To address this question, we ask you to consider the following excerpt from author David A. Noebel’s Understanding the Times (Harvest House Publishers, 1991), pp.764-766:
Christians believe the basis for their entire worldview appeared in human history in the form of Jesus Christ almost two thousand years ago. While “Christ died for our sins” is solid orthodox Christian theology, “Christ died” is history. In Christianity, doctrine is based on historical events. To shatter Christian doctrine and the Christian worldview, one need only shatter its historical underpinnings… The historical Bible (the written Word) and Jesus Christ (the living Word) are the two cornerstones of the Christian worldview. If the Bible is not history, or if Jesus Christ is not “God with us” (see Matthew 1:25), Christianity crumbles. Therefore, Christians need to invest a great deal of time and effort defending both foundation stones… Thus for the Christian, history is supremely important. Either Christ is a historical figure and the Bible is a historical document that describes God’s communication with man and records events in the life of Christ, or the Christian faith is bankrupt. As St. Paul says, if Christ is not raised from the dead (historically) then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14).
