Question: I’m confused on why the ten commandments included the law "you shall not kill." Are there exceptions to this rule? Moses himself ordered the death of some people because they sinned against God (Exodus 32: 19-28). And despite the constant wars that occur in the Bible, God even orders his people to kill children (1 Samuel […]
Our third annual Apologetics conference was held June 12-14 in Houston Texas. The theme is Jesus: The Witness of History. A debate under the premise Jesus, Man, Myth or Messiah was held between Dr. Douglas Jacoby and Dr. Robert Price. Conference Flyer debate_flyer and info sheet 413.88 Kb Conference Presenters We request that those who attended fill […]
Question: Who was the 1st person to say that Jesus was God? I’ve heard a lot of people say that early Christians believed that Jesus was nothing more than a great prophet. Which leads to the question, how do we know that Jesus really is God, and not just a prophet? Answer: That is […]
Question: I’ve heard a lot of people in the past use Luke 10:1-2 to support the idea that we should all do "cold contact" evangelism. When I look at this verse, I see that it says not to "greet anyone on the road" (verse 4). Does Luke 10 really apply to cold contact evangelism? Answer: […]
Question: 1- What does the Bible say about witchcraft? 2- Can a Christian can be a victim of bewitchment? of witchcraft? 3 – When is it the invocation of the blood of Jesus against the demons when you pray? Answer: The first question is very easy, the second question is hard to give a hard […]
Some of my friends say there is evidence that during the reign of Constantine and the meetings at that time, many scholars met and decided which books to put in the Bible and eliminated others that didn’t fit their agenda and they changed the wording of many of the verses and deleted others. Yet the […]
Question: What are the diseases associated with demon possession in the New Testament (for example in Matthew 4:24; Luke 8:27, and Luke 8:26-39.)? Also, during the time of Jesus, what was the meaning of being possessed by a demon? Answer: Many commentators have noticed a similarity between the symptoms of demon possession described in the New Testament […]
Scientific Materialism/Naturalism an article by John Oakes, PhD Apologetics and the Christian World View Part II Scientific Materialism/Naturalism In the previous essay we looked at why people ought to think carefully about their view of the world, and at the importance of forming and holding to a consistent world view. We have considered a […]
A journal for John Oakes’ trip to teach in Korea and the Philippines 1/2-1/18/2009 Seoul/Manila 2009 Journal Seoul, Korea Jan 3-6, 2009 I arrived in Incheon Airport, one hour from Seoul. Seoul is a city of 12 million + inhabitants. It is a prosperous industrial city where everyone is in a hurry. Korea appears […]
christian_theology_outline and infoDr. John Oakes and Robert Carrillo will be teaching a class on Christian Theology on Saturdays starting 3/21 in San Diego from 9:00-10:30. See attached information sheet. The location will be the clubhouse at Portofino in Tierra Santa (10690 Escobar Dr, San Diego 92124). Recordings of the classes are also attached. Christian Theology Outline Power Point 2.46 Mb […]
Question: I am very confused about the identity of Jesus. If he is God, why did he offer worship and pray to his father? and if he is God, why does he not refer to himself as God? Answer; I will have to admit that the biblical doctrine of Jesus and his divinity is hard to […]
Question; I have question about the Book of Enoch. In Jude 1:14, Enoch’s prophecy is quoted from. Why was the book of Enoch not included in the Holy Bible? Answer: We do not have a detailed account of the process by which the Jewish scribes chose what books to include or to not include in the canon of the […]
Question: What is the point of, or the reason for, the difference between the premodern notion of “reason” and the modern notion? What are the pluses and minuses of each? 2. How do you think reason is related to : (a) authority (b) love (c) intuition: (d) mysticism (e) symbolism (f) hope 3. How . […]
Question: Please explain to me Genesis 2:21-23. It’s about God creating woman by taking one of the ribs in man(adam). It says that God created man from the dust thru the breath of his nostrils. Why did God create woman by taking one of the ribs of the man? What is the purpose or lesson that i […]
Question: And another question about Daniel. I’ve calculated the date to 31-32 A.D. and other scholars do that as well, but wasn’t Jesus born like 6 or 7 B.C ? If he only lived 33 years, that would make him riding into Jerusalem at 27 A.D. Isn’t that date incorrect then? Answer: You need to get […]
ARS offered a class by Dr. Robert Kurka of Lincoln Christian College in San Diego March 6,7. flyer20world20view20class World View Syllabus The outlines from the class are now available. Click here: a_case_study_the_problem_of_suffering class_notes/outline handout_a_different_name_or_a_different_god
