John Oakes was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating with a BS in Chemistry at the University of Connecticut in 1977,  John became a Christian as a graduate student in 1978 as part of a campus ministry in Boulder Colorado, led by Tom Brown. Having been part of the campus group for six years, it was in 1984 that John earned his PhD in chemical physics from the University of Colorado.

He and Jan were married the same year. After working as an intern in Boulder, John and Jan moved to Spokane, Washington, where John was a chemistry professor at Gonzaga University. From there they moved to San Diego, where they worked in the ministry from 1986-1988.

At that time John returned to teaching. He taught at UCSD, Mesa College, and other colleges in the area. In 1993, John and his wife and three children moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he had a position as a professor of chemistry and physics at Marian College. In 2000, their family returned to San Diego where John works as a professor of Chemistry at Grossmont College. He and Jan have three children: Ben, 31; Elizabeth 29; and Kate, who is 27.

John is the author of ten books (see below). His dual PhD in chemistry and physics, and over thirty years of teaching experience uniquely qualify him to deal with areas of science and the Bible. 

He is the president of Apologetics Research Society, a California non-profit corporation. ARS sponsors the evidenceforchristianity.org website and many other projects, including annual International Christian Evidences Conferences. 

John has taught adults, campus, singles and teens for more than 170 churches, in more than sixty five countries and at 35 universities. As far as other interests are concerned, John likes to run and work in the garden.

 

Publications by John Oakes:

 (1999) “Is There a God? Questions of Science and the Bible”  - designed to answer many of the questions raised by modern scientific discovery.

 (2000) “Daniel, Prophet to the Nations”  -  an exposition of Daniel,  combining a discussion of the practical applications of the book with a detailed analysis of the prophetic content in Daniel.

(2001) “Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences” -  a general Christian evidences book designed to encourage the faith of believers and to help create faith in non-believers.

(2005) “From Shadow to Reality”  - explores the numerous prefigures, foreshadows, types and antitypes in the Old Testament which bear witness to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the New Testament.

 (2008) “That You May Believe,”   co-written with David Eastman -  a book on the miracles of Jesus, focusing on the theological and practical implications of the wonders and signs worked by Jesus.

(2011) “Field Manual for Christian Apologetics” -  a summary of hundreds of questions- and-answers, along with a number of essays on various apologetics topics. 

(2012) "The Christian Story: Finding the Church in Church History Volume I" -  covers the first 430 years of the history of Christianity, focusing in on how we can learn how to “do” church in light of the experiences of the early church.

(2012) "Mormonism: What Do the Evidence and the Testimony Say?"

 (2014) “Golden Rule Membership,”  co-written with Linda Brumley - focuses in on the proper use of freedom in Christianity as well as taking a fresh look at the role of members in a Christian community.

(2016) volume II of his series on Church history was published by Illumination Publishers www.ipibooks.com.

John has also published a number of CDs on Islam, The Book of Daniel, The Problem of Pain and Suffering, Hebrews, World Religions, Revelation, Christian Theology, Old Testament Survey, the Book of John and many others.