Other Religions – Evidence for Christianity

Maimonides said that God gave the Jews a temple to accommodate the pagan religions around them, and that he intended the use of a temple to fade away over time. What are your thoughts?

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

Question: According to the famous Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, God did not invent the concept of priesthood and sacrifices; instead, he transferred an existing, deeply ingrained custom to His own name, i.e. The Israelites grew up surrounded by Egyptian paganism, where temples, priests, and animal sacrifices were the only known way to worship a deity. […]

Is Toviah Singer right about Psalm 110–that it is not messianic and it is not about a “lord” who is God?

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

Question: I had a question about Psalm 110. Are we reading it wrong as Christians? I am not able to figure out who the writer was. Whether it was David himself, a scribe, or someone else. I’ve been reading a lot of commentaries and no one is able to decide the answer so I was […]

How does the historicity of Buddha compare with that of Jesus?

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

Question: How does the historicity of Jesus compare to the historicity of Buddha? Answer: Both Jesus of Nazareth and Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) are certainly historical figures. I am not sure what is to be gained by asking which of two certainly historical persons is more certain. How much more certain can we be than certain? […]

Please respond to a list of criticisms from a Jewish apologist in which he says Jesus cannot be the Jewish Messiah.

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

Editor’s note: This is a response to a fairly long Jewish criticism of Christianity which included 50 “reasons” to believe that Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah. It can be found at https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/624738 . Question: Please reply to criticisms # 2,3,9,10,11,14,26,30,40,44 in the following article: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/624738 Response: 2. I have already responded to point 2 […]

Why did Jesus teach predominantly in riddles and parables, when the Koran says the messenger’s duty is to deliver the message clearly?

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

Question: Jesus spoke predominantly in riddles and parables, obscuring rather than elucidating the message. Therefore, Jesus is guilty of obscuring his message from opponents although the Koran states: The messenger’s duty is only to deliver the message clearly (24:54). What should be the response? Answer: A few comments. First of all, the Quran itself and […]

Why do Christians not offer prayer the way Jews and Muslims do, who bow their heads to the earth? This is also mentioned in Nehemiah 8:6.

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

Question: Why do Christians not offer prayers (Salah) like Jews and Muslims who bow down their heads to earth. It is also referred in Nehemiah 8:6? Answer: First of all, the majority of Jews in Jesus’ day did not bow while praying. They prayed, looking up to heaven. The statement in this inquiry shows that […]

Did the writer of Job and did Isaiah borrow the myth of Leviathan from the Sumerians and Babylonians?

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

Question: I wanted ask you about the similarities between Isaiah 27 and the Canaanite’s Baal cycle in which both Yahweh and Baal respectively kill a large aquatic sea serpent like monster. I’m copying and pasting some more information about it down below. Leviathan in the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

How is it that Jewish scholars ignore messianic prophecies such as Daniel 9:24-26?

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

Question: How was it that Jewish scholars can ignore the prophecies of Daniel chapter 9:24-26 about when the Messiah would come? This prophecy clearly points to Jesus. Answer: I do not think it is fair to say that Jewish scholars simply ignore Daniel 9:24-28. In fact, a number of Jewish authors have commented on this […]

Is Jesus’ sonship literal or metaphorical? Please respond to a Muslim criticism.

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

Question: When Jesus was called Son of God, was it meant literally or in metaphorical sense? Muslims argue that Jesus was called Son of God in metaphorical sense because of his close relationship with God or so and I want to refute that idea (That it was metaphorical) from Biblical and Historical view on Jesus […]

The happiest countries in the world by many surveys–Denmark and Finland–are largely atheist. How do you explain this?

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

Question: I was having a conversation with a friend about how Christianity overall makes positive impacts in the world/society. His rebuttal was that Finland and Denmark are consistently ranked the happiest countries in the world and less than a quarter of their population even believes in a god. They also have much lower crime rates […]

Hindu cosmology found in the Puranas are intriguingly aligned with modern scientific understanding (many examples given). Your response?

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

Editor’s note: This is a rather long question, with many parts, but the answer is down below! Question: Hindu religious texts (Puranas) contain several cosmological descriptions that intriguingly align with modern scientific understanding. While these alignments may not be exact or systematically scientific, they can be interpreted as reflections of profound philosophical and observational insights. […]

When was the Talmud written?

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

Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from a questioner who wanted to know how important is the statements in the Babylonian Talmud about a certain Jesu who was hanged on the eve of the Passover. This passage is often mentioned as non-Christian support for the reality of Jesus and the fact of his crucifixion. Therefore, […]

The gospel writers fabricated the stories about the darkening of the sky, the curtain being ripped, etc. Matthew fabricated the prophecy from Hosea 11:1, and the church corrupted Isaiah 53. Response?

