Teaching Trip to Brazil by John and Elizabeth Oakes 8/15-8/26/08 Report on Teaching Trip to BrazilAugust 15-26, 2008 Rio de Jainero Aug 16-18 It took my daughter Liz and I 24 hours to travel from San Diego to Dallas, to Sao Paulo, switching airports in order to fly to Rio de Jainero. We are pretty […]
Question: I was reading the website of Yusuf Estes. A muslim apologist who used to be a Christian Minister. He claims that in his study of the Bible he saw the Bible is littered with contradictions, and that after reading the Koran he saw it had no errors and so could only be from God. How […]
Question: I noticed that you indicated in a question concerning how many were in Jesus’ family, that he may have had at least 3 sisters. My question is this. If Jesus had such a large family and Jews were noted to care for their parents, why does Mary go to live under the care of the apostle […]
Question: The Bible says in 1 Corithians 11:10 "for this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head." Why does it say that a woman should have a cover on her head because of the angels? Answer: You should know that 1 Corintians 11:10 is […]
Question: Reading in the Old Testament I came across a few things: many times it is said that angel of the Lord came to people, then the next line it is said that it was God who came e.g. Genesis 18 – talking to Abraham (those 3 men were angels or God?), Exodus 14 – Numbers 9:15…, Judges […]
Why is it that the latest book published on the archeology of Palestine, namely "The Bible Unearthed" by Finkelstein & Silberman flatly declares that the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan never happened ? Answer: You will have to ask them. I have enough trouble explaining why I say what I say, never mind taking […]
Editor’s note: Since this article was written, a new paper which appears to identify Darius the Mede as Cyaxares II the Mede has been published. This appears to more or less settle the question. We recommend you read this paper. It is at http://www.academia.edu/9787699/Darius_the_Mede_A_Reappraisal Question: Why is it that “The Cambridge History Of Judaism” knows nothing […]
Question: A new question has been submitted by Francisco (fjgoulart@gmail.com) on [08/21/08]: Everytime I read the gospels I wonder how possible it was to keep Jesus’s exact words in each of the writings. Thus, I have a question: Is it possible that someone took notes while walking around along with Jesus, maybe one of hs disciples? Answer: This […]
Question: I know that we are all descendents of Adam and Eve, but what about the cavemen who proceeded them? Aren’t they the earlier forms of humans or are they a different kind of species? (Similar to how gorillas are almost identical to humans genetically) When we look at the genealogy in the Bible, it shows that […]
Question: How can you explain Matthew 12:7? Doesnt it say that God offers mercy and not sacrifice? How, then, can Jesus be the Sacrifice? Answer: As a general rule, when one finds what might appear to be a contradiction in the Bible, the first thing to do is to look at the context of the passage […]
Question: I noticed a curious thing tonight at bible talk. One of the passages we were asked to look at was Mark 11:22 – 25. I read a little further and noticed that there is no verse 26. Chapter eleven jumps from verse 25 to 27. What happened to verse 26? Answer: There is a […]
Question: I was wondering as a Christian, how sure are we that Matthew the Disciple of Jesus wrote the Gospel that bears his name and if he did, when can we assert he wrote his Gospel? Answer: I wish I could say that we know for sure that Matthew wrote this gospel and that we […]
Question: If you agree that the “appearance of age” theory can be rejected, what are the alternative ideas that you do believe? I remember that you believe that there may still be dinosaurs in Africa dwelling in uncharted territories. Do you still believe this? Although I haven’t seen “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, […]
Question: Why do some Christians believe Mark 16:15-16 is for us and Mark 16:17-18 is not for us but for the apostles? Answer: Before answering your question, let me point out something very important to know about Mark 16:9-20. Most scholars believe that it is quite likely this passage was not in the original book of […]
Question: A new question has been submitted by Karen (lilcricket229@aol.com) on [08/11/08]: In Genesis 6:3 God shorted mans lifespan to no more than 120 years, but Jacob live 147 years, and according to Exodus 6:16,18, and 20..three of Joseph’s brothers live 130+ years. Can you point me to what I am missing? Am I misreading […]
Question: The LDS church is very large. If The Book Of Mormon is not true then how come the church has been so prosperous? I am not saying that they are right but certainly they are doing goods things to earn God’s blessing. Answer: It is true what you say that Mormonism has grown fairly […]
