We are excited to announce an addition to the materials available at this web site. Thanks to the help of my good friend Cory Wadstrom, we will now be hosting a regular podcast covering areas of Christian evidence, biblical studies, current topics and more. Our plan is to post every two weeks at first, hopefully […]
Question: Is the message below a correct understanding of the scripture with regard to a rapture/gathering of God’s people? [Editor’s note: A fairly lengthy and somewhat incoherent set of claims about a premillennial rapture is below. Normally, we would not put such stuff out there, but there are sufficient people who find themselves believing this […]
Question: I was studying this scripture: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” -1 John 4:18 I feel like this scripture contradicts verses in the Bible that say to fear God. For example: “Show […]
Question: I’ve been trying to find out if there is good evidence for the evolution of human creativity. All I’ve been able to find is the usual stuff about how apes have made so-called tools, and the story of Congo, who’s art (also so-called) sold in the 1960’s however these arguments are extremely unconvincing. There […]
Question: If I understand correctly, God’s will is not always done. This is implied in the Lord’s prayer (in which Jesus prays, “your will be done”). To complete my understanding, we are also given the free will which may sometimes triumph over God’s will. When this happens and God allows it, I would assume that […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Galatians. The title is living by the Law or Living by the Spirit. This is part of a five part series on the Holy Spirit. Galatians HS sermon audio...
Dr. John Oakes taught a 12 hour Old Testament Survey Class for the Ministry Training Program in San Diego April – May, 2018. OT Survey Audio 1 OT Survey Audio 2 OT Survey 3 OT Survey 4 OTSurvey 5 OT Survey 6 OT Survey 7 OTSurvey 8 ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon as an intro to a series on Acts in San Diego 4/29/8. The lesson focuses on the Holy Spirit in Acts, on the growth of the New Testament Church and on the elements of that amazing growth. The theme verse is Acts 1:8–to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends […]
Question: You said that there are several examples in the Bible in which God says that something is forever, yet the thing is replaced by something else. You claim that this is because the meaning of the word often translated as “forever” in the Bible means “forever, or until the end of the age.” Can […]
Question: I have a question regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Do we know if the disciple Christians fled to the mountains like Jesus advised or did they participate in the Jewish-Roman war? Mark 13:14-15 14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong– let the […]
Question: I have a question regarding the biblical history of humanity and the archaeological view which has been bugging me lately. Allow me to explain: In the early chapters of Genesis, there is evidence of human agricultural activity (Gen 2:15) (Gen 4:2) before the Tower of Babel incident which spread humanity across the face of the […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at the same time). It’s […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the Book of Colossians at the Catalyst conference in San Deigo 4/22/18. Notes, PPT and audio are attached. Christ Catalyst for Change Notes Christ Catalyst for Change PPT Christ Catalyst Colossians Audio
Question: I was reading your recent article on Hawking’s theory/speculation https://evidenceforchristianity.org/steven-hawking-proposed-spontaneous-quantum-creation-of-the-universe-your-thoughts-on-this/ For one with a non-physics background like myself, most of us would equate vacuum in space with nothingness. That is why the question was posed to you and even why Hawking (I’m actually surprised on this) concluded that a vacuum in space is nothingness. But in […]
Question: My question is about the book of Song of Songs. This book is always criticized by Muslims. They say that it is a sexy book especially chapter 7. Solomon describes the breasts, thighs… etc. Can this be the word of God? Christian apologists in my country always say that this book can’t be interpreted literally. It […]
Comment: With regard to the concept of hell and Greek understanding, while we know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, The “all Scripture” that is being referred to is the Hebrew Scripture. The King James Version was written by using the Septuagint (Hebrew to Greek translation), converting the Greek into […]
Question: What do you think about the claim below about the cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” by the author Al Hsu below? The Cry of Vindication By Al Hsu When the Jesus film is screened in cultures that have never heard of Jesus, viewers often love the […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at about the same […]
Dr. Jennifer Konzen just completed a class on Psychological issues and Christianity. The power point and audio of the class is being made available. The class outline is below. Class One PPT History Class Two PPT Diagnoses Class Three PPT Depression and Anxiety PPT class #4 Drugs and Sex Class Five PPT Therapies Christian Counselor Audio […]
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 […]
Buy Now: MP3
Buy Now: MP3
Buy Now: MP3
Buy Now: DVD
