Nearly 2000 years ago history’s most influential person, Jesus Christ, was born. As best summerised, "He never wrote a book, yet all the libraries in Australia could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He never marshalled an army, yet no leader has ever had more volunteers to increase His kingdom. Of all the armies that ever marched and all the kings that ever reigned, and all leaders that ever ruled, and all the parliaments that ever sat - put together have not affected the life of humanity upon this earth as powerfully as has this one solitary person". Such is His influence that His birth has become the principal cornerstone of the world’s calendar. Even those that know little about his life or message still partake in the global Christmas experience, with the vast majority valuing the seasons religious significance.
In recent years however critics and liberal theologians have argued that the Bible is not historically accurate and was written long after the events described. They further argue that there is insufficient evidence to prove that the Jesus of the New Testament was a real historical person. These views have been widely reported by the secular media, which prefers the controversial and sensational to the mundane.
Such assertions however have failed to persuade informed historians and archaeologists, who have expressed a growing confidence in the integrity of the Bible and the historical reliability of the events recorded. As affirmed by the Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Christianity is not just a metaphysical system of spiritual beliefs, but also a philosophical network based on “publicly verifiable historical facts”.
In truth, the historical integrity of the Bible has been largely affirmed by historians and archaeologists. Archaeologist Donald J. Wiseman, director of the British Museum, has acknowledged that to date “more than 25,000 sites within the region and dating of Old Testament times, in their broadest sense, have been located. Archaeologist, Nelson Gluech, has discovered over 1500 ancient sites in the Negev and Trans-Jordan regions, and goes so far as to say that “no archaeological discovery has ever been made that contradicts or controverts historical statements in scripture.” The eminent archaeologist, William Foxwell Albright, has further affirmed that the New Testament manuscripts accurately represent the events and culture of that time. States Albright, “We can say emphatically that there is no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80.”
Dr John A. T. Robinson, of Cambridge university concurs. Long regarded as one of England’s most distinguished New Testament critics, Robinson decided as “little more than a theological joke” to investigate the arguments on the dating of all the books in the New Testament. His discoveries stunned him. Robinson found that the “late dating” of the New Testament by himself and fellow New Testament critics was the result of scholarly “sloth” and the “tyranny of unexamined assumptions”. As reported by TIME, Robinson resolved that ‘all 27 books of the New Testament were produced in approximately two decades before AD70, and that they are the work of the Apostles themselves or contemporaries who worked with them.’
Greaco-Roman historian, Sherwin White, has arrived at similar conclusions. And is astonished by the claims of sceptics that the historical Jesus is unknowable and that the history of his mission cannot be written. In his Oxford lecture “Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament.”, White expressed his confidence in the Gospel narratives and his astonishment that many liberal theologians did not share this confidence. Said White, “this seems very curious when one compares the case for the best known contemporary of Christ, who like Christ is a well documented figure - Tiberius Caesar.”
In truth there is more historical evidence for the existence of Christ than any other person of antiquity. There are only 10 classical manuscripts in existence referring to Caesar, and the earliest copy we have is fully 1000 years removed from his time. Likewise, there are only 7 manuscripts relating to Plato and these were written fully 1500 years after his lifetime. Yet, no respected classical historian would dare to suggest that Tiberius Caesar or Plato never existed. In contrast, there are over 24,633 New Testament manuscripts in existence, in full and in part. Whole manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus have been preserved. And these are 700 years earlier than the later manuscripts relating to Tiberius Caesar. Also preserved are New Testament portions, such as the John Rylands fragment, which dates right back to the New Testament period itself. The closest competitor to the New Testament is Homer (Iliad), with 643 manuscripts.
All this means that the historical evidence for Jesus Christ and the New Testament is unique among manuscripts of antiquity.. Thus, as pointed out by leading American philosopher and lawyer, Dr John Warwick Montgomery, if any historian wants to reject the New Testament and Jesus on historical grounds they are forced, by their own premise, to reject all other Classical historical records in existence, for no historical event of antiquity is so well supported by documentary evidence.
Added to the New Testament manuscripts themselves are the writings of the first century Church fathers, who extensively quoted from the New Testament in their writings, such that, if necessary, the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from scratch. Added to this are the external writings of historians and Roman officials of the New Testament period. For example, the Roman historian, Josephus Flavious, mentions Christ, stating: “Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die.” and his disciples “reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive.” We also have references to Christ in the Jewish law books and histories of antiquity. For example, around A.D. 95 Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyraanus of Lydda speaks of Jesus’ “magic arts”. There is also an A.D. 95-110 Jewish denunciation of Christ stating that “Jesus practised magic and led Israel astray” [Sanhedrin 43a]. There is also the comment on whether it was permissible “to be healed in Jesus’ name.” Such early Roman and Jewish sources relating to Christ’s ability to heal and perform miracles add weight to the New Testament profile of Jesus as a miracle worker, and much more. .
Andre Kole, regarded by David Copperfield as one of the world foremost magicians, conceded it would take truck loads of equipment for him to perform even the basic feats ascribed to Jesus by both friend and foe. Indeed, the mention, by Josephus, of Christ’s crucifixion and his “reported resurrection” suggests that something far beyond the norm had occurred. The Roman governor Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (popularly called Pliny the Younger), expands the picture by telling us that the early Christians, “were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god.”, This worship of Christ as “a god” is consistent with the New Testament account. Not only does the Apostle Thomas refer to the resurrected Christ as “My Lord and my God.”(John 20:28), but the Apostle Paul and other NT writers likewise declare Christ to be God incarnate. Wrote Paul, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Col. 2:9) Christ accepted this profile of Himself, and the New Testament indicates that He possessed the attributes equated with Deity . He had power over death , forgave sins committed against God; healed the blind and incurable, controlled the elements, and claimed that those who believed in Him would have eternal life. Said the apostle John, “whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.’(John 3:15). Affirms Jesus, ‘I myself will raise him up on the last day.”
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth and the life”. The sole means of human redemption and our only hope of life beyond the grave. Such hope is the real miracle of Christmas, and a true reason to celebrate.

John Heininger, co-author Christianity for Skeptics. For further information contact Facts of Faith: Ph. 041 727 7439. P.O. Address: Box 945 Tweed Heads NSW 2485. (E-mail John)