Dr. John Oakes – Page 74 – Evidence for Christianity

Explain how Daniel says Darius asked people to pray to him when we know from other sources that the rulers of Persian and Media were Zoroastrians and would never have allowed themselves to be worshipped

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, History, Reliability of the Bible .

Comment: 1) The Medes became Zoroastrian before the Persians 2)Daniel 6;9 has King Darius signing a decree that no prayer should be directed to anyone except the king. This would be unthinkable for a Zoroastrian and therefore the account cannot be historical. 3) The word for king is totally separate from the word for governor […]

At what age did Daniel die? How did Daniel come to be in Babylon in 606/605 BC

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, History .

Question: 1) At what age did Daniel die? 2) How did Daniel come to go to Babylon in 606/5 BC ? Answer: We know from Babylonian records that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Canaan in 606/605 BC. His father died during that time. The evidence says that Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, but the Jews chose to submit […]

Please explain the historical error in Daniel which has a Persian emperor accepting worship when we know the Persian emperors were devout Zoroastrians.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Comment: Leaving all nitpicking on one side, my main objection to the historicity of Daniel is that the Persians and the Medes were devout Zoroastrians and as such did not even have idols. It would be totally unthinkable for them to even consider being worshipped as a god. Anyone living at the time of the […]

What are Leviathan and Behemoth?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

Question: What are Leviathan and Behemoth? I have books that say they are the hippo and crocodile, I have books that say they are dinosaurs and I have books that say they are mythical creatures. Answer: Leviathan and Behemoth are certainly not dinosaurs and they probably are not a hippo or a crocodile either. In […]

Genesis 7:20 says the water stood more than 22 feet above the highest peaks. Doesn't this draw into question the inerrancy of the Bible unless it is literally true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, The Flood .

Question: The NLT of Genesis 7:20 says the water was “standing more than 22ft above the highest peaks” What may I ask is ambiguous about that? You cannot be “agnostic” about the Word of God. It is perfectly clear in what sense it covered the mountains. The depth of the water matters as much as […]

Are you aware of "Iglesia ni Cristo," a group which teaches that Jesus is a mere man and that Felix Manalo is the fulfillment of Rev. 7:2.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions .

Question: Are you aware of the Church “Iglesia ni Cristo” or the Church of Christ? This Church believes that Jesus Christ is just a “mere man” with extraordinary power given to him by God the Father and that Felix Manalo the founder of this Church is the fulfillment in Rev.7:2. What can you say about […]

What about the evidence that deutro-Isaiah was written after the Persian conquest. (and other questions)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Comment: I notice that you do not include deutero-Isaiah in the list of books that were completed after the Persian conquest. In this, you differ from modern scholars of the Old Testament and I would be interested to know your reasons for so doing. I am currently in the process of reading through the old […]

Please explain the contradiction created in 2 Samuel 24, where it says Satan incited David and 1 Chron 21 where it says God incited David.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Why the change from “God incited” to “Satan incited” in 2 Sam 24 and in 1 Chronicles 21? Ponder also on the theological change from “ha-satan” a helper of God who sometimes asked people hard questions to test their faith such as Job, into “the Prince of this World” and an adversary of God, […]

Ezekiel 26:14 says that Tyre will never be rebuilt but it is there to this day and HAS been rebuilt. Can you explain this?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Ezekiel 26;14 says that Tyre will never be rebuilt but it is there to this day and HAS been rebuilt. Can you explain this? Answer: Yes, but not on the original site. The original site is still basically a bare rock, even today. It has been excavated. The rock Tyre stood on lies just […]

How do you know Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Maybe the Gospel writers fit the details to match the prophetic passages.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Reliability of the Bible .

Comments: What is interesting about the Gospel writers is the way in which they fit the details of the story to match the “prophetic” passages which are pre-existent to the story and are already selected as “must be” parts of the story. How for example do you know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem? The […]

What are the churches from which the four text types of the Greek New Testament (Alexandrine, Western, Caesarean and Byzantine) circulated?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General .

Question: What are the churches from which the four text types of the Greek New Testament (Alexandrine, Western, Caesarean and Byzantine) circulated? Answer: The Western text type will have circulated in the West. Generally, the Western churches are taken to mean North Africa, Spain, Gaul and Italy. The North African churches were very strongly influenced […]

We know that the Essenes interpreted messianic ideas in the Old Testament allegorically–wresting passages from their context. Isn't that exactly what the gospel writers did to make Jesus appear to be the Messiah?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Reliability of the Bible .

