Question: Out of curiosity, how do you address the problem of Israel’s population in Exodus? Supposedly I’ve heard that the increase in population from 70 to 600,000 isn’t realistic? Answer: I can see how one might wonder about this. Well, let us assume 430 years for the time in Egypt. I am not at all […]
Questions: 1. Moses was prevented from crossing the Jordan and entering the promised land by God, because of Numbers 20. If the promised land is a foreshadow of heaven, and Moses did not enter it, are we to infer that Moses did not make it to heaven? 2. We can see how God has protected […]
Question: I’m just curious; if there was nothing before Adam and Eve when did the dinosaurs exist? Answer: According to scientific evidence, based on fossils radioisotopic and other kinds of data, we know that dinosaurs lived from about 240 million years ago until 65 million years ago, at which time it appears that the last […]
An Article by John Oakes, PhD describing four Christian views of evolution, along with strengths and weaknesses of the four views. This essay is intended as a guide for the upcoming forum at the 2010 ICEC in Irvine, CA. Four Christian Views of Evolution John Oakes 6/3/10 We at ARS will be sponsoring a […]
Question: Looking at Mark 9:1 and 1 Cor. 15:51, it is clear that both Jesus and Paul were mistaken in expecting, the arrival of the Kingdom of God in the case of Jesus and in Paul’s case, the second coming, in the lives of some of those present in each situation. How do you cope […]
Question: When did Jesus become sin ? 1)When baptised by John the Baptist? 2)When he was tempted by Satan was he carrying our sin? 3)What does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? 4)When he was on the cross? Answer: Jesus "became sin for us" on the cross. This is why Jesus cried, "My God, My […]
As part of the 2010 ICEC John Clayton will be giving a public lecture titled Why I Left Atheism. Clayton was once a devoted atheist who set out to write a book "The Bible: A Book by Ignorant People in and Ignorant Age" The result: he became a Christian! 7:30 PM Location: 10 Goodyear, Irvine, […]
Question: I have recently come across this website apparently relating toward prophecy in the Bible (http://www.pillar-of-enoch.com/index.html). In the website, there are articles of apparent prophecies in Ruth, Ester as well as other books of the Bible. How should we respond to anyone who may bring these viewpoints up? Answer: I spent some time at this […]
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Question: Are there any specific arguments you can make that would make the possibility of an afterlife highly likely? For example, what about arguments for the soul, the resurrection of Jesus, or whatever? I keep running into people who say that when we die, we’re just dead. How would you respond to this? If we really […]
Notes for an OT survey class taught by John Oakes, PhD in 2004. OT Survey Notes
Question: How can one refute the ideas presented in Michael Drosnin’s Bible Code or other premillennialist viewpoints? Don’t these types of concepts hurt the integrity and validity of scripture? Answer: My answer with respect to Michael Drosnin and premillenialists will be very different. I believe it is not fair to lump premillenialists together with Bible […]
Pregunta: ¿Hay alguna base bíblica o escritura que soporte que ayunemos parcialmente o de algúna cosa por determinado tiempo? ¿es igualmente aceptable y agradable para Dios? Muchas gracias por tu atención a nuestras inquietudes. Respuesta: .No hay apoyo bíblico, por lo que yo sé de un ayuno parcial o para el ayuno de algo distinto […]
Question: I want to know if you have a class on Isaiah 55:6-7. How would you explain this passage? Answer: Thanks for your kind words. No, I do not have a class on Isaiah 55. I believe that the passage you mention has a fairly straightforward interpretation. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; […]
Question: Is there any [strong] evidence that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written after 70 AD? I’ve been browsing wikipedia and found that some scholars believe that those 3 gospels, specifically Luke, believe that it was dated sometime after 80 AD to maybe around 125 AD. Is there any [strong] evidence […]
Question: God cannot and will not tolerate sin. "The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) If this is so, then why did God allow sin to occur? If he is all-knowing, before he created the world, didn’t he know that sin would occur? If he hates sin, and he is the creator of all […]
Este clase se ensenado por John Oakes, PhD 8 de Mayo, 2010 para el Proyecto Esdras en DF Mexico. Cuatro Perspectivas de la Evolucion 3.88 Mb
Question: There is a link to an audio message by Darrel Falk available on Douglas Jacoby’s website. The title of the talk is “Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology”. In this talk, Darrel talks about Noah and the Flood as follows: "We can use science to test the story of Noah, and when we […]
Question: I’ve recently learned about these so called Deuterocanonical books that are accepted by Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxs, but not by Protestants. I even came across this from an Orthodox Christian (not a friend of his btw) on Facebook who claims that this predicts the coming of the Messiah: "The Book of Wisdom was the […]
Question: I have searched the Q&A’s and have not found an answer to this question. Is there a resource or an answer that you have to the following: If the point of us being on earth is to give us the opportunity to choose God, and suffering causes us to become more like Christ(simplified for […]
Question: It seems that the ideal of secular humanism is to do whatever benefits the well being of mankind. Does the idea of secular humanism conflict with God? Or does secular humanism put people on a pedestal above God? Answer: Secular humanism is a philosophy and world view which includes an assumption that the physical/natural […]
Question: I have a question about the Big Bang. Does the Big Bang state the the universe came from nothing? If so, would it support the idea of the genesis account? The reason I ask this is that I came across this on the internet and I wanted to get your thoughts on it: "Considering that […]
Question: I have a friend who suggested that I should get a Hebrew Bible because of supposed corruption with the translations. While I find his reasoning questionable, are there any current Bibles with the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages that are trustworthy? Answer: This is a good question! I believe that you will not […]
Pregunta: Las causas de los desastres, terremotos, huracanes etc. Ud. explico que eso es bueno para nuestro planeta y estoy de acuerdo. Pero como podemos explicar que estas causas tambien ocasionan la muerte en las personas? Le agradeceria mucho su ayuda en estos temas Respuesta: Para nosotros como seres humanos, la muerte es trágica, […]
Question: I am writing a paper on Soteriology for the Chicago MDA (ministry development academy)class I am in. Any research/book suggestions? We went through Shelley’s, ‘Church History in Plain Language’ for the class. Answer: You are giving me a rather broad topic. I assume you paper has some aspect of salvation theology involved. Is this a general paper or […]
Atheism: A Falsified Hypothesis. An essay by Brian Colon, a member of the ARS board. www.KnowItsTrue.com 4/28/2010 Atheism: A Falsified Hypothesis by Brian Colón Several Atheists like to complain that Theism, unlike Atheism is unfalsifiable. If this is true, then it means that Atheism can be proven false, Theism cannot. Many Atheists consider this […]
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, […]
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