Question: There is a quote by Voltaire which reads “All men were born with ten fingers and toes but no one was born with the knowledge of God.” This has a really good point to it, and if you could tell me what to say in defense to this. Answer: This is simply a rhetorical […]
Question: I recently got a new study Bible, which describes historical events. In a part of the Bible that says “Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament” it describes “Sennacherib’s Prism”: “Sennacherib vividly describes his siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC, making Hezekiah a prisoner of his own royal city (but cf. 2 Kings 19:35-37).” […]
Question: While reading the book of John, I noticed that Jesus drives out the moneylenders out of the temple long before the triumphant entry in Jerusalem. This differs from the other 3 gospels which shows the scene of cleansing the temple just after the triumphant entry. What do you think of this? Answer: There are […]
Question: I live in Dubai and have a lot of great Muslim friends. Sometimes we get in discussions on who Jesus is and as you know their view of Jesus is different. They are using Bible quotes to argue that Jesus himself said that he is not God. I can argue that there are many […]
Question: What criteria do you employ in support of calling something evidence? I am curious because many people I meet only consider something evidence if it was written down and somehow correlates to physical observable objects. I think differently. For example, with regard to the Flavius Josephus, and various typology concepts being proposed/investigated by scholars, […]
Question: My question is about John 1:18. If we use a modern translation, we can clearly notice that the verse says that Jesus is God. But the textus receptus translations just say that Jesus is Son. Which do you think is authentic? Answer: This is a question of translation, not of an error, either in the […]
Question: Recently some of the relics of St. Nicholas were brought to Russia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas). Thousands of the faithful lined up in a kilometer-long queue to kiss them and kneel before them. How should we react to this tradition to worship the relics, because it looks to be clearly idolatry? Do you know how the […]
Question: I have been doing research on the topic of evolution and found that I don’t understand it fully. I can see the mechanisms described for producing life. The idea of how evolution works does not bother me but there is something that does regarding the historicity of Adam and Eve. I have heard some […]
Question: About prophets in our present day, the New Testament had prophets like Agabus and Anna. What about our present day? Could God still appoint prophets to guide and direct his church? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” This gift can be a blessing to the […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon for the Greater Albuquerque Church of Christ on 6/4/17. It is a study of the amazing things that we have in Christ. Audio and PPT are attached. In Christ Los Alamos In Christ PPT In Christ Notes
Dr. John Oakes gave many lessons in Lagos and Port Harcourt from June 27-July 5, 2017. The audio are below. HebrewsLivingbyFaithLagos Freedom in Christ Lagos Answering the Hard Questions Lagos In Christ Lagos Acts Church History Lagos Deuteronomy 8 Sermon Port Harcourt From Shadow to Reality Port Harcourt Problem of Pain and Suffering PH Acts...
The Gallup Organization has polled Americans on their view of human origins since 1982 http://www.gallup.com/poll/210956/belief-creationist-view-humans-new-low.aspx . The three choices Americans were given were: 1. Human beings developed over millions of years, but God guided this process. 2. Human beings developed over millions of years, but God had no part in this process. 3. God created humans […]
Question: I have a question about the creation account of Adam and Eve. I read some at your website and also your book “Is there a God” (www.ipibooks.com) and while I can’t explain everything that I understand from these sources, if I may draw a short conclusion it is that you believe based on faith […]
John Oakes and Carlos Vedovato taught an 8-week series of group Bible studies on the book of Galatians. This outline could be used for a Bible class, but it is designed for a series of group studies of the book. Galatians Bible Study Also, John did a sermon on Galatians. Here are the notes from […]
Question: A couple of months ago, I had a keen interest in the Gnostic Christian writings. Many of them sounded weird but some really did catch my interest. Those that caught my interest include the “Protoevagelion of James”, “Arabic Infancy Gospel”, “Acts of Thomas” and “Gospel of Nicodemus”. Now let me tell you why. The Protoevangelion […]
The San Diego Church sponsored a mini-conference on Grace. The principle teacher was Dr. Gregg Marutzky along with Dr. John Oakes, Doug Lovgren, John and Yung Gore, Austin Ferrel and Cory Wadstrom. Gospel Grace Audio I Gospel Grace Audio II Gospel Grace I PPT Gospel Grace II PPT Life In Christ PPT Life In […]
