Question: As an apologist, how do you always stand by your convictions and beliefs, as so often the arguments put forth to refute the Bible are so strong, rational and logical. Also, there is always the confirmation bias that could influence one’s judgement. Thank you. Answer: A very good question. I get literally thousands of […]
Question: Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected passages which are sometimes in contradiction to each other for e.g. chapter 37:11-21 and chapter 38 are divergent accounts of one and the same course of events? Answer: Part of your description is a reasonable assessment of Jeremiah, and […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a question in which the person said that Christians have stolen Jesus out of the Old Testament, and taken him completely out of context. I asked for specifics so that I could respond, and this is what came in. Question: Christians specifically misinterpreted Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 […]
Question: Does Deuteronomy 12:30 forbid Christian apologetics toward other religions since we can’t inform ourselves about them? Does the verse apply for learning about other religious practices as a whole or simply forbid taking part in the practices of other religions? Answer: This passage appears to be a command to not even learn about other […]
Question: How would you refute the “paradox of the stone”? Answer: I assume you are asking me to refute the famous argument against the omnipotence of the God of the Bible. Christians claim that God is omnipotent. Yet, the argument goes, God is clearly not omnipotent, because he is not powerful enough to create a […]
Question: The NT authors thought that Isaiah was describing the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world in Isaiah 53, but the fact is Isaiah is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They […]
We do not normally repost the work of others at this web site, but in this case we are making an exception. In a recent youtube post, Islamic scholar and apologist Jay Smith gives a presentation in which he challenges nearly every assumption on which the entire religion of Islam is founded. He questions virtually […]
Question: Doesn’t Isaiah 44:28 force the Daniel 9:25 clock to begin at the same time as Erza 1:2? This would makeg the clock wrong as it ends in the mid-50s BC or around there? Answer: Good question. I can see why someone might wonder about this. In the Isaiah 44 passage we are told of […]
Editor’s Note: The list of questions is long enough that I have interspersed the questions and the answers. Questions and Answers: 1. Are there any early church fathers preferably from 1st mid-century to the 2nd century who discussed the virgin birth of Jesus in their letters or literature? Yes, definitely. Ignatius in his Letter to […]
Question: Is there any messianic prophecy in Torah? Answer: I assume you are referring to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. If so, then yes, definitely. I suppose some would argue that there is a greater proportion of messianic prophecies in the Psalms and the Prophets, but there are plenty of messianic prophecies […]
Question: Muslims say that Jews & Christians were commanded only to worship God and to practice regular prayer but Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others excluded such commandments. What’s your response? Answer: First of all, I cannot speak for Muslims, but Christians teach a LOT more than just worshipping God and practicing regular prayer. It also teaches […]
Question: What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean? Answer: By coincidence, I just preached on this passage two weeks ago. If we look at the context of the passage, both before and after the verse, the subject is the kingdom of God. Before the passage we are told that we must put our treasures in heaven. After […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of lessons on the Holy Spirit for a singles conference in San Diego October, 2023. Holy Spirit Notes Holy Spirit PPT Holy Spirit Audio I Holy Spirit II Audio...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of five lessons on practical Christianity for students at UC Merced Fall, 2023. This is great material! Integrity Notes Integrity PPT Integrity Audio Student Disciple Notes Student Disciple PPT Student Disciple Audio Love God With All Your Mind Notes Knowledge PPT ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of twelve lessons on the Old Testament for the West Coast School of Ministry, Fall, 2023. Sorry, but two classes are missing. Old-Testament-Survey-Notes Old-Testament-Survey PPT OT Survey I OT Survey Audio II OT Survey Audio III OT Survey Audio IV OT Survey VI ...
Dr. John Oakes taught a series of sermons on the Book of Matthew in Merced Fall and Winter, 2023/24. Matthew Sermons Whole Series Notes Matthew Whole Series PPT Matthew I Mer Matthew II Audio Matthew III Audio Matthew IV Audio Matthew V Audio Matthew VI Audio Matthew...
Dr. John Oakes taught and eight-part class for students at UC Merced Fall, 2023 Genesis Notes Genesis PPT Genesis Audio I Genesis II Audio Genesis III Audio Genesis IV Audio Genesis V Audio Genesis VI Audio Genesis VII Audio Genesis VIII Audio Genesis IX...