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

Question: The Gospels’ writers fabricated stories about Jesus which have no strong evidence, e.g., the sky grows dark for 3 hours at midday at the crucifixion, an earthquake rips the curtain in the Jewish temple & opens the tombs of the saints, from which dead people resurrect and then appear throughout Jerusalem. This is an […]

In the Qur’an 3:183 it says that the Israelites killed the prophets who presented fiery signs to them. Why does the Bible not mention this happening?

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

Question: As stated in the Koran 3:183, the Israelites even killed the prophets who presented a fiery sign from heaven that consumed their sacrificial offerings, but why does the Bible not mention this happening? Answer: This is an easy question. The Bible does not mention this because it did not happen. The Qur’an is the […]

Muslims say the Pentateuch is not reliable because of the immoral stories about Abraham and his descendants. Your Response?

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

Question: According to a Muslim Clergy, the current Pentateuch is not reliable because it has immoral stories about Abraham’s relatives which can’t be from God. Your response? Answer: I am well aware of this charge by Muslims. My response is that there is no such thing as an immoral story. There are immoral actions, but not […]

Christianity borrowed the idea of a virgin birth of a savior from Zoroastrianism, as demonstrated by the Denkard Book 7 Chapter 10 v. 15-19. Response?

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

Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from an earlier question in which the questioner made claims of Christian borrowing from Zoroastrian sources, and I respectfully asked for actual quotes from which the borrowing occurred. Thankfully, the questioner responded to the request. Question: The NT authors copied elements of Zoroastrianism from the Jews and fit them […]

The Jews borrowed the idea of Messiah during the Persian period from the Zoroastrian idea of the Saoshyant. Response?

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

Question: It has been claimed that Jews borrowed Zoroastrian elements regarding the “final savior” during their time in Persia. According to Zoroastrians, an individual, called the “Saoshyant,” will usher in the final era and lead the battle against evil spirit (cf. Zech. 14:3) and all people will remain of one accord in the religion of […]

Muslim imams say that the Pentateuch is unreliable because it includes immoral stories about Abraham and his descendants. Response?

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

Question: According to a Muslim Clergy, the current Pentateuch is not reliable because it has immoral stories about Abraham’s relatives which can’t be from God. Your response? Answer: I am well aware of this charge by Muslims. My response is that there is no such thing as an immoral story. There are immoral actions, but […]

There is evidence Krishna was a real person. Please compare Krishna to Jesus.

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

Question: 1. I read more than a couple of your articles about Krishna a deity in Hinduism. You said that Krishna is a mythical figure demanding details like where did he live? Where was he born? When was he born? What did he look like? Who were his parents and where did they come from? These […]

Sura 21:30 and 51:47 in the Qur’an describe the big bang 1400 years ago. What is the Christian response?

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

Question: My school friend told me: The Big Bang Theory arrived in 1931, but God declared 1,400 years ago by the mouth of an unschooled prophet in Sura 21:30 that “the heavens and the earth were joined together as one mass, then he clove them asunder.” God even said in Sura 51:47 that “he […]

The Koran said 1400 years ago that God would raise up those who would afflict Israel until the Resurrection. Are today’s events a fulfillment of this prophecy?

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

Question: The Koran said 1,400 years ago that God warned the Israelites that he would raise against them those who would afflict them till the day of Resurrection. Whatever is happening today in the Middle East, does it not provide evidence of the truth of this statement? How do Christians see this? Answer: If I […]

Isn’t the Hindu idea of humans being incarnated several times until they attain heaven a good idea? (and many more questions)

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

Questions: I am from India, which is the birthplace of Hinduism. I have some questions, Please kindly answer them 1. Hinduism says the incarnation of a human being in various forms occurs until he/she attains (moksha) heaven, Is not it a good idea, that it enables everyone to get into heaven? 2. What does the […]

How would you respond to a Jehovah Witness believer using Proverbs 8 to claim that Jesus is a created being?

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

Question: What would be your response to a JW who uses Proverbs 8 to justify claiming that Jesus as a created being? Answer: First of all, I believe that this is one example of many in which Jehovah Witnesses do eisegesis–which means reading a meaning into the text, rather than from the text. This is […]

How can I factually refute the Hindu belief in reincarnation? What about the evidence for Krishna vs. Jesus as real people?

