Comment: There is a question on your webpage about salvation and baptism, ("If a person on their death bed repents and cannot be baptized, would they be saved? "). You seem to believe that you are only saved after baptism. ie. ( " but there is a clear teaching in the Bible that, although we […]
Question: Do animals have souls? Since i last wrote to you I have done some research on this subject. Although I don’t know any Hebrew scholars personally, I do have several books in which they have made contributions, also a copy of Vine’s expository dictionary of Bible words. What my research revealed is that the word ‘soul’, Nephesh in Hebrew, […]
Question: I have a question regarding the translation of Isaiah 53:8 and whether or not Jesus had children. The only reference that I’ve found to Jesus never having children is in Isaiah 53:8; however the only translation that indicates such is the 1984 NIV, all other translations render it differently making no reference as to […]
Question: Psalm 82:6-8 as referenced in Jn 10:34 says "you are gods". What does this mean and who is speaking? Answer: This is a difficult question and these are difficult passages to understand and interpreet. Let me start with Psalm 82:6-8. "I say you are gods; you are all children of the Most High. But you […]
Question: I was wondering what you thought about the authorship of Ephesians, Colossians, and the pastoral letters (1 Tim., 2 Tim, and Titus). I’ve read several arguments against the authenticity of Paul writing these books. I was wondering what’s your point of view on the authorship of these epistles and why? Answer: It seems that […]
Question: Gen.2:7 says that "God proceeded to..blow into his (Adams) nostrils…and the man became a living soul." Elsewhere in the Hebrew text animals are spoken of as "souls" (Gen.1:20; Num,31:28 ect)It seems to me a soul is what we are, not something we have. Eccl.3:19 says that at death man has no superiority over the […]
Question: What happened to the Garden of Eden? More specifically, is the Garden of Eden intact and located at some point on the Earth? Reading through Genesis shortly after The Fall of Man we see Adam and Eve no longer in the Garden, but I wonder what happened to this physical location? A few possibilities […]
Dr. John Oakes and Mark Wilkinson taught a class on how to understand and interpret the Bible. This was a 7 hour class. The suggester book for this class is "How to Study the Bible For All It’s Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart. Notes Hermeneutics Hermeneutics PPoint 1.04 Mb AUDIO is no longer available […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question about several verses in the book of Jude. In Jude 1:14-15 Jude references an apocryphal book called 1 Enoch. I was wondering what you thought about this reference to the book of Enoch. And do you think that this might hint at an apocryphal book as being […]
Question: I wanted to ask, how would you respond to a comment like this, done in the form of a cartoon: http://www.martinspribble.com/2011/09/12/soldier-crab-is-hostile-to-religion I know that it is useless to argue or to try to convince people who are blocked and refuse to believe anything about Christianity, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts […]
Is the impartation of the Holy Spirit biblical?
What do you think of the claim that Christ used a Cannabis based oil to anoint his disciples and the sick, explaining spiritual experiences ect… http://hightimes.com/news/ht_admin/139 hypothetical in my opinion, extremely so, but the gnostic literature does seem to refer to Cannabis. Help me out here?