Dr. John Oakes taught an eight-part class on the Book of John for interns in Merced summer, 2023 John Notes John PPT John Audio I John Audio II John Audio III John Audio IV John Audio V John Audio VI John Audio VII John Audio VIII...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of ten sermons summer, 2023 in Merced. RRRR I-X Notes RRRR I-X PPT Part I RRRR I-X PPT Part II RRRR I AudioRRRR I RRRR II Audio RRRR III Audio RRRR IV Audio RRRR V Audio RRRR VI Audio RRRR...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of sermons from the Book of Mark, Spring, 2023. Mark Audio I Mark IIa Audio Mark IIb Audio Mark III Audio Mark IV Audio Mark V Audio Jesus and Discipleship Mark VI Audio Mark VII Audio Mark Sermon I – VIII...
Dr. John Oakes gave a class on Romans at UC Merced Spring, 2023 and a more-detailed class on the same topic for the West Coast School of Ministry. Romans Notes Romans PPT Romans Audio I Romans Audio II Romans Audio III Romans Audio IV Romans Audio V Romans...
Dr. John Oakes gave a two-part class on baptism in Merced April, 2023 Baptism Class Notes Baptism-In Christ PPT Baptism Audio I Baptism Audio II...
Dr. John Oakes taught a number of classes for churches in Abidjan and Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire and Dakar, Senegal February and March, 2023. Notes and Power Points are available elsewhere. Church History I Abidjan Audio Church History II Church History III Church History IV Church History V Church History VI ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a number of lessons when traveling in Accra, Ghana and Monrovia, Liberia. Notes and PPT are available elsewhere at the web site. Great Bible Study Audio Prob Pain Suff Audio Worldview Ghana Daniel Ghana Revelation Ghana The Holy Spirit Liberia Freedom in Christ Liberia ...
Dr. John Oakes gave a seven-part series of sermons from the Book of Ezekiel in Merced Spring, 2023 Ezek I Audio Ezekiel Sermon I Notes God Calls a Prophet Ezekiel 1 PPT Ezek II Audio Ezekiel II Dramatic Symbolism NotesEzekiel II PPT Ezekiel III God’s Justice audio Ezekiel III...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of five sermons in Merced winter, 2023. Shadow to Reality Notes Shadow to Reality PPT Shadow to Reality Audio 1 Shadow to Reality II From Shadow to Reality II From Shadow to Reality IV FSTR Mer IV From Shadow to Reality V...
Dr. John Oakes taught a class in Fall, 2022 on the Book of Daniel in Merced. Daniel Notes Daniel PPT Daniel Audio IDaniel Audio II Daniel Audio IIIDaniel Audio IV...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of ten sermons in the winter 2022/2023 in Merced Hebrews PPT Oakes Hebrews Notes Oakes Hebrews Ch 1 Audio Hebrews Sermon II Audio Hebrews III Audio Hebrews IV Audio Hebrews Mer V Hebrews V Audio Hebrews Mer VI Hebrews Mer...
Dr. John Oakes gave a 5-part series of sermons on being in Christ in Merced Fall, 2022 In-Christ Notes In Christ PPT In Christ Audio I In Christ Audio II In Christ III In Christ Audio IV In Christ Audio V...
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of sermons on the Kingdom of God in Merced, Fall, 2022 Kingdom of God Notes Kingdom of God PPT ppt Kingdom Merced Audio I Kingdom of God Audio II Kingdom of God Audio III ...
Dr. John Oakes taught a 12-part class on church history for the West Coast School of Ministry, Fall, 2022. Church History Notes WCSM Church History PPT WCSM Church History WCSM Audio I Church History WCSM Audio II Church History Audio III Church History Audio IV Church History Audio V ...
Dr. John Oakes taught a series of classes from the Book of James in Merced Fall, 2022. James PPT James Notes James Audio I James Audio II James Audio III James IV audio ...
