Question: I have a question regarding practical Christianity in light of these verses: For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on […]
Question: I am re-reading your awesome book: “Daniel, Prophet to the Nations”. I am using this to study with a pre-millennial believer to show the kingdom came “in the days of those kings”. (2:44) As you may already guess, the going is slow. But the argument should be easy if we get through Daniel… The […]
QUESTION: I have a question concerning the usage of numerous names for God. I have been reading that Yahweh developed from the word El which was a Canaanite god. In addition El Elyon was a different deity from Yahweh and was a Caananite god in the city of Salem inhabited by the Jebusites. Why would […]
Editor’s note: It is hard to imagine a question more unrelated to Christian evidences, but this is about the third time I have gotten a question on this topic, so apparently some users of this web site care about this question. Therefore, I am posting it. Question: My question that I am struggling with and […]
QUESTION: Why would non-Israelites want to take Yahweh seriously? He’s the god of Israel, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Each nation had its own god: Dagon, Chemosh,Molech, the Baals and Astartes etc. Yahweh is just one among many gods. A local god. A God of War. Because victory in battle was what they were preoccupied […]
QUESTION: 1. What is a good resource for learning more about Calvinism and how to refute it. 2. How do you best defend the Word of God with someone who says “the Bible is not perfect.” We obviously know of a few clerical errors but he uses those mistakes and others to justify his own […]
Question: I recently read 2 Samuel 24 and I don’t understand how I should understand it. (V1) Why did God burn against Israel? And why did he incite David to take a census? Also, why does it say in 2 Chron 21:1 that it was Satan who incited David? (V10) Also, why did David say […]
Foster Stanback, the Chair of the Board of Apologetics Research Society (the sponsor of this website) has teamed with York College in York, Nebraska to establish a Museum of Ancient History to specialize in items of interest to Christianity. The grand opening of the Museum will be in April, 2015. We have future plans […]
Editor’s note: The following is a series of questions and answers. The tone is more familiar than usual because this discussion is happening with a good friend. Question: I just read your paper, “A Closer Look at the Laws of Thermodynamics.” It was great. Thanks. I have a comment, though. From Pr 16:33 we learn that anything that […]
Question: Have you ever heard of the Doctrine Molinism? I haven’t studied concerning the process of salvation in awhile. The last place I essentially left off was being convinced of the ideology of this doctrine. And as of now I still hold to Molinism. Thanks much. Answer: I am copying and pasting an article from Google […]
Question: Although there were a number of issues as to why Adams, Hamilton, Washington, etc., decided to declare independence from England, taxation, for the most part, was the bottom line issue. But were their actions Biblical? Jesus said to “render unto Caesar…”. Also, regarding Jesus’ pacifism, and teaching the same, should we have not gone […]
John Oakes taught three classes for the Spokane Christian Church 9/27/2014. Audio is available here. History, Archaeology and the Bible MP3 History Archaeology and the Bible PPT The Holy Spirit MP3 Shadow to Reality MP3
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on the Book of Ezekiel on four consecutive Thursday evenings, beginning 9/12/14. The class is in San Diego at the Mission Center of Hope (6162 Mission Gorge Road San Diego, CA 92120. Suite A) from 7:30-8:45. Notes, power point and audio will be posted. Ezekiel notes Ezekiel […]
Question: I am now studying at the Moscow Seminary, where one of the teachers made a statement. He said that some animals are considered unclean because they broke the commandment of God with regard to their environment. For examples, hares run on land, but are not allowed to go into holes. Also some animals eat other […]
Question: Hello Dr. Oakes. I recently have had the desire to study out the biblical support for Jesus being the Messiah and why the Jews don’t consider him to be the Messiah. I listened to a podcast by a Jewish Rabbi on the Trinity. He talks about a few things: he referenced John 10 saying […]
Request: Hi, John! Can you comment this news, please? http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=12687 Thank you! Response: I had already seen this article. The papyrus is an interesting find, but I believe the author exaggerates the significance. This is not unusual, as authors have a tendency to overstate the significance of a particular piece, for the obvious reason that […]
My Eye Weeps to God By David A. Goodman, Ph.D. This is an article written by a friend David Goodman. He has been a neuroscientist for fifty years and is a believer. The perspective is unusual, but we thought there may be some interest in what he has to say. It is about the […]
Question: Hello, John! Thank you for always answering questions, and your answers are always wise and humble! I have a question regarding the passage in Genesis 15:16. It says that the measure of iniquity Amorites not yet fulfilled. What could this mean? Does this mean that this, and perhaps other Nations, was allotted a certain […]
John Oakes and Robert Carrillo are team teaching a class on the history of Christianity for the staff of the San Diego Church of Christ over the next couple of months. The notes and power point for the class are available here. John Oakes has a book on the topic “The Christian Story: Finding […]
