Question: I have a question about sharing my faith with a Catholic friend who is mid-line atheist about why the saints are idolatry and about the holy trinity. Answer: For a person who is a mid-line atheist probably the question of whether worshiping saints is idolatry is irrelevant. If a person believes that there is no […]
Question: I recently saw some arguments on the internet where some have said that the Red sea which is believed to be the sea which Israelites crossed is actually “Yam Suph” in the Hebrew bible. They say that this phrase means sea of reeds. They therefore say that we have had a faulty translation going […]
Questions: I was listening to a Rabbi debate with a Christian and wanted to ask you about some of the points that the Rabbi made that the Christian didn’t respond to, if i may. 1. Christians had to “make up” the second coming of the Messiah to harmonize why Jesus did not restore peace in […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a presentation for the South Florida Church of Christ in Miami on 9/1/13 on answering the hard questions (the question of evil, the question of suffering and the question of hell). The power point is attached. HardQuestMiami
Question: What do you think about this take on Songs of Solomon… http://www.findingtruthmatters.org/articles/sos/ [Editor’s note: the gentleman writing this article rejects the “traditional” view that Song of Solomon is about a loving monogamous relationship between Solomon and his wife] Answer: A few logical fallacies or weak arguments on the part of this person (I will […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the book of Jeremiah 8/23/13. The class was not comprehensive, but covers the main themes of Jeremiah. Notes and power point are attached. Jeremiah PPT Jeremiah Burden of the Lord
QUESTION: Do you know, or can you speculate on, what the “thorn in Paul’s fleah” might have been that he spoke of in 2 Corinthians 12:7? The reason I ask is its nice to know these things about elements of the Bible. So many people who are just starting to get into the Word with […]
QUESTION: I have heard several times that moral “law” is said to be observed in animals, suggesting a natural, rather than supernatural explanation for morality. That sentence might not be clear enough, let me elaborate: A good example of a proponent of this is Anthropologist Frans de Waal. de Waal has studied primates for years […]
Question: I have been doing research on this, but I just can find a lot on the question of when Zoroaster [editor: the founder of Zoroastrianism, the chief religion in Persia from about 500 BC until the time of Islam] lived. I know that some claim that he must have lived 1500 BC because the language […]
Comment: I would like to say that I envy you. I can’t seem to reconcile my faith with evolution. I’m sure that the things I was told at church about evolution has a big part to play in my crisis but I think it’s also the way that science has presented it. Ever since Darwin […]
Question: Is it true that Zoroastrianism created Christianity? Also, did Mohammed get his influence from Zoroastriansism? How is it that this religion is so close to Christianity and Islam? Were they living in the same place? How is it the Zoroastrians believe in a virgin birth and a Son of God? How is it that […]
Question: I’ve been reading a bit over the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ commands for personal righteousness. However, some passages leave me with dilemmas on interpretation. For instance, how should one interpret passages on “offer your shirt” in light of this scenario: if I own a business as a Christian and enter into a […]
QUESTION: Did the Sabbath moving from the seventh day to the first day happen after the resurrection or at some other time? Answer: Neither. The Sabbath did not move. There is no Christian “Sabbath.” Sunday is definitely not a Sabbath. Nowhere in the Bible is there even a hint that Sunday is a Sabbath. In […]
QUESTION: Doesn’t it bother you when people say that God came down to sacrifice himself to himself to save us from himself? How do you explain that in a way that makes sense? Do you admit the statement is true? People are supposed to believe a story like that, when it is said like that? […]
QUESTION: Why People Do not believe? I am a missionary in the Philippines. I have a long history here. My main mission has been working with Bar Girls, Singing Girls, Show Girls and Prostitutes. Any thing you can send me would be a great help. I am a graduate of Lincoln Christian College. I have […]
Question Is there any indication of exactly what and how many of the 613 Mosaic Laws are applicable to Christians? The commandments to love God with all of your heart and to love one another as Jesus loved are vague in the perspective that Jesus Christ was the totality of the Word of God, incarnate. […]
QUESTION: This question is regarding Hosea 3:1 “And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.” I have a question about the issue with the Israelites love of […]
