Dr. John Oakes – Page 4 – Evidence for Christianity

Are the practices of Christian mystics, such as theosis and lectio divina biblical and are they OK to do?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: Is Christian mysticism biblical or is it ok to do? I am thinking of practices such as lectio divina and the theosis, for example. Answer: This is an interesting question. Actually, let me re-word your question if you do not mind. Let me ask two questions. 1. Are some or all of the practices […]

Do you know of any proponents of the Swoon Theory I can read from? What do they say to defend the theory?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Miracles, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: Lately I’ve been thinking about the so-called “swoon” theory: the idea that Jesus survived His crucifixion, which you probably already know. I’ve been looking at what apologists are saying about it and have my own thoughts concerning their claims (the best source for apologetical arguments against the swoon theory I’ve currently come across is […]

Six more objections to the reliability of the gospels.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these: [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]

Fourteen questions about the reliability of the New Testament answered.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Editor’s Note: This is a series of 14 questions, so I disperse my answers after the questions. Most of these criticisms are already refuted elsewhere at the web site, but since this poor unfortunate believer has been assaulted with so many false claims, I am including answers to all of them below. My responses are […]

If Jesus is metaphorically God’s son, and Jews are also called children of God, as well as David called God’s son, then what is the big deal about Jesus being called son of God?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: If Jesus was God’s son in a metaphorical sense, then Jews also called themselves God’s children. Israel was called God’s firstborn, and David was called God’s son. Thus, the reason of Jesus’ crucifixion depicted in the NT gospels seems baseless. And if Jesus was God’s literal son through spirit, then Adam also had no […]

How do you stand by your beliefs when so many arguments against the Bible are so strong, rational and logical?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected and even contradictory material?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

Christians misinterpret Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 to justify the false belief that Jesus was crucified. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

Does Deuteronomy 12:30 mean that Christians are not to study other religions, even in order to do Christian apologetics?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

How would you refute the argument that God is not omnipotent because he is not able to create a rock he cannot lift?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A .

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 […]

Isaiah 53 is not a prophecy about a future Messiah because it describes the suffering servant in the past tense. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & 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 […]

Apologist and Islamic scholar Jay Smith debunks Muhammad, the Qu’ran and the Standard Islamic Narrative

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Articles, Church History, General, Other Religions, Other Religions, PowerPoints, Q & A .

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 […]

Doesn’t the statement about Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28 force the Daniel 9:25 clock to start at Ezra 1:2, so that the Messiah must come to Jerusalem around 50 BC?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A .

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 […]

What is the evidence that the very early church believed in the virgin birth of Mary?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General .

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 […]

Are there any messianic prophecies in the Torah?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

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 […]

Muslims say that Christians and Jews are only commanded to worship God and to pray, but Isaiah and Jeremiah exclude such commandments. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

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 […]

What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean (the eye is the lamp of the body…)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

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 […]

The Holy Spirit by Dr. John Oakes

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching .

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...