Q & A – Page 2 – Evidence for Christianity

In John 6, when Jesus said we must eat his body, the word used is not the normal one for eat, but it is the word for chew. What are the implications for the doctrine of the Real Presence?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

How do you respond to a person who says, “Christianity causes me to feel guilty. So I want nothing to do with it”?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

Does the Soleb Inscription support the Old Testament account of the name of God and the date of the Exodus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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.” […]

A Muslim apologist claims that in Mark 10:18 Jesus said, “Don’t call me good, because only my Father is good.” (as opposed to only God is good). Is this true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

A Muslim claims a textual variant of Mark 10:18 supports the conclusion that Jesus did not believe he is God. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

Why do we accept the tradition of the early church leaders on the content of the New Testament when we reject their other traditions?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

In the Koran/Muhammad taunting Christians in Sura 2:210?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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, […]

Is there evidence of infant baptism being practiced in the early Christian Church?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions, Uncategorized .

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 […]

In an article you accuse the Catholic Church of teaching that we inherit sin from Adam, but that is not what they actually teach. What is your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

How would you respond to those who say that Christianity caused the Holocaust?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

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 […]

Can you respond to some theories on the origin of the universe and of life I heard from an atheist debater.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

How would you respond to people who claim that “No one treated Isaiah 53 as being messianic before the first century AD”?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

Would you use the Talmud to support the notion that Isaiah 53 is talking about a human rather than the nation of Israel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

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 […]

Why are mainstream Bible scholars so biased with regard to the date of writing of Mark and the other gospels, assuming a date after AD 70?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

According to the Qur’an, Jesus was merely a prophet, and his mission was to clarify God’s will to the Jews. What is the Christian response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

What is the earliest evidence for monotheism?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Other Religions .

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 […]

How do I convince my dad to believe in God and in the Bible? Can apologetics help?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

[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 […]

What do you think about Gerald Schroeder’s correlation between the Genesis account and mathematics?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

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. […]

Is Ezekiel 37:21 a reference to the modern state of Israel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

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. […]

What is unique about Judaeo/Christian ideas about morality? Could “morality” have come about by natural selection? What about other religions?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

Why does the Bible not include the prophecies of Idris, Ishmael and others mentioned by Muhammad?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

How does a Christian group without a central hierarchy and creed maintain unity on debatable matters?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

[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 […]

Martin Luther said that Mary was a perpetual virgin. Do you agree with this teaching?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A .

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 […]

The Bible only has the written record of a few of the prophets. Maybe if they had a complete record, Jesus would not be rejected by people. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

How could Jesus die for sins which had not yet been committed at the time of his crucifixion?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

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 […]

Is it true that, from the first century, there have always been at least small groups of true, faithful Christians in existence, as I have heard claimed?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A .

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 […]

If Jesus appeared to the 500+ witnesses, as reported by Paul in 1 Cor 15:6, why do the gospels and Acts not include this very important information?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

Tertullian said that Sentius Saturninus was the governor of Judea at the birth of Jesus. Was Tertullian right?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A .

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, […]

The resurrection is a fabrication, as proved by the lack of information in 1 Cor 15 and the fact that Jesus worked no miracles in Jerusalem in Mark

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

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 […]

There are many parallels between the Ebionites and the Qur’an. What is your response to this claim?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

Should Christians be worried about recent important advances in quantum gravity and unified field theory?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

Has belief in God among scientists decreased radically in recent years, as I have seen claimed on sites like Reddit?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

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 […]

Why is it that the consensus of scholars is that the Jewish monotheistic idea of YHWH emerged from a Midianite god?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

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 […]

Why is it that the consensus of scholars is that the Jewish monotheistic idea of YHWH emerged from a Midianite god?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in History, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Q & A, Uncategorized .

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 […]

Why did Jewish Christians take part in sacrifices in Jerusalem after the death of Christ? Were they not aware Jesus had paid the price for their sin?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: According to Christianity, the sacrifices mentioned in the Pentateuch are replaced by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, after which no sacrifice can take place, but the historical fact is that the followers of Jesus Christ went on participating in the sacrificial system of the temple in Jerusalem until its destruction in 70 […]

The Bible calls Jesus the Light of the world, but Muhammad called himself the Lamp Spreading Light. Who is the Light?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: According to Christianity, Jesus is the light (Isa. 42:6) and he came to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isa. 42:7). On the other hand, Muhammad is the Lamp Spreading Light (Sura 33:46) and who came to release Jews […]

Bart Ehrman claims that Matthew and Luke invented the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A .

