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Is Christianity true?
Short answer
Christianity is unusual among religions because it stakes everything on a historical event. The apostle Paul wrote that if Christ has not been raised, Christian faith is futile. So the question "Is Christianity true?" largely comes down to "Did Jesus rise from the dead?"
Historians across the spectrum, including skeptical ones, widely accept several facts. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. His tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers. Many individuals and groups had experiences they were convinced were appearances of the risen Jesus. Skeptics such as James and Paul became believers. And the disciples were willing to suffer and die for this claim.
Explanations such as hallucination, a stolen body or legendary development each struggle to account for all of these facts together. The resurrection explains them all. It is only "ruled out" if miracles are ruled out in advance.
Christianity also offers a coherent picture of reality. It accounts for human dignity and human brokenness, for justice and for grace. It invites investigation, not blind faith. The Gospels present themselves as eyewitness-based testimony to be weighed.
Objections and responses
ObjectionMiracles are impossible.
ResponseThey are impossible only if God doesn't exist. If God exists, a resurrection is a live possibility to be judged on the evidence.
Read more →ObjectionThe Gospels are late and unreliable.
ResponseThey were written within roughly 30 to 65 years of Jesus, while eyewitnesses were still alive, and earlier creeds such as 1 Corinthians 15 go back to within a few years of the events.
Read more →ObjectionThe disciples hallucinated.
ResponseHallucinations are private experiences. They don't occur to groups at once, don't empty tombs, and don't convert hostile skeptics.
Read more →ObjectionChristianity copied pagan dying-and-rising gods.
ResponseMost scholars today reject this. The supposed parallels are vague or later than Christianity, and Jewish monotheists were the least likely people to borrow pagan myths.
Read more →Best resources
- The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (book)
Read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel for a beginner-friendly, journalistic approach in which a former skeptic interviews scholars about the evidence for Jesus. See especially the parts on the resurrection and the reliability of the Gospels.
- The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright (book)
Read The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright for a massive scholarly historical study of the resurrection; for serious readers who want the full evidence. See especially the parts on the resurrection and the reliability of the Gospels.
- Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham (book)
Read Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham for a scholarly, detailed study of how the Gospels relate to eyewitness testimony; for readers comfortable with academic writing. See especially the parts on the resurrection and the reliability of the Gospels.
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (book)
Read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis for a short, beginner-friendly classic that started as wartime BBC radio talks and explains the core of Christian belief in plain language. This question is covered in Book II, chapter 3, "The Shocking Alternative".
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