The second argument for Christianity is from historical analysis (part 1 found here).  Christianity rests on the historicity of the man Christ Jesus, his incarnation, death and resurrection.   If the resurrection of Christ can be disproven, after careful analysis of the historical data, then Christianity is a hoax and the Bible is unreliable. But if the historical data prove the resurrection of Christ, they also place a stamp of approval on the Bible and make a case for Christianity.   The question that must be answered then is:  Are the historical records of Jesus reliable?  The answer is in the affirmative, yes!  The New Testament documents are primary source documents.  Eyewitnesses or close associates of eyewitnesses wrote them. For example, John wrote: 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  And we are writing this that our joy may be complete [1Jo. 1:1-4].

Thus, the NT fulfills the requirement of internal reliability for primary source documents.   It is also externally reliable, as its authorship and dates are backed by extrinsic testimony such as that of Papias, a second century writer.  Modern archaeological research has also confirmed the reliability of the New Testament.  For example, an archaeological discovery at Caesarea in 1961 confirms the historicity of Pilate, a personage mentioned in the New Testament.   This underscores that fact if the same criteria for determining the authenticity of other writings of antiquity are applied to the New Testament, its trustworthiness will be more than vindicated. This being the case, the Gospel writers and the writers of the Epistles are telling the truth, even about the resurrection of Christ.   Otherwise, opponents of Jesus or hostile witnesses would have exposed their lies and extra-biblical records would have disproved the historicity of the resurrection.  Moreover, Paul would not have been able to argue from the post-resurrection appearances to silence his opponents (1 Cor. 15:20).    The conclusion is, therefore, inescapable:  The birth, dead and resurrection Christ took place in history, and as Christ offered the resurrection as the decisive proof of his deity (Ro. 1:4), the resurrection proves the existence of God (Matt. 12:38-40; Jo. 2:18-20) and validates Christianity (1 Cor. 15: 12-28).

Pastor Allan