Jesus SkepticSample

Our Common Search for Meaning

You and I have something in common. We seek to answer basic questions about ourselves.

Who am I? The question of identity

What am I worth? The question of value

Where will I belong and be safe? The question of belonging 

Why do I exist? The question of purpose

I have seen that a person’s answers to these questions will shape the course of his or her life—for better or worse—leading either to a life of freedom and joy or to a life that seems continually smaller and emptier. Together, we will engage in the process of finding meaningful answers to these questions of existence and purpose by exploring the credibility and impact of Christianity.

In my profession as a journalist, I was privileged to meet many influential and fascinating people—from NBA team owners to Grammy-winning musicians to doctors volunteering in poverty to humanitarian aid workers.  I began to notice similarities among those whose lives I most admired. These people consistently claimed to find identity, purpose, and peace in a “relationship” with God who relates to them through Jesus. Across different cultures and situations, this Jesus repeatedly surfaced as the center of the most centered people I met.

Whether or not Jesus is a myth, the recurring evidence of changed lives from the people I met compelled me forward. For these reasons, I set out to consider the authenticity of Jesus. I wanted to know if He lived, I wanted to read what He said, and I wanted to measure how His followers impacted humanity.

This inquiry launched a ten-year investigation into the largest social movement in human history—Christianity. On these pages, I am limited in providing a snapshot of what was uncovered. This investigation is unique. We will measure if the people who follow Jesus make the world a worse or better place. We will measure if Jesus’s existence is a matter of myth or fact.

For this investigation into Christianity, I have applied the same standard of Primary Evidence that I used in my news investigations. This evidence is the most tamper-proof, bias-proof type of information used when investigating and substantiating something’s validity or existence. It allows us to see for ourselves what key people in history believed about Jesus. We learn from their own words what motivated them to make the world a better place.

What would you like to learn about Jesus this week? Is there any bias you bring toward this inquiry?