Question: Thank you for always having the right heart & passion for answering our questions. My question is – Why is it that sin is the consequence of free will? I understand that there is no definite answer, but I could sue some insight on how we can address this. Answer: Thanks for your […]
Question: I was wondering what is the scholarly consensus and textual reliability regarding St. Cyprian’s Unity of the Church as well as the majority of the early church fathers, thanks. Answer: The reliability of the writings of the “Church Fathers” varies widely. For example, the First Letter of Clement of Rome is considered by most […]
Question: This is a question that has been bothering me quite a bit for a long time. It can be easily found that there are differences in the four gospels on certain events. For instance, Jesus says to bring a donkey and its colt for the ride to Jerusalem in Matthew, while it is mentioned […]
John Oakes taught a class on Walking in the Light for the singles ministry in San Diego on 5/9/17. In the lesson he is attempting to provide a nuanced definition of walking in the light and the importance of being open with one another, with oneself and with God. Notes are posted here for those […]
Question: According to the Bible, we are counted as righteous and will be saved not because of our works but by our faith. On the other hand, James said that faith without works is essentially dead. My question I believe is a pretty common one, asked by non-believers or non-Christians, but I’d like to hear […]
Question: After checking out your minstry’s website I have a question for you. Will God save a person who has accepted Christ as his personal Savior, through faith, but dies before ever being baptized? Answer: This is for God to decide. God is judge, not you or I. All I can do is study, understand […]
Question: My question is about Calvinism. Romans 8:29 makes it pretty clear that God does predestine some people to be saved. What I think about this verse is that those predestined people are the ones who received the calling and it is their duty to bring other people to the faith regardless of who they […]
Dr. John Oakes did a teaching weekend 5/5 and 5/6 in Santa Barbara. Audio for his lesson on God and Science is attached, as well as the power point. He also did a lesson Acts and Church History. It was not recorded, but for those who requested, the power point is attached. There were about […]
Question: I read a recent article about an ancient Roman document written by a Roman historian who says he witnessed Jesus performing the miracle of bringing a still born infant to life. Have you heard about this? Is this story credible? Answer: Sorry but this is a bogus claim put up by a satirical anti-Christian […]
Question: In spite of the clear teaching in the Bible about being baptized as a necessary part of the miracle of regeneration, how do you explain people’s denominational experience of a changed life when they “prayed Jesus into their heart?” Answer: First of all, I have made it a practice for many years not to […]
Question: When was Paul killed? I’ve heard one person say AD 64 and someone else say AD 67. Also why was he killed? Answer: Here is the simple answer. No one knows. There are two general opinions, as you have heard. One is that his imprisonment in Rome, as described by Luke, led to his […]
Question: I have a question regarding dream catchers. Is it okay for a disciple to own a dream catcher? Even if they believe it has no superstitious meaning now and view it purely in a artistic sense. Answer: This is a gray area, but in my opinion it is a very light shade of gray. […]
Question: I was wondering if I could ask about something I have struggled with for a while. A few years ago I lost my aunt and then a little more than a year after that my father. I had never really lost anyone who was close to me before. I started to question God, his […]
Question: What is your response to Robert Eisenman’s theories on the Dead Sea scrolls and New Testament? He states that James is the teacher of righteous and the true leader of the church instead of Peter while Paul is the man of lies and tried to corrupt the Church from within. He also states that […]
Question: What happened to the 10 tribes who were taken captives by Assyrians? Did they ever come back? Answer: Good question. There have been many speculations about what happened to the ten “lost” tribes of Israel. The answer is that our knowledge is a bit limited. Besides, it is most likely a complicated tale. […]
Question: I’ve heard Muslims saying that the Qur’an is the word of God since it contains a lot of scientific miracles in the sense that it gives information about the scientific facts that were discovered after the creation of Islam. For instance, in Sura 39:6 it is mentioned that in a mother’s womb there are threefold […]
Question: Lord Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 28:18, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” I have 2 questions: 1- Some critics like some Unitarians say that it’s impossible that Jesus said this because the […]
[Editor’s note: this question is coming from a Christian in a Muslim country who is answering criticism from Muslims who claim the New Testament has been corrupted] Question: Please, I have questions about the time of writing of the gospels. The first source outside the New Testament that quoted from the gospels is Clement of […]
