Questions: Why would God even create a hell? Why will souls live eternally in damnation?  If they don’t make it into heaven, their soul is destroyed.  Also, I was reading on your site about Jesus and examples you give for believing He is the Messiah. One is His fulfillment of prophecy. One of the prophecies […]

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Question: Is thinking a physical process, or is it spiritual? Answer: I believe that the answer is that thinking is both physical and “spiritual.” One thing we can be sure of is that thinking is a physical process.  This has been shown by experiment and our experience agrees with experiment.  MRI (magnetic resonsance imaging) experiments […]

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Question: I am glad to be emailing you again on biblical matters.  I found our conversations quite insightful.   I wanted to ask you a question about the cause of disabilities per Exodus 4:11 and John 9:3 (about Jesus healing the man born blind).  Some translations render the text in John as “this happened so that the works […]

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Question: I watched a recent debate (online) between Theist Dr William lane Craig and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss.  Krauss’s favorite example seems to be the divine command in the Old Testament for the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanite men, women and children (Deuteronomy 20:7). I would say Krauss and most other atheists use this brilliantly to […]

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Question: It is becoming a more and more accepted theory that humans have no ability to truly make “willful decisions.” Under this assumption, how can one come to salvation? Wouldn’t this render John 3:16 useless, because we cannot choose to believe in God?  I understand the argument that this just points to predestination, but as […]

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Question: In Luke 3:3 it talks about John the Baptist preaching a baptism for the forgiveness of sins but Hebrews 9:22 mentions that the shedding of blood is needed for forgiveness of sins. How was the forgiveness of sins available for John’s baptisms without Jesus dying yet?  Thanks! Any input would be appreciated. Answer: A […]

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Question: I’ve been a Christian for almost 4 years and I’m 19. Recently I have been having some doubts that I don’t want to have anymore and I really want to solve them…. I know that God is not forcing us to know him and have a relationship with him, and obey him…He has given us […]

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Question: I have a question for you that sparked while going through one of the lessons in the ARS Apologetics Certificate Program. In terms of suffering – I understand most of the arguments/material in terms of our sin, humans causing suffering, humans choosing to suffer, Joy existing because of suffering, etc; however, there is one thing […]

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Question: Hey Dr. Oakes, I’ve got a friend that is trying to communicate with me about Oneness Theology as opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity. Even as he was attempting to explain it to me, I am having a difficult time understanding the differences. What is the difference between the two? What do you […]

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Question: What is the meaning of the phrase “going to sleep” that is used many times in the New Testament.  Also, what happens when we die? Answer: This was a common euphamism for saying that someone died in their culture.  We also use euphemisms for talking about death.  We say someone “passed away.”  Or we say that […]

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Question: Can you compare the concept of forgiveness and cleansing of sins in Christianity, Hinduism and Islam? Answer: This is a very important question.  The concenpt of sin and of forgiveness is quite different in the three religions. Islam and Christianity are closer to one another, but still different in very important ways.  Hinduism is […]

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Question: Why didn’t God send Jesus at the beginning to show love if He already knew the people that live in the world would be so evil…?   If He knew that Jesus’s teaching of love will make people become better today…why did he make the Torah rules to Moses…which is so cruel (killing a woman […]

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[Editor’s Note: I posted an article in response to a question about the philosophy/theology known as pandeism.  A blogger posted a critique of my article, and this is a rebuttal by me.  The critique is fairly long, and my response is below that.] Comment: From time to time, people do come along and write things […]

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Question: I wanted to ask you a question about the cause of disabilities as it relates to Exodus 4:11 and John 9:3 (about Jesus healing the man born blind). Some translations render the text in John as “this happened so that the works of God may be displayed”, implying that God caused his illness from […]

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[Editor’s note: This is a series of three related questions about the teachings of the very early church leaders, including on baptismal regeneration. Question: How much weight should be given to the early church fathers’ theological positions? Answer: The simple answer is that their theological position should be given zero weight.  When Irenaeus or Polycarp […]

