Question: How do we show those that think Jesus is Michael that he is not? How might you use Jesus’ prehuman existence to bring this out? Answer: I do not think that "we" need to show that Jesus is not Michael the Archangel. I believe that surely the burden of proof is on those who try to teach […]
Question: I need your help regarding the Sabbath. One of my friends is Thai and he needs to learn about this topic. Please help in this area. If you have any Scriptures regarding this area please share them. Answer: It is hard to know where to start, because I do not know the issue being raised by your Thai […]
Question: Reading John 8:12-41, do you think Jesus in verses 31-32 is referring to what he has just said to the Jews as ‘his teaching’ or do this passage refer to his teaching more generally? The distinction is important as the first interpretation says it is our core belief in understanding who Jesus really is […]
Question: In the case of Acts 2:2-4, is there any evidence supporting the events of the day of Pentecost? Answer: As far as I know, there is no independent extra-biblical source for the events on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 2. Bear in mind that this lack of specific extra-biblical support […]
Question: Can you comment on the material about the "historical Jesus" at commonsenseatheism.com? The featured video clips claim that many of the messianic prophesies were taken out of context to apply to Jesus. Can you respond to particularly the claim that Psalm 22:16 is mistranslated particularly the word "pierced"? Also, Matthew 27:9-10, a prophesy from […]
Question: If someone leaves the church what can he or she do to return? Another question: Does a person who leaves the church lose thier salvation? Answer: The Bible does not prescribe a fixed means by which those who have chosen to leave the church should be returned to the fellowship. We could look to 1 Corinthians 5 […]
Glenn Giles, Elder for the Denver Church of Christ will be teaching a class for the ARS Apologetics Certificate Program in San Diego Friday Dec. 11th and Saturday Dec. 12th. The title is Apologetics, Biblical Criticism and Inspiration. This will be a 10 hour class. The cost is $40 to include dinner on Friday. For […]
Question: If God understands my humanity and sin nature better than I do, why does He still hold me accountable for what I cannot help doing? Answer: This is a very good question. This gets to the heart of the question. Is God truly fair and is he truly just to judge us for our […]
Question: I often read articles from Christians and other Creationists in which most of their time is spent on disproving arguments which are put forward by scientists against Creationism. For example, a great deal of time and effort is dedicated to raising issues inherent in the theory of evolution. In fact, most Creationists have gone […]
Reasons For Belief: A class taught by John Oakes, PhD at Harvard University 10/16/2009. The subject is reasons to believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. See EFC store for the recording Reasons For Belief Harvard 2.76 Mb The Bible: From God or Man? Delos B. McKown: "Christianity is scientifically unsupported and […]
A class taught at MIT by John Oakes, PhD 10/17/09. See below for notes. See EFC store for the recording. The Resurrection of Jesus 914.00 Kb The Resurrection of Jesus An Outline Q: Is it logical to believe that Jesus was raided from the dead? Q: Why is this important? 1. If Jesus […]
Question: If the bible was written so long ago and interpreted in many different ways and has been re-written so many times how can we be sure the version we read today is not complete fiction? Answer: I have answered this question a number of times and in various ways at the web site. I […]
Question: I have a friend who believes that Daniel 11 gets Antiochus’ death incorrect. Is this true? I tend to believe he is wrong however I don’t know the history all that well. Here is what he gave me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_11 The second paragraph speaks about details of his death and how they do no match up with what […]
Dr. John Oakes and Robert Carrillo will be offering a class on Christian Church History Saturdays 9:00-10:30 beginning Saturday 10/10/09. Location will be at The Mission Center 6162 Mission Gorge Rd. Suite A San Diego, CA for the next six Saturdays. Cost for the entire series is $10. For more information or to register, contact Jan at […]
Question: I am studying the timelines in the Bible regarding the lifetime of both Daniel and Esther for a school project and I’m hoping to get all my facts straight. I am confused about the dates from my research and was hoping for some clarity. When I research the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, I find that […]
