Question: Discussing Christianity with a friend, we both agreed that what makes Christianity hard to believe for non-believers, and believers, is the supernatural aspects. As children we are told not to believe in ghosts or spirits. But yet as Christians our belief is based on the unseen. And for us humans, we like to see,smell […]
Question: If God is all-powerful and omniscient, why does he allow babies to be born with cancer? With trillions of interacting choices made every day, every evil may result in good either now, later, or in eternity. But if you have an all-powerful God he can do whatever he wants without babies being born with cancer. […]
Question: Does a Christian go to hell for committing suicide? Answer: We plan on discussing this difficult question at our International Christian Evidence Conference June 14-16 in San Diego. There is still plenty of time to register. You will find info at our web site. I assume you are aware that the Roman Catholic Church […]
Question: I have a question for you. A friend of mine refers to “spiritual baptism” which I have never heard of before. Is this a common evangelical teaching or is it a new one? Have you heard this argument? Answer: “Spiritual baptism” is a doctrine which mistakenly connects the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matthew […]
Question: Do you have any good sources to find the truth out about Zoroaster and the claims that it predates Christianity and we stole a lot of our claims from them including a resurrected Lord? If you could in brief give an answer as well, I would appreciate your time. Answer: First of all, there […]
Question: Can you give me some reasons why God would created the universe in so many time… If He is so powerful, and intelligent, then why he created everything in many periods of time? Answer: I assume that you are asking why God use such vast amounts of time to create the universe, the earth […]
QUESTION: Hello Dr. Oakes, I was wondering why – with all of the biblical and secular evidence of Jesus actually existing – do atheists contend there is new evidence that Jesus’ existance may not be true? Is this just another attempt to try and prove there can be no God or is there some new […]
QUESTION: I’ve been hit with this following point before and I am not sure how to answer. Is it a contradiction in God’s nature to say that He is a God of love/mercy/forgiveness and at the same time be a God of justice? In other words, how can God be a God of love/mercy/forgiveness/omnibenevolence and […]
QUESTION: I am taking a Introduction to the Old Testament and the professor stated that the first phrase in Genesis, “In the beginning,” has been mistransated and the better phrase is “When God began creating the heavens and the earth.” She states that the former gives the impression to the readers that this was the […]
Question: Do we need to keep Sabbath? Which Bible verses supports your answer? Are the Ten Commandments important? Answer: There is no indication in the New Testament that Christians are required to keep some sort of Christian version of the Sabbath. All the evidence from both the scriptures (Acts 20:7 which says that the church […]
Question: Who made God? On our way to school this morning, my 10 yr. old asked me who created God. He had to go to class before I got a chance to answer. What would be a good response to his question? We allowed him to watch the Bible series that was on recently. It sparked […]
QUESTION: I recently made a statement in my sermon that I strongly believe that it is not our place to take matters into our own hands as Moses did by killing the Egyptian who was beating the Israelite slave. I referred to the scripture in Romans 12:17-19, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lesson 4/17/2013 in San Diego on the Christian doctrine of baptism. The class includes a brief history of teachings about baptism. Notes and power point are attached. Baptism: In Christ PPT Baptism: In Christ notes Baptism In Christ Audio
Question: Is it Biblical to say that blood of Jesus provides protection? If so please indicate the reference. Blessings. Answer; I like to advise people when in doubt to use biblical language. The blood of Jesus purifies us. Does it protect us? I do not know. That depends on what you mean. Does it protect […]
Question: How do you convince someone that, through Jesus, there’s life after death? Especially if the person is a character who believes in tangible facts and figures?” Looking forward to hearing from you soon, Answer: It is very difficult to make a “logical” case that life continues after death. Certainly we cannot use physical/scientific arguments to […]
Comment: Your article about the Seventh Day Adventists was good. You kinda (sic) did some research. But you drew conclusions too soon……Ellen G. White never said that she was a prophetess. Please read the whole book by Ellen G. White. You express your opinion only, not the truth. Don’t use some verses of the Bible to justify your […]
Question: Do you have any references you could pass along that might shed some light on 1 Clement, both in terms of its dating and his possible authorship of Hebrews? I saw a recent question on your site regarding dating 1 Clement to the late 60’s (which makes a lot of sense to me). All […]