Question: Muslims say that the prophets preached the oneness of God only. They never predicted God’s son to be born. Christians don’t worship God instead they worship Jesus. They pray to Jesus instead of God. What’s your response? Response: If this is what Muslims say then they are just plain wrong. They are mistaken. In […]
Question: Why can’t Jews/Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc. are the amalgamation of exact words of the prophets? Jonah is surely not written by Jonah as it is a historical narrative. Your response? Answer: It is the nature of ancient documents that no one can ever “prove” the provenance of any […]
Question: Up to what percentage can we reconstruct the New Testament text/ content from early church fathers’ quotations/citations? And I want to know from when in the church’s history did believers start using NT scriptures as a base to preach the Gospel as we do now in our churches. When did Christians start having serious […]
Question: Hello Dr. Oakes. Hopefully all is well! My question today is regarding the entire Old Testament. Just as a disclaimer I absolutely believe that there are no contradictions in the Bible and believe that anyone who disagrees is simply being intellectually dishonest with Scripture and its context or simply is unaware of the context. In […]
Question: I just read your refutation of Jesus being plagiarized off of previous Mediterranean deities and I must say you cannot believe your own drivel. To argue that it couldn’t be plagiarized because only portions of the stories are similar is beyond ridiculous. I have several questions for you: 1) Was Jesus the first deity born […]
Question: How can we be sure that the current books of the Major & Minor Prophets are actual words of the Hebrew Prophets? Christians interpret predictions of Israel’s glorious future fulfilled in the Church, but it’s their interpretation because prophets apparently never meant that. Jews are still looking for fulfilment of the glorious future predictions. […]
Question: Why did Hosea (1:2), Isaiah (32:11), Micah (1:8), and Ezekiel (23:21) possess disreputable characters and use unholy language to their listeners? Answer: Neither Hosea, nor Isaiah, nor Micah or Ezekiel ever had “disreputable characters.” Nor did they ever use unholy language!!! This is an absolutely unjustified charge, and anyone saying this either is being […]
Question: The incest story of Lot and his daughters has been borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed between Jam and Jamag, who were brother and sister. Jamag took advantage of the intoxicated state of her brother and had sex with him. What’s your response? Answer: My response is that this is so obviously […]
Question: Does this study in your opinion pose a serious challenge to the resurrection? I remember reading about the Talpiot tomb and how it was discredited by the majority of scholars both Christian and non Christian. In 2019 James Tabor posted a link to a more recent study saying that the soil of the James […]
Question: If someone at birth is unable to comprehend anything at all or consider special ed will they be able to go to Heaven or Hell, considering they are unable to learn anything? Answer: It has always been my understanding that innocent children, who have not yet sinned, will be in heaven. Innocent people have […]
Dr. John Oakes gave two lessons at a singles conference in San Diego 10/12-15/2023. The first was a lesson about the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians. Holy Spirit Notes Holy Spirit PPT Holy Spirit Audio I Holy Spirit II Audio Chariot Ride Notes Chariot Ride […]
[Editor’s note: This exchange is part of a longer discussion in which the questioner believes that there are literally no mistakes in either the Greek text or in the King James translation of that text.] Comments and Questions: I just wanted to thank you for responding so quickly again and wanted to say a few […]
Question: What are your best biblical and historical arguments against the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory? I am interested in hearing both sides and I would like to hear some insight from yourself as I do not believe you believe in Purgatory. Thank you for all you do and God bless. Answer: Honestly, you should […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching an Old Testament Survey course for the West Coast School of Ministry this Fall. He will be posting notes, power point and audio here. Old-Testament-Survey-Notes Old-Testament-Survey PPT OT Survey I Audio OT Survey II Audio OT Survey Audio III OT Survey Audio IV OT Survey […]
[Editor’s note: The question below is a follow-up from a previous one in which the questioner is quite surprised that a faithful believer would agree that Christians do not have access to a perfect text of the Bible, to which I replied about the textual evidence for the great (but not perfect) reliability of the […]
Question: In the thread below the author demonstrates that Israel’s idea of the Arabian tribes of the time was contradictory, and based on a 7th century BC understanding on how they worked. I’ll copy paste the comment here, but I implore you to read the entire thread. The question was “Where does the idea that […]
Statement: The incest story of Lot and his daughters is borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed by Jam and Jamag, who were brother and sister. Jamag took advantage of the intoxicated state of her brother and had sex with him. What’s your response? Response: My response is that this is so obviously a […]
Question: According to Jews, many of the Torah’s laws are entirely meaningless without further elaboration. Therefore, some type of “Talmud” was taught to Moses at Sinai together with the written Torah. This is what we know as the Oral Law. Thus, the wisdom and debates of the Talmud, in all their diverseness and variety, may […]
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