Request: Thank you for responding to my earlier question regarding the blog post written by Bart Ehrman on Messianic Prophecy. Your answer was very helpful and I learned a lot from it. click here for article I was wondering if you could respond to one of his claims he makes later in the post. Ehrman lists […]

Please respond to a blog by Bart Ehrman in which he claims that Christians find prophecies by “working backwards” from Jesus to the Old Testament.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Request: Would you be willing to give a response to this blog post by Bart Ehrman? I hope that’s not too much to ask for since it’s rather short. https://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-and-the-messianic-prophecies/ The blog is about Old Testament prophecy and Jesus’ fulfillment of them. His main point is that the Gospel writers “worked backwards” and that their writings […]

According to the Qur’an (2:83), God told the Israelites that “Neither flesh nor blood reaches God. What is your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: According to the Qur’an (sura 2:83), God made a covenant with the Israelites: “Worship none but God; and be good to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; and speak nicely to people; and pray regularly, and give alms.” But no mention of sin-offering sacrifices as having God’s sanction. The Qur’an says (sura 22:37): “Neither […]

Is water baptism essential for salvation?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Is water baptism (immersion) essential for salvation ? Answer: Yes, it certainly is. Biblically, baptism is WHEN one is forgiven of sins and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-41). Acts 22:16 provides further evidence, as Paul is told, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized, and […]

I disagree with you when you say that Trump and his supporters are all cold-hearted people.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: Dear doctor. I have been reading your articles and while I agree with many things you say there are some I disagree with such as Trump and the issue of illegal immigrants. I don’t think it’s fair for you to say that Trump and his supporters are all cold hearted individuals. The Bible talks […]

Please respond to the claim that Isaiah 42:11, about a prophet to the people of Kedar is about Muhammad, not Jesus.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: In Isaiah 42:11 God is clearly saying that He will send the people of Kedar (i.e., the Arabs) a Prophet and they should “rejoice” and “raise their voices” in happiness. Also, “Let the desert and its towns raise their voices;” is clearly referring to Arabia, since Arabia is known to be made of mostly […]

In Zechariah 12:10, does the word translated as Me refer to the one killed/pierced, or not (as Jews say)?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Concerning the exegesis of Zechariah 12:10, I read that the word translated “pierced” or “killed” theoretically could go either way, but how about the structure of the sentence? Jews seem to see it as not referring back to “ME” in the sentence where as the Christian interpretation is it does. Answer: I am not an […]

Why did God not reveal the fact that his Son had to be sacrificed to the Jewish people through the prophets?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Question: If God’s Son had to be sacrificed, then why did the OT prophets not tell their generations in detail and leave it to the NT authors who interpreted passages like Isa. 52:13-53:12 to strengthen their case? If it was pre-planned, then why was God hesitant to reveal his son’s details to his beloved nation? […]

Please respond to an article by Richard Carrier in which he claims that Mark made up the empty tomb.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: The article below concerns an article the inquirer found by Richard Carrier. Carrier is an atheist who tries to present himself as a scholar, but who writes fantastically poorly reasoned nonsense. My suggestion: Do not waste your time reading his blog, but it is up to you.] Request: Could I ask you to […]

Do you know any quotes from the church fathers which reference infant baptism? Why do people ignore Augustine, who taught this doctrine?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: It’s is common knowledge that the early church held to what is called baptismal regeneration. We can find this through quotes and epistles from the fathers. What about quotes on infant baptism? I’m sure you’ve read a few that can supported infant baptism. What is your response to these quotes? Also, if we are […]

Who is right in the age-old controversy over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father of from the Father and the Son?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I have a Catholic vs. Orthodox Church-based question… Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or the Son and the Father? Where in scripture can we find an answer and what are your thoughts on this? Answer: It is not my job, or even my desire, to clear up a controversy between these […]

If the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 is an interpolation, does that mean it is not inspired and that we ought not to teach from it?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Versions of the Bible .

Question: My question is about the story in John’s gospel about the woman caught in adultery. This has always been one of my favorite, go-to, stories about Jesus to share with people. So, I was pretty disappointed when I learned from a textual critic standpoint that the story is very weak and was likely a […]

Is the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 a legitimate, inspired story? I have heard doubt about it being in the original of John.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A .

Question: My question is about the story in John’s gospel about the woman caught in adultery. This has always been one of my favorite, go-to, stories about Jesus to share with people and to teach on. So, I was pretty disappointed when I learned that from a textual critic standpoint that the story is very […]

Jesus and the writer of Hebrews quoted from the Deuterocanonical Jewish books, as well as many early church fathers. How do we know the canonical books are inspired and those not in the canon are not?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

Question: I’ve been reading a good amount on the Old Testament canon. Jesus quoted some of the Deuterocanonical texts. The writer of the book of Hebrews did so as well. This books mention events that happened in the Deuterocanon as well. Not to mention that many early church fathers quote the Deuterocanonical books as well. […]