QUESTION: I would like to know about the accusations against the Bible. 1. The fallacies and inconsistancies that people claim are there… 2. How accurate do we know the Old Testament to be historically speaking. Response: It is impossible for me to answer the first question because it is too broad to address. What I […]
QUESTION: How do we know that Satan didn’t write the Bible? How do we know that the true religion isn’t Buddhism for example and the Old and New Testament are the works of a devil/demon/Satan trying to trick us into doing wrong things like stoning adulteresses and non-believers? Satan could reveal himself as Jesus, claim […]
Question: I was reading my Bible this morning and I wanted to ask a questions regarding what I read. I read in Joshua and it was talking about how God said he would harden peoples’ hearts…. As Joshua was going to fight them. Why does God harden or allow peoples’ heart to harden? In the devotional I […]
Question: As I write, I am thinking of Eccl 1:9, there is nothing new under the sun. As I think about theological/scriptural/Christian ideas, I believe that others have considered and discussed the same ideas sometime and someplace in the past. I am just ignorant. I was watching TV a few weeks ago—a scene where a […]
Question: (maybe you need to change 4 Kings to 2 Kings. In the Russian Bible, 2 Kings is 4 Kings) Can I ask you to help me deal with the chronology of events in the life of Hezekiah? In the Bible, king Sennacherib wanted to conquer Jerusalem, threatening its residents. After this comes a description […]
Question: I have been reading at your site which I have found to be very intresting and informative…. I noticed a little there on the Gnostic gospels. My question is…since there is no proof that the main 4 gospels..Matthew Mark Luke and John..are legitimate .. I was wondering where you get the information on the […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a sermon on the power of the resurrection 3/31/2013. Notes, power point and audio are attached. Resurrection Power audio Resurection Power ppt Resurrection Power notes
Question: “I have two questions for you, what is the doctrine of Soul-Sleep and did the thief immediately go to Paradise with Jesus? A friend of mine believes in the doctrine of soul-sleep.” Answer: Thanks for the questions, below are my answers I hope this helps! What is The Doctrine of Soul-Sleep? The (false) doctrine […]
Suggestion: Hi, please do read the doctoral thesis by the late Thomas Herron in which he presents a persuasive argument for re-dating 1 Clement to just before 70 AD. There are of course explosive implications if 1 Clement was pre 70 AD – for example if Clement is quoting at least one of the gospels […]
Question: I’ve been reading through Revelation again; this time in my study Bible, and it has incited a question in me that I’ve never thought about before: If God already had angels living with him in heaven before the creation of man, then why do you suspect he created us? My rationale for this has always […]
Question: Can you please respond to this chain message I received recently: [editor’s note: I am not going to do what I usually do, which is correct the grammar and sentence structure errors in the message below] 666 = The mark of the Beast President Obama Vs Revelation13:15-18 The US Senate has passed the Obama Health […]
Question: Hi, John! I want to ask you about the informaiton at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Roerich What do you know about this teaching and her influence on Christianity today? (In my church there is a member who believes in this teaching. And she doesn’t want change it) Your book about Daniel is very good! I am enjoying it! Answer: […]
We are excited to announc that the seventh of an eventual ten classes in our Apologetics Certificate Program is now available. The class is Archaeology and Christianity. The principal teacher is Dr. John Wilson of Pepperdine University. Dr. Douglas Jacoby and Dr. John Oakes also are teachers in this calss. The classes now available are: […]
Randall Hroziencik, one of the students in our ARS Apologetics Certificate Program submitted a paper on the cultural and theological background to the two Genesis creation accounts, focusing on the genre of the first part of Genesis. We feel that this paper is of a very high quality and offer it for your consideration. Thank […]
Question: I read your response to the inquirer about ‘Will homosexuals go to hell’. I agree with your answer to the question. Would you give me your Biblical insights on ‘besetting’ sin. For example, what if a homosexual repents of their sin, accepts Christ as Lord and Savior but continues to practice homosexuality? In that […]
QUESTION: Since the birthplace of Jesus is too far from the Indian subcontinent, there is a viable chance for him travelling to India or Tibet. All the story of Jesus is mythological like Indian mythology. Hence, there is solid proof that Jesus Christ came to India and has made a deep study of Hindu religion. After returning […]