Question: I am a 23 year old Christian but I feel I am getting carried away by the talk of Muslims who say that Jesus is a prophet only and God can never have a Son. Answer: I have heard Muslim arguments that God cannot have a "Son" because God is one and for God to have […]
Question: I have a friend who is a member of Seventh Day Adventist. He mentioned the observance of Sabbath days (Saturday), and the Law according to the Old Testament. He said that when Jesus died the ceremonial law has been fulfilled while the moral law still stands. is this true? They don’t eat pork and […]
Question: I don’t really consider myself a Christian anymore, more of a defender of Scripture. I just wanted to see someone answer why most Christians have done away with Sabbath (or replaced it), have done away with the dietary laws, and have adopted such horrible holidays such as Christmas as some sort of feast to […]
Question: What year did Jesus get baptised? Answer: We cannot say with absolute certainty the year Jesus was baptized, but using biblical data we can give a date with an uncertainty of one year or, at most two or three years. To establish the date of the baptism of Jesus, one must first establish the […]
Question: When a baby accidentally dies or is aborted are they are going to heaven or hell? Answer: I believe that infants and young children are innocent and that they will be with God. They will not be in hell. To me, this seems rather obvious, but the question had been confused by one of […]
Question: I have heard that Christianity has a lot of pagan influence, can you comment on this? Answer: Believe it or not, this is actually a fairly complicated question. There are several aspects of how to answer the question. First, how much Pagan influence was there in the original Christianity taught by Jesus and the apostles. […]
Question: Our senior high pastor recently resigned and tit was brought to light what he thought were termed inconsistencies, which made him doubt the inerrant quality of the Bible. For example, in the same verse of scripture 2 Sam 8:4 the different versions don’t agree. The youth in my group want to know why the different versions differ, […]
Question: Why should a Christian speak in tongues? Answer: I believe that in the twety first century God does not want Christians to be speaking in tongues. There are two possible meanings of your question. I will try to give a very brief answer to both. One possible interpretation is you may be asking why […]
Question: Humans have been created as images of God, animals have not. Humans have souls and spirits, but do animals lack both or which one? I have´nt yet heard a good explanation on this and my understanding of this so far tells me at least some animals, which have distinct personalities and higher intelligence, ought […]
Question: I encountered a study of the New Testament, in the book of Matthew where it stated that Joseph waited for Jesus to be born before getting physically intimate with Mary. Do we have scriptures supporting this or is just our faith and knowledge about God that He won’t allow such intimacy between the two while Mary is […]
Question: I would like to find out something with regards to studying the book of Revelation. To be honest Revelation is one of the books I have not read except just the letters to the churches. How should one study this book and how should one interpret the things that are going on in that […]
Comment: I am not impressed with your endorsement of "theistic evolution". This position is nothing more than a fence-straddling compromise to make evolution mutually compatible with creation and it will never work! Evolutionists simply refuse to allow God the glory to suddenly and spectacularly create, as in "Let there be light" (Gen 1:3) and "He […]
Question: What is the meaning of Matthew 11:10? "This is the one about whom it is written: I will send my messendger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you go." Answer: In this passage, Jesus is telling his followers that John the Baptist is the promised "Elijah, who is to come." The […]
Question: Do we have to attend and become a member of the church to be accepted into heaven Answer: It is my experience that those who ask such a question are usually looking for a way to justify their lack of obedience to what is clearly a commandment of God. I really hope such is […]
Question: Please explain to me the meaning of the passage in Hebrews 10:26-31. "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Answer: The Passage in Hebrews is talking about those who, once becoming a Christian, choose to return to willful sin over a continued time, making a mockery of […]
Question: I have read your Q&A’s about Armageddon and the end of times. I have noticed that you have stated that not all prophecy has been fulfilled, “Any passage which describes the coming again of Jesus or the final Judgment Day will clearly be fulfilled in the future”. I was wondering if you are stating […]