Question: A friend I am studying the Bible with is growing marijuana in his back yard and says he sells it for medical purposes only. . I am calling him to relinquish his marijuana business and he is willing to give it up eventually, but not right now. He is saying he wants to make […]
QUESTION: A skeptic has claimed to me that the Christian saying “Do unto others” (what we call our “Golden Rule”) was actually plagiarized by the Bible writers from something originally taught by Confucius. Are you familiar with this? I doubt this is true, since no source could be provided, but I have to ask. Answer: […]
Question: My brother recently vacationed in Utah and visited some of the Mormon sites, including the Mormon Tabernacle. He was quite convinced that they are Christian. I explained to him that they are not and introduced him to your website. Question he asked was about the Mormon Tabernacle choir. They sing Christian music, including songs […]
QUESTION: I saw a video (I couldn’t get the URL) where an atheist challenged the veracity of the account of Noah’s flood in Genesis. He reasoned that it couldn’t have been true because of the existence of animal species endemic to Australia. I don’t doubt the Biblical account, and I came up with an explanation that […]
Question: On your webpage https://www.evidenceforchristianity.org/why-is-it-that-people-say-the-ancient-sumerian-tablets-are-similar-to-the-book-of-genesis-why-do-people-try-to-find-relationships-between-these/ you mention that: “Logically, one might assume that since the Gilgamesh Epic precedes the Bible account, at least in its written form, it was the source for the biblical story of the flood. From an historical or literary point of view, this is hard to disprove. However, if one can assume […]
Question: To your knowledge have there been any artifacts found in Herod’s tomb? Also, has there been archaeological/historical evidence found, out side of the Bible, of Joshua? Answer: A treasure trove of artifacts was found in Herod’s tomb. Here is a very brief introductory list, found at a web site (http://www.globaltravelerusa.com/artifacts-from-the-royal-room-inside-king-herods-tomb-on-display-at-jerusalems-israel-museum/) describing a museum special […]
Question: I have a question about 1 Tim 4:1. The passage says that “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Does this mean that demons still exist? My understanding is that demons only existed during the time of Jesus when they […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon on Christian membership and Freedom in Christ in San Diego 8/31/14. The lesson uses material from his new book Golden Rule Membership (www.ipibooks.com) Golden Rule Membership Notes Golden Rule Membership PPT Golden Rule Membership MP3
Dr. John Oakes did a sermon on God and Science recently in San Diego. There were multiple requests that the audio be made available. The class was not recorded, but we are posting a nearly identical class taught in London, England in June, 2014. Science and God PPT God and […]
[editor’s note: This question rambles quite a bit. I did a lot of correcting of grammar, spelling and the like, but I am afraid it still is a bit hard to follow. Hopefully, you will get the idea.] Question: Aren’t the Bible and the Christian religion a Catch-22? This would be defined as a […]
QUESTION: I have never really thought about the ten plagues of Egypt this way until I was on an online forum where skeptics were lambasting Christians and saying that it is not only wrong but hypocritical for both Christians and God to condemn abortion/infanticide when God killed so many children in the plague that brought […]
Question: I hope my email finds you doing well my friend. I wanted to see if you could help with a previous question I had originally asked you. Here’s the question “What about the charge that God demands his people to force or sell their daughters into prostitution? The scripture that I believe is taken […]
Question: Dear Dr. Oakes, while Googling the use of maritime drogues (a storm drogue is “a device external to a boat, attached to the stern and used to slow the boat down in a storm and to keep the hull perpendicular to the waves”), I found a link to a page at your site entitled […]
Question: My son asked me about why we have saltwater oceans and freshwater lakes in relation to the flood and creation. When the flood waters receded, where did freshwater come from? Why would God create the earth with such an abundance of saltwater as compared to freshwater? How were the land locked saltwater lakes/seas formed? […]
Question: I hope my email finds you doing well my friend. I wanted to see if you could help with a previous question I had originally asked you. Here’s the question “What about the charge that God demands his people to force or sell their daughters into prostitution? The scripture that I believe is […]
Question: I have a couple of questions that are somewhat related. A good friend and myself were discussing what happened to Robin Williams. My friend’s dad committed suicide many years ago, under very similar circumstances. He tried for years to get help, but in the end, he decided to do what he did. My friend […]
Editor’s note: Clearly this is not a Christian evidence question, but I get versions of this often enough, I feel I should post an answer. Question: Recently in a Bible study, we were studying John 1. When we came to the issue of the John’s baptism v the baptism of today, we had difficulty. And […]
Dr. John Oakes engaged in a debate on the existence of God titled “God is Not Dead” at a teen camp in Jamul, California on 6/17/2014. His opponent was recent high school graduate Hunter Garnier. Hunter is no slacker, as he was valedictorian of his class and is heading off to UC Berkeley in […]
John and Jan Oakes traveled July 10-Aug 5 to teach for churches in Buenos Aires, Asuncion, La Paz, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Below is a report on the 24 day teaching trip.
