Question: Did Jesus not have the Holy Spirit before his baptism? What does it mean that he received the H.S.? Answer: That is actually a difficult question to answer. The Bible is somewhat vague about how Jesus developed. It is one of those mysteries about which we can speculate but which we can not provide a […]
Samuel;Question: I have a friend who works with NMR and he would like to do research to analyze some samples of soils by NMR and IR analyzes and compare with some analyzes of human issue. He would like to prove that man "comes from earth". Do you know if there is some material published about this? How could he make […]
Pregunta; Tengo una preguntas con respecto al Dios y el sufrimiento. 1) como explicamos las consecuencias (lamentables) que suceden cuando Dios llama nuestra atencion. Ejemplo: para buscar a Dios o paraque alguien se haga un cristiano, costo la muerte de un familiar? Si bien es cierto es bueno e increible de ser un seguidor, pero la […]
Question: What is your take on the Shroud of Turin? Answer: The Shroud of Turin is one of thousands of fake religious items which circulated in Europe in the late Middle Ages. I have heard estimates that if you added all the pieces of the "true" cross of Jesus which were in the churches in the […]
Question: I’ve heard a lot of skeptics claim that the accounts of Christ’s Resurrection in the Gospels of Matthew (28:1-10), Mark (16:1-11), Luke (24:1-12), and John (20:1-18) are hopelessly contradictory and it is impossible to accurately harmonize them. I recall hearing a claim that thereare 25 alleged contradictions or discrepancies between them, though I’m not […]
Question: As you are a scientist, I would appreciate your explanation as to how it is possible to get plants reliant on photosynthesis on the third day, before the creation of the sun on the fourth. Answer: Genesis 1 has night and day on the first day, but the appearance of the sun, moon and stars […]
Question: I’ve just learnt that you’ve had a really big ‘quake in San Diego. You’re remarkably assured on this subject and bacteria in your apologetics. I wonder if you still feel the same. Answer: Well, if I hold to a world view and it is shaken by something like an earthquake, then it certainly was not a very […]
Question: In the midst of many that claim to be prophets of God, is there any particular method to tell if one is an actual prophet of God? Or if in fact that there is anything a prophet could say that is validated by scripture? Answer: Believe it or not, the answer to this question […]
Question/Comment: I believe that Genesis should not be read literally as it conflicts with our current scientific models such as the dating of the universe and Evolution. As a result I believe that we must read Genesis as a theological poem not a scientific textbook. Thus I see that we were created and we fell […]
A class on Apologetics and World Religions was taught by John Oakes, PhD and Dan Conder in San Diego May 28-29, 2010. Notes on Apologetics and World Religions Power Point: Apologetics and World Religions 9.39 Mb I promised students a summary of the Book of Mormon by Joe Fields. Here it is. The Book of […]
God and Science Bahasa Indonesia 3.84 Mb
Compelling Evidence for God and the Bible: Finding Truth in an Age of Doubt. A new book by Douglas Jacoby has just been released by Random House. Because this is a major publisher you should start to see it in bookstores, but in the mean time, you can get info or a copy at the […]
Question: Is the Mormon faith a "cult"? Which denomination is the most accurate according to God’s word? Answer: The answer to your question depends on how one defines the word cult. I am looking at my Webster’s and it defines a cult as "a system of religious worship or ritual." By this definition, true Christianity is a […]
March 2010 ARS Newsletter
Question: Please give me your opinion on Deuteronomy 28:63, Should we say that evil can evil please the LORD? This seems to be what Moses write down here. I don´t think so, but what do we learn from it? Answer: This is a good question. We know from other passages in the Bible that God […]
Question; The other day in a discussion with a friend, a statement was made that the disciple Peter was crucified upside down. I have heard this before, but after searching through my Bible I cannot find any reference to this event. The person I was studying with has since called me asking where this can […]
Question: I have recently been looking through my Bible and have noticed that the gospel of Mark stops at 16:8 with the quote (Early manuscripts end at 16:8) I have researched this and indeed the earliest manuscripts we know of stop at 16:8 . The only problem I have with this is that I know […]
Question: What do you think about disciples joining the military? There is a friend in my church who is in his early 20’s and recently became a Christian. He is a newlywed. For his specific situation we are strongly urging him that it is not a good idea spiritually for him or his wife if […]
Question: My question concerns the book of Daniel. You said in a recorded audio message I heard (a speech you gave at Harvard) that Belteshazzar was a king who honored Daniel; however, when I read the book of Daniel (in a lot of verisons) they say that Daniel is Belteshazzar. Is there something I am […]
Ciencia_y_Milagros_Jesus 4.81 Mb Una leccion de John Oakes presentado en DF Mexico 3/13/2010. El audio se puede vendido en la tienda de el web site.