Announcement: ARS will be sponsoring a two-part 10-hour class on the role of prophecy in Christian Apologetics September 6 and 13, 2008 in San Diego, California. Announcement: Two-Part class to be offered Sat. September 6th and 13th: The Role of Prophecy in Christian Apologetics The board of ARS is excited to announce that we will […]
Question: This has been bothering me for a long time, if Christianity is the true religion, why are there Christians converting to Islam? Answer: The fact that Christianity is the true religion (ie that is tells the correct story about God) does not prevent people from being Hindu, Buddhist, Confucionist or Islamic. People reject Christianity […]
Question: Is the Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ? Answer: Joseph Smith certainly claimed that it was. This claim is found on the title page of the Book of Mormon. The simple answer is NO WAY. Joseph Smith showed no legitimate signs of being a prophet. He made no predictive prophecies which later […]
Question: Can you tell me About Baptisam? Without Baptisam can we be saved? Answer: All I can do on this one is go by what the Bible says. A good place to look is the first gospel sermon, preached by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, which is found in Acts chapter 2. After explaining to his […]
Question: Is saving grace conditional or unconditional? Answer: There is a sense in which this is a trick question, although I am sure you had no intention of posing a trick question. It reminds me of the situation in which Jesus was asked about whether one should pay taxes to Caesar. Simply saying either yes […]
Question: One might say it is unfair, that God might judge the world before some people (who are so very remote) ever get a chance to hear the message. What do you think? Answer: This is a very common question. I get it quite often at the site. It is a good question. My response is […]
Question: Is the situation in Irael just now, prophecy being fulfilled? Should we as Christians be concerned for the Israeli people? Answer: The quick answer is a definite no. I discuss in some detail the premillenialist view and the tendency to view modern events as fulfillment of prophecies in Revelation, Daniel or Ezekiel in an appendix […]
Question: Should christians or Elders today practice putting oil on their sick (siblings or relatives) and pray over them for healing? Is this something we shouldn’t be doing or should be doing? Answer; You question, I assume, is a reference to James 5:14-15. Here, James advises those who are sick to call upon the elders […]
Question: Why does the genealogy of Christ go from Adam to Joseph, when Joseph was not the father of Jesus (The Holy Spirit conceived Christ)? Answer: Actually, the genealogy in Luke goes through Joseph, but the genealogy of Jesus goes through Mary in Matthew. That is what most scholars accept. The reason for this is […]
Question: With all of the different dates that are floating around re: the manuscripts – especially those of the 4 major gospels – what dates do you rely on and how are those dated (e.g. carbon dating, etc)? Answer: One thing for sure is that we cannot use carbon dating to determine the date that […]
An outline on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life by John Oakes, PhD The Holy Spirit The Facts About the Holy Spirit Genesis 1:2 The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." (1 Samuel […]
A Response to The God Delusion: Power Point 21/07/2008,19:46 John M. Oakes, PhD Click the link below to see an outline of the class, or on the power point icon above to view the power point. A Response to Scientific Materialism and The God Delusion Richard Dawkins, author of A River out of Eden, […]
Hebrews: Fate or Freedom 21/07/2008,19:41 An outline of the class can be seen by clicking on the link below, or click on the power point icon to see the power point presentation. by John M. Oakes, PhD Fate or Freedom June 26, 2008 Outline: I. Extremely brief overview of Hebrews II. Brief introduction to […]
Question: I have been needing some evidence to prove evolution wrong. Could you help but put it in wording for a thirteen year old to underderstand? Answer: The problem with your request is that there is no evidence which proves evolution wrong. In fact, the scientific evidence in support of evolution is quite strong. Perhaps you […]
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John Oakes June 20-July 14, 2008 Report on Missionary Visit John Oakes June/July 2008 London and Scotland June 20-30 This is my fourth visit to the UK, so by now I have many established friendships with which to be reacquainted. My wife Jan and I traveled first to London. We visited the South region […]
Question: How, John, can you state so confidently that hostages were taken and that some items from the temple were taken." This clearly is what you would like to be able to establish in order to be able to clear up the conflict between 2 Kings 24:1 and Daniel 1:1. The author of Daniel transfers things that […]
Question: 1) Dan. 5:30 Belshazzar dies – Darius becomes king of Babylon 2) Dan 6:28 Daniel prospers during the reign of Darius and (later) Cyrus (Daniel 1:21) 3) Dan 9:1 Darius is said to be the son of Xerxes (Ahasuerus) 4) It is a historical fact that the conqueror of […]