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

Question: Can you give me factual references to scriptures/books using which I can use to refute reincarnation theory? I was born in a Hindu family. However God blessed me and I found my true faith. My entire family is Hindu. I have read Bhagavad Gita and Bible. Both have strongly written verses and theories in […]

The Koran says that Adam’s sin was forgiven (Sura 2:37), but Christianity tells us that Jesus died for Adam’s sin. Does this mean Jesus’ sacrifice was meaningless?

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

Question: Adam’s sin was forgiven by God, according to the Koran (2:37), but Christianity says Jesus died for that sin. Does it mean Jesus’ sacrifice is meaningless? Answer: An interesting connection you have made! And a good question, I would say. Please understand that my answer is coming from a Christian, not a Muslim perspective. […]

How do I refute the Hindu belief in reincarnation and in Krishna?

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

Question: Can you give me factual references to scriptures/books which I can use to refute reincarnation theory? I was born in a Hindu family. However God blessed me and I found my true faith. My entire family is Hindu. I have read Bhagavad Gita and Bible. Both have strongly written verses and theories in supporting […]

What are your thoughts on the idea that Jesus escaped persecution, traveled to Kashmir and converted to Hinduism?

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

Question: Qadianis (Ahmedis) believes that Jesus escaped persecution and went to Kashmir where he lived to old age. What are your thoughts on this? Answer: People believe all kinds of things which are patently untrue, and this is one of them. There is literally NO evidence that Jesus ever set foot in the subcontinent of […]

My Muslim friend told me that those who say Jesus was crucified are spreading lies that will lead them to hell. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: You preach everywhere regarding the means of Jesus’ death, but my Muslim friend said to me: “They are spreading lies which will lead them in Hell.” That would include you. What should be our response? Answer: Your Muslim friend is claiming that when we Christians teach that Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem, […]

Godly prophets in the Koran have fought in Jihad. Are there any biblical prophets who have done so as well?

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

Question: According to the Koran (3:146-148), there were many Prophets who have done Jihad and large numbers of God-devoted men have fought alongside them. They did not surrender to the non-believers merely because of their numerical inferiority and lack of resources. Can you show me such Prophets in Biblical history who have done Jihad? Please […]

All religions and prophets have taught no soul can bear the burden of another soul. This is contradicted in the Christian doctrine that Jesus bears our sins. Response?

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

Question: The teachings of the Koran are not a new or strange thing. All former prophets and messengers have also taught the same, that real life is the life of the hereafter and no soul bears the burdens of another soul, and the same has been said in the former books, the books of Abraham […]

God promises Paradise to those who follow Torah and Gospel who are killed or who kill in war. This is found in the Koran, but was removed from the Old and New Testaments. Response?

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

Question: God promised paradise to those in the Torah and the Gospel who are killed in a holy war, or who kill others in a holy war as stated by the Koran (9:111), but paradise is missing from the OT (including the Torah) and holy wars are missing from the NT (including the Gospels). Have […]

Muhammad is the one “like Moses” from the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:14-16 and I have evidence!

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

[Editor’s note: This comes from a Muslim believer who claimed that Muhammad fulfilled the prophecy that one like Moses would come to save God’s people. I responded by giving him several ways that Jesus fits the description quite well, but asked him to provide “evidence” for the parallels between Moses and Muhammad. I also explained […]

Where did those who kept the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophetic materials such as 2Q23, 6Q10 and 6Q12?

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

Question: From where did keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophecies other than 16 prophetic books? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prophetic texts identified as 2Q23, 6Q10, 6Q12 and 6Q13. Please respond to this because my Muslim friend asked me this and I’m confused. Answer: This Muslim person is not your friend, at least […]

Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection of a religious leader original to Judeo-Christianity?

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

[Editor’s note: This is a list of several questions, with the answers interspersed between them] Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection originally a Judeo-Christian view? The idea of a crucified saviour is unique to Christianity (not Judeo-Christianity), of course. In fact, execution by nailing to a cross was a fairly recent invention of the […]

Jewish Christianity is the actual Christianity, as Jesus and all the early Christians were Torah-observant. Your response?

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

Question: Jewish Christianity was the actual Christianity because Jesus was thoroughly Jewish, kept the Torah, and never disciplined [editor: discipled?] the Gentiles. The earliest Christians were all Torah observant Jews and saw Jesus as their Messiah, nothing else. Jewish Christianity, which emphasized keeping the Torah (among other ideas), came into conflict with Greek and Latin […]

Why does the Bible include references to lewd things such as nakedness, whoredom and prostitution when the Quran does not?

Dr. John Oakes 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), […]

Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected and even contradictory material?

Dr. John Oakes 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 […]