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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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, […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

Question: I have read your material on evolution being “scientific” and your view of the Big Bang. Would you object to the Big Bang being taught in school as it is not “science” any more than intelligent design? One cannot do an experiment to prove or disprove Big Bang. Have you read the book by […]

Read More

Question: Can you help with history of city of Corinth and at present what’s their condition? Answer: Corinth is on the isthmus separating the Peloponesian peninsula from mainland Greece. For this reason, it was in important and wealthy city from ancient times. During the 500’s BC it played a role as the or one of […]

Read More

Introduction to World Religions:  Judaism. Click on the link below for a Power Point presentation by R. D. Baker (Phoenix, AZ) and Ryan Cartwright (Edmonton, Alberta).  This is a general introduction to a course on world religions, followed by the body of the class, which is on the background of Judaism.  Power Point: Judaism 2.29 […]

Read More

Comment: The oldest representations of gods are female & one of the oldest is the Venus of Willendorf, dating from the Upper Palaeolithic about 30,000 years ago. Coming closer to the present is the Mother Goddess of Skorba in Malta which dates from the Neolithic about 6,500 years ago. Isis, the Mother Goddess of the […]

Read More

Question: I was at an islamic apologetic web site which claimed that the Qur’an has a correct value for the speed of light, which supposedly proves the Qur’an is inspired by Allah. Below is the quote. 299,792.458 km/sis the speed of light in vacuum. However, according to Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, the speed of […]

Read More

Question: If the age of the Cosmos is regarded as 24 hours, Homo Sapiens did not appear until the last second and Jesusdid not appear until almost the last 1/100th of a second. Is it impertinent to enquire what God was doing for the rest of the 13,000,000,000 years ? Was he pondering the future […]

Read More

Question: I realize that astrology and the Zodiac today is something that God would not condone, but I heard some argue that the Zodiac was originally a biblical concept that was corrupted during the time of the tower of Babel. Is there any proof supporting this claim? ;Also, in my Rome and Jerusalem class, we […]

Read More

Question: I have been developing a theory or a concept for living according to God’s plan for mankind. Please tell me where there are flaws in my concept. God created man and all other creation according to his will and pleasure. He differentiated man to be in his own “image,” which I think should read […]

Read More

Question: I wonder why the break-up in the churchof God. I mean Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, International Church of Christ etc…. Sometimes I imagine why most group claim to be the only Christians among the Christian circle. What caused the break up? How did it happen? What could be done? The Catholic Church has been existing […]

Read More

Question: Do you think there were significant scientific changes that occurred with the fall of man? Is it possible it was not until this point that the spiritual and physical realms became separate, or was it just that Adam and Eve didn?t realize it until then? Also, I remember from chemistry talking about the theory […]

Read More

? The Jewish High Holy Days Phillip Lester 9/23/06 Jews all over the world are about to enter a three week period called the High Holy Days.   They involve special Jewish celebrations for the fall season. Although they are found in the Scriptures, their position in the Jewish calendar is often overlooked by disciples.  They […]

Read More

Cosmic Origins   The significance of the Big Bang for Theism   Matt Longhorn, Reading, UK (philosophical_1@hotmail.com) September 21, 2006   The story of our understanding of the universe has been charted well in the agnostic author Robert Jastrow?s – God and the Astronomers. Jastrow traces the Big Bang theory back to mathematical calculations by […]

Read More

Question/Comment: I just finished reading an article you wrote regarding the ‘evidence’ for an intelligent designer and I found it so intellectually dishonest that it inspired me to write you. I hope that someday you come to see the ‘folly’ that comes with accepting ideas such as the ‘anthropic principle.’ Someday I think you will […]

Read More

Question: Can we have the communion on any other day than Sunday? What does the insciption, INRI on the cross mean? Answer: Let me answer the easy question first. INRI is an acronym for a Latin translation of the inscription Pilate had put on the sign he placed on Jesus’ cross. Pilate had a sign […]

Read More