General – Page 16 – Evidence for Christianity

If Jeremiah 33:15 says that the Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration in the 6th century BC, doesn’t that contradict the time of Christ’s appearance?

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

Question: Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration, doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context. Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double […]

Are there genealogies available today that purport to go back to Jesus’ brothers James or Jude, or Joseph’s other sons?

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

Question: One area of Old/New Testament which I’m interested in is the genealogy of Jesus. Now what I’m wanting to find out is whether the genealogy of the line of David (as the Jews know the Messiah must come from his line) is still being recorded to this day? Is there any record of it […]

If we believe that God is all-powerful, then why should we worry about whether there are “mistakes” in the Bible because it is obvious that a perfect God would make a perfect Bible?

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

[editor’s note: Tis is a pretty long, but nevertheless simple question. I hope you do not mind reading such a long question. My answer is below.] Question: In one of the articles at your web site someone was asking about how we can trust that the Bible came out correctly b/c it was written by […]

Why does meeting on Saturday matter to Christians?

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

Request: I had a conversation with someone who knocked on my door from a “nondenominational” church. They meet on Saturdays. Can you point me in the right direction to figure out why meeting on Saturdays matter? Response: The answer is that meeting on Saturday does not matter. Christians can meet on Saturday or on Sunday […]

Can you suggest a way to make the Old Testament more accessible?

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

Question: I want to read the entire Bible. I’m very familiar with the New Testament, as I have read it many times. However, I find the Old Testament difficult to dive into because I don’t find it as applicable to everyday Christian living. Yet, I know there’s much to be gleaned from it. How can […]

Is faith in God and in the things of God reasonable?

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

Question: Is faith in God and in the things of God reasonable? I mean do you believe with a reason? Answer Yes, certainly. Paul told Festus on Acts 26:25 that what we believe about Jesus is “true and reasonable.” Of course, this is just a statement and you should not believe it is true and […]

In your book Daniel, Prophet to the Nations you make the inaccurate claim that much of Daniel is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Why do you make this inaccurate claim?

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

[Editor’s note: this is part of an interaction with a questioner who feels my treatment of Peter Enns’ book How the Bible Actually Works is not fair. The article is found here: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/a-review-of-peter-enns-book-how-the-bible-actually-works/ ] Question: I have worked my way through some fairly lengthy portions of your sermon at the Boston Church of Christ on […]

Can Christians allow abortion?

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

Question: Recently my home state of Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation to date. I wanted to ask you if we as Christians can allow abortion. Many well-meaning people have differing opinions on this, as there are some morally difficult cases. For instance, while there are not that many cases of […]

Is witchcraft real? If yes, how can a Christian shield himself from it?

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

Question: Does witchcraft truly exist? If yes how can a Christian shield himself from it? If no, how can a Christian handle this belief? Answer: Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces […]

Is God male, or is “he” genderless?

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

Question: I am reading a book called With by Skye Jethani who mentions in chapter two that God is genderless based on Genesis 1:26-27. I don’t quite see the inference, the scripture affirms that we are made in the image of God. God made us both male and female. Jethani states, “It was explained to […]

How does God’s sovereignty work together with human choice?

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

Question: How does God’s sovereignty work together with human choices? Answer: My answer is that I do not know exactly how this works. I just know that it does because the Bible so clearly demonstrates that God gives us sovereignty over our own choices. We have free will. He does not force us to obey him […]

Can a person’s good motives make acceptable an action which would normally be bad?

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

Question: Does a person’s motive justify his or her actions? ie. Is it possible to justify a good reason for doing something bad? I want to know that the Bible says about this. Emmanuel: This is a good question. I am afraid that there is no solid, clear-cut, definite answer in the Bible to this […]

Is it acceptable for those not yet saved to take the Communion?

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

Question: Do you think it is ok to take communion if you have not been baptized? If someone says they have been saved–for example that they ‘placed their faith in Christ, repented of their sins, believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins, accepted Christ as their Lord and savior’ etc….should they be able […]

Does God intend that Christians observe a seventh-day Sabbath?

