History – Page 5 – Evidence for Christianity

Assuming that there existed an oral tradition given to the Jews beyond that we have in the Pentateuch, what purpose did these additional laws serve? What do they contain? Are the ultraorthodox Jews right that they are contained in the Talmud?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Other Religions .

Question:,You agree with me that there was probably some sort of oral tradition given to the Jews which did not make it into the Old Testament. (editor’s note: this is based on an earlier question and answer) I would like to ask you the following three questions:,1) What purpose do you think this oral tradition […]

Explain how Daniel says Darius asked people to pray to him when we know from other sources that the rulers of Persian and Media were Zoroastrians and would never have allowed themselves to be worshipped

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, History, Reliability of the Bible .

Comment: 1) The Medes became Zoroastrian before the Persians 2)Daniel 6;9 has King Darius signing a decree that no prayer should be directed to anyone except the king. This would be unthinkable for a Zoroastrian and therefore the account cannot be historical. 3) The word for king is totally separate from the word for governor […]

At what age did Daniel die? How did Daniel come to be in Babylon in 606/605 BC

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, History .

Question: 1) At what age did Daniel die? 2) How did Daniel come to go to Babylon in 606/5 BC ? Answer: We know from Babylonian records that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Canaan in 606/605 BC. His father died during that time. The evidence says that Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, but the Jews chose to submit […]

Is the burial custom in 2 Chron 16:14 an anachronism? I find no knowledge of such a Jewish burial custom.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: I detect an anachronism in the burial practice described in 2 Chron 16:14. To the best of my knowledge there is no Jewish custom recorded elsewhere regarding this clearly ongoing practice. What therefore is its explanation? Answer We do not know all the cultural practices of the Philistines. If the Bible were to mention […]

Leviticus 26:19 mention iron when the iron age did not start in Canaan until 1150 BC. Doesn't this prove that Moses did not write Leviticus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: There is evidence of proto-Israelite settlement in Canaan around 1400BC. The Iron Age in Canaan is dated to 1150BC at the earliest. How then can Moses be the author of Leviticus when he reports God as speaking of iron in 26;19 when it was not to be discovered until 200 years after his death […]

Jeremiah 43 prophecies that Egypt would be conquered by Babylon. Secular historians said that Egypt was conquered by the Persians. Can you explain this discrepancy?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

Question: According to Jer 43 Egypt would be conquered by Babylon, but secularhistorians attribute this conquest to the Persians. Do you have any infoon this? Answer: Your information is correct. The Persians/Medes did conquer Egypt under Cambysses, the son of Cyrus in 525 BC. However, the Persians were not the first to conquer Egypt. The […]

Can you help with history of city of Corinth and at present what's their condition?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, History .

Question: Can you help with history of city of Corinth and at present what’s their condition? Answer: Corinth is on the isthmus separating the Peloponesian peninsula from mainland Greece. For this reason, it was in important and wealthy city from ancient times. During the 500’s BC it played a role as the or one of […]

A professor of mine claimed that astrology came from Judaism and that it was part of later Judaism and early Christianity. Is this possible?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

Question: I realize that astrology and the Zodiac today is something that God would not condone, but I heard some argue that the Zodiac was originally a biblical concept that was corrupted during the time of the tower of Babel. Is there any proof supporting this claim? ;Also, in my Rome and Jerusalem class, we […]

What is the significance of the angel that appears to Daniel in chapter 10 telling him that he was summoned 21 days ago but was held up by ?the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia??

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

Question: What is the significance of the angel that appears to Daniel in chapter 10 telling him that he was summoned 21 days ago but was held up by “the Prince of the Kingdomof Persia”? I believe every scripture is there for a reason and God does not bother with insignificant issues, so what is […]

Is there physical or hard evidence for Christ? Or, is it all reasoning?

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

Question: Is there physical or hard evidence for Christ? Or, is it all reasoning? Answer: The answer to this question will depend on what you mean by hard, physical evidence. What do you mean by hard, physical evidence? What sort of evidence would this be? How would we judge such date? Are you thinking of […]

Where can one find the books which are mentioned in 1,2 Samuel and 1,2 Kings, such as the BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL, and HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History .