Question: You are kidding right? The fact that God offers a “last chance” to people before he destroys them does not change the fact that he did indeed kill them all. What about Eden? Now since God knows all, past present and future; he knew that Eve would take of the fruit and he then […]
Editor’s note: A rather odd question for a Christian Evidences website, but I like to answer all questions, so here goes: MESSAGE: I’d like to know about the role of women in the church. According to 1 Co 14:-34-35 and 1 Tm 2:13-14, we can’t lead and teach in public, but what about leading other […]
A:The fourth gospel does NOT tell us who wrote it. True. It is likely that the apostle John wrote it, but this cannot be proved. We know that it was accepted by the church in the very early 2nd century as inspired but we cannot prove John wrote it. B: The gospel according to John.This […]
John Oakes has a new book available as of 7.15.14. The title is Golden Rule Membership. It is about the proper use of Christian Freedom and on the role of Christian membership and how to apply the Golden Rule to being part of God’s Church. The book includes practical ideas on Christian membership from Ron […]
Question: In Mark 13:32 Jesus(as man) did not know the hour o his return 2000 years ago, BUT did Jesus (as alleged god) know the hour 2000 years ago? Answer: Jesus was not an “alleged” God. Jesus was God in the flesh, as John tells us in John 1:1 and John 1:18. While in the earthly […]
QUESTION: This is probably a very common question, but concerning the census of Quirinius during the birth of Jesus. Luke does not use the term Legatus for Quirinius or Pontius Pilate, so how can we be sure that Quirinius was not being mentioned as governor? Was Quirinius translated as a governor due to his superior […]
Editor’s note: This has already been posted as a Q & A, but I hear this question often enough that I though I would post it as an article as well. John Oakes QUESTION: Hello, I have recently been wondering why Judaism seems to reject Jesus as the Messiah. I have found that they have […]
QUESTION: Hello, I have recently been wondering why Judaism seems to reject Jesus as the Messiah. I have found that they have a list of prophecies that they show as evidence of his failure to fulfill the position of Messiah. Do you think you could help explain each of the following prophecies? If they are […]
QUESTION: First of all I would just like to say how much I appreciate you answering my previous queries. It was really kind of you to do so. I recently stumbled across a short webpage which questions the Bible’s scientific credibility. The author of the webpage claims that the Bible refers to mountains as the […]
Question: I was looking over you site and was wondering if there has been any evidence found that the “sun stood still” or “altered it’s position”? As recorded in Joshua 10:13-14 and Isaiah 38:7-8? I may be wrong as I’m not acquainted with astrophysics but I can only imagine that our earth or the sun’s […]
Question: What literature will you suggest me to understand the Second Coming of Jesus? Thank you very much. I have already read two books of John Oakes: Reasons for Belief and From Shadow to Reality, they are amazing. God bless you Answer: There is a lot of bad information out there about the second coming […]
QUESTION: I have studied and read some of the ancient rites that other nations practiced in regards to tattoos and cutting themselves. For a follower of Jesus, how would Leviticus 19:28 relate for today? Anthony: The common interpretation of Leviticus 19:28 is that it prohibits what we would call tattoos for those under the Covenant […]
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