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

Question: I am trying to understand how the early Christians viewed the Sabbath, how the non-Sabbath keepers justified a neglect of the fourth commandment and particularly if we can really be clear that God doesn’t intend for us to continue upholding the seventh day as a day of rest (doing no work, also taking into consideration […]

Do you believe homosexuality is a sin?

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

Question: Do you believe homosexuality is a sin? I read an article that discusses the use of the term homosexuality in the New Testament and how it had a completely different meaning when it was written. The article argued that homosexuality in the terms of two people loving each other didn’t exist back then and […]

Why does the Old Testament not mention heaven and hell?

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

Questions: I have two questions that cause a lot of troubles to me: Some people believe that the concept of hell is a pagan idea which Jesus copied from Egyptian and Greek culture. In the Old Testament they find nothing about the existence of hell and believe that the idea of hell was born in Egypt and […]

What is the significance of Mark 14:51 (the story of the young man who fled without his clothes)?

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

Question: About Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse (the one about the young man who fled the scene of the arrest of Jesus without his clothes)? Answer: The story about the young man losing his clothes is a surprisingly insignificant detail to be included in the Scripture, causing many to wonder […]

Is the proper name of Jesus with the letter y or the letter j?

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

Question: I have a question on the spelling of the name Jesus based on an article I found at https://evidenceforchristianity.org/ask-question/ It talks about the history of the letter J and what that means about the name Jesus. I heard stories that the letter J is only 400 or 500 years old and Jesus been around […]

Is demon possession, as in the gospels, real? Does it happen today?

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

Question: Is demon possession like in the gospels real? Does it still occur today? Answer: Yes, demon possession was and is real. The principle reason I believe this is that Jesus clearly believed in it. He drove demons out of the man called Legion (Mark 5:6-10), out of the boy after being on the Mount […]

Please explain the apparent contradiction: You are my beloved Son (Mark 1:11) vs This is my beloved Son (Matt 3:17)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: 1 – I’m reading a book where an atheist asks: “How can the heavenly voice at Jesus’ baptism have said both ” You are my beloved Son” (Mark 1:11) and ” This is my beloved Son” (Matt 3:17) at the same time? “ 2 – Why did God order killed the Canaanite children? Are […]

What is the significance of Mark 14:51 (in which an unidentified person flees the scene of Jesus’ betrayal, leaving his clothes behind)

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

Question: Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse? Answer: The story about the young man losing his clothes seems a surprisingly insignificant detail to include in the Gospel of Mark. This has caused many to wonder why Mark included it (including you!). The most reasonable answer I have heard is that this […]

How was the communion practiced in the primitive church and how should we do it today?

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

Question: I have been seeking to understand the development of communion as it is practiced in the church today and how communion was practiced in the first century Church. I referred to written works from authors with a Jewish understanding and perspective about the practice of breaking bread and communion, To understand the original intent […]

My son asks a good, logical question: If God is all-powerful and sovereign, then why would he hold us responsible, since he predestines what we do?

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

Question: My son has a “logical” but non-Biblical idea. He believes that God’s will is omnipotent, sovereign and therefore (because God is good) all obey His will and therefore are not responsible for what they do. Their actions are all predetermined. How do you respond to this quandary? Answer: This may be the single most common […]

If we allow for the multiverse idea, is it not possible that life on earth just popped into existence?

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

Question: Once you allow the multiverse, is it not possible that life on earth just popped into existence kind of like Boltzmann brains? Answer: First of all, there is absolutely zero evidence for the multiverse. This is utter speculation. This speculation only exists, in my opinion, because atheists need a fall-back argument against the FACT […]

Bart Ehrman says that the “we” passages in Acts are a deception used to convince readers that the writer was a companion of Paul. Your response?

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

[Editor’s note: This question comes from a person who has asked many questions, as you will see from my answer. To find more on Ehrman, go to the site and do a search on his name] Question: Bart Ehrman claims that the “we” passages in Acts are forgery by the author to convince the readers […]

In a video by an atheist he claimed that the Bible teaches Christians to have a hostile attitude toward nonbelievers, using 2 John 9-11. Your response?

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

Question: I have a question. In a recent video that I saw, an atheist argued that the Bible teaches that Christians are to have a hostile and distasteful attitude toward nonbelievers. He cites 2 John 1:9-11 as evidence of this claim which says, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching […]

I read an article that claims John 7:53-8:11 in the KJV was not in the original John. Is that correct?

