Question: You have spoken about the 2nd law of theromdynamics and entropy. I understand this specifically applies to chemical reactions, but the principal that things move from a more ordered to a less ordered state seems to be the overriding nature of everything in the post-fallen world. Governments, societies, our bodys, everything we put our […]
Note: This interview of Paul Davies is taken from the web site http://www. salon.com/books/feature/2007/07/03/paul_davies/index.html?source=email There are some highly speculative ideas, but we thought the article was interesting enough to publish here. John Oakes We are meant to be here People are not the result of a cosmic accident, but of laws of the universe […]
QUESTION: Christianity is just one of some 300,000 known beliefs and sects in practice in the world today. Buddhism is a belief that does not demand the belief in an almighty god for its practice by a significant percentage of human beings. According to Christianity all those who ignore Jesus are condemned to “hell”. However […]
Click on the link below to view this paper, as it is in adobe format. This is a paper submitted by John Lang for credit in an on-line course at teachmethebible.org. It is so good I asked and was given permission to post it. {jdownload HGP_Apologetics[1].pdf} Implications of the Human Genome Project on Modern Apologetics […]
Power Point: The Jesus Seminar 752.50 Kb
Biomimetic Tissue Engineering: Scientists’ and Engineer’s Reliance on The Master Designer This Power Point presentation was created for the Apologetics Conference in Irvine, California at Concordia University. To view of download the power point, scroll to the bottom of the document and click on the link. Tom Hedman, PhD Associate Research Professor Biomedical Engineering […]
? Editor’s Note: This article is by John Oates, not John Oakes. In fact, I disagree with some of the points in this article. Nevertheless, I feel it is quite well researched and written and contains many points the reader will find useful and instructive. J. O. ? Intelligent Design: Are we fighting against God? […]
Editor’s Note: Below is an outline for the talk given by Robert Kurka at our recent Apologetics Conference. At the bottom is included an outline on a case study: The Problem of Pain and Suffering. International Apologetics Conference Dr. Robert C. Kurka Irvine, California Professor, Theology and Church in Culture June 22-24, […]
Editor’s Note: Below is an outline for the talk given by Robert Kurka at our recent Apologetics Conference. At the bottom is included an outline on a case study: The Problem of Pain and Suffering. International Apologetics Conference, Irvine, California June 22-24, 2007 Dr. Robert C. Kurka Professor, Theology and Church in Culture LincolnChristian Seminary Lincoln, […]
Question: There are two questions that have been troubling me. 1) The Ark – how could such a modest sized boat keep so many creatures alive for so long? 2) Why is the book of Enoch not part of the Bible. Surely if the apostles could quote from it it should carry some weight? Answer: […]
Question: In the Bible we are told to be a shining light unto the world – to live by example that others may follow. So, then, why does God not live up to the example of the rules he insist that we obey such as murder and adultry. After all, he “took” someone elses wife/betrothed […]
Editor’s note: The following is a recent answer to a question from an on-line class I have been teaching from the book Is There a God? The response from John Laing was so good, I thought I would share it with users of the EFC web site. What is your argument for how we […]
BIBLICAL ELDERSHIP: QUALITIES OR QUALIFICATIONS? ?The reason I left you in Cretewas that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders (presbuteros) in every town, as I directed you.? (Titus 1:5). In this passage and others in the New Testament, God is providing a model to his church for church […]
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 16:13 Samuel, oil, David, ??The Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.) […]
Power Point: A Response to The God Delusion 2.45 Mb The God Delusion: A Response A Response to Scientific Materialism and The God Delusion Richard Dawkins, author of A River out of Eden, The Blind Watchmaker, The Selfish Gene and Unweaving the Rainbow. Main points in this book: Evolution by a […]
Power Point: Christianity and World Religions (and World View) 3.89 Mb
Ethical Answers in an Unethical World Power Point: What is Truth? World View Apologetics 7.49 Mb What is Truth? Subtitle: World View Apologetics John 18:37-38 Jesus: ?I came to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.? Pilate: ?What is truth?? Now that is a good question. […]
Power Point: The Bible, From God or Man? 3.06 Mb The Bible: From God or Man? Note: The notes below are not detailed. Most useful will be the Power Point. To open the Power Point, scroll to the bottom and click on the appropriate link. Quote to get us started: DelosB. […]
Question: I am interested in your perspective that you considerus part of the Church of Christ, not the ICOC. I wonder if they agree. I am personally confused about church relations especially with Kip McKean?s new movement and establishment of churches. Response:I am, by nature, but also by biblical conviction, a believer in unity wherever […]
Request: (from a Christian in Dhaka, Bangaladesh) I need help, I am faceing few questionss from Muslims about Bible. I think you know all the commen questions that Muslims made about Bible, such as; the Bible is not scientificaly proved, there are problems in genesis, Jesus did not die on the cross…etc. So do you […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Question: The Bible never mentions Muhammad, but in the Qur’an it talks about Jesus. Why is that? Answer: The answer is quite simple. Muhammad began his ministry in the year AD 612. This was over five hundred years after the New Testament was completed. There is no reason to expect the Bible to talk about […]
Question: I heard you say at an event that life used to exist on Mars. I thought life only existed on earth. I am reading a book about how unique the earth is and it has been faith building – so that is why I was curious about the comment. Why do you think life […]
Question; I have been following the work of Hugh Ross and his team on reasonstobelieve.org. A claim made on that web-site is that we can show using y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA that the population of mankind can be traced back to a mitochondrial Eve and a y-chromosomal Adam. Furthermore the dating of Eve at an […]
QUESTION: How does one conclude that morality exists and is given directly by the Christian God? I am a Christian, and have been raised in a very conservative Christian home, but I’m afraid I’m growing weaker all the time. It’s getting especially harder for me to understand the whole morality issue. It seems that many […]
Question: Did God took rest on the seventh day of creation, if so then he can get tired & weary. Also who does the work during the rest time? I want to know the correct interpretation. Answer: In answer to your question, God does not get tired, Isaiah 41:28 gives us some insight into this, […]
Question: I heard in a recent lesson you gave that even in quantum theory and relativity God has left his finger prints. Can you elaborate and illuminate on this? Answer: Quantum mechanics tells us that the simple mechanical view of the universe of Newton and LaPlace is not correct. Quantum mechanics tells us that light […]
Question: I am a Christian in the UK. There are a couple of best selling books in the UK at the moment that deny the existence of God and the truth of Christianity. On is “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins and the other is “Tricks of the Mind” by Derren Brown. The latter is […]
Question: It is taught that by some that only 144,000 people will receive eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ as co-rulers over the earth. Witnesses believe that in the war of Armageddon, which they believe to be imminent, the wicked will be destroyed. The survivors of this event, along with individuals deemed worthy of […]
Question: What’s this about a Gospel of Barnabas? Who wrote it and why? Was Barnabas an apostle or not? Answer: The New Testament speaks of a 1st Century Jew named Joseph, a Levitical priest from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, who became a follower of Jesus. He “was a good man, and full of the […]
Question: What about the Gospel of Barnabus? Who write it? For what? Was Barnabus is apostle or not? Answer: My answer will depend on whether you mean the Epistle of Barnabas or the Gospel of Barnabas. Of the two, the more well known is the Epistle (letter) of Barnabas. The question of whether Barnabas was […]
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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