The notes and power point are from a class taught by Dr. John Oakes 11/30/2010 as part of our ARS Certificate in Christian Apologetics. The examples used are ones which are particularly useful in using archaeological finds to illustrate important biblical teachings. Notes: OT Archaeology, Teaching and Preaching PPoint OT Archaeology Teach/Preach 3.85 Mb
Science and Religion are Not Enemies. An essay by John Oakes, PhD. This essay was written for inclusion in a new college textbook for a class titled "Intro to Scientific Thought." Because of the nature of the class, the essay is about the relationship between science and religion in general, and does not deal specifically […]
Question: I have a question on your answer to the 13 year old wanting proof that evolution is not real. You say that you believe in God’s creation and that he guides the evolutionary process. I was wondring if you think that the earth is older than 6000 years old or if you think evolution […]
Below is a short but nicely reasoned article on the reliability of the canonical gospels by Brian Colon. Evidence for the Reliability of the Gospels Brian Colón 10/20/2010 When assessing the truth claims of the Gospel narratives, the first question that usually arises is the question of the burden of proof. In other words, […]
Question: I was reading some Wikipedia articles about early Israel and came across and interesting section regarding the origin of Yahweh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah#Religion Ill let you read it but I’m adding quotes from it that I was hoping you could respond to. "It is generally accepted among modern scholars that the narrative of […]
Question: I am currently working on an informative lesson for an adult Sunday school class regarding Jewish ideas about the Messiah prior to Jesus’ birth. I am curious if there are non-biblical writings or prophecies that give us an idea of what the Jews were expecting in the Messiah? Or perhaps you could explain why […]
Question: I wonder if I could have the privilege of picking your brain. I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus as a real figure in history recently – and the fact that He is the head of the church, and it has led me to question what about Jesus’ ministry sets him apart from all other […]
A twelve point outline of logical arguments for the existence of God. Note from the editor: I recently got this nice little outline of arguments for the existence of God from a friend Lee Tavares. I have much of this in different presentations on the topic of the existence of God at the web site, […]
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 […]
Question: I was wondering if you could address and refute these claims made by Jews against Jesus being the Messiah: "The Messiah must be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). Under Jewish law, tribal affiliation is conferred through the birth father only (Numbers 1:18-44,34:14,Leviticus 24:10) (Criterion for being the Messiah is not met – in […]
Comment: After reading your reply to the question regarding the geology of Hawaii could you explain to me why anyone should believe the Bible? 2 Timothy 3:16 states that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God" and Titus 1:2 says that God cannot lie. Now, the question arises, what does one believe? Is it […]
Question: How would you respond to the late Henry Morris’s comments in his book The Genesis Record?: In the first place, the order of creative events narrated in Genesis 1 is very different from the accepted order of fossils in the rocks representing the geological ages…. Second, as already pointed out when discussing the gap theory, […]
Question: On the Discovery Channel I saw a show on the subject of Hawaii. The show touched on how the Hawaiian Islands were formed. According to the dominant view among geologists, the crust or plate on which the Hawaiian islands rest, is slowly moving north and each island was formed when the crust or plate below the future island […]
Question: And the Lord said unto me. They have well spoken that which they have spoken, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to […]
This public lecture was given by Dr. John Oakes at the University of Stockholm in Sweden 9/5/2010. It discusses atheist arguments against the existence of God, why atheism fails and logical arguments for theism. The Existence of God 814.00 Kb The Existence of God
This lesson was taught by John Oakes, PhD in Bergen, Norway 9/2/2010. Norway is a mainly atheist or agnostic country where traditional Christian apologetics may not work. The lesson uses Acts as a model for how to do Christian apologetics depending on the culture. Using Apologetics in Christian Outreach Notes Using Apologetics […]
Question: What do you think about the Gospel of Barnabas? It clearly states that prophet Muhammed is the messenger of God. Dont tell me that it was written by a Muslim or changed by a Muslim. I think no gospel was changed by Muslims. Only Christians change it as per the church. Answer: It is […]
This is a very brief description of various philosophies about how best to create Christian faith through evidence. The class was given by Dr. John Oakes 8/27/2010. Types of Christian Apologetics Outline: Apologetics Strategies
From a class taught by Dr. John Oakes 8/27/2010. These are fairly brief notes and a power point. A Short History of Christian Apologetics 335.00 Kb History Christian Apologetics Notes
This is a very interesting article by a good friend Jerry Maday on the evidence from the human ability to perceive music as evidence for design and an intelligent designer. He also includes an interesting analogy to the mathematical relationship between musical scales and the radius of orbit of the planets, reminiscent of Kepler’s "Music […]
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 […]
Question: Catholicsm is a tradition which has been passed for a long time. Where was its origin and the approximatly when did it begin? Answer: I will assume you are talking about the Roman Catholic Church. There is also the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. These names are in a sense […]
A review of the Forum at the recent International Christian Evidence Conference by Brian Colon, a member of the ARS board. See below. Editor’s Note: This review was written by Brian Colon. In the intereste of full disclosure, John Oakes gave some editing suggestions, but all edits were approved by Brian. 2010 ICEC Forum: Four Christian […]
See below for information regarding a class August 27-28 sponsored by ARS, taught by Dr. Douglas Jacoby and Dr. John Oakes in San Diego, CA Intro to Christian Apologetics: The Existence of God. Friday Aug 27th and Saturday August 28th at the Mission Center of Hope in San Diego. This is the seventh in our series […]