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

Question: I read an article that claims that John 7:53-8:11 was not part of the original book of John. https://www.gotquestions.org/John-7-53-8-11.html Please comment on this article. Is today’s KJV bible accurate as to the original manuscripts written by the original gospel writers? Are there any additional example of material that has been added to the Gospels over the […]

Is there an error in Ephesians 4:8 because it is a misquote from Psalm 68:18?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: Ephesians 4:8 is a quote from Psalm 68:18, but it is miss-quoted by Paul. The verse in Ephesians says “gave gifts to men,” while Psalms says “received gifts from men”. Please explain. Thank you. Answer: In Ephesians 4:8 it is likely that Paul is quoting the Aramaic Targum rather than the Septuagint. The Aramaic […]

Is Daniel 9:24-27 a credible messianic prophecy? What is the decree of Dan 9:25? Is it Neh 2:1 or Ezra 7:13?

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

Question: I’ve been trying to understand if Daniel 9 actually presents a credible prophecy. I’m at least familiar with (though do not completely understand) all the different perspectives. I’m aware that some interpretations involve the beginning of the “decree” [Daniel 9:25] in 444/445 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1). You begin the period of 490 years from 458 […]

How can free will exist if God is omnipotent?

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

Question: How can free will exist if God is omnipotent? Answer: First of all, I assume you are asking about free will in light of God’s sovereignty, not his omnipotence. I see no logical problem in God being all-powerful preventing him from using his power to create a sentient being with free will. I know […]

What is the Christian response to the power of positive thinking? Is Jesus the “Master of positive thinking”?

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

Question: What are the origins and influences of the science of positive thinking and personal development? Is it biblical when we know that this science mainly advocates the exaltation of the self? Autosuggestion, visualization and mental imagery? What do you think of the fact that some philosophers or psychologists claim that Jesus is a great […]

When Israel worshiped the golden calf Aaron made in the desert, were they worshiping God or a different god?

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

Question: After leaving Egypt, did the Hebrew worship the True God of Israel in the desert through the Golden calf or did they worship another god through the use of the Golden calf ? Answer: The Hebrew may be subject to two different interpretations. Aaron said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out […]

Are there any contemporary reports from the Jews of the resurrections on “Good Friday”?

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

Question: How did the Jewish government handle the resurrections of the dead during the Good Friday story? I mean today once your social security file is closed its over for you! Imagine how our government would handle the dead coming back into the cities! Is there any Jewish mention of these saints when they came back […]

Why do bad things happen to good people?

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

Question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Answer: This is a complex and difficult question and there is no simple answer. I have written an essay on the question of suffering. I am attaching it here and copying and pasting below. The Problem of Pain and Suffering Here is the “quick” version. Everything God […]

Can we trust Ron Wyatt’s published claim that they have discovered some of Jesus’ blood and that it has 24, not 23 chromosomes?

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

Question: I heard about discovery of Jesus’ blood on the ark of covenant by Ryan Watt. He concluded they found Jesus’ blood ….when they tested this blood the results were that Jesus’ blood is still alive today, and it has 24 chromosomes: 23 from his mother and 1 from the Holy Spirit which proves the […]

Hosea 11:1 cannot be a prophecy about the Messiah because it speaks of Israel, not Jesus.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: I received a long and somewhat rambling set of comments and questions from someone. I asked for a more succinct set of comments and questions so that I could respond. You will see below that the shorter version is still a bit unfocused, but this person asks sufficiently important questions that I felt […]

What is “the name of” the Holy Spirit? (Matthew 28:19)

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

Question: In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now I know my question will sound silly, but keep in mind that there is indeed a reason behind it. So… what is the name of the Holy Spirit? Answer: This is not […]

What is your response to someone who says prayer is a waste of time? That “answers” are really just confirmational bias?

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

Question: What do you say to someone who claims that prayer is a waste of time because supposed “answers” to prayer are simply result of confirmational bias? Answer: The way I see it, either God exists or he does not. If he exists, either he listens to and answers prayer or he does not. I […]

What do you say to people who claim that Joseph of Arimathea did not actually exist?

