Unbelievers often contest the authenticity of the Gospels based on hearsay from those who contend that the Bible is inaccurate. Thus, it is necessary to provide substantiating evidence to prove their accuracy and to refute conflicting evidence that might prevent unbelievers from coming to faith in Christ. There are three primary avenues of proof that can be helpful in this endeavor-the witness of believable people, the historical record, and scientific and archaeological evidence that supports the truth of the Gospel.
The witness of believable people starts with that of Christ Himself. Christ is generally accepted as having lived and as being both truthful and intelligent, even by those that do not believe in the Christian faith. As Ernest L. Martin points out, "The central proof of the Bible is Christ." A strong case can be made for the authenticity of the Bible simply on the fact that Jesus quoted it in numerous places. In Isaiah 29:13, for example, the prophet writes "...this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men," and in Mark 7:6 and 7, Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying, "This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men" ("Jesus Quotes," KJV). There are many other examples of such quotes by Jesus from the Old Testament that can be used to substantiate that Jesus Himself regarded the Bible as authoritative.
The witness of other people that lived contemporaneously with Jesus also substantiates the authenticity of the Gospels. The disciples attested to the validity of scripture, as did the church's early fathers, and even non-Christian historians ("The Authenticity of the Bible"). Even the Bible texts attest to each other, as do official legal reports from Jes...