Question: God being a just God why is he doing so many special favors only to the Israelites out of the whole world? Answer: The choice of Israel by God is not a question of justice or injustice but of love. God chose Israel because it was part of his plan to bless humanity. It […]
Question: I’m a bit confused about 2 Samuel 21 and need more clarification. David’s oath to Saul is to not kill off his descendants or wipe out his name from his father’s family (1 Samuel 24:21-22). David’s oath to Jonathan is to not ever cut off his kindness from his family (1 Samuel 20:15). Both […]
Question: Please check out 1 Corinthians 7:36 and 1 John 5:7 in various Bible versions, They seem to have different meanings. Also, only the KJV includes the term “God manifested in the flesh”, while other versions just say “He appeared in the flesh”. Which of these variations could be right? How do we deal with […]
Question: What is your response to the claim in the Clementine Homilies stating that there are falsehoods in scripture and that the Bible was written to try us and test our faith. Apparently it was Peter who told Clement that. Also Simon was used as an alias for Paul in the Clementine Homilies, and in […]
Question: My son has been asking a lot of questions regarding a guy named Mauro Biglino, who, I understand, has translated a number of books from the Old Testament. His conclusions, in essence, are similar to those of Erich von Denizen and Zechariah Sitchin. Basically they say that we were created by an alien race. […]
Question: Yesterday I watched a sitcom The Big Bang Theory and in one of their jokes, they said that quantum mechanics teaches us that there is a possibility that matter can spontaneously come into a being (in this case a beautiful woman). To be fair, it was told as a joke. I have no knowledge of […]
Question: 1. Do you think the Hadiths that Muslims commonly use today like Sahi al Bukhari, Al tabari etc… contain true records? Are they completely reliable? There is a sect of Muslims called the quran-only Muslims and they disagree with the Hadiths. If they are true, then we can easily prove how pathetic and cruel […]
Question: Recently I heard a Muslim talking about how Jews say that they do not worship the same god as Christians and that Jews say that Muslims worship the same God as Muslims. They also went on to mention that Christians were pagans who believe in human sacrifice. I honestly couldn’t believe that someone actually […]
Archaeologists recently reported in National Geographic on excavations in the Negev desert which supports the biblical picture of Solomon as a powerful and wealthy king of Israel. They appear to have discovered some of “King Solomon’s mines.” Evidence from 3000 year old dung supports the belief that Solomon’s kingdom stretched from the Mediterranean to the Negev. […]
Question: 1. The whole dinosaurs debate seems to come up a lot. First the fact the dinosaurs lived millions of year ago and the Bible goes back about 6,000 years. So what do you say to people that say the bible is fake because it doesn’t mention dinosaurs and the dates don’t match up? […]
Question: Some friends and I are studying up on the women in the Bible Recently one of us came across information about Jesus and Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala. Do you have credible sources of their relationship that you can share with us? Thank you so much Answer: As far as I know, the […]
Questions: 1) In your answer of my previous question, you said that Original Sin is unbiblical. But doesn’t the Bible say that all humans inherit the evil tendencies/desires ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God for the first time? 2) In the book of Joshua, it is mentioned that God stopped the sun from moving […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon on giving as part of the “Treasure Principle” series in San Diego 3/26/17. Outline, PPT and audio are attached. The series was first given to the Johannesburg Church of Christ. Contact us if you would like more information. Excel in the Grace of Giving Notes Grace of Giving PPT […]
Question: I would like to ask about John 20 : 28. While I was searching in Islamic websites, I found one that claimed that there are some manuscripts that don’t contain the word “the”, so the verse will mean that Thomas thought that Jesus was a god not God, like Moses. What is your […]
Question: In Jeremiah 45, God says that Egypt will fall and most all the remnant of Judah will be destroyed. How does this work historically? I don’t see where Babylon invaded Egypt at this time in history. Am I incorrect? Thanks for clarifying. Answer: I assume you mean Jeremiah 46. In this prophecy we are […]
Question: For a while I have been considering the relationship between man’s consciousness, free will, and his physical nature. This naturally brought me to questions regarding our free will. Namely, is there an intrinsic sense of randomness to our free will, an irrepeatable nature? Given the same circumstances repeatedly, would we make different choices or […]
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