Question: In baptism, the church I go to does a good confession by saying “Jesus is Lord” and there are scriptures that supports it like Romans 10:9. How can we be sure that we are doing it the way the early Christians did? Did the 3000 baptized in Acts 2 undergo the same practice as we […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a six-week class on World Religions on six consecutive Saturdays beginning on 2/23 9:00-11:00. See below for suggested reading and schedule. World Religion Notes World Religion PPT World Rel Audio 1a World Rel Audio 1b World Rel Audio 2a World Rel Audio 2b World Rel Audio 3a World Rel Audio 3b […]
Question: I believe that there is a difference between the righteousness of Jesus and the Pharisees. But in what sense do they differ from each other? Some say, Pharisees are legalistic in their righteousness, but what does it really mean? And how can we surpass their righteousness, as Jesus taught, in a day to day basis […]
Question: I was looking through your sermon notes on the Holy Spirit and it said “Q: Do you pray to the Holy Spirit?”. From my understanding of prayer we are to pray to God through Jesus’ name and the Holy spirit, but not necessarily to it. Holy Trinity thing? (I’m a kingdom kid so honestly […]
Question: I was studying the Bible with a friend and she told me that in John 3:1-5 when Jesus states that you must be ‘born again’ to see the Kingdom of God he is referring to amniotic fluid, not baptism. In other words, she said that Jesus is stating that one must be born again […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question in regards to the book of Daniel. The LXX [editor’s note: this is the Septuagint Greek version] version of the book of Daniel has three additional passages, “The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, the stories of Susannah and the Elders and Bel […]
Question: First, let me say that I discovered your site about 6 months ago and I thoroughly enjoy it. You and other sites like yours, has helped me become a better and a more enlightened Christian. Thank you! I am a military veteran. Served honorably. I have been very proud of my service,but have to […]
Question: My sister sent me this video and asked me to review it (Johnathan Cahn Warns America on the show with Jonathan Bernis). I thought it was interesting. I don’t want to simply discount what they are saying as I usually do with most of these guys who prey on peoples fear and ignorance to […]
Question: If life is discovered on another planet, how will it affect our understanding of the Bible, God, the Anthropic Principle, and our place in the universe? Answer: In a word: no effect. If God created life here, he can create life elsewhere. That is God’s prerogative. The Bible does not suggest one way or […]
QUESTION: Can you give me some insight you might have about some Greek words like Dikaiosune for “righteousness”, Zeteo for “seek” in mat. 6:33, Peinao for “hungry” & Dipsao for “thirsty” in mat. 5:6, & lastly, Hiplon for “instrument” in rom.6:13? just need some input from you as i compose a lesson. thank you! Answer: […]
Question: Your thoughts on the new information concerning the Higgs-Boson, the “God particle”? Response: My thoughts on the new information about the Higgs Boson is that it changes absolutely nothing from a Christian Apologetic point of view. First of all, the theory about the existence of this particle–the one responsible for giving mass to particles–has been […]
Question: I love your website, it has helped me in many ways. I have a question that I’d love to get your take on. When Adam was in the garden by himself, naming animals for whatever conceivable amount of time that he was there without Eve (hanging out with God, naming animals, all that), and Eve […]
John and Jan Oakes just returned from a 20 day teaching trip in Jakarta, Ambon, Surabaya, Medan, Singapore, Brisbane and Perth. A report is attached. Indonesia Singapore Australia Journal
Note: This is a follow-up to a question posted just a couple of days ago. Question: I feel that I failed to communicate exactly what I meant in my last question. What I am saying is I have been told Jesus came to earth at the exact time and place that He did because God […]
Question: My 7 year old son has recently become interested in the Bible and has been reading some of Genesis on his own. He asked me about the biblical ages in Genesis and how people can live 800, and 900 years. I said I thought it could have been that God gave longer lives at […]
Question: My wife was physically abusive to me, and threatened to commit perjury / bear false witness against me if I ever dared to call the police. One day, she threw a whiskey bottle at my head (missed), and I did call the police. When they arrived, she told them a story, and I was […]
Question: God created all of us, yes? That means He chose you exactly as you are and not a slightly different you (maybe one with different color eyes or slightly quicker to anger or any tiny variation). When David says “you knit me together in my mother’s womb” is he not saying this? Therefore how could […]
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