Question: I am studying the Scriptures. Now, following your guidance, I am using a biblical dictionary, interlineal Greek-English Bible, and two Bibles (Scofield RV-1960 and Peshitta). I have a question. What is the difference between grace (xaris) and mercy (eleos)? I read someone (Danilo Montero, is an evangelist singer) who said: “Grace means to get […]
Question: What is it called when someone believes that God manifested himself in the Father, the Son and the Spirit, but that they are not separate persons? Answer: The most common technical name for this theology is Modalism, or the more technical name, which is Monarchical Modalism. It is called this because the teaching is […]
Question: In the Gospel of Matthew 11:19, one version says wisdom is justified of her children(KJV) and another version says wisdom is justified by her deeds(ESV). Please explain this variant “children and deeds” Answer: This is a familiar example of a textual variant with a fairly well-understood explanation. The explanation of the textual variant is found […]
Question: I am a Christian living in Latin America. Thanks for sharing God’s truth all these years. I have a question: Should I biblically visit my dead parents or relatives or am I falling into idolatry, or waste of time? What could be the best approach to the correct understanding? Thanks. Answer: This is a […]
Question: According to the Koran (3:146-148), there were many Prophets who have done Jihad and large numbers of God-devoted men have fought alongside them. They did not surrender to the non-believers merely because of their numerical inferiority and lack of resources. Can you show me such Prophets in Biblical history who have done Jihad? Please […]
Question: The teachings of the Koran are not a new or strange thing. All former prophets and messengers have also taught the same, that real life is the life of the hereafter and no soul bears the burdens of another soul, and the same has been said in the former books, the books of Abraham […]
Question: God promised paradise to those in the Torah and the Gospel who are killed in a holy war, or who kill others in a holy war as stated by the Koran (9:111), but paradise is missing from the OT (including the Torah) and holy wars are missing from the NT (including the Gospels). Have […]
[Editor’s note: I am doing the reverse of what I normally do here. The question is so long, that I despair anyone would read to the end of it to find my response. So, I am doing something that might be a bit confusing here, which is to publish my response before the question] Response: […]
[Editor’s note: This comes from a Muslim believer who claimed that Muhammad fulfilled the prophecy that one like Moses would come to save God’s people. I responded by giving him several ways that Jesus fits the description quite well, but asked him to provide “evidence” for the parallels between Moses and Muhammad. I also explained […]
[Editor’s note: This is a two-part question. The first question needed clarification, which was given, allowing me to give a more nuanced answer to the original] Question: According to Duet. 13:1-3, if a prophet appears among the Israelites and announces a sign and if that sign takes place, and then that prophet orders them to […]
Question: In reading the book of Jude, I discovered this: Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh of our ancestors after Adam, spoke of these people in advance, saying: “Behold, the Lord is coming with millions of angels” There are two questions to ask in this text: 1-Do you think Enoch is seventh in the Genealogy […]
Suggestion and Questions: Last night I took my nen’s Genesis Bible study group on a “field trip” to see “The Ark in the Darkness”. We really enjoyed the movie. It was laden with great supporting technical data and evidence. On our way home though, I raised a couple of questions that remain unanswered, and I […]
Comment: The Messiah depicted by the Hebrew prophets was NOT verified in Jesus. Their Messiah was a warlike conqueror, who should slay and subdue the Gentiles, and deliver Israel from the enemies. Who is right, the prophets or Christian apologists? Response: What can I say? I believe that you are simply mistaken in your stated […]
Question: According to Philip R. Davies, a British biblical scholar, prophetic books are primarily the product of scribes who imitated the traditional style of intermediaries and wrote for their own interest. Does it mean our prophetic books are fake? Answer: Philip R. Davies is an unbeliever. He is not a Christian and it is not […]
Question: I have been doing a lot of research on Biblical authorship. Recently, I came across an article entitled “A biblical text with ‘new’ facts about Jesus was found — and Christians ignore it.” In this article the authors claimed that Luke wrote a document called “The Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus.” Apparently, it was […]
Question: From where did keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophecies other than 16 prophetic books? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prophetic texts identified as 2Q23, 6Q10, 6Q12 and 6Q13. Please respond to this because my Muslim friend asked me this and I’m confused. Answer: This Muslim person is not your friend, at least […]
Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura? I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible. I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]
