John Oakes is a

Christian apologist Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...

and a professor of chemistry at

Grossmont College Grossmont College is a public community college in El Cajon, California. Its name originated with the silent film actor and producer William J. Gross, who was enticed by Ed Fletcher to invest in the purchase of land, part of which was called Gro ...

. He belongs to the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1 ...

of the Christian tradition.

Biography

John Oakes earned his PhD in

chemical physics Chemical physics is a branch of physics that studies chemical processes from a physical point of view. It focuses on understanding the physical properties and behavior of chemical systems, using principles from both physics and chemistry. This ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1984. During his years at graduate school, he converted to Christianity and eventually worked as an intern for the Boulder Church of Christ in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. Between then and 2000, he worked at various colleges including

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

UCSD The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing ...

, and Mesa College.

Career

In 1999, he began writing books on

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...

, starting with ''Is There a God? Questions of Science and the Bible'', which was designed to answer many of the questions raised by modern scientific discovery. In 2000, he published ''Daniel, Prophet to the Nations'', which combines a discussion of the practical applications of the

book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...

with a detailed analysis of the prophetic content in Daniel. His third book ''Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences'', was published in 2001 to encourage the faith of believers and to help create faith in non-believers. Oakes is also the President of the Apologetics Research Society, a California non-profit corporation, which runs an apologetics website and organizes an annual apologetics conference. He often delivers talks on God, Science and the Bible; History, Archaeology and the Bible; Messianic Prophecies; Daniel, Prophet to the Nations; From Shadow to Reality; How We Got the Bible; Jesus: Man, Myth or Messiah?; The Bible, From God or Man?: The Problem of Pain and Suffering; Church History; Old Testament Survey; The Book of Hebrews; Response to ''

The God Delusion ''The God Delusion'' is a 2006 book by British evolutionary biologist and ethologist Richard Dawkins. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator, God, almost certainly does not exist, and that belief in a personal ...

''; Christian World View; World Religions; Induction, Deduction and Revelation: Knowing God's Will; History of Baptism: Into Christ; and Eldership: Qualities or Qualifications?

Works by Oakes

*''Is There a God? Questions of Science and the Bible'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 1999. *''Daniel, Prophet to the Nations'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2000. *''Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2001. *''From Shadow to Reality'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2005. *''That You May Believe'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2007. (co-written with David Eastman) *''Field Manual for Christian Apologetics'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2011. *''Mormonism: What Does the Evidence and Testimony Reveal?'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2012. (co-written with Douglas Jacoby) *''The Christian Story (Finding the Church in Church History)'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2012. *''Golden Rule Membership'', Illumination Publishers International, Spring Texas, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakes, John Living people Christian apologists 21st-century American chemists 21st-century Christian theologians American Christians University of Colorado alumni Year of birth missing (living people)