Question: How would you respond to people who say “A king used violence to Christianize the local people. Therefore, Christian is wrong.”? Answer: Every religion has members who do evil in the name of that religion. This is not acceptable. This is tragic. But it is also true. The fact alone that evil has been […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say “King Herod’s murder of the children is only mentioned in the New Testament. Therefore, it is automatically wrong” or “The murder of the children by Herod was copied from the child massacre in the events with Moses and therefore is made up”? Answer: The vast majority […]
Question: How would you respond to females who say “Christianity causes me to feel guilty. Therefore, I want nothing to do with Christianity”? Answer: I am not sure how to think about this question, as you specify a female questioner, but the actual question does not reference anything which is gendered. So… I will answer […]
Question: “But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”” Genesis 30:27 NIV Is there a clear answer on the divination meaning here? I have been reading Genesis and was wondering how to understand this […]
Question: Why did David write in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”? Answer: We need to recognize first the genre of literature of the Psalms. These are poems. These are people talking to God, rather than God talking to people. For this reason, we should […]
Question: Martin Luther said that Virgin Mary was a perpetual virgin. Do you agree or disagree? Answer: No. Certainly not. Luther did teach the perpetual virginity of Mary earlier in his career, when he was reflecting his Roman Catholic heritage. Earlier in his career he had a very high view of Mary, but later he […]
Question: It is debatable which is more reliable–the Septuagint or the Masoretic Text. Let me put it this way: in making English translations of the Hebrew Old Testament, as a general rule, the opening text to be used in the Masoretic. One obvious advantage of the Masoretic Text, even though it is not as old […]
Question: This question is more on the scientific side but it has to do with fine-tuning. A favorite claim that online atheists like to make is that the complexity we see in the universe is the result of matter self organizing itself into a complex system through unguided processes. They use the example of how […]
Question: Do you any advice on how I can know when to tell when a prophet jumps from talking about fleshly to spiritual Israel, or when they go from literal to symbolic or figurative language? Prophecies can be tricky for me, because it has been said they mix immediate historical events with foreshadowing of ultimate […]
Question: I have a Bible question for you that I’ve been wondering about. God reveals his name YHWH to Moses at the burning bush. He also says in Ex 6:2-3 he says that by the name YHWH he did not make himself known to the patriarchs. I think in the NIV whenever the word, LORD […]
Question: I need your help. I wanna know your responds to some statements by a quite popular Jewish influencer on Instagram. She is an ex Christian who converted to Judaism. So she said that many of Paul’s teachings are contradicted to what Jesus taught and the core belief or Christianity is actually Paul’s teaching and […]
Question: How would you deal with a person who said, “Paul was not a real apostle. Therefore, we can disregard the book of Romans?” Answer: If someone chooses to ignore Paul, that is up to them. It is a free world, as they say! But what I can say is that the apostles of Jesus […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question about Deuteronomy 32:8-9. In more recent manuscripts it’s translated as “Sons of Israel” but using older manuscripts it’s translated as “Sons of God” or even angels. Scholars say this was changed to sons of Israel because scribes didn’t like that it sounded so polytheistic. Did God actually […]
Question: Scholars say that the concept of hell in the Bible developed throughout time . Hell as a place of eternal suffering didn’t exist in the Old Testament, only the New Testament, which has led scholars to draw the conclusion that early Christians took the idea of hell being a place of eternal suffering from […]
Question: Is it sinful to call Mary “The Mother of God”? If Christ is fully God and Jesus was fully his mother should this be a problem? On a deeper level if Christ’s natures are inseparable and Mary bore and birthed someone who is fully human and fully God (The God-Man) then it should make […]
Question: Dr. Oakes. I am a very big fan of your writings and your work and they have helped me greatly in understanding Jesus and understanding my faith . I have recently accepted Christ as my savior and was baptized only a few months ago. I’m still learning about Jesus and one question I have […]
Question: I wanted ask you about the similarities between Isaiah 27 and the Canaanite’s Baal cycle in which both Yahweh and Baal respectively kill a large aquatic sea serpent like monster. I’m copying and pasting some more information about it down below. Leviathan in the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite […]
