Question: I have been taking a class on The History and Reliability of the Bible, where we recently discussed the subject of Noah and the Ark. I have gone back and forth before on whether the flood was a regional one, perhaps partly because of a statement made to me by a member of my biological family.  My […]

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Question:  I’ve been doing some research on extra Biblical evidences as I continue studying the Bible with Chinese people. In my search I came across something about the moon turning to blood. Every time I study out that section in Acts 2, I’m not really sure whether that’s going to happen in the future, or […]

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Question: Hey, I love your website…I’ve found it very resourceful.  I have a couplequestions that have been brought up that I can’t seem to give an answerfor.  First, I’ve heard and read what Josephus had to say about Jesus.  Hementions him, true.  But, someone asked me, "If Josephus took the time toaccount to mention Jesus, why […]

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The sixth class in our program leading toward a certificate in Christian Apologetics Apologetics and the Miracles of Jesus  Notes: Apologetics and the Miracles of Jesus    Power Point: Apologetics and the Miracles of Jesus 3.71 Mb Apologetics and the Miracles of Jesus Saturday Feb. 20, 2010 Instructors:  Foster Stanback and John Oakes, PhD Location:  Mission […]

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Question: I’m a Christian but I’m finding it hard to rebutt some contradictions of the Bible I believe atheist are taking their questions from this website. http://humanknowledge.net/Philosophy/Metaphysics/Theology/Christianity.html Can the Bible challenge his theories? Answer: It is obviously not possible for me to respond to all the criticism of biblical Christianity at this web site.   However, […]

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Question: An athiest friend asked me about the story of Jonah being eaten and thrown up by a fish.  She said that this seemed imposible. How can I explain this to her? Answer: Your friend is right that the story of the swallowing and later regurgitation of Jonah alive on the third day is impossible.  […]

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Questions and Answers: 1] In Matthew 8;12 Who are the subjects that Jesus is talking about? "The subjects of the kingdom" are the Jews who do not receive Jesus.  One can generalize this to include anyone who has been saved but later chooses to ignore his own calling, but in the context, Jesus is telling […]

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  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 […]

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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 […]

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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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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 […]

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Question:  I read your discussion of why the gifts of the Spirit disappeared. By no means do I consider myself an expert on the Early Church Fathers (my personal library is limited to one book). However, in preparing a lesson on false doctrines for a ministry training class I’m teaching, I came across some quotes […]

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Question: I had a question pertaining to ‘tongues’. I never spoke it, but I have seen a person speak it right in front of me. I have talked to different people who speak it, from different church groups and they seem to have similarities in regards to speaking in tongues… You can ask for it […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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The Ultimate Miracle [Note: this is a chapter on the resurrection taken from the book Reasons for Belief by John M. Oakes Illumination Publishers, International  www.ipibooks.com] In the previous chapter we looked at the miracles that Jesus performed, examined evidence that Jesus really did work these miracles and considered what they imply about the miracle-worker […]

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The Resurrection of Jesus An Outline   Q:  Is it logical to believe that Jesus was raided from the dead?   Q:  Why is this important?             1. If Jesus was in fact raised from the dead, this validates all his claims.  If not?..             2. It explains a lot                    The changed […]

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QUESTION: Are miracles real and still happening today? In other words, if you believe for a loved one to be healed of a certain disease, the miracle can take place? ANSWER: The short answer to your question is “yes.” God is the Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1), so He possesses all the […]

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Question: I was recently told that the original Hebrew word for Satan, is in fact a different word completely, when compared to the word “devil” which is used in the New Testament. The claim is that Satan, and the devil are actually two different entities. What do we actually know about Satan and the Devil […]

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Why does the miracle of turning the water into wine and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness take place at the same time if you read the story in two different books of the NT? Why are the 10 rules found in Ex. 20 and Ex 34 not the same ? It took me […]

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I’m doing a brief study on the foundation of Christianity for our Bible study group and have been browsing your website. Am I correct in that in accordance with Jewish burial customs Jesus’ body would have been wrapped similar to that of an Egyptian mummy? If so would that not be further evidence against the […]

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Miracle of Science or Perspective of the observer; Did the sun stand still? God is a God of order, yet he performs miracles outside of the natural laws that govern our world. From a scientific perspective, even a miracle would not allow the sun to suddenly simply stop in the sky. That would mean that […]

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What evidence did Jesus point to in order to support the claims he made about himself? The answer is that Jesus backed up his claims about himself by pointing to the miracles he worked. ?Don?t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to […]

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