Comment: One of the benefits of reading Essene interpretations of Scripture written 100/200 years before the Gospels, is that it enables one to see how religious Jews of the period would happily wrest any passage of Scripture from its clear ancient context and apply it allegorically either to the present or the future. The evangelists […]

What is the history and the importance of the four text types of the Greek New Testament? Is Bruce M

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: My question is can you tell me where specifically did the four text types originate and when they originated and by whom or what local group are most likely to have done so? I understand by Bruce Metzger that using the fathers to locate a certain family of text or reading is also a […]

Please explain the differences between the Septuagint and Masoretic text in relation to your belief in the faithful transmission of Scripture. How does it impinge on your belief in the prophetic element in the OT ?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Please explain to me the differences between the Septuagint and Masoretic text in relation to your belief in the faithful transmission of Scripture. How also does it impinge on your belief in the prophetic element in the OT ? Answer: I have found in my study that the transmission of the original has been […]

Is it not true that the Buddhist scriptures are far inferior to the Christian scripture (by the criteria listed in the question)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, Other Religions .

Question: (note, this is a long series of questions, followed by a general response to all the question) (1) Should the sacred texts of a religion be understandable to anybody that reads it (ex. Buddhist texts are fairly hard to understand in Chinese…even to those that know Chinese)? (2) Should there be a presence of […]

What text type or types do the most early church fathers use? If the Byz. type goes no further than the 4th cent. why then do kjv. only people say that church fathers from the 2nd cent used this type?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Versions of the Bible .

Question: What text type or types do the most early church fathers use? If the Byz. type goes no further than the 4th cent. why then do kjv. only people say that church fathers from the 2nd cent usedthis type? My second question is what are the text types for the earliest versions of the […]

The God Delusion: A Review

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible and Science, The Existence of God .

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins: A Review Richard Dawkins is arguably the best-known evolutionist and atheist today. He has written a number of books explaining modern discoveries as they relate to the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution. Some of his better-known works include The Selfi sh Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, River out of Edenand […]

Please explain to me the discrepancies, both theological and numerical, between 2 Samuel 24 and 1Chronicles 21.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: Please explain to me the discrepancies, both theological and numerical, between 2 Samuel 24 and 1Chronicles 21. Answer: If you read my book Reasons for Belief on the reliability of the biblical texts, you will find the comment that we have a NT which is a virtually perfect copy of the original. With the […]

Please explain about the star named Wormwood in the Bible (rev.8.11)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General .

Question: Please explain about the star named Wormwood in the Bible (rev.8.11) Answer: I am assuming you are aware that the book of Revelation is written in a highly symbolic style. The technical term is apocalyptic literature. In normal writing, the reader is to assume a literal meaning of something unless the context suggests a […]

Is the burial custom in 2 Chron 16:14 an anachronism? I find no knowledge of such a Jewish burial custom.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: I detect an anachronism in the burial practice described in 2 Chron 16:14. To the best of my knowledge there is no Jewish custom recorded elsewhere regarding this clearly ongoing practice. What therefore is its explanation? Answer We do not know all the cultural practices of the Philistines. If the Bible were to mention […]

I would be interested to see any paper trail that takes us back to 1300BC as far as archaeological evidence that supports the Bible.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General .

Question: I would be interested to see any paper trail that takes us back to 1300BC as far as archaeological evidence that supports the Bible. Response: Paper? Paper was invented by the Chinese some time in the early centuries AD. (just teasing… forgive me) Have you read me book, Reasons for Belief? I make the […]

What is the evidence of the 2nd coming of Jesus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in End Times, General .

Question: What is the evidence of the 2nd coming of Jesus? Answer: I am afraid that there is no physical evidence to confirm the second coming of Jesus. This is obvious, given that the second coming is in the future. It is, by definition, impossible to produce evidence of an event which has not yet […]

Who exactly was Paul referring to as ?the lawless one? in 2 Thessalonians 2:8?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General .

Q: Who exactly was Paul referring to as “the lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8? A: Here is the relevant passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12: “Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily shaken from your […]

Do you have an outline of the Passover meal and the coorelations between it and Jesus' life

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Types .

Question: My husband and I are planning a Passover meal for our Bible group. Do you have an outline of the Passover meal and the coorelations between it and Jesus’ life? Answer: I have a friend who is an expert on this. He is Phillip Lester. His e-mail is PPLester@aol.com. He did a Passover seder […]

The Book of Hebrews: Notes and Power Point

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible, PowerPoints .

