Q & A

/Category Archive for "Q & A"

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

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 […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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), […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Miracles, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

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 […]

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

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 […]

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

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 […]

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

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 […]

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wrote in General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

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

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & 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 […]

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wrote in Articles, Church History, General, Other Religions, Other Religions, PowerPoints, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in Church History, General .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

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 […]

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

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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. […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

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 […]

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

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

[Editor’s note: This exchange is part of a longer discussion in which the questioner believes that there are literally no mistakes in either the Greek text or in the King James translation of that text.] Comments and Questions: I just wanted to thank you for responding so quickly again and wanted to say a few […]

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

Question: What are your best biblical and historical arguments against the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory? I am interested in hearing both sides and I would like to hear some insight from yourself as I do not believe you believe in Purgatory. Thank you for all you do and God bless. Answer: Honestly, you should […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: The question below is a follow-up from a previous one in which the questioner is quite surprised that a faithful believer would agree that Christians do not have access to a perfect text of the Bible, to which I replied about the textual evidence for the great (but not perfect) reliability of the […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In the thread below the author demonstrates that Israel’s idea of the Arabian tribes of the time was contradictory, and based on a 7th century BC understanding on how they worked. I’ll copy paste the comment here, but I implore you to read the entire thread. The question was “Where does the idea that […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Statement: The incest story of Lot and his daughters is borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed by 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? Response: My response is that this is so obviously a […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: According to Jews, many of the Torah’s laws are entirely meaningless without further elaboration. Therefore, some type of “Talmud” was taught to Moses at Sinai together with the written Torah. This is what we know as the Oral Law. Thus, the wisdom and debates of the Talmud, in all their diverseness and variety, may […]

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

Question: In Genesis 18:21 towards the ending of the verse, God says “if not, I will know” when concerning the people of Sodom’s sin.  Also, in Genesis 18:21 “I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”  Does […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Authors of prophetic books added their fantasies into God’s word for e.g.  1) Gentiles will come over to Israelites in chains and they will bow down before them (Isa. 45:14). David Guzik affirms this in his commentary.  2) A Gentile nation or kingdom that will not serve Israelites will perish and be utterly ruined (Isa. 60:12).  […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Question: My Muslim husband says:  Why do Jews & Christians not have Hebrew manuscripts from before the Exile or 600 BCE which could verify that the DSS & Septuagint are exact copies of the original text? Why don’t Christians have the original Aramaic Gospel from 30 CE? Answer: Out of respect for the ancient text and […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question:  There were 12 tribes of Israel, who were given divine scrolls. They were called “Israelites”. Then how can one tribe [Editor’s note: I am assuming the questioner means Judah] represent the whole Israelites and their scriptures when 10 tribes are lost in history and what is the guarantee that the current OT was the […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Question: The only evidence of the Septuagint translation is the pseudepigraphical letter of Aristeas. It says: “six elders out of every tribe of Israel wrote it.” First, 10 tribes of Israelites had already been lost in history a long time ago, before this time, which shows that this story is fabricated. Second, if they wrote, […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: My teacher says:  The current Gospels are not reliable because they were written in Greek, whereas the language of Jesus and his followers was Aramaic. Christians don’t have manuscripts from 40 AD in Aramaic. Further, when Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, his speech was translated from Roman to Aramaic. It means Greek/Latin was not […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: According to 1 Samuel 15:22, “Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the Lord? behold, obedience better than a good sacrifice.” Therefore, the whole story of Jesus’ crucifixion is bogus and God didn’t order Jesus to do it.  Your response? Answer: This statement is riddles […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: We are told in the Talmud that an assembly of priests were about to reject the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel because those writings were contradictory to the Law but a certain Rabbi had tried to reconcile them and they were preserved as “canonical”. Those three books are confessedly presented to us as […]

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

Question: St. Eucharius (3rd Century) said:  “It is evident why we have not remaining the books which the Holy Scriptures approve of, because Judea having been ravaged by the Chaldeans, and the ancient bibliotheque being burnt. There remaining only a small number of the books which at present make up the Holy Scriptures and which were […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

 There is a short prophecy appended to the book of Jeremiah in Ethiopic Bible which August Dillmann translates:  A Prophecy of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah spake thus unto Pashur: But ye all your days fight against the truth, with your fathers and your sons that shall come after you. And they shall commit a sin more damnable […]

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

Question: Adam Clarke (1831) wrote a commentary on Jeremiah 8:8 that:  It is too bold an assertion to say that “the Jews have never falsified the sacred oracles;” they have done it again and again. They have written falsities when they knew they were such.  John Chrysostom (4th Century) wrote in his homily on Matthew 2:23 that:  The […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Although the Isaiah scroll [Editor’s comment: The questioner is referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls] is similar in structure to today’s book of Isaiah, it contains alternative spellings, scribal errors, corrections, and other variant readings. Strictly speaking, the number of textual variants is well over 2600, ranging from a single letter, sometimes one or […]

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