Comment: I`m no scholar but to say that the Bible has no scientific arrors is totally false. One huge mistake occurs on the first page when God says let there be light and the sun was not yet created. Also the Bible claims that the earth is only 6000 years old and that man and […]
Question: I just heard the Interview From NPR "Fresh Air from WHYY with Terri Gross" Thoughts? If you have a chance. http://www.bartdehrman.com/multimedia.htm Answer: I have read a couple of books by Ehrman. He is a very biased, angry person. At the same time he is actually an excellent scholar–one of the best around. You […]
Question: Why did Saint Cyril murder Hypatia and burn the library of Alexandria? Did he do this for God? Did he kill anyone who didn’t believe in God and burn everything that have nothing to do with the belief in God? Answer: Almost certainly Cyril did not murder Hypatia. Carl Sagen wrote a speculative and […]
John Oakes is teaching a class on the book of Daniel in San Diego Saturdays, beginning March 20. See details below. Outline, power point and recording attached. Daniel Notes Daniel Power Point 2.87 Mb Recordings of all the classes are now available in the ARS store. There will be a five week class titled "Daniel, […]
Question: I have a quick question about Jesus’s resurrection. Is it possible that Jesus’ body was cremated? How would you respond to this claim (I did not make this claim; this is from some random person who came onto my youtube channel and spouted this claim: "Probablyÿ the only reason his ministry lasted to present […]
See below for an essay on the Christian World View by John Oakes, PhD Apologetics and the Christian World View A number of years ago I wrote and published a book which I thought at the time covered all of the important basic topics relating to Christian Evidence for those trying to build […]
Question: I wanted to ask you about how to start a evangelism with a person who believes in the theory of the evolution of man? He thinks this can’t be explained in the Bible. Answer: You will find a number of articles on this at my web site. I suggest one by William Golightly. Christians have […]
Question: Are there any strong extra-biblical sources for the life/works of Jesus of Nazareth? Can you give me the authors/sources? The answer is an emphatic yes. We have at least nine non-Christian sources on Jesus in the first and early second century. There are, of course, dozens of Christian sources on the life of Jesus […]
Question: A friend sent me this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf-P_5u_Hw, about this movement Zeitgeist, I was looking for information about them. They believe that Jesus is a mythical story. What do you think about this? Is there any information that I can read and give to my friend that suport the existence of Jesus versus this video? Answer: I […]
See below for the fourth part in a series of classes on World View by John Oakes, PhD. Apologetics and the Christian World View Part IV In the previous three essays, I have attempted to define the idea of a world view and shown why it is an extremely important thing for all of […]
Question: Hello, I had recently been in a discussion with someone who doubts the historicity of Jesus. When I tried to tell him that his facts were wrong by pointing out to videos on youtube about his historicity, he tried to counter with this: "I’ve seen plenty of those videos before. They never have all […]
Question: Wikipedia makes the claim that 2 Peter might not have been written by Peter. Any evidence to this? Is there evidence that points to Peter actually being the author? Answer: I believe that Peter wrote this book because it was the tradition of the church from a very early date that it was in fact written […]
Question: How about those who born in other religions who have already a deep conviction. It is definitely harder for them to accept the Bible. If they cannot be saved, is it unfair for them if compared with those who were luckily born into a christian family for they have a bigger chance to trust in God? Answer: It is tempting […]
Question: Doesn’t the Bible teach that people in early days of creation (such as Adam and Eve, Noah, etc) had long life spans: Some even had life spans that spanned to 900 years old? I mean, I let it slide that The Book of Job depicts Job as living to be 140 because the book […]
Question: 1. Regarding foreshadows, how much historical evidence is there for existence of many of the early prefigures and foreshadows; and for the accuracy of the biblical accounts? For example, are there any other known accounts regarding Moses and the Exodus, the existence of Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Melchizedek? Obviously I realise these are very early […]
