It’s a question worth pondering: can we really make a compelling case for Christianity without ever opening the Bible? That’s something I’ve wrestled with for years, especially as someone who started my journey convinced there had to be a creator—a designer behind all we see. There’s something about the world, the intricacies of biology, the fine-tuning evident in the universe, that simply points to intelligence rather than accident. In the realm of pure observation and science, these features form the backbone of any case for God’s existence. But here’s the thing: that kind of argument is as useful to a Christian as it is to adherents of other forms of theism. It gets you to the door of a Creator, but it doesn’t get you inside the house of Christian faith.
Over the years, I’ve written extensively about the evidence for God in the universe. The signs of design—from molecular machinery to the parameters underpinning the cosmos—don’t call out just “Christianity”; they call out “theism.” They could fit a multitude of conceptions about God, stretching from classic Western monotheism to many flavors of world religion. The big question, then, is not, “Does God exist?” but rather, “Who is this God?” That’s where the evidence takes a turn, away from broad theism and directly toward the claims of Christianity. And it pivots, not on what we see in the scientific lab, but on a collection of sometimes neglected, always controversial, ancient documents—the Gospels of the New Testament.
As Christians, we recognize that the ultimate argument for our faith rests on the advent of Jesus in history, and, most crucially, on the events surrounding his resurrection. It’s no stretch to say that the resurrection is the hinge upon which Christian conviction swings. If the resurrection occurred, the case for Christianity becomes unique and unparalleled—no other religious leader or founder has conquered death. It’s the defining moment that sets the claims of Christian faith apart from all other worldviews. If Jesus of Nazareth rose from the grave, defeating death because he was God incarnate, then every other claim he made, from statements about the nature of God to declarations about creation and moral truth, demands our full attention. Resurrection would confer upon Jesus a singular status, distinguishing him from every other philosopher, prophet, and sage in the annals of history. As Christians, we recognize that the ultimate argument for our faith rests on the advent of Jesus in history, and, most crucially, on the events surrounding his resurrection. Share on X
So, can someone argue for Christianity without the Bible? Not really—not if “Christianity” means belief in the resurrected Christ and all that follows. You can get as far as theism and intelligent design by way of scientific and philosophical arguments. But it’s the eyewitness testimony found in the Gospels that turns the evidence into a distinctly Christian case. Only there do we encounter the unique, unparalleled event in history: the resurrection. And only then can we reasonably conclude that the God behind the universe—the intelligent designer—is the Christian God revealed in Jesus.
Here’s why it matters: the evidence for intelligent design, compelling though it may be, leaves unanswered the question of identity. Who is this designer? What does He desire for us? These questions linger until history speaks—specifically, until the events recorded by those who witnessed Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. When we examine that evidence and determine that the resurrection occurred, the fog lifts. We gain clarity, not just about there being a God, but about who that God is. In the end, the resurrection stands as the bridge between general theism and belief in Christianity. On that bridge, we cross from mere possibility to certainty about the identity of the Creator, whose fingerprints are all over creation. And the journey starts—not in the lab, but in the pages of the New Testament. That’s where the case for Christianity truly begins and where it finds its final, decisive verdict.
For more information about the impact Jesus and His followers had on science, read Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World That Rejects the Bible. This unique and innovative book makes a case for the historicity and Deity of Jesus from history alone, without relying on the New Testament manuscripts. It contains over 400 illustrations and is accompanied by a ten-session Person of Interest DVD Set (and Investigator’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.
