Miracles – Evidence for Christianity

The Westar Institute claim that Jesus was an exceptional man but not the Son of God. What do you think about their methodology?

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

Question: John, have you heard/do you have thoughts about the Westar Institute material? They claim that Jesus was an exceptional man, but not the ‘son of God’. They are very learned and seem less ’emotionally motivated’ than a Bart Ehrman type account. https://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar https://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/1994_five_gospels_no_Christ_Jesus_Seminar.pdf They are saying, yes Jesus existed, and he said and […]

What are the “spirit tongues” which are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:2-4?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, Miracles, Q & A .

[Editor’s note: This question is specific to the Indonesian translation of 1 Corinthians, although it is relevant to the general question about unknown languages and whether they are mentioned in the Bible] Question: I am from Bandung, Indonesia. One of my friends asked me about 1 Corinthians 14:2-4 What is the meaning speak in tongues […]

Does science prove that miracles are real?

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

Question: Does science prove that miracles exist? Answer; I assume you are asking if science can be used to prove that a miracle occurred. There are two reasons the answer is no. First of all, science has to do with things which are “natural.” In other words, science only deals with events that occur due […]

How to I respond to those who claim that Joseph raped Mary?

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

Question: It is said that Matthew and Luke have skirted around the obvious contradiction of Jesus’ conception; that Mary and Joseph were only betrothed and not married. Clearly, Virgin Mary would not have allowed Joseph to have sex until they were married. Thus, he must have raped her. This is covered up by using his […]

Is there historical evidence that Jesus actually died on a cross and that the tomb was empty?

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

Question: I want to ask a few questions. Is there any historical evidences that: 1. Jesus actually died on the cross 2 . The tomb (Jesus’ tomb ) was indeed empty on the third day and 3. Jesus actually resurrected from the death? Answer: Yes, indeed, there is evidence for the first two. […]

How can I explain to an atheist skeptic that there are talking snakes, unicorns and talking bushes in the Bible (as well as 6 day creation)?

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

Question: I had a question about a couple of things that I heard an atheist bring up the other day. How do you respond to an atheist that says they can’t believe in the Bible because of some of the things that are in there like talking snakes, talking bushes, unicorns or even the time […]

If Apollonius of Tyana cast out demons, what does this say about the Christian claim that Jesus cast out demons? Does this confirm Apollonius or others who did the same?

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

Question: We use the fact that Jesus cast out demons as evidence of his power. However, I have noticed that other religious leaders also cast out demons, such as Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and even African wizards. How is it possible that others can do this sort of thing? What does it mean, given that Jesus […]

The miracles in the Bible are not unique or a big deal as they are like a lot of bogus miracle claims from the Middle Ages

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

[editor’s note: The third of three sets of comments that came into the site with responses] Comments: 5. The reporting of miracles in Bible is NOT surprising, convincing or unique. Why? Throughout history reported attested miracles are a dime a dozen. The Middle Ages are awash with them. Monasteries competed with each other for power, […]

Existe profecias que no se revelado in la Biblia?

John Oakes wrote in Bible, General, Miracles, Miracles, Q & A, Spanish Content, Spanish Q&A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Pregunta: Existe profecías que no se haya revelado de la Biblia en el día de hoy. Tengo un amigo que me manda profecías que no sean cumplido como un terremoto que pasará el Añó 2018 por todo el mundo. Repuesta: Según entiendo el Nuevo Testamento, el don milagroso de la profecía casi con certeza ha cesado. […]

Which of the four gospels was written first?

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

Question: I’ve read that most scholars believe that Gospel of Mark was the first gospel written, but a number of scholars say Matthew is the first.. Then I was surprised when I read that there are people who argue that Gospel of Luke was the first!!!! What are their evidences for Lukan priority? Are these […]

Could it be that people simply did not know where Jesus was buried, making it convenient when proclaiming the resurrection?

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

[Editor’s note: This question is coming from a Christian in the Middle East who is dealing with relatively unsophisticated Muslim skeptics of the resurrection] Question: Some Christians insist this [the scenario which follows] is exactly what would have happened if the story of Jesus were false. If the tomb were not empty, detractors could have […]

The Sennacherib Prism states that the Assyrians made Hezekiah a prisoner. Why does 2 Kings not include this important information?