Is suicide sinful?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Philosophy, Practical Christianity, Social Issues, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I was wondering what philosophical/theological argument could be mustered in favour of the proposition that people should not commit suicide. A bit of background to the question might help. From a secularist perspective, surely we are ultimately going to die anyway. Our lives will necessarily end with a certain degree of pain and suffering […]

Leviticus 26:19 mention iron when the iron age did not start in Canaan until 1150 BC. Doesn't this prove that Moses did not write Leviticus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: There is evidence of proto-Israelite settlement in Canaan around 1400BC. The Iron Age in Canaan is dated to 1150BC at the earliest. How then can Moses be the author of Leviticus when he reports God as speaking of iron in 26;19 when it was not to be discovered until 200 years after his death […]

What is your take on the strange passage Exodus 4:24-27 in which God almost kills Moses?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: What is your take on the strange passage Exodus 4:24-27 in which God almost kills Moses? Answer: I found a web site which presents a range of responses from a Judaic Christian perspective, which I think might be the best. Bottom line, we are not sure why God wanted to kill Moses, but we […]

What is your explanation for the apparent contradiction between Gen 1:11-13 and Gen 1:26-31 with Gen 2:5-7 ?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: What is your explanation for the apparent contradiction between Gen 1:11-13 and Gen 1:26-31 with Gen 2:5-7 ? Answer: I can see why one might ask this perfectly reasonable question. I believe that Genesis 2 is the story, not of creation as a whole, but of the creation of “man.” It is not a […]

What is your explanation for the translation "dome" in Genesis 1:6. Doesn't this show a Hebrew false concept that the heavens are like a dome?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: What is your explanation for the translation “dome” in Genesis 1:6. Doesn’t this show a Hebrew false concept that the heavens are like a dome? Editor’s note: this quote is from the New Revised Standard Version Answer: I looked up the Hebrew word in a Hebrew dictionary. They do not use the word dome […]

What is your explanation for the translation "dome" in Genesis 1:6. Doesn't this show a Hebrew false concept that the heavens are like a dome?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: What is your explanation for the translation “dome” in Genesis 1:6. Doesn’t this show a Hebrew false concept that the heavens are like a dome? Editor’s note: this quote is from the New Revised Standard Version Answer: I looked up the Hebrew word in a Hebrew dictionary. They do not use the word dome […]

How do you interpret "Near Death Experiences," with their commonality as well as the fact that people see a version of their own religion's view of heaven?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions .

Question: What do you say about near death experiences? I’ve heard of certain people having experiences where they are supposedly almost dead and see heavenly places. I’ve even heard some say that people of different religions have NDE’s where they see their own religion’s heaven. It makes me a bit confused, but I think it […]

Is the theory of evolution falsifiable? If not, is it then not a scientific theory?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Science and the Bible .

Question: I was looking at your website and I thought that you had an interesting point to make about Intelligent Design not being falsifiable. Isn’t the same true for macro-evolution? There is no experiment or data that evolution proponents can even conceive of that they will accept to disprove evolution. In that sense, macro-evolution is […]

Bart Ehrman claims the Bible was changed and is unreliable in his book "Misquoting Jesus–The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible." Can you comment on his claims?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have just finished reading a book that has caused me to mistrust the truth I find in the Bible. The book “Misquoting Jesus – The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why” by scholar/author Bart D. Ehrman has raised innumerable questions in my mind as to the validity of what Jesus actually […]

What do you think about the ten ossuaries and the claim by Cameron that they are from the family of Jesus of Nazareth?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General .

Question: I just want to get your opinion on the ten ossuaries that were found in Israel, apparently belonging to the family of Jesus of Nasareth. I watched part of the Discovery Channel program, and I am certainly intrigued. Answer: It is my opinion that the ten ossuaries, or bone boxes, found in Israel have […]

Why do you support intelligent design and what problem do you have with evolution? What problem do you have with "The God Delusion" by Dawkins?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: Sorry if this question is always asked or if you have already answered it. I noticed in one of your articles you said that evolution is not absolute fact and you commend brave people such as Behe for trying to push the idea of Intelligent Design. I myself am a Christian, but most Christians […]

Genocide and the Old Testament

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apologetics, Bible, Philosophy .

