Distefano then returned to the topic of “The Case for Christ,” saying “it’s not even an opinion” that Strobel is pushing people to believe but that the author is simply presenting history.
As evidence for the historical reliability of the gospels, Distefano mentioned that few people question whether Alexander the Great was a real historical figure, even though the records describing him are dated hundreds of years after his death. Yet some people question that Jesus was a real person based on the argument that the gospels were written 100 years after he lived.
Another argument against the historical reliability of the gospels is that information transmitted orally is unreliable because it would have been distorted over time, similar to what occurs in the game of telephone. Yet Hebrew culture placed a high value on passing knowledge orally, and Distefano said that, as a result, those involved carefully checked their facts.
He compared the scenario to people playing a game of telephone while carefully checking what each person says. “So then it’s going to work because you’re constantly checking,” said Distefano.
Rogan was not convinced. “That’s a little bit of confirmation bias,” he said, “because the real problem is, who said it originally, and who decided what the words were originally?”
“I get that,” said Distefano, offering the death and resurrection of Jesus as a reason to believe the gospels are accurate. “A big thing is the resurrection. People say, ‘Really? He f****** resurrected from the dead?’” Distefano said. “And you’re like, ‘Well, everybody agreed: haters, Romans, and the Jewish people, everybody agreed he died.’ That’s 100%.”
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When the Bible says that Jesus was stabbed in the side and water came out, that was not water but “fluid from his lungs because he was dead,” Distefano added.
Moreover, Jesus was buried in a tomb, which was empty three days later, and then “500 people saw him in the town. Romans and Hebrews, they saw him over the next couple weeks.” In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes that 500 people saw Jesus after his death.
However, Distefano explained, the Romans made up the false story that Jesus’ body was stolen so that they would not have to explain why his body was missing (see Matthew 28).
Rogan pushed back again, questioning what “the most logical explanation” is. “Is the most logical explanation that a dead guy came back to life or…that someone took his body?” he asked.
