Can you trust the Bible and the resurrection?

You can trust the Bible, and the evidence that Jesus rose from the dead is strong. This site shows you that evidence one piece at a time, with sources you can check yourself.

A worn, pale limestone block standing upright in a museum case, with three partly preserved lines of carved Latin capitals near the upper right. — The Pilate Stone in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photo: Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What it is	A limestone block with a Latin building inscription, about 82 cm (2.7 feet) tall
Date	AD 26-36, the years Pilate governed Judea
Found	1961, at Caesarea, reused as a step in the Roman theater
What it shows	The governor in the Gospels was real and held power in Judea.
What it doesn’t show	It doesn’t mention Jesus. There’s no trial or crucifixion on the stone.

Read the full entry on the Pilate Stone

Start with something you can see

In 1961, archaeologists at Caesarea found a stone block with the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus. It calls him “prefect of Judea.”¹ The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Christus “suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”²

I believe the Bible is God’s Word and that Jesus rose from the dead. I also think the case is strong enough to show you the hard questions. Every page gives the short answer first, then the evidence, the strongest objection, and where to read more.

How this site works

Every claim points to a source you can read yourself. Quotes are checked word for word. When scholars disagree, the page says so. How sources are checked has the rules, and About says who writes this.

The Bible

Its text was copied with care for over 1,000 years, and archaeology keeps finding the people it names.

Jesus

Roman and Jewish writers confirm he lived and was executed under Pilate. What happened on the third day is the question that matters most.

Three dark basalt fragments fitted together on a museum mount, covered in rows of small incised Old Aramaic letters. — The Tel Dan Stele, the oldest piece on this line. Photo: Gary Todd, public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

The evidence in time

Some of this evidence is very old. Some of it comes from within a few years of the events it describes. Here’s where each piece falls.

c. 842 BC The Tel Dan Stele. An Aramean king names Judah’s royal family “the house of David.”
About 700 years
c. 125-100 BC The Great Isaiah Scroll. The whole book of Isaiah, copied before Jesus was born.
More than a century
AD 26-36 Pontius Pilate governs Judea, and Jesus is crucified. The Pilate Stone names Pilate as prefect.
Within a few years
Mid-30s AD Paul receives the summary of the faith he later passes on in 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died, was buried, was raised, and appeared to witnesses.
About 20 years
Mid-50s AD Paul writes 1 Corinthians, naming witnesses who were still alive.
About 60 years
c. AD 116-120 Tacitus, a Roman historian, reports that Christus was executed under Pilate.

Dates and sources are on each linked page.

If someone you love is asking

Maybe it’s your son, your friend, or your spouse, and you don’t know where to start. The Shelf has books and resources picked for people asking questions, and for the people who love them. Each one comes with a note on who it’s for.

Sources

Lawrence Mykytiuk, “30 People in the New Testament Confirmed,” Biblical Archaeology Society, accessed Oct. 10, 2026. ↩︎
Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, Perseus Digital Library. ↩︎