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Is There a God?

by John M. Oakes, Illumination Publishers, © 2015,
191 pages, $13.99 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-0-9776954-2-3

John Oakes has a Ph.D. in chemical physics and is a chemistry professor at Grossmont College. He has a strong background in science and he also has a ministry called the Apologetics Research Society (evidenceforchristianity.org) which offers courses and materials in apologetics.

This book presents “questions and answers about science and the Bible.” We agree with one of the endorsements of the book which says, “The need for scientifically current apologetics books — well thought out, well written, and well adapted to our generation — is great. I believe that, with this volume, you have acquired such a book.”

The book is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the existence of God and it deals with creation. The uniqueness of the book is that it considers the evidence from a young-earth creationist perspective, an ancient-earth creationist perspective, and an atheist or agnostic perspective. Capable spokespersons are quoted, documentation is given, and weaknesses of each position are explored with a conclusion based on evidence.

The second part on science and the Bible, deals with evidence that the Bible is God's word with challenges from atheists and other religious systems being explored. There is an excellent appendix dealing with the application of the second law of thermodynamics to the origin of life. This is an excellent book and is unique in its approach. We recommend it highly.