[Editor’s note: This is a list of several questions, with the answers interspersed between them] Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection originally a Judeo-Christian view? The idea of a crucified saviour is unique to Christianity (not Judeo-Christianity), of course. In fact, execution by nailing to a cross was a fairly recent invention of the […]
Question: I’ve been hesitant to ask this question because I suspect this would be slightly annoying to do on your part, but here it goes… I read one of your past Q & As addressing unfulfilled prophecies on rationalWiki: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/can-you-explain-all-the-unfulfilled-old-testament-prophecies-listed-at-rationalwiki/ You may or may not know this, but some authors on rationalwiki have actually posted your […]
Question: What would you say to someone who is skeptical about “dual prophecy” where the prophecy was already fulfilled in a sense but could also refer to Jesus? For example, some Jews would assert that Isaiah 53 is about Israel and not about Jesus. I suspect this is not the only prophecy where this objection […]
Question: Jewish Christianity was the actual Christianity because Jesus was thoroughly Jewish, kept the Torah, and never disciplined [editor: discipled?] the Gentiles. The earliest Christians were all Torah observant Jews and saw Jesus as their Messiah, nothing else. Jewish Christianity, which emphasized keeping the Torah (among other ideas), came into conflict with Greek and Latin […]
Question: Did Alice Whealey prove conclusively that Agapius was translating the Syriac edition not of Josephus, but of Eusebius and did she refute the thesis that the Arabic fragment of the Testimonium supports its authenticity? Answer: I have not read Alice Whealy’s discussion of the Testamonium Flavianum in its entirety. In fact, I have only […]
Question: Why is the “God of Israel” fond of using woman’s metaphors, such as Babylon as a humiliated woman whose nakedness shall be uncovered (Isa. 47), Israel as an unfaithful wife who played the whore with many lovers (Jer. 3), Samaria and Jerusalem as two adulterous sisters who played the whore in Egypt (Ezek. 23), […]
Question: Is Christian mysticism biblical or is it ok to do? I am thinking of practices such as lectio divina and the theosis, for example. Answer: This is an interesting question. Actually, let me re-word your question if you do not mind. Let me ask two questions. 1. Are some or all of the practices […]
Question: Lately I’ve been thinking about the so-called “swoon” theory: the idea that Jesus survived His crucifixion, which you probably already know. I’ve been looking at what apologists are saying about it and have my own thoughts concerning their claims (the best source for apologetical arguments against the swoon theory I’ve currently come across is […]
Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these: [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]
Editor’s Note: This is a series of 14 questions, so I disperse my answers after the questions. Most of these criticisms are already refuted elsewhere at the web site, but since this poor unfortunate believer has been assaulted with so many false claims, I am including answers to all of them below. My responses are […]
Question: If Jesus was God’s son in a metaphorical sense, then Jews also called themselves God’s children. Israel was called God’s firstborn, and David was called God’s son. Thus, the reason of Jesus’ crucifixion depicted in the NT gospels seems baseless. And if Jesus was God’s literal son through spirit, then Adam also had no […]
Question: As an apologist, how do you always stand by your convictions and beliefs, as so often the arguments put forth to refute the Bible are so strong, rational and logical. Also, there is always the confirmation bias that could influence one’s judgement. Thank you. Answer: A very good question. I get literally thousands of […]
Question: Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected passages which are sometimes in contradiction to each other for e.g. chapter 37:11-21 and chapter 38 are divergent accounts of one and the same course of events? Answer: Part of your description is a reasonable assessment of Jeremiah, and […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a question in which the person said that Christians have stolen Jesus out of the Old Testament, and taken him completely out of context. I asked for specifics so that I could respond, and this is what came in. Question: Christians specifically misinterpreted Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 […]
Question: Does Deuteronomy 12:30 forbid Christian apologetics toward other religions since we can’t inform ourselves about them? Does the verse apply for learning about other religious practices as a whole or simply forbid taking part in the practices of other religions? Answer: This passage appears to be a command to not even learn about other […]
Question: How would you refute the “paradox of the stone”? Answer: I assume you are asking me to refute the famous argument against the omnipotence of the God of the Bible. Christians claim that God is omnipotent. Yet, the argument goes, God is clearly not omnipotent, because he is not powerful enough to create a […]
Question: The NT authors thought that Isaiah was describing the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world in Isaiah 53, but the fact is Isaiah is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They […]