Question: I get confused sometimes with interpretation in general of the Bible. Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, etc. All have different forms of theolgical understandings of scripture that has resulted in various denominations. Why, and how do you decide which one to agree with more or less?? Answer: The particular false teachings you are […]
Question: I have been reading some articles on Wikipedia lately about different categories of sexual preference and gender identities. One interesting category is "intersexual people." These people are ones whose biological sex is ambiguous because they have both male and female anatomies. Many in the past and even today believe that such people cannot be […]
Many atheists seem to dismiss the belief in the "supernatural". Is the word supernatural in the Bible? Are Christians making assumptions, or portraying God in a way that is non-Biblical. I probably haven’t thought about this much, but saying "supernatural" means saying "magic" or "impossible" to a non-Believer. How can we explain this to a […]
I have a friend who is growingly convinced that Jesus has already returned (fall of the temple 70 AD). I have been seeking to understand his point of view and while it answers some questions it presents a myriad of others. Do you have any thoughts that you might be able to share? Answer: One […]
Question: Do you believe that those who believe in theistic evolution will be pleasing to God on judgement day? Why are Christians turning to the world views and compromising the basics of God being the Creator? Is it appalling to any other Christian Leaders in the fellowship of ICOC that leaders are encouraging this type of […]
A review by John Lang review_of_evolutionary_creation 366.63 Kb
Question: Who put all of the books of the Bible together in one book, and how do we know that they were right? Answer: The logic of the answer to this question is fairly simple, but the evidence is a bit involved. In order to give you a sufficient answer, I suggest you read the […]
Question: I don’t understand the whole "hardening your heart" idea in the Bible. For example in Hebrews 6:4-7, is the situation that the person can try to repent and cannot be restored or is it because their heart is hardened so they won’t repent or turn to God? The Bible says that He will always forgive us when we turn to […]
A message by Philip about the relationship between Hannukah and Christmas (with a little apologetics thrown in!) Messiah and the Lights of Hanukkah Hanukkah, the Jewish winter holiday also known as the "festival of Lights" derives its name from the idea of "rededication." It commemorates deeds of courage and faith among a Jewish army […]
Question: Could you kindly elaborate 2 Cor 6:14? Does that mean we cannot date/marry non Christians? Answer: Believe it or not, I have gotten virtually this exact question a number of times, which is really surprising given that this is a Christian evidences web site. Apparently a lot of people use this passage to teach […]
Question: Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so mean, and unmerciful, but God in the New Testament is gracious, loving, and merciful? Answer: Yours is a very common misconception of both the Old and the New Testament. There are two misconceptions here. First, it is common to view the portrayal of God […]
How did the Muslim religion get its start? Answer; The religion was started by Mohammed. He claims to have had a vision and a series of visitations by the angel Gabriel. He began his ministry in AD 610, at the age of 40. Mohammed created a religion fashioned after Judaism, about which he had a […]
Why does God not heal amputees? Answer: God can and even has healed people with disfigured limbs. There are a number of examples in the gospels of Jesus healing a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years (John 5:1-15), a crippled man who was let down through a roof to where Jesus […]
Question: 1. Why would an all knowing benevolent God give such ridiculous laws? Not using two different types of fibers? Cutting off the hand of a woman that grabs the private parts of the man that fights her husband? Not touching a woman for seven days after the beginning of her period? What is that???? The almighty […]
Question: I have a question about Jehovah Witness’ belief that it is a sin to have a blood transfusion. They cite scripture (Lev17, and Act 21:25) that says that it is not permitted to take in blood from an animal or bird. They say that it also includes people. What is the best way to […]
Question: What are the five miracles in the Old Testament? Answer; I have no idea. There are a LOT more than five miracles in the Old Testament. If you are interested, I have published a book on miracles which includes a chapter on Old Testament miracles. It is titled "That You May Believe." It is available […]
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