Question: Could you go into a bit more depth concerning the inspiration of the Bible. I’m aware that 2 Timothy 3:16 states all scripture is inspired by God, but because it’s in scripture, it’s circular reasoning. I’m aware of Jesus’ frequent quoting of the OT, so that’s not the issue. I’m also aware that the […]
Question: How do you feel about this article? http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Bible/Text/Bibaccuracy.html Do you believe that the New Testament we have in our Bibles are similar to the originals? Answer: This is an easy question. Yes, I believe that the best Greek manuscript we have today is virtually an exact copy of the original documents. I have a […]
A fun video of a typical atheist trying to claim Jesus was not a real person: stumped by the evidence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WUQMJR2BP1w
Question: Please clear up for me a doubt about the difference between two scriptures. The scriptures are, Genesis 46: 27 – which says 70 members and Jacob went to Egypt, and Acts 7: 14 – which says 75 members and Jacob were invited by Joseph. Who are those 75? Name them one by one. Who did not go to Egypt […]
Question: Can you explain the Baha’i prophecies in this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_prophecies Response: I have looked at these "prophecies" of Baha-ullah. To be honest, I am not all that impressed. For example, he predicted in the 1860s that the Ottoman Empire would fall apart. The reason this is not all that impressive is that by the […]
Question: Please shed light on the things that somehow make me feel uneasy. How should one know that he is already saved? Is it while we are still alive or when the judgement day appears that we can know we are saved? Thank you very much. Answer: I am afraid that this is a bit […]
Question: I wanted to ask you how do we know that the New Testament epistles, books, and sermon(s) were written prior to 100 A.D.? I looked on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_the_Bible) and the majority of the oldest fragments of some of the N.T. documents are from the 2nd to the 3rd century. How do we know for […]
Question: Is Saint Augustine’s exegesis of the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Genesis correct? Do a Google search: First Scandal. Answer: No, it is not. I found the article you are talking about using Google. He makes a bit of a simplication to conclude that there are two points in Augustine’s exegesis of Genesis 2 […]
Question: Any thoughts on the book "The God Part of the Brain" by Matthew Alper? Answer: Note: This book has as its thesis that religious thought is entirely the result of genetic/physiological causes which were created due entirely to evolutionary forces. It is published by Sourcebooks, Inc., Naperville, Illinois. There is a lot of good […]
Question: Does the Baha’i faith claim to have fulfilled prophecies? Answer: Yes, it does. The Baha’i faith began in the mid-nineteenth century, started by a Persian man by the name of Baha-ulla (actual name Mirza Hussein Ali). His work was preceded by a John the Baptist-like figure the Bab, who was also Persian. This religion […]
Comment: I did a search on the dedication of the Second Temple and your article came up (below). I find the whole story of the second temple fascinating because there was, like you said, no direct evidence of the miraculous as in the first temple. One thing has always intrigued me and that is the […]
Question: Is it true that Ezra was the individual responsible for the final Old Testament canon? I heard from my religious studies T.A. that he changed some of the Old Testament stories to seem a bit more "spiritual". For example the story of David, and the destruction of the fall of the first temple due […]
Question: Why do we worship Jesus? I was asked this question while sharing my faith, and I told him that Jesus had equality with God (Philippians 2). I would like to have a firm understanding so that I can articulate this to people who have the same question. Answer: Reasons we worship Jesus: 1. Because […]
Hi, Last night I was watching History Channel and they showed a one hour documentary about some stone they found with Gabriel’s Inscription which talks about that Simon of Perea was the actual Christ and not Jesus of Nazareth. Is there any truth to this?
Question: You write "All four gospels are quoted in patristic writings (a technical term which means writings by the early church "fathers.") before AD 100 in books such as the Epistle of Barnabus, the book of Clement of Rome and the Didache." There is nothing said about the four Gospels in the "Clement of Rome". […]
How do we know we are instructed by God to commit an act? What is the proof that the spiritual feelings and sensations we experience isn’t all in our head? In essence, Charles Manson and many other men thought what they were doing was right and may even have believed that they were told by […]
Question: Where did the concept of the soul, after-life, and triune God originate? Some say that the concept of the soul is only mentioned when David tries to stir up his troops before battle, giving them something great to hope for, that Heaven and Hell and scarcely mentioned in the Bible, and lastly that the […]
Question: Is the Bible to be "Interpreted"? How is God’s word to be read? More specifically, what’s to say that one man’s interpretation of God’s word is more perfect than anyone else’s? Is it because we take into account the entirety of God’s law? Isn’t it possible for someone to read the entirety of the […]
How can the supposed “Genocide” all throughout the Old Testament be explained? Is it truly Genocide? If not, what is it? If so, is that not cruel of God? For instance, note how many tribes there are mentioned in the OT, yet how many of these tribes survive today? And another example, when God instructed […]
Question: Is evolution true? Do all the living today have a common ancestor? Answer: Scientific theories, by their very nature, are never "true." The best one can do with any theory is show that it is consistent with the observable evidence. The answer is that the modern theory of evolution is a good scientific theory. […]
Question: Is it possible that the disciples made up the story of Jesus? I have heard several claims that the disciples could have just invented a Messiah-like figure based the Old Testament prophecies that predict the Messiah. For example the the prophecy on 30 silver coins (which is explained in Zecharia and not in Jeremiah, […]
Notes and Power Point for a class on the Pentecostal Movement, miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit by John Oakes in San Diego 8/11/2011. Pentecostalism Pentecostalism PP 2.79 Mb
where do believers go after they die?