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

Question: I recently got a new study Bible, which describes historical events. In a part of the Bible that says “Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament” it describes “Sennacherib’s Prism”: “Sennacherib vividly describes his siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC, making Hezekiah a prisoner of his own royal city (but cf. 2 Kings 19:35-37).” […]

Isn’t it reasonable to expect that God will send prophets to us today to help guide his people?

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

Question: About prophets in our present day, the New Testament had prophets like Agabus and Anna. What about our present day? Could God still appoint prophets to guide and direct his church? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” This gift can be a blessing to the […]

What about the hypothesis that the resurrection appearances were a hallucination?

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

Question: What do you think about the hypothesis that the resurrection was all based on hallucination, or mere subjective visions? Is this a strong theory? What is the best way to defeat this theory? Answer: Here are the undisputed facts: 1. Jesus was crucified by the Romans under Pontius PIlate in Jerusalem. 2. His tomb […]

How can we know that the Bible, a collection of many different books over centuries, is from a deity?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How do we know the Bible, a collection of books and letters written of centuries, is the word of a deity? Answer: Given the amazing evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, the fact that it is a collection of writings written over many centuries makes it even more impressive. The Bible contains the […]

Doesn’t application of Ockham’s razor favor materialism over theism?

John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, General Apologetics, Miracles, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: One philisophical principle is that in a set of hypotheses, the one with less assumptions should be validated. Most of my friends think that materialism is the worldview with the least assumptions since it only requires that we assume the physical world can be perceived, measured and understood by our human senses. These materialist friends say […]

Would a person who had no resources other than the Bible come to the cessationist position?

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

Question: If a person was locked alone in a room with a Bible, and knew nothing about Church history, would they really come out of this room as a cessationist? I have trouble believing this statement. I am attaching a debate link that I found useful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLOSesbHxQr2ShoYe9sgnTZ1er9GGYz5F0&v=c0biTwj635I&app=desktop [editor’s note: the questioner is using the word […]

How can the Bible be inerrant if there are obvious copying errors such as in 2 Samuel 10:18 vs. 1 Chronicles 19:18?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Miracles, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have some general questions concerning Christianity. How can the Bible be considered inerrant if there are instances of copyist errors such as tht which occurs in 2 Samuel 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 19:18. The second passage mentions 700 and the first mentionsr 7000 slain charioteers? I realize that most of these copyist errors […]

Should we be seeing the miracles in Mark 16:17-18 in the church today?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Miracles, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Mark 16::17-18 describes divine abilities believers should possess but not observant to the contrary. You think the same principle of miracles apply today? Answer: Scholars are nearly unanimous that Mark 16:9-20 was not in the original Book of Mark, so I see relatively little need to explain this section in Mark. It is […]

How can you say that Biologos and scientists such as Denis Lamoreaux are deistic evolutionists?

John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Miracles, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Supernatural .

[Editor’s note: The comment and response below are a follow-up to an earlier question and answer in which some terminology produced a bit of a miscommunication. For completeness, the original exchange is below this comment and response.] Comment: I was at a roundtable discussion that included Denis Lamoreaux. I definitely aggree with his thinking on evolution. But […]

Do DNA tests on the Shroud of Turin disprove the virgin birth?

John Oakes wrote in General, Miracles, Science and the Bible, Supernatural .

Question: Do DNA tests prove Jesus had two human parents? Recently the Shroud of Turin has been re-dated within the range of 300 BC to 300 AD. As a result the blood found on the Shroud was type AB, and had both X and Y chromosomes. Where did the Y chromosome come from? If God […]

Can science be used to evaluate the occurrence of miracles? Would accepting that miracles are real impede scientific progress? What criteria can be used to evaluate miracles?

John Oakes wrote in General, General Apologetics, Miracles, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus, Science and the Bible, Supernatural .

Question: If miracles are to be considered divine singularities, is the scientific method appropriate for evaluating the occurrence of miracles? Does recognizing the occurrence of miracles halt scientific progress since doing so would require recognizing the miracle as a divine singularity instead of a repeatable regularity, and also result in the scientist’s giving up being […]

If quantum events are random, how can God know who is going to heaven and how can free will exist?

John Oakes wrote in Creation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Philosophy, Q & A, Supernatural, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Does god play dice? Quantum events are random. So how can God know who is going to heaven? The Bible mentions that those who are saved have been written in the book of life before creation. You also mention the universe has a sort of free will so how does God know about events […]