Dr. John Oakes is teaching a multi-week class on the Book of Isaiah for the campus group at UC Merced on Wednesdays at 7:30 beginning 6/18/2025.  The class is at UCMerced Rm GLCR 120.  I will be putting notes, power point and audio here. Isaiah Notes    Isaiah PPT    Isaiah Audio I    Isaiah […]

Dr. John Oakes is  now leading a church planting in Merced, California.  Please join us 11:00 Sundays at 500 Buena Vista Ave., Merced or on zoom at 342-225-5971 pw 857096.  Also, join us for midweek devotional Wed. 7:30 at UC Merced Rm GLCR 120 or the same zoom. Also, visit our website at www.mercedchurch.com. 6/25  […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a short series of classes on the Church for the Merced Christian Church and the Alpha Omega Club April – June, 2025.  Notes, PPTs and audio will be posted here.    The Church Notes    The Church PPT     The Church Audio I     The Church Audio II  […]

Question: Is Ezekiel 37:21 a reference to the modern state of Israel? Answer: No, it is not.  It is a reference, either to the restoration of the Southern Kingdom of Israel when Persia conquered Babylon, as recorded in Ezra and elsewhere, or it is a reference to the spiritual restoration of Israel in the church.  […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture titled “The Bible and Evolution” at UC Merced 2/28/2025.  He presented the idea that evolution is a viable scientific theory, but that the evidence points very strongly to the conclusion that the process is not a fully natural, random one, but that God has intervened at various times and […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on Church History for the West Coast School of Ministry this Spring.  All notes, PPT and audio will be posted here: Church History Notes Notes     Church History PPT    Church History I Audio    Church History II    Church History III    Church History IV    Genesis […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a seven-week class on Christian Theology at UC Merced, Wednesday nights at 7:30 in Rm GLCR 120, beginning on 2/5/2025.  For those not in the Merced area (most of you!), I will be posting the notes, power point and audio here: Christian Theology Notes     Christian-Theology Merced     Christian Theology […]