QUESTION: Why would God put a little dipper and a big dipper in our night skies? Why would God put the North Star directly over the axis of this earth so that it is the only star that never moves during the night? Answer: God created the universe, galaxies and stars. As for constellations, these […]
Question I am uncertain if you have seen this but here is a piece of scientific coincidence with an implication of God inspiring the Bible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrdCru5Q6lQ Your response? Answer: This certainly seems interesting, but I would not put too much weight on it. I would like to hear some geologists comment on whether this […]
Question: Reading several articles, I have the impression that many people don’t trust Josephus’ writings because of the additions by the Christian scribe[editor’s note: He is talking about the “Testimonium Flavium” which mentions Jesus]. It seems that if one passage was tampered with then we don’t know what to trust. Also, concerning the passage in […]
QUESTION: A friend of my brother asked me some tough questions. He was born into a Christian family, but couldn’t accept the religion because of his belief about God. The friend wants to believe that there is something/someone out there. Some points he made were: God is not: all-powerful all-knowing or all-loving. He believes that God […]
Question: A remake of the Left Behind movies is being filmed this summer. It is starring Nicholas Cage, and so will probably be shown in mainstream theaters everywhere. Your opinions of eschatology are already provided in your website articles. The topic may suddenly become very mainstream due to Nicholas Cage, though. Do you have any […]
Question: When trying to validate Jesus Christ, I often hear Christians say that there must be something special about Him since a number of His disciples died horribly for Him many years after His death. Or, because Christianity has lasted all these years, must be something to it. But couldn’t the same be said for […]
Comment: I am currently reading your book “Reasons for Belief”. I’m not that far into yet but I wanted to point out that the passage that you use from Josephus to support the miracles of Jesus is considered to be a Christian interpolation and therefore not reliable. From what I understand, several passages from Josephus […]
QUESTION: What are your feelings about the book “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth?” I ask this because I have been seeing interviews on it and a lady from my church was influenced by it and ask me to read it. Answer: This book is junk scholarship if it even deserves the […]
Question: Give you give a brief history of archaeological discoveries at Jericho, as well as a brief history of theories about their implications and the current state of knowledge about Jericho and its relevance to biblical statements about the city. Answer: [Editor’s note: This answer comes from a student in our Christian Apologetics Certificate Program, […]
Question: What is the context of 1 Corinthians 12:3? If a Christian confesses Jesus is Lord before baptism, when we do not have the Holy Spirit yet, then there appears to be a contradiction here. What are your thoughts? 1 Corinthians 12:3 NIV “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is […]
Question: [editor’s note: this is a more personal letter than we normally post, but the issue is common enough we are posting it, in hopes that some can relate and use the information] In my current ministry, my explanation about non-literal days in Genesis 1 is viewed with hesitancy and, I sense, silent distrust. In […]
Question: I have enjoyed reading your book ‘Daniel Prophet to the Nations”. I have been confronting some Jehovah Witnesses on the topic of the Coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, and your book on Daniels book , really helped me a lot. thank you very very much. Do you have any specific material […]
Question: Ezra mentions that Cyrus wrote this : [editor’s note, this is from Ezra chapter 1] “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is […]
Question: One of the 10 Commandments is “thou shall not kill”. Did this apply to young David when he basically told Goliath he was going to kill him? David made it perfectly clear what he was going to do. Answer: The majority of both Jewish and Christian scholars have interpreted the commandment “You shall not […]
Question: Jesus did not spend many years planting, farming, and harvesting the grapes for the matured wine he shared at the wedding. Neither did He have to fish for the mature fish he multiplied. It seems He and God transcend our concept of time and maturation issues, regularly, throughout the Bible including an unlimited cooking […]
Question: I am so happy to share with you that I have enjoyed reading your book ‘Daniel Prophet to the Nations”. I have been confronting some Jehovah Witnesses on the topic of the Coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, and your book on Daniel really helped me a lot. Thank you very very […]