Apologetics Class: Biblical Reliability, Inspiration and Inerrancy The class has now been taught by Dr. John Oakes, Dan Conder and Brian Colon. Notes and Power Point are attached. Notes: Reliability, Inspiration and Inerrancy PPoint Reliability, Inspiration and Inerrancy 6.69 Mb Apologetics Class: Biblical Reliability, Inspiration and Inerrancy Instructors: John Oakes, PhD and Dan Conder Required reading: […]
Question: Can you explain the concept of trinity? While Muslims believe in the Torah which we Christians and Jews do as well, they believe in a indivisible God. How can God be one yet be called trinity? Answer: Ihave already answered this question at the web site. I am copying and pasting a quick answer, […]
can you explain the concept of trinity?while muslims believe in the torah which we christians and jews do too,they believe in a indivisible God.How can God be one yet be called trinity?
hello,im a believer and i m recently having this doubt.As believers when we die we go to heaven directly right,then why should there be a resurrection of our body when our God returns so that our earthly body might be forever changed to a heavenly body while your soul is already there in the heaven?is […]
hello..is it wrong for a christian to watch horror movies that involve a lot of unnecessary portrail of bloodshed and slaughter?
Question: Modern Bible translations seem to suggest that Luke 11:33-36 is related to Luke 11:29-32. If this is true, I can’t figure out the connection. Please explain this to me. Thanks. Answer: I am very far from being the world’s expert on Luke 11:29-36. One thing I would point out is that the statement that […]
See below for a report on the missionary teaching trip of John and Jan Oakes July 21-Aug 1, 2011 Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia July 22-Aug 1, 2011 Mexico City July 22-24 For Jan and me a visit to Mexico City is a […]
Question: I want to start off by letting you know right away that I am not a Christian currently, though I haven’t shut the door on Christianity. I am a philosophical theist. I felt like it is fair to let you know where I’m coming from. If you don’t wish to help me because of […]
Daniel Russian 17.65 Mb Hebrews Russian 18.64 Mb
Una leccion se ensenado por John Oakes para Projecto Esdras en DF Mexico 7/25/2011 Cristianismo y Lo Paranormal 12.72 Mb
Este leccion estaba ensenado por John Oakes en DF Mexico para el Projecto Esdra 7/24/11. Los Milagros de Jesus Power Point 2.15 Mb Los Milagros de Jesus version corta 1.78 Mb
Question: I had the following experience when I was about 13 years old and am wondering if the Bible speaks of such things, known as out of body experiences… I guess I had fallen asleep, I "awoke" looking down at my body laying in my bed. I immediately felt that I was above the floor, […]
Question: Is baptism a mandatory step for getting salvation and only through it a person gets the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins? Or is it an important step but it is for declaring that you are a follower of Jesus Christ? Answer: Biblically, there is no question at all about this. In the New Testament, […]
Question: I was doing a study with a friend who raised the issue that since Jesus told his disciples in John 20:18-25 that they have the power to forgive to forgive the sins of anyone who sins, we as disciples of Jesus also have this power to forgive sins. How do you deal with this? Answer: […]
Comment: The Historia Augusta is an astonishing piece of bogus history. It is perhaps showing us a Roman sense of humour, but I think scholars are generally unaware of why it was done. There are 130 fake documents and they even invent sources that disagree with them. Sounds a bit like Christianity to me. The Flavians […]
Buy Now: MP3
Buy Now: DVD
Buy Now: MP3
Buy Now: MP3
