Can you state your name and occupation for the court? My name is Lee Strobel. I'm a...

Tom Endler: Can you state your name and occupation for the court? Lee Strobel: My name is Lee Strobel. I'm a professor of Christian Thought at Houston Baptist University and the author of more than 20 books about Christianity, including "The Case for Christ." Tom Endler: Can you help me prove the existence of Jesus? Lee Strobel: Absolutely, beyond any reasonable doubt. Tom Endler: How so? Lee Strobel: Actually, this court already affirmed it when we were called into session and the date was given. Our calendar has been split between B.C. and A.D. based on the birth of Jesus, which is quite a feat if he never existed. Beyond that, historian Gary Habermas lists 39 ancient sources for Jesus, from which he enumerates more than 100 reported facts about his life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection. In fact, the historical evidence for Jesus' execution is so strong that one of the most famous New Testament scholars in the world, Gerd Ludemann of Germany, said, "Jesus' death as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable." Now, there are very few facts in ancient history that a critical historian like Gerd Ludemann will say is indisputable. One of them is the execution of Jesus Christ. Tom Endler: Forgive me, but you're a believer, are you not? A Bible-believing Christian? Lee Strobel: Guilty as charged. Tom Endler: So, wouldn't this tend to inflate your estimate of the probability that Jesus existed? Lee Strobel: No, because we don't need to inflate it. We can reconstruct the basic facts about Jesus just from non-Christian sources outside the Bible. And Gerd Ludemann is an athiest. In other words, we can prove the existence of Jesus solely by using sources that have absolutely no sympathy toward Christianity. As the agnostic historian, Bart Ehrman, says, "Jesus did exist, whether we like it or not." I put it this way: denying the existence of Jesus doesn't make him go away. It merely proves that no amount of evidence will convince you. Tom Endler: Thank you. No further questions, Your Honor.