Modern secular thought has thrown so much doubt on the reliability of the Bible that many people have been brainwashed into considering it contradictory and anti-scientific, People captured by this viewpoint need to know the facts.

 INITIAL CHALLENGE

"I am Interested that you should say that because it shows you have been thinking about these things.  Before a person rejects the Bible he should know what its central message is.  What would you say that is?" Wait for him to answer; you can continue "I would like to show you how strong is the evidence for its central character, Jesus Christ.  People accept all the other characters of ancient history on much less evidence.  But they try to debunk the story of Jesus because they don't want it to be true."

 THE BIBLICAL BASIS

There are four important points to be made:
1. The New Testament writers got their facts straight
    They were very careful to be accurate and check giving evidence when possible.
    Luke-did thorough research, Luke 1: 1-3, visiting people who saw and lived with Jesus
    John-emphasized that his gospel is an eyewitness account.  John 19: 35.
    Paul-gave the names of the witnesses of the resurrection so that people can check up for themselves, 1 Cor. 15: 4-7.

A leading modern historian, Sir William Ramsey, for sometime was doubtful about Luke's accuracy.  But archaeology and careful research convinced him.

Historical fiction is a modern Invention and was completely unknown in the ancient world.  Anyway who could have invented Jesus?  As has been said "It would take a Jesus to invent a Jesus." (Strauss).

2.       The disciples did not exaggerate about Jesus

       It is sometimes said that the followers of Jesus turned him, a great and admired teacher, into a

       supernatural Son of God, as happens in folk lore.  But notice that they were Jews whose whole

       way of thought and upbringing was dead against that.  If they had been Greeks it would have

       been easy to deify Jesus because the Greeks often promoted human beings like Hercules into

       their pantheon of gods.  But the disciples were brought up in the strictest monotheism.  For

       thousands of years Jews had died rather than bow to anyone but God.  Paul was a Pharisee of

       the Pharisees.  It can only have been the overwhelming evidence of Jesus Himself that forced

       them to acknowledge Him as God.

3.    The record has been preserved accurately

        Books were handwritten in those days on parchment or reed paper (papyrus) which were copied

        again and again.  "The evidence for the text of the books of the New Testament is .better than for

        any other ancient book.  This is true both In the number of surviving manuscripts and in the

        nearness of the date of some of these manuscripts to the date when the book was originally

        written." (RSV Introduction).

4.    There is good support outside the Bible

        -Josephus, a Jew and friend of the emperor, recorded the important facts about the life of Jesus

          when he wrote his "History of the Jews" in 90 A.D.

        -Thallus, a non-Christian, writing in 52 A.D. mentioned that the darkness over all the earth at the

          time of the crucifixion was seen in Rome and that people tried to explain it.

 TURNING THE TABLES

 "These are facts of history.  They make an unshakeable foundation for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  There is only one more question to be answered, "What will you do with Jesus?" There is only one answer: "We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord by personal invitation." Continue with Law Four.