Question: Is contemporary evidence required to establish the historicity of a person from ancient history, such as Jesus Christ or Alexander the Great? I was wondering if contemporary evidence (besides the Bible) is required to establish authenticity of an ancient historic figure. Answer; I suppose that whether contemporary evidence is required will depend on the […]
Click or see below for the report. SE Asia Jan, 2010 Report for Missionary Teaching Trip to Asia January, 2010 January 2-4 Singapore I spent New Year’s Eve flying to Taipei, completely skipping Jan. 1st, landing in Singapore on Jan 2nd. Singapore is truly a unique country. This is my second visit to […]
Question: Hey, I love your website…I’ve found it very resourceful. I have a couplequestions that have been brought up that I can’t seem to give an answerfor. First, I’ve heard and read what Josephus had to say about Jesus. Hementions him, true. But, someone asked me, "If Josephus took the time toaccount to mention Jesus, why […]
Christian and Other World Views: A Power Point. A lesson on world views, including the Christian world view, and the world views of naturalism, postmodernism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jaina, Sikkhism, Confucianism and Islam. First taught by John Oakes in Manila 1/16/2010. Christian and Other World Views 7.49 Mb
Seventh Day Adventism: A power point on the history and teachings of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. See notes below. Taught by John Oakes in Jakarta 1/07/2010. Seventh Day Adventism 155.50 Kb 7th Day Adventism Grew out of Millerite Adventist movement in the 1840s Miller prophesied that Jesus Christ would come back October 22, […]
Roman Catholicism: A Power Point. See notes below. roman_catholicism 149.50 Kb Roman Catholicism A ridiculously brief history of Catholicism: The history of the Christian church can be summarized as the gradual corruption of primitive Christianity into a paganized, hierarchical, Roman Catholic Church. Interestingly, Catholics can legitimately claim that their church traces back to […]
A Defense of Christian Theology: Answering the hardest questions. The Problem of Hell, the Problem of Predestination and the Problem of Pain and Suffering. A presentation given by John Oakes first in Manila 1/17/2010. Defense of Christian Apologetics 2.06 Mb
Logical arguments for the existence of God. A power point. Notes included below. Existence of God 130.50 Kb Arguments for the Existence of God A philosophic question: Does God reveal his nature both through general (natural) and special revelation? On some level, both the cosmological and the teleological arguments assume general revelation is valid. […]
Inspiration and Inerrancy: A Power Point on How We Got the Bible, on supposed Bible contradictions and errors and on the Apocrypha. By John Oakes, first given in Manila 1/16/2010. Inspiration and Inerrancy 4.14 Mb
Question: This is a response, and subsequent questioning of a response that I just read at your website on "prophetic misinterpretations in Matthew." I believe that in the last 6 cited scriptures, you missed, or addressed the wrong aspect of the issue in question. If you could clarify your response to these I would be grateful, […]
Question: I was recently researching the historical reliability of the Bible and I got a tiny bit confused. The reason is that the Old Testament seems to be not very reliable (e.g. the Genesis account, many scholars thinking that the books are not written by original authors, ect.), but the New Testament seems to be […]
Question: My question is this .. was the New Testament originally written in Hebrew? Answer: That is an easy one. No, it was not. It was written in Greek, although some believe that the original Matthew may have been written in Aramaic rather than Greek. At the time Jesus lived Hebrew was more or less […]
Question;: An atheist friend of mine claimed that there a many contradictions or prophetic misinterpretations in Matthew. What is your response. The list is Matthew: 1:22-23, 2:15, 2:23, 8:16-17, 12:18-21, 12:23, 12:40, 16:4, 24:44, 27:9. Answer: These are really rather common and in my opinion fairly shallow criticisms of the Bible. Here are my responses. I […]
Question: Who was the ransom paid to in regards to Jesus’ death on the cross? Many people claim that the ransom was paid to Satan since mankind was enslaved to evil after the Fall. I have a difficult time making sense out of why it was necessary for Jesus to have to pay the ransom […]
This white paper is by Tim Keller. Keller is a pastor for a church in New York and is not a member of ARS. The article is posted at BioLogos.org which is where I found this article. John Oakes Keller White Paper
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