Bible on Trial for Truth and Evidence

Conviction Overturned by Willard Bakeman

"Conviction Overturned is a fascinating exercise in dissecting the principles presented in the Bible and challenging their accuracy."

Is something true merely because a lot of people believe it to be?

Logic vs. Faith

On the matter of truth, author Willard Bakeman says that logic is a case of putting the cart before the horse. But it’s a good place to start when challenging the credibility of the Bible.

In the matter of Christianity, here is a doctrine, a religion, claimed to be based on historical fact. “Historical facts are routinely litigated in legal forums,” writes Bakeman in his intriguing book, Conviction Overturned: Jesus, The Bible, Evidence and Reason — A Trial Attorney’s Perspective. “Therefore, it is altogether fitting that we should undertake such an approach with something of monumental significance which supporters of Christianity claim involves the very nature of our reality and the destiny of our universe — the very nature and meaning of our existence.”

A Trial Attorney Weighs In

Conviction Overturned is a meticulous forensic review of Scripture based on legal principles of proof. It questions the Bible’s credibility based on the type of evidence used in the court system. And what better voice for this undertaking than Bakeman, a longtime trial attorney with training in divinity studies and a former chaplain, Bible teacher, evangelist and preacher. At one point a devoted evangelical, he is now firmly a skeptic.

After hearing his approach and his arguments, while readers — and believers — are advised to make their own choices, based on the evidence presented, let’s just say you probably wouldn’t want to go up against this author in a courtroom.

Bakeman scrutinizes the claim that Jesus was the son of God and that he rose from the dead. Proponents of the Bible, he asserts, naturally believe this to be true and they ask all humanity to believe these claims. The burden of proof (there’s that lawyer talking again) is on the Christians, he claims. The way he describes it is like trying a criminal case. This technique makes the book appealing to a general audience — no need to be an attorney or theologian to process his arguments.

Examining the Evidence

The book is broken down into key sections that address: the reliability of eyewitness testimony, the admissibility of hearsay, the integrity of documentary evidence, and the consistency of the Bible’s narratives under cross-examination. Bakeman’s narrative will give readers every feeling of being at a live trial. For example: the Gospels presented as eyewitness testimonies?

Conviction Overturned is a fascinating exercise in dissecting the principles presented in the Bible and challenging their accuracy. The author comes from a background that adds informed authenticity to his arguments. Whether readers embrace them or scoff at them, they are sure to generate heated debate.

In reference to a story about Billy Graham kneeling at a rock, Bakeman hopes that people’s response to his case will be to find their own metaphorical rock to kneel before. But for many, “There may be a new adventure discovering what is true and what is not, and of possibly discovering from this the meaning of life and truth.”