Question: Where can one find the book where the kings in the old testament such as David, Solomon and other prominent leaders were mentioned, such as BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL, HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH? Answer: These books have been lost. There were several books used as sources for […]

Did Domitian help to subdue Galba, Otho and Vitellius, or was it just Vitellius? Do you have historical sources you can mention?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

Question: In your section on the 10 horns-the 11th being Domitian, what historical sources can you site that show that Vespesian and/or Domitian subdued Otho and Galba? I have only been able to find sources for Vitellius’s overthrow by armed forces who supported Vespesian. Could the three who were subdued actually be ordinal… For example, […]

My college religion professor says the Jews were originally polytheists. Is this true, or is it a biased interpretation?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I am currently a college student and have taken several religion courses. Often I find information that bothers me. One is that it is often very biased due to the teacher. What has been bothering me recently is some information that has been presented to us, and claimed as “factual.” It is said that […]

How do I know the Bible is accurate, and that it was altered and that it is not biased history?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History .

Question: I just recently shared my faith with a man who claimed you cannot trust the Bible as it is just a theory. He also holds that history has been altered and that the stories of the New Testament were most likely alteredt. I told him about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in […]

Was Christianity the foundation of "liberty?"

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Philosophy .

Question: Will you give me evidence on whether “Christianity is the foundation of liberty”? Answer: I will need to guess what the person from whom you are quoting is trying to claim. I am going to guess that this person is saying that the indirect influence of Christianity on human culture and means of government […]

Is Jesus' birth day on December 25th or an approximation? How did we come to this date?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

Question: Is Jesus’ birth day on December 25th or an approximation? How did we come to this date? Please share your studies on this especially some scripture(s). Answer: I answered this question in an article posted at the web site just a couple of weeks ago. What I will do is copy the article here: […]

Were people literate in the time of Jesus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Social Issues .

Question: Were people literate in the time of Jesus? Answer: This is a good question. As I understand it, the answer will depend on who you are talking about; whether the Jews themselves, or their Roman, Greek and other cultural neighbors. By the time of Christ, the chief institution among the Jews was the Synagogue. […]

Was there a miraculous event when the second temple was dedicated?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, History .

First Kings records a massive outpouring of light and cloud when Solomon’s temple was dedicated. Is there any record of such an event occurring when the second temple was dedicated? Can you think of any spiritual implications of whether such a miraculous outpouring happened? As far as I know, there is no direct evidence of […]

Is the Old Testament historically accurate? What about the Exodus?

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

I was conversing with a friend the other day about the Bible. He said he prefers to read the New Testament over the OT because the latter is less historically accurate. He cited as an example the Hebrew exodus from Egypt: he said that the Egyptians recorded everything (historical events, that is), and there is […]

Can you explain a number of supposed historical errors in the Bible I heard about in my Comparative Religion class? (see list)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Note: This is a very long question. The answer is several paragraphs down the page. I am presently taking a Comparative Religion course on the New Testament and have been struggling with some of the themes that have surfaced so far. Our course text is “The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to Early Christian Writings” […]

What is the evidence for if Luke was a good historian? (for example about Mary, Joseph and Quirinius)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History .

Could you make a good summary for the evidences to support the Luke 2 account of the census decreed by Caesar while Quirinius was ruling that would have forced Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem from Nazareth? I have read so much about the topic. I do see support that it could have happened, […]

Where were some of the areas where Christianity was found?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

Where were some of the areas where Christianity was found? I am assuming you are asking where Christianity spread to in its earliest history. Of course, Christianity had its beginning in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, in what would be Israel and Palestine today. From there, after about AD 50, the new religion spread […]

What happened in early Christianity between A.D 180-311?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

What happened in early Christianity between A.D 180-311? I am going to assume that you did not choose these dates arbitrarily. Probably you found the starting and ending date for your question in a book you read. Most likely, the end date for your question, AD 311, is a reference to the edict of Toleration […]

Where can I find writings from Joshepus?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

Where can I find writings from Joshepus? Josephus had a number of writings, but the most relevant for a Christian are the works “The Antiquities of the Jews,” and “The Wars of the Jews,” also known as “The Jewish Wars.” “The Antiquities of the Jews” is a fairly comprehensive history of the Jewish people, beginning […]

I would like some specific references to passages in ancient writers (non-Christian) who mention Jesus.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, History .

