Dr. John Oakes is now leading a church planting in Merced, California. His lessons and sermons will be posted here. There is another, earlier article, with many sermons and lessons from 2022 to 2025. Here is the link: Earlier Merced Sermons More recent sermons are below! 6/7 Judges III Deborah Savior of Israel […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of classes Winter, 2026 at the University of California, Merced. Dr. Oakes covered topics in which Christianity interacts with modern culture. Topics include Bioethics, Gender Issues, War and Peace, Christianity and Race, Christianity and Politics, Abortion and more. Some, but not all, of these topics are not directly addressed […]
Dr. John Oakes recently gave an apologetics/Christian evidence lecture at the University of California, Merced on the claims of Jesus, the miracles, of Jesus, fulfilled prophecies of Jesus, and the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The PPT and audio are posted here. Claims of Jesus PPT Who Is Jesus Lecture Audio
Scott Buchannan has written an excellent article on the prophetic meaning of Daniel 11:36-45, with an assist from Dr. John Oakes. The consensus opinion of scholars is that Daniel was written after the events prophesied in Daniel 11:1-35, undermining the very idea of biblical inspiration. The same scholars claim that the subsequent prophecy in Daniel […]
Dear Reader: I do not normally publish articles written by others, but, once in a while, I read one which is so good, I publish it at the site. This is one exception. Greg Koukl is one of the preeminent apologists working today. He published this article which is a defense of the reality of […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture titled “The Bible and Evolution” at UC Merced 2/28/2025. He presented the idea that evolution is a viable scientific theory, but that the evidence points very strongly to the conclusion that the process is not a fully natural, random one, but that God has intervened at various times and […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a ten-part, twenty hour class on Christian Apologetics for a ministry training program in Haiti. The class will be taught in English, but translated into French. Notes, power point and audio will be posted, with the notes in English, but the PPT and audio in both languages. Existence of God […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a public lecture at UC Merced in Rm SSB 120 Friday 9/27 at 7:00 on the relationship between History, Archaeology and the Bible, showing the historical reliability of the Bible. If the Bible is reliable history, then the stories of Abraham, Moses and David are a record of how God […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on answering difficult questions for the West Coast School of Ministry Fall, 2024. Audio and Power Point are here: Answering Difficult Questions PPT Hard Questions Audio I Hard Questions Audio II Hard Questions Audio III Hard Questions Audio IV
Dr. John Oakes will be taught an in-depth Christian Evidence class, sponsored by the Western US ICOC Teachers Service Committee, Sept/Oct, 2024. All notes, power points and audio for the students are here. Existence of God Power Point Existence of God Notes Existence of God Audio Evidence For Jesus PPT Evidence […]
Dr. John Oakes and his wife Jan are on an anniversary travel expedition to Ireland and England. The trip includes teaching for churches in the London area, so we will be posting notes, audio and power point from the lessons taught. If you are in the London area, you are invited. Information below. Lessons taught […]
Dr. John Oakes is doing a series of classes on Christian Apologetics for the student group at UC Merced this Spring. Notes, PPT and audio are here: Existence of God PPT Existence of God Notes Existence of God Audio History, Archaeology and Bible PPT History Arch and Bible Notes History […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching an Old Testament Survey course for the West Coast School of Ministry this Fall. He will be posting notes, power point and audio here. Old-Testament-Survey-Notes Old-Testament-Survey PPT OT Survey I Audio OT Survey II Audio OT Survey Audio III OT Survey Audio IV OT Survey […]
Dr. John Oakes is excited to announce the publication of his new book, titled True, Right, Better: A Defense of the Christian Worldview. The book analyzes the various worldviews such as naturalism, postmodernism, pantheism, dualism, polytheism, deism, Islamic theism, Christian theism, existentialism, marxism and more through the lens of three questions. Is this worldview true–ie […]
The Spanish translation of Dr. John Oakes’ book Reasons for Belief, titled Razones Para Creer is now available in Spanish translation from Illuminations Publishers. IPI Books Here is the direct link to purchase the book: Razones Para Creer Please tell your friends, especially your Spanish-speaking friends about the availability of this book!
