Every December, even those who doubt the claims of Christianity often find themselves celebrating Christmas. But beneath the cultural festivities lies one extraordinary assertion: God entered human history in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. For years I dismissed that claim as mythology, until I examined it the way I would a cold case: by asking whether the evidence holds up under scrutiny.
When I first examined the Gospels, my goal wasn’t spiritual—it was investigative. Could these accounts survive an investigation? Like other true eyewitness accounts, they should display both independence and areas of unintentional eyewitness support: small, interlocking details that make sense only when read together. To my surprise, that’s exactly what I found. The Gospels don’t read like carefully coordinated fabrications; they read like the kind of truthful recollections I’ve encountered for decades while solving unsolved murders.
Challenging Naturalistic Assumptions
The first barrier for any modern investigator is philosophical, not evidential. I was a convinced philosophical naturalist. I rejected the notion that nothing beyond space, time, and matter existed. My atheistic worldview disqualified miracles before the investigation even began. But that approach is an investigation killer. As I wrote about in the first chapter of Cold-Case Christianity, we can’t allow our presuppositions to infiltrate our investigation.
When exploring whether something supernatural might have occurred, you can’t start by ruling it out. If all space, time, and matter came into existence from nothing – as cosmology affirms and describes in the standard cosmological model – then the cause of the universe must be outside space, time, and matter. The only question is whether that cause is personal or impersonal. If personal, the possibility of divine intervention follows naturally.
Examining the Claim of the Virgin Conception
The claim that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit often triggers skepticism because it presumes a miracle. But if God exists – as the evidence from cosmology, consciousness, and moral reality indicates – then miracles are not only possible but expected. The incarnation of Jesus is not mythological embellishment; it’s the logical extension of a theistic worldview. The claim that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit often triggers skepticism because it presumes a miracle. But if God exists, miracles are not only possible but expected. Share on X
In fact, the historical setting itself argues for authenticity. In first-century Jewish culture, an unwed teenage mother faced potential shame and even death. No one invents a miraculous conception story that immediately invites public scorn—unless it’s true.
Why the Incarnation Was Necessary
Only by becoming fully human could God bridge the infinite gap between our sin and His holiness. The same God who could not be seen face-to-face in the Old Testament made Himself visible, tangible, and knowable in Jesus. Christmas marks the beginning of that rescue mission, a path that leads directly to the cross.
As I investigated the Christmas accounts, I discovered that belief in the supernatural was not blind or wishful; it was evidentially grounded. Once the evidence pointed to the reality of the incarnation, the larger implications became undeniable: a personal, moral Creator had entered His creation, offering redemption to those willing to receive it.
Listen to my interview with Karl and Crew about the nature and truth of Christmas.