We do not normally repost the work of others at this web site, but in this case we are making an exception. In a recent youtube post, Islamic scholar and apologist Jay Smith gives a presentation in which he challenges nearly every assumption on which the entire religion of Islam is founded. He questions virtually […]
Question: Doesn’t Isaiah 44:28 force the Daniel 9:25 clock to begin at the same time as Erza 1:2? This would makeg the clock wrong as it ends in the mid-50s BC or around there? Answer: Good question. I can see why someone might wonder about this. In the Isaiah 44 passage we are told of […]
Editor’s Note: The list of questions is long enough that I have interspersed the questions and the answers. Questions and Answers: 1. Are there any early church fathers preferably from 1st mid-century to the 2nd century who discussed the virgin birth of Jesus in their letters or literature? Yes, definitely. Ignatius in his Letter to […]
Question: Is there any messianic prophecy in Torah? Answer: I assume you are referring to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. If so, then yes, definitely. I suppose some would argue that there is a greater proportion of messianic prophecies in the Psalms and the Prophets, but there are plenty of messianic prophecies […]
Question: Muslims say that Jews & Christians were commanded only to worship God and to practice regular prayer but Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others excluded such commandments. What’s your response? Answer: First of all, I cannot speak for Muslims, but Christians teach a LOT more than just worshipping God and practicing regular prayer. It also teaches […]
Question: What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean? Answer: By coincidence, I just preached on this passage two weeks ago. If we look at the context of the passage, both before and after the verse, the subject is the kingdom of God. Before the passage we are told that we must put our treasures in heaven. After […]
Question: Muslims say that the prophets preached the oneness of God only. They never predicted God’s son to be born. Christians don’t worship God instead they worship Jesus. They pray to Jesus instead of God. What’s your response? Response: If this is what Muslims say then they are just plain wrong. They are mistaken. In […]
Question: Why can’t Jews/Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc. are the amalgamation of exact words of the prophets? Jonah is surely not written by Jonah as it is a historical narrative. Your response? Answer: It is the nature of ancient documents that no one can ever “prove” the provenance of any […]
Question: Up to what percentage can we reconstruct the New Testament text/ content from early church fathers’ quotations/citations? And I want to know from when in the church’s history did believers start using NT scriptures as a base to preach the Gospel as we do now in our churches. When did Christians start having serious […]
Question: Hello Dr. Oakes. Hopefully all is well! My question today is regarding the entire Old Testament. Just as a disclaimer I absolutely believe that there are no contradictions in the Bible and believe that anyone who disagrees is simply being intellectually dishonest with Scripture and its context or simply is unaware of the context. In […]
Question: I just read your refutation of Jesus being plagiarized off of previous Mediterranean deities and I must say you cannot believe your own drivel. To argue that it couldn’t be plagiarized because only portions of the stories are similar is beyond ridiculous. I have several questions for you: 1) Was Jesus the first deity born […]
Question: How can we be sure that the current books of the Major & Minor Prophets are actual words of the Hebrew Prophets? Christians interpret predictions of Israel’s glorious future fulfilled in the Church, but it’s their interpretation because prophets apparently never meant that. Jews are still looking for fulfilment of the glorious future predictions. […]
Question: Why did Hosea (1:2), Isaiah (32:11), Micah (1:8), and Ezekiel (23:21) possess disreputable characters and use unholy language to their listeners? Answer: Neither Hosea, nor Isaiah, nor Micah or Ezekiel ever had “disreputable characters.” Nor did they ever use unholy language!!! This is an absolutely unjustified charge, and anyone saying this either is being […]
Question: The incest story of Lot and his daughters has been borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed between Jam and Jamag, who were brother and sister. Jamag took advantage of the intoxicated state of her brother and had sex with him. What’s your response? Answer: My response is that this is so obviously […]
Question: Does this study in your opinion pose a serious challenge to the resurrection? I remember reading about the Talpiot tomb and how it was discredited by the majority of scholars both Christian and non Christian. In 2019 James Tabor posted a link to a more recent study saying that the soil of the James […]
Question: If someone at birth is unable to comprehend anything at all or consider special ed will they be able to go to Heaven or Hell, considering they are unable to learn anything? Answer: It has always been my understanding that innocent children, who have not yet sinned, will be in heaven. Innocent people have […]
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