4.36 Guy Waters, Trent Hunter, & Stephen Wellum • Interview • “The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?”

Episode 176
55 Min
August 11, 2025
ABOUT THE EPISODE
Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.
Timestamps
  • 00:36 – Intro
  • 02:18 – Guy Waters’ and Stephen Wellum’s Introductions
  • 05:43 – Christianity Stands or Falls Upon Historical Facts
  • 11:10 – Four Gospels and No More
  • 15:48 – What About Gnostic or Apocryphal Gospels?
  • 17:32 – Why is the Idea of ‘Myth’ Appealing?
  • 23:00 – The Gospels Are Reliable Accounts
  • 26:33 – The Gospels Are Historical Accounts by Eyewitnesses
  • 30:46 – The Synoptic Problem
  • 34:03 – Three Proposals to This Problem
  • 38:00 – When to Turn to a Passage in Another Gospel?
  • 44:35 – Why Is John Just Different?
  • 49:12 – Concluding Thoughts
  • 53:47 – Outro
Resources to Click
Books to Read
ON THIS EPISODE

Authors

  • Dr. Guy Prentiss Waters is James M. Baird Jr. Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss., and a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He is author of several books, including How Jesus Runs the Church and Facing the Last Enemy.

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  • Trent Hunter is the pastor for preaching and teaching at Heritage Bible Church in Greer, South Carolina. Trent is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Graphical Greek, an electronic reference guide for biblical Greek, Joshua in Crossway's Knowing the Bible series, and is co-author of Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ. Trent is an Instructor for the Charles Simeon Trust Workshops on Biblical Exposition.

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  • Stephen Wellum is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He received his MDiv and PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of numerous essays, articles, and books. He is also the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd edition (Crossway, 2012, 2018) and the author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Systematic Theology, Volume 1: From Canon to Concept (B&H Academic, 2024).

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