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Question: I live in India where 80% are Hindus and believe in reincarnation. I don’t believe in it but yesterday I checked out a website that has testimonies regarding Near to Death experiences. Some of them have seen Jesus after their death and he told them either to go back or reincarnate to a new […]

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Question: I have a question on an article pertaining to homosexuality. I was wondering if you could take a look at this article I had to read for a class. I would love to know your thoughts on it as it is an argument I have never heard before and would love to be informed […]

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[Editor’s note: An “Arminian” is one who accepts the proposal of Jacob Arminius who taught free will in the face of the accepted double predestination of John Calvin and most Protestants in the 16th century.  Calvinism has all humans predestined by God–some pre-selected by God for salvation and others predestined for hell.] Question: A verse […]

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Question: I have a question for you! I have thoroughly studied out baptism and the significance of the saving act for a believer. I also have examined every article on baptism on your website. I was at a recent baptism of a friend.  I posted a picture on social media, saying we baptized my friend […]

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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 […]

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Question: I have a question about Isaiah 59:1-2.  I have heard it taught that the last words of verse 2, “your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”, means that when people who are not Christians pray, their prayers were not heard, even if they are sincerely religious.  I always […]

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Question: I have just finished to read all the NEW TESTAMENT and I have some questions about some points. 1  Can you explain how a death ( Jesus’ death on the Cross) can forgive the sins of any human being  even many years after? I think it is tough to understand  and its a matter […]

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Question: Thank you for the interesting site. And I have fond memories of your lessons at Novosibirsk in 2011. In one of your answers you have written: “It is God’s will for my children to be saved, and my faithful, unremitting, unselfish prayer will increase the chances that they will be saved.” https://evidenceforchristianity.org/if-we-pray-for-things-that-are-gods-will-mark-1123-24-can-we-assume-that-he-will-answer-that-prayer/ What passages […]

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Question: Someone asked me “With all other religions in circulation why do you feel that only Christianity is the way?” How can you prove that it is the only way? I couldn’t prove this with scripture because this was a man who didn’t believe in scripture. So I ask how can a young man show […]

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Question: God is, in principle, against human sacrifice: the religious ritual killing of innocents to appease God, or any gods, for that matter. So it would be likewise true that God is, in principle, against anyone’s ever *thinking* that God is ever in favor of such sacrifice. So, if God caused Abraham to think that […]

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Question: First of all I would like to thank you for all the teaching you have available on your website.  As a new believer, it has helped me tremendously to better understand the Bible and strengthen my faith.  I do have one question (well have many more, but start with this one).  In one of […]

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Question: I think it is hard to understand the trinity because  a man cannot be  in America, in Africa and in Asia at the same time: that  make the trinity hard to understand when I take it in a human way.  I want to ask you if the trinigy is like this:  3 forms of […]

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Question: There so many things in the Bible I don’t understand up to now. For example, I struggle to understand the nature of Jesus Christ.  Some verses show us that  he is God but some show that  Jesus and God are different.  In  John 17 Jesus was praying God. So If he is God why […]

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Editor’s Note:  This response comes from Kedron Jones, a member of the board of Apologetics Research Society Question: Thanks for following up about my baptism issue I brought up. Basically it was an article on the question as to whether “baptism” is necessary to be saved/go to heaven? The article went through many scriptures and […]

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Question: I want to seek your thoughts on who Paul speaks to in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.  Is he talking to saved people who are sinning or to people who have gone back to their sinful ways, fallen away and are no longer saved?  In the passage he says “you still live in flesh” which tells […]

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Question: I’ve been reading Judges and, boy there are some good parenting lessons in this book. I’m writing because I would like your take on chapter 11, specifically the vow Jephthah made to God. Why do you think God allowed him to go through with his vow and not stop him, especially since she was […]

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