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Author "john-oakes"

wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Practical Christianity .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Philosophy, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

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wrote in End Times, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

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wrote in General, General Apologetics, Other Religions .

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 […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General .

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, […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity .

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 […]

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wrote in General .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Reliability of the Bible .

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? […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Anthropology, Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

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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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question:   [editor’s note: this lengthy question and points being made come from a Jewish Christian who believes that Christians are required to obey kosher food laws, such as the prohibition of eating pork and shellfish.  The article he and I both refer to is one about the interpretation of Acts 10.  I am attaching […]

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wrote in Announcements, Apologetics, Articles, Bible Teaching, Other Religions, Philosophy, Theology, World View .

IPI published two new products from ARS this week.   The first is the recording of the entire 2013 ICEC in San Diego on Christianity and Culture.  The second is a 12 hour class on World Religions taught by Dr. John Oakes.  To order go to www.ipibooks.com or to this link:     https://www.ipibooks.com/AllProducts/tabid/59/rvdsfcatid/john-oakes-10/Default.aspx#.UdLaDPlQFqV

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wrote in Announcements, Apologetics, Articles, Bible Teaching .

All the lessons from the recent ICEC on Christianity and Culture at San Diego State University are now available through Illumination Publishers.  They are available at http://www.ipibooks.com/IPIStore/Details/tabid/89/rvdsfpid/christianity-and-culture-923/rvdsfcatid/featured-items-35/Default.aspx#.Uc3_uJVv-Rc Much thanks to Toney Mulhollen for making these available.   Note to those who visit the site:  John Oakes is traveling and teaching in the Middle East for […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Reliability of the Bible, Science and the Bible .

QUESTION: I have a question regarding the time frame in Genesis 1. I know you believe that the earth is billions of years old, yes?  And that the bible is speaking figuratively when it describes how long creation took, I hope I am not assuming this. As I was researching I realized that the word […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Science and the Bible, Social Issues .

QUESTION: This question has been burning in me for a while and has currently been re-kindled by a recent current event. I do not know if you have ever heard of a Christian ministry known as “Exodus International,” but they were a group of Christians dedicated to “helping” homosexuals rid themselves of their desires through […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: I found the article below condemning the teaching of theistic evolution.  Is it correct, or maybe do they have some errors?, Thanks! [editor’s note: the article referred to is immediately below and my response is below that] THEISTIC EVOLUTION- What Is Theistic Evolution? Proponents of theistic evolution claim that God created man by evolutionary […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Social Issues, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Why do some Christians believe homosexuality is acceptable whereas in the Bible it is clearly condemed? Answer: Why do some people who call themselves Christians believe homosexuality is acceptable? I am afraid you will have to ask these people why for yourself. It is not my job to judge the motives of other people. I […]

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