I RECENTLY READ AN ARTICle WRITTEN BY A CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST EXPLAINING THE MEANING OF 1PETER.3:10-13. I ALWAYS ThOUGHT THAT THIS PASSAGE HAD REFERENCE TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WHOLE WORLD AT ARMAGEDDON. HOWEVER, THE APOLOGIST WROTE THAT 1 PETER.3:10-13 HAD REFERENCE TO NOT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENTIRE PLANET, BUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD […]
Question: I have debated with a friend over the verification of the Bible and he has pointed me in your direction. I ask you, give me one solid fact that would prove God exists. Answer: One cannot "prove" that God exists in a mathematical kind of proof. We can present facts and evidence which makes […]
Question: What do you think about the convictions of Charles Finney about the power of Holy Spirit today? It´s possible pray to receive a miracle? Answer The biblical evidence is that the events at Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) and when Cornelius and his friends were baptized (Acts chapter 10) were unique. The apostles certainly saw […]
Question: Were the Elohim the Anunnaki’s? Answer: Many people try to claim that the Jews borrowed their idea about Jehovah from the neighboring peoples: especially from the religions in Mesopotamia. This is certainly not a new claim. I will admit that there is at least some marginal parallel between some of the concepts the Jewish […]
Jesus and Christian Apologetics. A class taught by John Oakes PhD 9/26/09, on question, Who is Jesus Christ and evidence that the real Jesus is the Jesus of the gospels. See the notes below and the attached Power Point. Power Point Jesus and Christian Apologetics 2.25 Mb Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Our recent […]
Question: I had heard about some debates on whether Jesus was crucified on a Thursday or on a Friday. Tradition teaches that it was a Friday, and we see that tradition in the day called Good Friday. Jesus did say that He would be buried for three days and nights. Those who propose He was […]
Question: I enjoyed reading the PowerPoint "Who Is My Brother?" that is found on this website. I imagine it is sometimes difficult to determine if a particular denomination or other Christian group belongs to the third or fourth layer of fellowship (the third layer being those who are saved Christians and the fourth layer being […]
Question: What evidence for Jesus is there outside the Bible? Answer: Let me supply a set of notes I just put together for a class I am teaching on the subject this weekend. They may not be fully edited, but the notes are fairly complete. John Oakes Extra-Biblical references to Jesus: 1. Tacitus, Roman historian […]
My question is, why are disobedient children stoned in Deuteronomy 21:18-21? Isn’t that cruel? Answer: This is certainly a reasonable question. I will have to say that my first emotional response to this commandment is to say that it certainly seems harsh. I am not sure about cruel, but certainly it appears harsh or like […]
Question: The Philistines did not come to Palestine until circa 1200BC at the time of the invasion of the Sea Peoples. How did Abraham & Isaac come to meet them? Answer: I do not know. Believe it or not, I had never noticed this, which is surprising to me. The evidence, as you point out, […]
Question: I read "Daniel, Prophet to the Nations" recently and was quite awestruck by the prophesies! I’ve been reading online that the Christian persecution under Domitian was historically uncertain and debated. Although the early church fathers routinely mention Domitian, the persecution is seemingly absent from the writings of Tacitus and Suetonius (and other Roman historians). […]
Announcement: Certificate program in Christian Apologetics has now been launched by ARS. See attached announcement. You can now sign up for classes. The three classes available are 1. Prophecy and Christian Apologetics, 2. Science and Christian Apologetics and 3. Apologetics and the Christian World View. For information or to register for these classes, contact Jan Oakes at joakes01@san.rr.com […]
Question: I have a question about the idea of theistic evolution (I have been reading many of the articles under "creation" by you and John Laing). This interpretation seems to resolve many questions such as: Why was Cain was afraid someone would kill him? Who would be living in the city Cain built? etc… (Genesis 4:14-18) […]
Question: On the site http://bibleblunders.com, many claims are made based on failed prophecies and contradictions. Can you please address some of them, Dr. Oakes? Answer: Which ones do you want me to address? I have already responded to most of these supposed contradiction at my web site. If you go the question and answer section, then […]
Question: It seems just about every time I come across a Christian program on TV there is some mention to how we are getting very close to the end of times. Is it reliable for people to draw the conclusion that the coming of Jesus is going to happen in the near future? Answer; That […]