Вопрос: Меня интересует 1Тим. 2:9-10 и 1 Петра 3:3-4. Могут ли христианки носить серьги, золото и пышные прически сегодня? Или же это просто напоминание о том, чтобы наша внутренняя красота не затмевалась внешней? Ответ: Это очень интересный вопрос! Попробую помочь. Одно из правил интерпретации Писания заключается в том, что нам надо понимать культурную и социальную […]
See below for a report from John Oakes on his recent teaching trip to Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Dubai and Tblisi, Georgia
QUESTION: I know that Satan’s sin originated in heaven as he conspired against God to be the most powerful. My question is this – if Lucifer – this beautiful majestic angel was able to turn evil in heaven (because of free will) is it possible that it could happen again? If no, then why not? […]
Question: I wonder if you can help me. People have been introducing the alpha course, whose speaker is Nicky Gumbel? And is the alpha course any good? Answer: I have not seen any of the alpha course materials directly, so anything I say should be taken with a big grain of salt. This material has […]
Kedron Jones taught a class on the reliability at the ICMC in San Diego, CA July 4-5, 2013. The Power Point is attached. The Case for the Bible – Scriptural Inspiration (1)
Kedron Jones taught a class The Case For God: Knowing God Exists at the recent ICMC July 4-5, 2013 in San Diego, CA The Case for God
QUESTION: Does 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 imply that if a believer marries a non-believer, that the non-believer can be saved through that marriage? Answer: Yes it does, but we should be careful how we interpret this. Paul is saying to the Christian sister who is married to a non-Christian that she should not leave her marriage […]
QUESTION: If someone doesn’t know about Jesus, like they never heard about Jesus and they live in a far-off and remote part of the world, then, as far as their judgment is concerned, is Romans 2:14-15 the the applicable scripture? Does this translate into saying that their own conscience will be used for them or […]
Question: I saw this article by Fazale at Reasons to Believe and I found it unsettling. It seems that new research has found evidence to generate genetic information by natural processes. I think the information may be trivial but it still proves that nature can create a genetic code of sorts. What do you think […]
QUESTION: [editor’s note: questioner clearly does not have English as first language, so this is my best attempt to reconstruct the original questions. My apologies if I am misinterpreting the questions] The Bible tells to stone a female if found in adultery? Why does it not say anything about men caught in same act? […]
QUESTION: I was wondering if you could help me with an apparent conundrum. I hear over and over again that the Bible is remarkably accurate in its ancient history that it records. If this is so, why do so many archaeologists have a minimalist or disdainful view of the Scriptures? Answer: This is a good […]
QUESTION: Why isn’t there a God’s Daughter? Answer: A fair enough question! First of all, God is not a sexual being. God is neither male nor female. Although the male is commonly used in addressing God, this should never be taken to infer that God has physically male sexual characteristics. This can be said for […]
Editor’s note: This question had so many parts, I decided to dispense with the usual style of giving the whole question, followed by my whole answer. Responses are in italics. I have finished the book and I have to say that I have more doubts about God than I had before reading it. I […]
Question: I understand that the Day/Age Theory of Evolution reconciles with the scriptures and even allows for the possibility of Adam evolving from chimpanzees, australopithecenes, or something else. However, what about Eve? Do you believe that the account of her creation from Adam’s rib is clearly to be taken literally and plainly? If so, that […]
QUESTION: I have a question regarding the Messiah and his purpose. It seems to me that the Bible is clear that the Hebrews are never to worship any thing or anyone but God Himself and that He is ‘One’ and that there is no other besides Him. When did He change His mind and tell […]
QUESTION: Every so often I feel emotionally overcome with “what if” questions. It makes me upset at myself because I question the things I already have answers to. How can I overcome these feelings of doubt? I am writing to you because I had a question about doubt. Ever since I have moved to join […]
Question: What do you think about the claim that evolution is in fact not directed–that natural selection was undirected and that neo darwinism is right about this? I want to.understand science and scripture. Do.you agree with Biologos foundation? Answer: It is my personal belief that, first, evolution is real and that species have evolved at […]
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