Question: When did the ascension happen, on the first day of the new week as stated in Luke 24:51 or was it 40 days later, as stated in Acts 1:3? Answer: Of course, it was about forty days later. Luke does not say when it happened. The scene in Luke 24:33-49 takes place in Jerusalem, as […]
Question: I am currently reading your book on "Reasons for Belief" and I am learning so much new information that has been very faith lifting. I have recently come across a video on CNN about a certain tablet that looked similar to the one you talked about in your book. The reporters are calling it the […]
Question: Daniel 1:21 says that Daniel remained in the Babylonian court until the first year of Cyrus, which as you say, was 539/8BC, the year Cyrus conquered Babylon and became king of Babylon as attested by Ezra 5:13, as well as king of Persia as attested by Ezra 4:5. When did Darius the son of […]
A tablet discovered ten years ago has ink writing on it. It has been dated to the first century B. C. The tablet appears to mention a resurrection of the messiah on the third day. This find may prove to be very significant. Article by Ethan Bronner below (from http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/05/africa/06stone.php) Tablet ignites debate on […]
Questions: 1. Our GOD knows everything; even all thoughts before it appear to mind then why did he let Lucifer have a prideful thought? 2. In the begining how did the marriage of Cain take place as there were no women in that time(except Eve)? 3. Paul has written in 2 Corinthians 12:7 that he has wounded in his body. […]
Question: I’ve been wondering with regards to the Sabbath. Why do the 7th day Adventists still keep the Sabbath? I had an encounter with one of them and found that they practice Christianity much like I do. The only thing was that of the Sabbath. I then wanted to do a study but couldn’t wrap […]
Question: Is it true that parts of Noah’s ark where found in Turkey? Answer: The simple answer is no. Many have looked all over the region of Mt. Ararat and a number of expeditions have been made to the top of Ararat. A number of people have claimed to have found the ark or evidence […]
Question: I am reading your book on Daniel after listening to the sermon you gave out in Riverside back in 2005 about the book of Daniel. This was prompted by a read through the Bible were I am currently in Daniel. I notice in most versions the "ab" is translated father in Dan 5:18. However, […]
The purpose of this paper by William Golightly is to seek a solution to the problem that is consistent with well-supported scientific claims, but at the same time is also consistent with our view that the book of Genesis, like the rest of the Bible, is God’s Word. Genesis and the Beginnings of Humanity How […]
Question: Can you please explain to me Numbers Chapter 23:19? Wouldn’t that disprove the trinity? Can you please help me understand contradictions in the Bible? I am very confused with these. Answer: This is an interesting question. The answer involves how the phrase "son of man" is used in the Bible. Let me discuss "contradictions" in […]
Question: I am having a hard time convincing someone I am studying with about the Oneness of Jesus Christ and God. He has argued that if Jesus and God is one why is it that Jesus prayed to the Father/God, if He really is God. Can you please give me Scriptures and your insight about the Scripture about […]
Question: Please, explain me, what does it mean "to pray to the Hole Spirit". Yesterday during the lecture about the Hole Spirit this phrase was said twise. I don’t understand how to pray to the Hole Spirit, and i never saw this in the Bible. Answer: I am sure you pray to God the Father […]
Questions: In my study I have come to realize a few things. One of them is that Paul, "called to be an apostle", never really knew Jesus. How then can he claim that "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you…" (1 Corinthians 11:23)? How can he formulate theologies that […]
Question: When one reads your materials you seem to claim(though not clearly) that the four gospels recorded in the New Testament are the only ever written. However, nowadays some reseach has proven the existence of other gospels for instance "the Gospel according to JUDEA". Do you have anything to say about this? Answer: Yes, […]
Question When God created the heaven and the earth the Bible says the seventh day God rested. But when one thinks we realise that "rest" is a characteristic of imperfection. Can we say instead that God took one day to relaxe? Is it a translation mistake? Answer: The word translated "rested" in Genesis 2:2,3 is the Hebrew word […]
Question: Would you say that Proverbs 25:17 applies in our one another relationships as Disciples? Justin; I would say that this proverb principally applies to our neighbor who is not necessarily our brother in the church, but in principle it could even apply to our relationship with other Christians. Of course, as with Proverbs in […]
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