer: Please forgive the slow response. I believe that it is possible to be moral without being a Christian, however it […]
Question: What is the evil spirit that God sent on Saul in 1 Samuel 19:1-10? Why would God send an evil spirit to Saul ? Answer: This is a good question. At first glance, the scene depicted in 1 Samuel 19:1-10 does seem surprising, given what we know about God. It can seem to imply […]
Question: I have been debating with a Hindu friend about the concept of forgiveness in Hinduism and Christianity. I said that Hinduism, with its concept of karma, does not offer forgiveness. He says that I am just narrow-minded. He says, ‘Why don’t you come to a temple with me and see?’ He has been to […]
Dr. Robert Kurka passed yesterday, 3/31/18. He was a great personal friend of all of the members of the board of the Apologetics Research Society. Bob was a professor of theology at Lincoln Christian University and a professor of Christian Apologetics, theology, and an expert of the Christian World View. He was also a preacher […]
Question: Have been doing some thinking about this whole area of science and the bible. Is it theologically/biblically sound to believe that although Adam and Eve were certainly the first man and woman made by God, they may not have been the only. the reason I say this is because in Genesis 2, two lands […]
Questions: I have some questions that have been hindering my relationship with God and have made me struggle for several years. How does God view those who have an addiction as a believer? Does Hebrews 10 talk to the addict when it says those who continue to deliberately sin? It is difficult to believe God […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class for the Los Angeles School of Missions and Ministry (LASMM) Saturday 2/23 as part of a class on the Book of John. His class will be about how the Book of John reveals who Jesus is through the ways he fulfilled the messianic expectation, specifically in the ways […]
Question: Among Christians there are so many doctrinal disputes. Many died making wars because of these different opinions. Why did God not intervene to clear up our understanding in order to avoid wars and disputes? Just after the Protestant Reformation eight million Christians slaughtered each other because God did not communicate the correct doctrine doctrine clearly to them. […]
Question: When was the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem issued? Answer: This is somewhat debatable, as there are at least three “decrees” in the Book of Ezra. The first is in Ezra 1:1-4. This is a decree of Cyrus that the Jews can go back to Judah and Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. This […]
Question: It is my understanding that Octavian, otherwise known as Augustus died in Rome. This does not seem to agree with Daniel 11:45 and therefore does not support him as being the final “King of the North.” What do you say about this? Thanks and God bless. Answer: You are doing a great job here of […]
Question: Shabir Ally frequently uses the ‘number miracles’ in the Quran to prove that it is the word of God. Here are 2 clips which shows what he’s trying to claim: 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEmCZ968PQI 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qunUypvBQ4 How would you respond to this claim? Answer; Actually, I have met Shabir Ali personally. We arranged a debate between […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a two-part, six hour class for the Ministry Training Program at the San Diego Church of Christ. The notes, power point and audio are attached (first part of the audio only for now). Hermeneutics notes Hermeneutics PPT Hermeneutics SD 1 Hermeneutics SD 2 Hermeneutics SD 3 Hermeneutics […]
Question: I would like to hear your thoughts in regards to the matter of Noah’s Flood. In the past, I embraced the idea that the Flood was a global event and that the local flood view was unbiblical. However, after reading some articles by various Christians, I’ve come to approve of the local flood view. […]
Question: Does the Bible indicate that the Apostle Paul actually killed Christians? Answer: The Bible does not say that Paul himself actually killed any Christians. It does say in Acts 7:58 that he was present at the stoning of Stephen and that he approved this act. Whether he actually threw one of the stones is […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching for the Salt Lake Christian Church at the University of Utah. God and Science SLC Science and God PPT From Shadow to Reality SLC1 From Shadow to Reality SLC 2 From Shadow to Reality SLC 3 From Shadow to Reality SLC 4 From Shadow to Reality PPT Living by […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon March 23 from Philipians 3 titled Knowing Christ. Here is the audio. Philippians 3 Audio and the notes Philippians 3 Notes...
Dr. Jennifer Konzen taught a class on the part professional counseling plays in the life of Christians. Christian Counselor 1 Christian Counselor 2 Christian Counselor 3 Christian Counselor 4 Christian Counselor 5 Christian Counselor 6 Christian Counselor 7 Christian Counselor 8 Christian Counselor 9...
Question: How much of a role God play in appointing political leaders? If the authorities that exist have been established by God (Rom 13:1) why do conservative candidates or the more Christian candidates not always win the election? Surely there were far more prayers being offered up for the Christian candidate than the liberal one. […]
Question: I believe that in Revelation 13 the sea beast is Japan and earth beast is the USA. The “Dragon” is the U.S. aircraft carriers. Crowns and horns are the Japanese automobile/truck industry. “Blasphemous names” are the essential design of the autos and are alike among their “corporations” forming an unequal balance to the remaining […]
I was recently asked to write a short article on prayer for the web site disciplestoday Hopefully, it will be of help to some of our readers. Teach Us to Pray What is Prayer and Why Do We Pray? Let us start with two questions: What is prayer to you? Why do you pray? Either […]
Editor’s note: This paper is by one of the students in our ARS Apologetics Certificate Program, Drew Tacher. The paper is good enough we have decided to post it. If you are interested in enrolling in our Apologetics Certificate Program, contact us at joakes01@san.rr.com Drew Tacher Why Christians Should Believe in the Theory of Evolution […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on Jesus the Catalyst for Change, focusing on the Book of Colossians and the great things we have in Christ for the Catalyst retreat 4/21/18. Christ Catalyst Colossians Audio...
Dr. John Oakes gave an intro lesson to a series on Acts focusing on the elements which led to the Christian revolution, including thoughts about early church history. Acts Intro audio...
Question: How can [editor has added: mentally] handicapped persons can be saved if many of them could not know Jesus because they are incapable of understanding the gospel and reason correctly? If the answer is that handicapped persons are surely saved, then why did God curse me so much in giving me a healthy mind […]
Dr. John Oakes is doing a teaching weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Here are the lessons God and Science Minneapolis Revelation PPT Revelation notes Revelation Minn 1 Revelation Minn 2 Revelation Minn 3 Revelation Minn 4 Revelation Minn 5 Revelation Minn 6 Freedom for What/Golden Rule Membership
Question: At your website, I read your answer to the question “Why does the Bible mention Jesus’ geneology from Joseph’s side when Joseph is not His father?” In your answer, you say that Luke gives a genealogy from Joseph’s side since the Greeks prefer the father’s side and Matthew wrote from Mary’s side for the […]
Question: A coworker of mine make a point I do not know how to reply to. He said that other cultures such as Rome, Egypt and Greece have records and archeology to prove their faiths exist and we do too. That being true, what separates ours from theirs to help us win souls for the […]
Question: Who was God speaking about when he said “let us make mankind in our image” who is “us” and did God intend for us to be gods like him. Answer: Good question. There are three theories concerning the use of the plural here. 1. God is using the “royal we” (or more accurately us) It […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching in the Philippines, first in Cebu. In Manila he is teaching a fifteen hour Christian Apologetics class for APLA, the Asia Pacific Leadership Academy. These are the audios and power points. Malachi Faith or Faithful Audio Malachi Sermon PPT Acts 20 Lesson Acts Ch 20 PPT Freedom […]
Question: Recently, I read a Muslim’s article and the writer stated that the Bible itself says that it is corrupted using Jeremiah 8:8. How would you respond to this? Answer: First of all, almost without exception Muslim writers are disingenuous in their treatment of the Bible. If they study the Bible, they only do so […]
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