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

Question: What do you say to the idea that Joseph of Arimathea did not actually exist? Is there good historical proof that he did? Answer: There is no “proof” that any single person lived in ancient history. It is literally impossible to prove that Nero or Julius Caesar or Nebuchadnezzar or anyone else in ancient […]

Why did the Council of Nicaea discuss whether Jesus was God or human?

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

Questions: 1.Why did the council have to meet to discuss if Jesus was the Son of God or if he was human or a spirit? 2.If God inspired man to write the Bible and he lives in me, why do I need the Bible or Jesus to tell me how to live when I can […]

Did Paul really write the pastoral epistles?

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

Question: Did Paul really write the pastoral epistles? Most scholars refuse this opinion and say that they were written later after Paul’s death. They say that the vocabulary and style are different from that of the seven undisputed epistles. Some have suggested that Paul used a secretary to write these epistles, probably Luke, because he […]

I totally disagree with your article on the Roman Catholic Church tracing back to Pentecost and to Peter!

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

[Editor’s note: The one sending this comment read a Q & A at the site and took great exception to the article. My reply is below. The original article is here ] Comment: I am in absolute disagreement with your article on the Roman Catholic Church being able to claim its roots back to Pentecost, […]

Can God make a rock so big he cannot move it? How do I respond to this question from a skeptic?

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

Question: What is the way to respond to this question? Can God make a rock so big, he can’t move it? Answer: This is one of the classic “challenges” to the idea of the Christian God that atheists and agnostics throw out there. It is really a rather unsophisticated challenge, but for those who do […]

Is the multiverse theory true and is this a reasonable argument against the existence of God?

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

Question: I want to ask you some questions about quantum mechanics, cause I know that’s your specialization. 1. I’ve read about the many-worlds interpretation and am wondering if it is true, and if it’s true then would this interpretation deny God’s existence? 2. I’ve also read about many-minds interpretation, but I am still confused about […]

The Bible says that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Therefore he cannot be the son of the Father. How does this work?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Philosophy, Q & A .

Question: I believe the Holy Spirit is a person and I believe Jesus was conceived through the Holy spirit, but someone who thinks the Holy Spirit is not a person could ask me this question and I cannot find an answer..please help me ! The reasoning is this: If the Holy Spirit is a person of […]

Did Jesus become the Son of God at his resurrection as Bart Ehrman claims?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Some people think that Jesus was begotten by the father only at his resurrection because the apostle Paul said about Jesus that he was appointed Son of God by His resurrection ( Romans 1 – or the speech of Paul in the Act of the Apostle). I’m currently reading the Bart Erhman’s book “How Jesus […]

Is Christianity a religion, or is it a way of life? Did Jesus start a religion?

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

Question: Can you tell me if Jesus said anything about forming a religion around him. The only thing I can find is that he was going to build his church on Peter’s foundation. I believe he was here to show us a way of life not a religion. How wrong do you think I am? […]

Is Zechariah 13:7 a prophecy of the Messiah or of the false shepherd of Zechariah 11:17 or the false prophet of Zechariah 13:1-6?

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

Question: Is Zechariah 13:7 talking about the Messiah or is it about the false shepherd whom God strikes in Zechariah 11:17 or perhaps the false prophet in Zechariah 13: 1-6? Answer: The shepherd of Zechariah 13:7 is the Messiah. I know this for sure because in Matthew 26:31 the inspired gospel writer Matthew tells us […]

Could the empty tomb of Jesus be the result of a conspiracy rather than Jesus actually resurrecting?

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

[Editor’s note: I am dispersing my answers among the questions. They will be in italics.] Question: I have been a believer of Jesus Christ for more than 10 years. Recently my brother who is an atheist challenged me with many absurd theories he found on the internet. That provoked me to look for solid evidence […]

Who are the sixth and seventh kings in Revelation 10-12? Could they be Vespasian and Titus? Who are the kings who had not yet come?

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

Question: Doesn’t Revelation 17: 10 show that John got his vision during the sixth king, who is Vespasian? and the seventh king who is to come is Titus, who according to this verse will rule for a short time, and he did, from 79 till 81 AD? If this is true, then John got […]