Question: I understand many believe that Jesus is speaking metaphorically in John 6 about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. There are two different verbs used in John 6: “phagein”: the common verb “to eat” (used broadly in Greek), and “trōgō”: a more graphic verb, meaning “to gnaw, chew, munch, crunch.” Early in the chapter, Jesus […]
Question: How would you respond to a females who says “Christianity causes me to feel guilty. Therefore, I want nothing to do with Christianity”? Answer: I am not sure how to think about this question, as you specify a female questioner, but the actual question does not reference anything which is gendered. So… I will […]
Question: I wanted to ask you about the Soleb Inscription. I’m copying and pasting some information about it down below. “Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name” by Daniel E. Flemming where he argues that YHWH was a nomadic people group attested by an inscription in the temple at Soleb in Egypt.” […]
Question: Can these statements about Mark 10:18 be fact checked? The Muslim gentleman argued the earliest findings of Mark 10 say “Don’t call me good because only my father is Good” and quoted Justin Martyr and others. https://youtube.com/shorts/zSiB6sq_EnU?feature=shared The Christian didn’t get to respond. Answer: What this Muslim person did is irresponsible. To me, it borders […]
Question: Can these statements about Mark 10:18 be fact checked? The Muslim gentleman argued the earliest findings of Mark 10 say “Don’t call me good because only my father is Good” and quoted Justin Martyr and others. https://youtube.com/shorts/zSiB6sq_EnU?feature=shared The Christian didn’t get to respond. [Editor’s note: In this youtube a Muslim apologist claims that there […]
Question: How do we know what New Testament scripture is inspired apart from tradition? I understand Luke and Paul are quoted as Scripture but here is the problem. Luke wrote 2 books and Paul wrote 13. There are only 7 of Paul’s letters that are recognized by modern scholarship as “undisputed” (there is no contention […]
Question: The Koran taunted that unbelievers are waiting for God Himself to come to them in the shadows of the clouds, together with the angels (2:210). Isn’t this taunting on the Biblical concept of God’s arrival? Response: Muhammad can taunt whomever he likes. As Christians, we turn the other cheek to those who persecute us, […]
Question: Is this evidence for infant baptism being practiced in the early church? Hyppolytus: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them” (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]). Origen: “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of […]
Question: In a post on original sin, you claim that the Roman Catholic Church teaches that we inherit sin that God must judge us for (I will leave the link of the article below for context.) however, it is my understanding that this is false. It seems to me that the Catholic Church teaches that […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say that Christianity caused the Holocaust? Answer: The immediate cause of the Holocaust was racial hatred from a person who was definitely not even a Christian, and from those who supported him. Hitler did not profess to be Christian. His immediate circle of criminal gangsters were also […]
Question: Recently I was witness to a debate in a comment section in an article on quora between an atheist and a group of believers. (I might also say that the atheist was very rude and had the tendency to act self important. Very narcissistic.) But, he said some things that I thought I would […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say “No one treated Isaiah 53 as talking about the Messiah before the 1st century AD”? Answer: I would respond by proving that this is quite simply a false statement. Anyone who says this is either ignorant of the facts or is purposefully lying. Let us hope […]
Question: Would you use the Talmud to support the notion that Isaiah 53 is talking about a human being (not a nation)? Answer: This is a great question. So many Jewish commentators today deny that it is a reference to the Messiah, for the rather obvious reason that it IS about the Messiah, and this […]
Question: Dear doctor. I wanted to ask you about the bias in mainstream Bible scholarship. You say that almost all scholars agree that Mark was written in the 50’s-60’s AD, but when I look it up the first thing I see is that mainstream scholars all put Mark around after 70 AD. Of course they […]
Question: According to the Koran, Jesus was only a prophet, before whom other prophets had passed away (5:75) and his mission to the Jews was to clarify for them some of what they differed about (43:63). It is in direct contradiction with the Prophets and Epistles. What should be the Christian response? Answer: What you […]
Question: I wanted to ask you your thoughts on the original monotheism. What are some of the examples we have of early monotheism and how far back it goes? Answer: This is a bit of a complex question. Really, there are two questions we need to ask: one of which requires some speculation and common […]
[Editor’s note: This question is very personal. I do not normally publish such personal questions, but have decided to do so because it provides a good example of how young Christians who are trying to learn how to defend their faith can help those that they are close to.] Question: First, I would like to […]