Editor’s note: I have gotten dozens of questions from disingenuous Muslim sources recently, so I decided to publish this Q & A as an article for your consideration. Question: What would you tell someone who was having trouble figuring out which religion is the one true religion? What would you tell him if he said […]
Dr. John Oakes is doing a missionary teaching trip to West Africa Feb 16-Mar 5, 2023. He will be posting all or nearly all of his lessons, outlines and ppts here. Great Bible Study Time Notes Great Bible Study PPT Great Bible Study Audio Reliability of the Bible notes Reliability of […]
Dr. Gary Habermas is one of the premiere apologists today. I do not normally publish work by those I do not know personally, but in the case of his lecture on the resurrection, I am making an exception. This lecture is really great. I strongly recommend to our EFC community to watch this lecture. In […]
Rabbi Tovia Singer has published an anti-Christian polemic which has created doubts in some Christian believers. Dr. John Oakes has published a review of this book. We are attaching the document and copying and pasting below. Review of Let’s Get Biblical In addition, here is an article by Jeff Chacon Why I Believe Jesus is […]
Dr. John Oakes did a teaching weekend for the Anchor Point Church of Christ in Tampa, Florida. Audio, Notes and Power Points are attached. Who Is Jesus Tampa PPT Jesus Evidence Tampa Audio Shadow to Reality Notes Shadow to Reality PPT From Shadow to Reality Audio
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a short series on Christian Apologetics for the Houston Church of Christ. Notes, PPT and audio will be posted here. Science and God PPT Science and God Houston Audio Reliability and Inspiration of the Bible PPT Progressive Theology Notes Progressive Theology PPT
Dr. John Oakes is traveling for eleven days in the Caribbean, teaching for churches in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Lessons, including notes, PPT and audio will be made available here. The first five audios are in English and Spanish. The rest are in French and English. Worldview PPT World View Notes World View […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching several classes at a discipleship conference in Orlando. We will be posting the audio immediately after the classes are offered. After this, he will be in the Dominican Republic and Haiti and will be posting classes. Here is the schedule: Monday 8/1 9:30 AM King Jesus, Human Philosophies, Traditions and […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a six-hour class on the Book of Genesis for campus interns in Merced, CA June, 2022. The material is here. Genesis Merced Notes Genesis Merced PPT Genesis Merced Audio I Genesis Merced Audio II Genesis Merced Audio III Genesis Merced Audio IV Genesis Merced Audio […]
Dr. John Oakes is doing a series of two classes on evidence for the reliability of the Bible for “The Temple Project,” an on-line program of the Boston Church of Christ March 19 and 26. The first class is on the reliability of the New and Old Testament texts and on the historical accuracy of […]
Editor’s note: This article appeared first as a Q & A at the website, but I am including it as an article. I have gotten a lot of comments and questions lately from Muslims in which they attempt to undermine the authority of the Bible by comparison to the Qur’an, so I decided to post […]
Dr. John Oakes gave an evangelistic presentation for the LA Church of Christ on Saturday, Sept. 4 jn West Covina, CA. Unfortunately, only the second lesson got recorded? PPTs, notes and audio are here: Who Is Jesus PPT Who was Jesus Notes Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up PPT Will the Real Jesus […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture in which he provided logical arguments for the existence of a supernatural Creator/God at Bakersfield College 9/23/2021. Existence of God Notes Existence of God PPT Existence of God Audio
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a series of classes for the Sacramento Metro Church of Christ 7/9-11/21. Notes, power points and audio are here: Problem of Suffering PPT Pain and Suffering Audio Problem of Pain Notes Hebrews Audio I Hebrews Audio II Hebrews Notes Hebrews Living by Faith […]
Dr John Oakes is taught a two-part, three hour class on issues related to Science and Christianity and Science and the Existence of God. The Audio and power point are here. Is There a God PPT IsThereaGod Audio I Is There a God Audio II Video is available here: First Session https://youtu.be/Yhgb1iiU0lg Second Session […]