See below for a review of the evolution forum at the 2010 International Christian Evidence Conference. The review is by Brian Colon, a member of the ARS board. Review: ICEC Forum, "Four Christian Views of Evolution" Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, John Oakes, who was one of the participants in the forum, did […]
Question: Why did God place the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden? Answer: This is a good question. Of course, we do not have a direct answer to this question, either in Genesis or anywhere else in the Bible. Yet, I believe that from what we know of God elsewhere in […]
The power point and outline are for a class taught 6/22/2010 for the LAICC intern by Dr. John Oakes. The theme is how the early church grew and why it grew like it did which is accomplished by looking both at Acts and church history. Thoughts on Acts and World History 14.56 Mb Acts/Church History notes
View a video of Dr. John Oakes giving a lecture The Bible, From God or Man? in both English and Hungarian. Go to this URL http://vimeo.com/13257586
Question: What is the underlying issue that influenced the formation of the Essene religious group? Answer: It is hard for us to trace the roots of the Essene group. As far as I know, its history is not well known at all. We know quite a bit about the history of the Pharisees, a bit less […]
See below for outline of the class "Master and Commander: The Moral Argument for the Existence of God" by Dan Conder from the 2010 ICEC. Master and Commander: The Moral Argument for the Existence of God Romans 1:18-2:16 (see also Genesis 1-3) "You don’t have to believe in God to be moral." In principle, […]
A power point by Dr. John Beggs, professor at Indiana University for 2010 ICEC on his research in neuroscience and the philosophical and theological questions of the existence of the human soul. PPT Defense of the Soul 2.36 Mb
The notes and power point are from a class taught by Dr. William Golightly at the 2010 ICEC. The notes/essay attached are particularly good, providing a fairly comprehensive description of where cosmology is at today, as well as listing anthropic fine tuning arguments. Essay: God and Cosmology PP God and Cosmology 3.78 Mb
Question/Comment: You say, with regard to the Letters, that "my assumption…. is that these are inspired writings." I have to point out that whenever God-inspired Scripture is spoken of in the NT, that it is the Jewish Bible that is spoken of. There is in fact no Biblical warrant for the inspiration of the NT […]
This power point is the one used by John Clayton at the 2010 ICEC in Irvine, CA Why Human Suffering 11.72 Mb
This is the power point used by John Clayton for his public lecture "Why I Left Atheism" at the 2010 ICEC in Irvine, CA Why I Left Atheism 12.57 Mb
A sermon given by John Oakes, PhD 6/13/2010 in Long Beach. Faith That Answers the Hard Questions
A class taught by John Oakes, PhD at the 2010 ICEC. A Defense of Christian Theology 1.17 Mb Notes: A Defense of Christian Theolgoy
A class taught by Dr. John Oakes for Proyect Esdras, Mexico City May 8, 2010. ppt Four Christian Views of Evolution (English) 4.10 Mb ppt Four Christian Views of Evolution (Spanish) (
This class was given at the 2010 ICEC by Dr. Robert Kurka of Lincoln Christian University. Note, the notes are more thorough than the ppt. PPT Science: Christianity’s Lost Child Notes for Science: Christianity’s Lost Child
Question: I am a Christian, but I am tempted to let go of my faith. My faith is based on fear (eternal damnation, hell, etc.). I just want to know any evidence of the authenticity of Christianity which is different from other religions. Others also have their divine scriptures and revelations. What makes Christianity different […]
Question: I’m just curious; if there was nothing before Adam and Eve when did the dinosaurs exist? Answer: According to scientific evidence, based on fossils radioisotopic and other kinds of data, we know that dinosaurs lived from about 240 million years ago until 65 million years ago, at which time it appears that the last […]
An Article by John Oakes, PhD describing four Christian views of evolution, along with strengths and weaknesses of the four views. This essay is intended as a guide for the upcoming forum at the 2010 ICEC in Irvine, CA. Four Christian Views of Evolution John Oakes 6/3/10 We at ARS will be sponsoring a […]
Question: Are there any specific arguments you can make that would make the possibility of an afterlife highly likely? For example, what about arguments for the soul, the resurrection of Jesus, or whatever? I keep running into people who say that when we die, we’re just dead. How would you respond to this? If we really […]
Notes for an OT survey class taught by John Oakes, PhD in 2004. OT Survey Notes
Question: God cannot and will not tolerate sin. "The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) If this is so, then why did God allow sin to occur? If he is all-knowing, before he created the world, didn’t he know that sin would occur? If he hates sin, and he is the creator of all […]
Este clase se ensenado por John Oakes, PhD 8 de Mayo, 2010 para el Proyecto Esdras en DF Mexico. Cuatro Perspectivas de la Evolucion 3.88 Mb
Question: I’ve recently learned about these so called Deuterocanonical books that are accepted by Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxs, but not by Protestants. I even came across this from an Orthodox Christian (not a friend of his btw) on Facebook who claims that this predicts the coming of the Messiah: "The Book of Wisdom was the […]
Question: I have searched the Q&A’s and have not found an answer to this question. Is there a resource or an answer that you have to the following: If the point of us being on earth is to give us the opportunity to choose God, and suffering causes us to become more like Christ(simplified for […]
Question: It seems that the ideal of secular humanism is to do whatever benefits the well being of mankind. Does the idea of secular humanism conflict with God? Or does secular humanism put people on a pedestal above God? Answer: Secular humanism is a philosophy and world view which includes an assumption that the physical/natural […]
Atheism: A Falsified Hypothesis. An essay by Brian Colon, a member of the ARS board. www.KnowItsTrue.com 4/28/2010 Atheism: A Falsified Hypothesis by Brian Colón Several Atheists like to complain that Theism, unlike Atheism is unfalsifiable. If this is true, then it means that Atheism can be proven false, Theism cannot. Many Atheists consider this […]
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