Genocide and the Old Testament There is one question which comes up repeatedly, both as I travel and teach for Christian groups and at the web site. The question takes different forms, but in general it goes something like this: If God is such a loving God, how can we explain the fact that […]

How were the gifts of the Holy Spirit given? Does that still happen today?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Miracles, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I want to know about the Holy Spirit and how it did so many miracles in the 1st century through the apostles and other disciples like speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing by laying on of hands etc. Does that stil happen today, if it does is it by God’s Spirit? Answer: Here is what […]

What does Hebrews 6:1 mean?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General .

Question: What does Hebrews 6:1 mean? Answer: Hebrews 6:1 means that there are certain very basic Christian teachings. For obvious reasons, most of these deal with salvation issues, such as baptism, faith and repentance (See Acts 2:36-39). However, in order for a Christian to grow and to remain faithful throughout their lives to God, they […]

If God is a loving God, how could he ask the Israelites to totally wipe out entire nations?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Recently, someone asked me how if God is such a loving God could he tell the Israelites to go and totally wipe out entire nations of people (even the innocent people). He also said that God showed favoritism toward the Israelites in doing so which is something even Christians are not supposed to do. […]

What do you think about Barbara Thiering's book Jesus is the man? Is there any basis for truth in her work?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General .

Question: In 1996/97 I read Barbara Thiering’s Jesus the Man – I have been re-reading it now as someone who thinks they understand and have read more of the Bible – specifically the New Testament in the 10 years since. However, as a “lay man” , one with not a lot of knowledge on research […]

What do you say to those who claim that there is no such thing as moral truth or absolute standard of truth?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Philosophy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: The main thing that bothers me is the view of amorality. What do you say to someone that doesn’t believe (sometimes due to apparent “lack of evidence”) in such things as “good” and “evil” hanging around out there anywhere? Sure they will admit that things happen that are both helpful and detrimental to a […]

Is it sinful for a Christian to attend parties where there is drunkenness, sex and drugs?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Practical Christianity .

Question: Is college partying sinful according to biblical principles? I am a college student myself and I have avoided parties mainly because of all the sinful activities I hear about parties such as drunkenness, sex, drugs, etc. But what I don’t understand is if it is ok for Christians to attend college parties and even […]

Is it true that the idea that the miracles and resurrection of Jesus were only claimed to be myths long after the time of Jesus? Is this not good evidence that Jesus worked miracles?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Miracles, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: If the miracle stories and the resurection are myths started years after the crucifiction wouldn’t there be alternate stories of Christ that would be written down? I don’t know of any stories of a non-miracle working Jesus so isn’t this very strong evidence that the stories are not myths? Why don’t I ever here […]

How or when do you consider someone drifted away or wondered away? And what is the retoration process?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: How or when do you consider someone drifted away or wondered away? And what is the retoration process? Answer: The Bible makes a distinction between a person who has wandered away and someone who has fallen away. Hebrews 6:4-8 describes a person who has become completely unfaithful, who has turned his or her back […]

Were Adam and Eve neanderthals or modern humans?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Creation, General, Science and the Bible .

Question: Were Adam and Eve neanderthals or modern humans? Answer: Adam and Eve were humans. Whether or not neanderthal are humans is debatable, but Adam and Eve were humans. Anthropoligists have failed to prove Neanderthals were not humans. They had different physical features, but we have every reason to believe they were humans and no […]

The Miracles Jesus Did Not Do

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Jesus, Miracles .

The Miracles Jesus Did Not Do Note: This is a chapter in an upcoming book by David Eastman and John Oakes on Miracles, to be published by Illumination Publishers, International in late 2007 or early 2008. It is a truism that you learn almost as much about a person by what they do […]

What is the Christian response to having political affiliations such as being a conservative, liberal, or independent? Should Christians vote? Isn't divisiveness an important issue here?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Practical Christianity, Social Issues .

Question: What is the Christian response to having political affiliations such as being a conservative, liberal, or independent? Does the bible say anything about participating in a political life such as voting, protesting, being a politician, etc? The reason I’m asking is because there are churches that seem to be strongly conservative and then there […]

What does "the evil spirit from LORD" means as stated in 1 Samuel 19:9?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: What does “the evil spirit from LORD” means as stated in 1 Samuel 19:9? Answer: It is a truism that everything which happens is either caused by God or allowed by God. In the case of evil, God allows bad things to happen because such things fall under the free will God has given […]

If God is loving, compassionate and slow to anger, why did Israel put to the sword the women and children in the Old Testament. Isn't that cruel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: In the OT, when the Israelites went to war with their enemies, I read numerous times where God told them to put the women and children to the sword after killing their enemies. Don’t you think this is a very cruel act in killing helpless and defenseless beings? Even in modern warfare, armies don’t […]