Question: I just read an article that puts forth some pretty convincing evidence that places the validity of Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Suetonius and a few other well known historians that many apologetics use to help confirm the existence of Chirst into question. Just wondering what the names of the other non-christian scholars are to […]
Question: Does God have the power to choose evil? Two conflicting theories are: God DOES have the power to choose evil, but it is so contrary to His nature that He is incapable of actualizing that potential. Other theory is God does not have the power to choose evil yet still has free will because […]
Question: I’m reading the book From Shadow to Reality and have a question on the comment made on page 151 concerning the Levitical sacrificial system. The comment states " The sacrifices for sin definitely were not a pleasing aroma to God and are never described in that way. On the contrary, they involve things which […]
Question: A couple of my buddies always ask about God in the Old Testament: especially about how harsh he can seem to be at times. Have any advice or recommended reading about the topic? Answer: Clearly this is a good question. I have gotten one version or another many times. If you do a […]
Question: Greetings from your brother in Soweto –South Africa. My brother, what scriptures do you use to help someone from the JW’s group to see the truth? I’ve read in Hebrews 1 to guide me and also the scripture in John 1. Thomas also calls Jesus, God It would seem that they have their own Bible, […]
Question: I am not a Christian and had no kind of guided religious upbringing, though I have admittedly felt drawn towards Christianity at times. I never really thought about my origins or the reason for my being. However, lately I have been nearly consumed by those "big questions." The idea that the universe and our […]
Una leccion se ensenado por John Oakes en Madrid Julio, 2009 Click aqui: Jesus: Hombre, Myto o Messiah? 1.62 Mb
Una clase ensanada por John Oakes 2 y 9 de Agosto, 2009 en Santiago, Chile Click aqui: La Historia de la Iglesia 365.00 Kb
Quito, Cali, Lima and Santiago, Summer, 2009 . Quito, Ecuador July 20-24 Quito is a city of 1.8 million nestled in a high valley in the Andes. Being at such high elevation situated exactly on the equator, it always has days exactly twelve hours long and virtually unchanging weather. It is surprisingly cool-in the […]
Question: A- Deuteronomy 30:11-12 says: "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?" […]
Question: I have come across a statement which a 7th Day Adventist claims. They say Jesus and the Archangel Michael is one and the same person. Their reading is in Daniel and also revelation with the war in heaven, I think its chapter 12. I find this hard to believe. What are your views in this? Answer: No, […]
Question: Can you please explain the origin of the trinity belief to me? Answer: The extremely brief answer to your question is that origin of the doctrine of the trinity is the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament (with a little bit of support from the Old Testament). However, this is a grossly simplified […]
Question: Someone shared this with me and I was curious of your thoughts on it. " Daniel B. Wallace disagrees with you. The preposition εἰς can mean many different things and be used numerous ways, including – A spatial use, a temporal use, a use of purpose, a use of result, a use of reference, […]
Question: I wonder just how much evidence some scholars need. What reasoning is required to decide that these two men (Imhotep and Joseph) were not one and the same? What are the odds that any two of the facts are about these two would be identical? What about three, four or five? Well there are even […]
New Class in Christian Apologetics to be Offered: Jesus and Christian Apologetics The fourth in our series leading up to a certificate in Christian Apologetics will be offered Saturdays Sept 26. The class will look at the evidence that Jesus is who he said he is and that he claimed what the Bible said he claimed. […]
Messages from the 2009 ICEC are now available individually at the web site at the EFC store, or you can buy the entire conference at www.ipibooks.com The theme of this year’s International Christian Evidence Conference was "Jesus, the Witness of History." The conference focused on questions about the biblical picture of Jesus as he is […]
June 18-July 6, 2009 John and Jan Oakes Teaching Trip to Madrid and Berlin Madrid and Spain June 19-July 1 I am blessed to be able to travel with my wife Jan. Part of the purpose of the trip is to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Our first stop is Madrid. Here we are met […]
Question: I’m a Christian but I’m finding it hard to rebutt some contradictions of the Bible I believe atheist are taking their questions from this website. http://humanknowledge.net/Philosophy/Metaphysics/Theology/Christianity.html Can the Bible challenge his theories? Answer: It is obviously not possible for me to respond to all the criticism of biblical Christianity at this web site. However, […]
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