Question: I wanted to thank you for your last email and for answering some of the questions I had. I appreciate you taking the time out of your undoubtedly busy schedule to do so.It helped me greatly. I hope I do not wear you out with my somewhat simplistic inquiries. The reason for this question […]
Question: Which religion is correct? Answer: Because you sent this question to a web site with the name Evidenceforchristianity.org, it is fairly obvious that we believe that Christianity is the correct religion. I am guessing that there is a more specific question behind this request. Do you have a more specific question about why we […]
Question: I have been thinking lately about the the difference between willing yourself to change vs. being changed through and by the Holy Spirit. What’s the difference? I ask this because it seems as though when God wants you to grow in an area He allows you to go through situations that mold you into […]
Question: This is starting to circulate on the internet. Facebook……etc. I am sure young christians in our congregations may have a hard time with it. Just curious if you guys have heard about it yet. http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11201273.htm Response: Ancient Confession Found: ‘We Invented Jesus Christ.’ A new “theory” to explain the genesis of Christianity is making […]
Ancient Confession Found: ‘We Invented Jesus Christ.’ A new “theory” to explain the genesis of Christianity is making the rounds of skeptic websites and will soon appear at a college or university near you. It is found in a recent documentary by Joseph Altwill “The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus” I would like to present […]
Question: Professor, one of the characters that I find most curious that there isn’t a lot of information about is Melchizedek. Besides Hebrews Chapter 7, Genesis 14, several references in Psalms, and mention in the Pseudoepigraph “The Book of the Bee” of the Book of the Cave of Treasures, are there any legitimate sources in […]
Question: The Magi/wise men who visited the young Jesus were obviously men of knowledge, possibly scholars of some sort. I would assume that when they returned to their home they documented their experience. Is there any evidence of this? Answer: I would agree that the Magi were probably of high birth and likely were scholars. […]
Question: I have recently been troubled by a theological dilemma regarding 1 Corinthians 11 and veiling. Actually, I should say I’ve been wrestling with it for years and the conflict comes and goes. How can we as disciples of Jesus KNOW that Paul is speaking culturally? I know that David Bercot is popular throughout churches […]
Question: One of the main reasons our founding fathers declared independence from Britain was because of taxation. Based on what Jesus said about” render unto Caesar…” in reference to paying taxes, were our founders going against what Jesus had said? Answer: This is a fun question. Probably there is no practical implication of this since […]
Request: Can you help me with this? How do you explain in simple terms the Trinity to some one who is struggling to understand how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are different but are also one and the same? Thank you. Response: I hate to say this, but I am afraid there is no […]
Question: Are Christians in danger of committing idolatry by having crucifixes,and pictures of Jesus, statues of Saints and Archangels, praying for those saints and Archangels to intercede for us in God’s presence? Answer: I think you put it well. Christians are “in danger of committing idolatry” when they use crucifixes, pictures of Jesus, statues of […]
Question: I have seen your view about the book of Enoch.first I have to tell you where I am from , I am actually from Ethiopia. the only christian country that accepted the book of Enoch as canon.please I want much evidences that can disprove its authenticity. do you have? Answer: I did not say […]
Question: Since you believe Jesus fulfilled Zech.6:11-13, do you also believe the body of Christ is the Temple? Answer: I believe that Zechariah 6:11-13 is really more of a messianic foreshadow than a historical messianic prophecy. In other words, it is a picture, in earthly terms of an equivalent future reality in heaven. The vision […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon on Deuteronomy 8 in San Diego 9/15/2013. The focus of the lesson is on Moses’ instructions to the “second generation” of those who wandered in the wilderness as an analogy for the life of a disciple. Deuteronomy 8 Entering the Promised Land notes Deut 8 Promised Land MP3 […]
Brian Colon and Dr. John Oakes taught a six hour class on the reliability of the Bible on Saturday Sept. 14, 2013 at the Orange County Church of Christ, Irvine, CA. The class covered the manuscript and other evidence for the reliability of both the Old and the New Testaments. The power point on the Reliability […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a four hour exposition on the Book of John for the South Florida Church of Christ. The class is available at the following link: http://new.livestream.com/Miamischoolofmissions/events/2365794
Dr. John Oakes taught a class titled Christianity and Bioethics for the South Florida Church of Christ 8/30/2013. The class focuses on the moral and ethical questions raised by the leaps in technology in the biomedical field. He discusses the Christian Worldview and how it can guide us to decide which kinds of technologies Christians […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class for the South Florida Church of Christ 8/30/2013 on Christianity and Postmodernism. In the class Dr. Oakes explains the history of modernism, discussing its strengths and weaknesses. From there, he explains why modernism led to postmodernism, followed by a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the postmodern mindset. […]
Question: In Acts 10:44 Peter is at Cornelius’ house and the spirit of God falls on the Gentiles pre-baptism (while they hear the testimony of Jesus from Peter). Most commentaries suggest that this is more crucial to the argument of Jew v. Gentile and all being alike now, but how could the Holy Spirit come […]
QUESTION: The parochet at the Holy of Holies was “rent in two” as Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross. A most significant event to the Jews, even the Pharisee’s, and yet I have found no Jewish or Roman (non-Christian) evidence or commentary of this event. And the parochet in question is not be […]
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 […]
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