I’m doing a study on non-biblical sources about Jesus’ existence. I know there are people like Josephus, Lucian, Thallus, Jewish Talmud, Cornelius Tacitus & Seutonius. I was wondering if you know any websites/books that have in their writings specifically the parts that talk about Jesus. Also if you know any more people that write about […]

What are common characteristics to religious nationalism?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Other Religions, Social Issues .

What are common characteristics to religious nationalism? I am not completely confident of how you would define religious nationalism. Let me give you the definition I would use and answer the question based on that definition. If I have missed the mark, please rephrase your question so that I can be sure how you would […]

Why do Jews no longer offer animal sacrifices?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Other Religions, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Do you know the reason given as to why Jewish people no longer offer sacrifices. I have read that in the time of the exile, more weight was given to study of the law and scribes, but even then, the Levitical line was preserved and once the captives returned, sacrifices and temple worship were reinstated. […]

Did Moses live at the same time as Noah?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History .

Did Moses live at the same time as Noah? No. Moses lived in the period around 1400 BCE. That is an approximation, and scholars will debate the exact date. Some would place the Exodus from Egypt (under Moses) as late as about 1300 BCE, others would date it at around 1460 BC. That is a […]

Did Christianity originate in Ethiopia?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, History .

Did Christianity originate in Ethiopia? No. Christianity originated in Jerusalem, probably in either AD 29 or AD 33 (the two years which have the Passover fall on the right day to fit the description in the gospel accounts). To be specific, Christianity as a publicly proclaimed religion, began on the Day of Pentecost, forty-nine days […]

How could God command a person to commit murder and genocide, which must have caused moral, psychological, and emotional trauma?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Lately I have been wondering about the atrocities of murder, genocide, etc. today. I do not have a problem understanding the existence of evil or human suffering. But throughout the OT God told the Israelites to conduct genocide; including the murder of women and children. I can accept instances like Sodom and Gomorrah were God […]

What happened to the Ark of the Covenant after Solomon's time?

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

I do not see the Ark of the Covenant mentioned in the Bible, after the time of Solomon? What happened to it? Where might it be? Is recovering it of any importance? You are correct, as far as I know, about the last time the Ark of the Covenant is known for sure to have […]

Did Israel received "Noah's flood story" from the Babylonians while in captivity?

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

I recently viewed a documentary claiming that ancient tablets (older than OT manuscripts) were found in Iraq, telling a story almost identical to Noah’s… and that the soil there showed signs of an ancient flood as well (unlike the land around Mount Ararat). The final conclusion was that Israel received this “story” from the Babylonians […]

When did Christianity begin?

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

When did Christianity begin? Public Christianity began on the day of Pentecost, as described in Acts Chapter two. One could debate this date. For example, one could say that Christianity began the day Jesus rose from the dead, or one could say that Christianity began the day Jesus was born, or the day he began […]

What is the chronological order of the New Testament books?

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

I was wondering if you could provide me with a list of the New Testament books in chronological order. I’m trying to prepare for an upcoming discussion about the reliability of Bible texts so if you could point me in any specific direction…that would be great Do you mean chronological order of when they were […]

How do we know that our Christian perspective of what the Jews thought isn't gross revisionism?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Other Religions .

“Jews do not believe that Jesus was the moshiach. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the moshiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any of […]

In "The Passion of Christ", Caesar warned Pilate not to allow any more uprisings. Is there any historical basis for this?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History .

In the recent movie, The Passion of Christ, there was a reference to Pilate being warned by Caesar twice not to allow any more uprisings. Is there any historical basis for this? I’m sure there was some political reason Pilate allowed a man he considered innocent to be executed. Melissa (Denver) Relatively little is known, […]

What evidence do we have that the stories on Christianity are real?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History .

What evidence do we have that the stories on Christianity are real? Unfortunately, this is a rather vague question. I will give a fairly vague answer in response. If you have a more specific question in mind, please send me another question. I am not sure what you mean by “stories” in Christianity? Do you […]

What happen between the Old Testament and New Testament?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Daniel, General, History .