Dr. John Oakes, along with his very good friends and colleagues, Dan Conder and Kedron Jones are teaching a series of three classes on Sat. 11/7, 11/14 and 11/21 at 9:00 Pacific Standard Time on answering the hard questions. Here is the link to register for the class: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/37/8rr9qan5 Topics include Why is there suffering […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a series of Christian Evidence classes for the Tucson Church of Christ. Notes, PPTs and audio are attached. Evidence for Jesus PPT EvidenceforJesus Audio History Archaeology and the Bible PPT Hist Arch and Bible Audio Christian Worldview PPT Christian Worldview Audio […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a lesson on the Christian and other worldviews for a campus conference this coming weekend Oct 24/25. The audio (but not the video) as well as the power point are available here. Christian Worldview PPT World View Audio […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a series of lessons for the Spokane Christian Church 8/23/2020. The lessons were intended to increase the faith, both of members and visitors. One lesson is From Shadow to Reality–a lesson about finding Jesus in the Old Testament. Shadow to Reality Notes Shadow to Reality PPT Next was a lesson on […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on Christian theology. The class covered topics such as Trinity, the qualities of God, the problems of evil and suffering, theodicy, predestination, heaven and more. The class is now completed. Here are the notes, PPT, audio and link to the video. God: Christian Theology PPT God–Christian […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a three-part series of classes on the biblical Book of Daniel for the Greater Houston Church of Christ. Notes, Power Point and audio are available here. Daniel Notes Daniel PPT Daniel Audio 1 Daniel Audio 2 Daniel Audio 3 […]
The most important scientist today, Francis Collins and the most important Christian theologian of the day N. T. Wright have done their own rendition of Yesterday by the Beatles. You will love it, I think. https://biologos.org/resources/n-t-wright-and-francis-collins-sing-genesis
Dr. John Oakes gave a class 7/15/2020 for the Bakersfield Church of Christ on history, archaeology and the Bible. This lesson mostly covered the Old Testament, giving strong evidence that the Old Testament is the most reliable book of ancient history we have. History Archaeology and the Bible PPT History Archaeology and the Bible […]
Many of us in the community of Christian apologists are mourning the passing of Ravi Zacharias. Ravi was an energetic, devoted, intelligent and well-spoken proponent of the Christian religion and of the evidence in support of the inspiration of the Bible. Among his many books are Jesus Among the Secular Gods and The Logic of […]
Dr. John Oakes is one of a team teaching a class on Genesis for the Los Angeles School of Ministry and Missions Dec 4-5, 2019, along with Glenn Giles and Trevor Cochell. My part will be teaching a class on Genesis and Apologetics. Notes and PPT for both the apologetics class and the full class […]
Many in our churches who spend time on our college campuses have come across the rather strange sect which teaches about the Mother Goddess. I had not come across this group personally until a recent experience while sharing my faith at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, California. Normally, I like to avoid writing against groups I […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a public lecture at Bakersfield College on the Christian and other worldviews. Worldviews such as materialism, postmodernism, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Christianity are described and it is proposed that the Christian worldview is the only one consistent with reality and which answers the questions that people really care about. What Is […]
Dr. John Oakes is on a teaching tour in Poland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Latvia. Recordings, power points and notes will be posted. Problem of Suffering Polish Problem of Suffering Russian/English Audio From Shadow to Reality Russian Shadow to Reality PPT Russian Shadow to Reality PPT English Evidence for Jesus […]
Dr. John Oakes is traveling and teaching in Poland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Latvia. A journal, as well as lessons will be posted here. Right now I am in Riga, Latvia. Warsaw, Poland 8/23-8/25 This is my first visit to the wonderful country of Poland. We Americans tend to think of Poland as a former […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lesson on Science and God at Cal State, Fresno on 9/27/19. The audio is attached, including a lengthy Q & A session. God and Science Fresno God and Science PPT
Dr. John Oakes is teaching a twelve hour class on Christian evidence specifically for a group of campus ministry interns in Fresno, California July 11-12. Power Point presentations and audio will be uploaded from the class.
I have had a number of requests by believers to read material by Peter Enns. He has published a number of books in which he attacks Biblical inerrancy and inspiration, and does it in the name, supposedly, of a more accurate Christianity. I have had personal friends read his material, find his ideas credible, and […]
Dr. John Oakes gave sermons on Mother’s day and Easter. The first is Mary: A Mother’s Heart. Mary A Mothers Heart Notes Mary A Mother’s Heart PPT Mary A Mother’s Heart Audio The second sermon is on why we can believe that Jesus was bodily resurrected from the dead, on the power of the […]
Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture on God and Science for the alpha omega student group at Bakersfield College 4/4/2019. Audio and ppt are attached. God and Science God and Science PPT
[Editor’s note: When this question came in to the web site, I was absolutely shocked to find that I had never posted an answer to this most basic of questions. So, I am publishing this as an article as well.] Question: While sharing my faith with a person of another religion, he was questioning me […]
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