Question: Have you ever read Dr. Gerald Schroeder’s work offering agreement between the science data from the old earth and universe and the 6 days of creation based on Einsteins equations of General Relativity? If so, what are your thoughts? I realize he is Jewish and I am not sure if he is a Christian. […]
Question: Is Ezekiel 37:21 a reference to the modern state of Israel? Answer: No, it is not. It is a reference, either to the restoration of the Southern Kingdom of Israel when Persia conquered Babylon, as recorded in Ezra and elsewhere, or it is a reference to the spiritual restoration of Israel in the church. […]
Question: Dear doctor I wanted to ask you about morality laws of Jews and Christians, and how they compare to other religions. A lot of hardcore atheists ascertain that Christians during the spread of Christianity destroyed and erased cultures from existence and replaced them with Christianity. They lament that so much culture was lost. On […]
Question: My Muslim friend criticized the Bible and referred to his scripture 19:58 [editor’s note: The questioner is referring to Sura 19:58, which does NOT mention these prophets, except Abraham. This quote appears to be a false one. I am going to assume that he is listing other prophets mentioned somewhere in the Qur’an, or […]
[Editor’s Note: This Q & A is about matters internal to the Christian group known as the International Churches of Christ (ICOC). I normally do not post such in-house articles, but think that it might be relevant to others as well, so take it for what it is worth!] Question: I have been going through […]
Question: Martin Luther said that Virgin Mary was a perpetual virgin. Do you agree or disagree? Answer: No. Certainly not. Luther did teach the perpetual virginity of Mary earlier in his career, when he was reflecting his Roman Catholic heritage. Earlier in his career he had a very high view of Mary, but later he […]
Question: Christians only have the written record of a few prophets in their Bible. It seems Jews did not have a complete record of prophetic speeches, otherwise Jesus would not be rejected. What’s your say? Answer: The Old Testament includes the words of at least 16 prophets. That is quite a few prophets! What would […]
Questions: Dr. John, I would love to hear your insights on the following questions: 1. How could Jesus die for the future sins of people who hadn’t even been born at the time of His crucifixion? We can easily understand the ransom being paid for all the past and present sins. But how could we […]
Question: I’m wondering if there is any historical or biblical evidence behind there being a strain of Christianity that got it right throughout the centuries? I have heard Baptist apologists say that there is always a remnant (sometimes maybe only one person) with biblical truth. I have also heard mainline Church of Christers claim to […]
Question: I have a doubt about the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus appeared to 500 after he rose from the dead. If this is true why didn’t the gospels or the book of Acts confirm this event which is very important? And why didn’t Jesus appear […]
Question: Tertullian says that Sentius Saturninus was the governor of Judea at the birth of Jesus. Is Tertullian correct, or is he wrong here? Answer: I believe that Tertullian is wrong here. Saturninus ruled over Syria (and indirectly over Judea) from 9-7 BC, which is almost certainly too early for the birth of Jesus, which, […]
Question: [editor’s note, this is a rather long question] I want you to respond to the following article: “The Resurrection Story of Jesus” Claims of “resurrection appearances of Jesus” in the earliest source, 1 Cor., do not list time, place, circumstances, nor whether Jesus spoke or did anything other than “appear,” and, Jesus appears […]
Question: The Ebionites had very similar beliefs to the Koran about Jesus and the Bible. They believed that Jesus was merely a prophet (same in the Koran) and the Torah had been distorted with false texts. Specifically, laws relating to animal sacrifice were later corruptions (similar to the Koran). It makes me believe that the […]
Question: I wanted to ask you about quantum gravity. I read an article published recently that said that there has been a major break through in the theory and that they think that they might be close to unifying everything. The article was by Sustainability Times titled “Gravity Isn’t Relative Anymore.” Are they right in […]
Question: When doing apologetics research I like to compare my pro theist view with a different opinion so I can see with one has more merit. Usually this brings me to Reddit, which is known for being a cesspool of toxic atheism. Sadly they don’t really give me any actual information to work with, they […]
Question: Dear doctor, I’ve been doing apologetic and history research and I wanted to ask you about Yahweh being a Midianite deity that Moses eventually adopted into their worship. Apparently this is the scholarly consensus. Does this theory have any proof? Why is it the scholarly consensus? Is there even any evidence or is it […]
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