What happen between the Old Testament and New Testament? You should get a copy of my book on Daniel; Daniel, Prophet to the Nations. It is available at www.ipibooks.com There is a lot of material there on intertestamental history. Another source is the book of 1 Maccabbees, which is contained in Roman Catholic Bibles. A […]

What is the original meaning of the word Amen? Does it come from the Egyptian god Amen?

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

I have studied the word Amen. What does it mean and what is the origin of the word? I have read it in the Egypt website that Amen is the ancient name of their god Please Check if it is true. The word amen simply means, so be it or I agree. The etymology of […]

What was life like for the women of the Old Testament?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Social Issues .

What was life like for the women of the Old Testament? You are asking a very broad question, so I am afraid I will have to give a somewhat vague answer. The reason this is a hard question to answer is that the Old Testament covers a time span (not including the first eleven chapters […]

How long were the Jews in Egypt: 400 years or 200 years?

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

I?m reading “Genesis and the Big Bang” by Gerald L Schroeder PhD and was wondering if you noticed that he has a Biblical cumulative age for the earth (post-Adam) of 5763 years. I?ve noticed that the Jewish peoplealso use this age, but when you add up the dates in the Bible, it comes out closer […]

Did Jesus travel (for example to India) before his ministry?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Other Religions .

1. A woman I have been talking with mentioned, in reference to the claim that Jesus never traveled more than 200miles from where he was born, that there are texts that dispute this claim. She seemed to imply that these texts contained some scandalous reports but I didn’t press the subject since I knew I […]

What evidence is there that the apostles died for their faith?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

I’ve had heard many people claim that the Apostles would not have let themselves be put to death for a lie, and this should be taken into consideration when studying the evidence for Jesus, but what evidence outside of the scriptures do we have that the Apostles were actually put to death? I respect your […]

Jeremiah 31:37 Can one measure Heaven? Does God condone killing? What about the historical errors in Daniel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, History, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

As far as God condoning killing, I understand that he hates sin and so seeks to establish justice on the earth; however, it’s not that he condones killing that bothers me, but that he used Israel to do it! Israel was as sinful (if not more so) than the nations surrounding them. Sinful people killing […]

Questions about Daniel Chapters 9 and 11

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

I wondering about chapter 9 (of the book Daniel in the Bible), if it is not possible to look at the last week as taking 70 years instead of 7, and have it overlap the others so that it covers from the birth of Jesus till the destruction of the temple in which case Jesus […]

Can you tell me when the Catholic church started insisting its priests were celibate?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History .

How celibacy became common and why it became required are two very different things. In the third and fourth centuries it became common in primitive Christianity for men to choose asceticism as a way of expressing their devotion to God. Asceticism is a general term to describe the philosophy that one becomes close to God […]

What non-biblical references show that Jesus actually existed?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History .

While you’ve written a very good book it seems to be based on the premise that Jesus actually existed. What non biblical evidences can you provide that speak to his existence? (the questioner is referring to my book, Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences, available at www.greatcommission.com) Actually, the book you mention provides […]

Questions about the Book of Daniel

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

I was reading your book about Daniel, and I wanted to ask some questions about Daniel chapter 7 and your comment, because there were some thingswhich weren’t clear to me. 1) In the Roman Empire there weren’t just 11 kings, I mean after Domitian came a lot of other kings in the Roman Empire who […]

Is it right that the religion of Islam came from Ishmael's descendant?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, History, Other Religions .

Yes, this is essentially correct. The Bible describes the peoples who came to be known as the Arabs as having been descended from Ishmael. As Muhammad, the founder and chief prophet of Islam is Arab, he would be a direct descendent of Ishmael. This is why historians of religion would claim that Judaism, Christianity and […]

Did Moses actually lead the Israelities through the Red Sea?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Miracles .

I recently watched a tv show about Moses, and it was discussing the Red Sea Crossing. They claimed that Moses never led the children of Israel through the “Red Sea,” but through an unknown sea. They also said the original Hebrew for Red Sea was Yam Suph which meant Sea of Reeds, and the “Red […]