As part of a new series to prepare for/coincide with UNCOVER happening at All Souls over this year, I did a talk on Sunday evening on the question of the historicity of the gospels. It’s a contentious issue, full of mantraps and perilousness, not least because of the short length of time available to address it. But I had a stab, and aimed to touch on what I sense are the key issues, in the hope that the serious inquirer or thinker will follow whichever (or all) of them is important to them.

The talk is now online, in case it is of interest. I gave out a handout to accompany the talk, simply because there are so many facts and figures that would be tedious to read out. So I’ve made it available for free download here on Scribd. Just follow the links.

Handout & Slides

Here are the slides I used, including the points, subpoints, and photos of various things (like archaeological discoveries).

Following Up

On the handout, I suggested some books and sites for follow-up, so have put them here for easy access

Introductory level

If you want something small, Andrew Errington’s booklet Can We Trust What the Gospels Say About Jesus? (Matthias Press 2009) is a great place to start (only 32 pages!)

Barnett, Paul Gospel Truth IVP (Nottingham) 2012
Bruce, FF The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? IVP (Nottingham) 2000
Roberts, Mark D. Can We Trust The Gospels? Crossway (Wheaton, IL) 2007

More academic

Bauckham, Richard Jesus and the Eyewitnesses Eerdmans (Grand Rapids) 2006
Blomberg, Craig The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (2nd ed) IVP (Nottingham) 2007
Wright, NT The Resurrection of the Son of God SPCK (London) 2003

Useful Websites

Be Thinking Run by UCCF: a wealth of articles on all kinds of apologetic questions, esp. Bible & Jesus section
Bible & Church A growing site with various lectures (incl. on the Bible’s historicity) from Tyndale House, Cambridge  
Mark D Roberts  Much of the material (and more) included in his book is available here – including great photos and links  
Theology Network UCCF’s companion site for more academic levels of theology  

MJHM - John 20 30-31 - Why Should I Trust the Gospels?

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This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. svedek

    Thanks Mark. This is great. Re-posted it on svedek.org.

  2. Richard Frank

    Awesomely useful – so very clear and really helpful Mark – thanks!!

  3. Paul Juniper

    Thank you Mark. This ties in nicely with the South Central Ministry Training course details on this topic, currently running at St Ebbes. Very helpful

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