Of all the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, none is more central to its existence and proclamation than the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. For in that singular historical event, Christians believe that God vindicated the unique claims of Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God and Saviour of the world.

The Apostle Paul emphasised the centrality of the resurrection for the gospel's proclamation when he penned these words in an epistle to the church at Corinth in the first century: "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain.'' Since that time, the Christian church has maintained that the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God were proven convincingly by his physical resurrection from the dead. However, the authenticity of the resurrection and other central tenets of the Christian faith have come under increasing attack in recent years by a growing number of liberal scholars and sceptics who question whether the gospels provide an accurate and reliable source of historical inquiry into the life and ministry of Christ. Most visible of these critics is the Jesus Seminar, a group of liberal scholars who have been accused by conservative scholars of "bringing into question the very authenticity and validity of the gospels, which lie at the centre of Christianity's credibility''.

Until recently, most of the major challenges to the veracity of Christ's claims have been primarily featured in the print media. With the airing, however, in 1998 of PBS's two-part television documentary From Jesus To Christ, in which liberal scholars raised a number of questions concerning Jesus' self-identity and mission, the debate, which was largely confined to the world of academia, was suddenly thrust into the world of network television. Additionally, the airing last June of the ABC News prime-time special The Search For Jesus, hosted by TV anchor Peter Jennings, and seen by an estimated television audience of 17 million, added more fuel to the debate.

Dr. D. James Kennedy, pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and one of the most influential evangelical leaders in America, has criticised the two-hour documentary for "presenting extremely questionable and controversial information as well established fact''. Pressed into action by what he perceives as a frontal attack against the credibility of the Christian faith, Dr. Kennedy's ministry has responded by producing "Who Is This Jesus: Is He Risen?'' a one-hour prime-time television special that examines the historical reliability of the New Testament documents and the claims and counterclaims surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"I realised that we needed to present the whole truth that there is monumental evidence for the historicity of Christ, for the authority and validity of the Scriptures and this is continually being ignored in magazine articles, TV specials and so forth,'' he says. "I know after 40 years of experience in the ministry that the evidence is abundant. Most people don't even know what it is. To see this evidence ignored and the foundations destroyed is very, very irksome to me.'' The programme, which will air over the weekend of April 13-15, features the views of eighteen recognised authors, historians and scholars from both sides of the theological divide. Liberal scholars John Dominic Crossan, co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, Helmut Koester, theology professor at Harvard Divinity School and Amy-Jill Levine, Jewish scholar of the New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School pit their controversial views against those of D.A. Carson, Research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at West Michigan University and apologist Josh McDowell, author of the best-selling `Evidence That Demands A Verdict''.

During a recent interview with Jerry Newcombe, the show's lead producer, he talked about the importance of the programme and what viewers can expect to gain from watching the prime-time special. "We hope that as people see this, they will realise that there are indeed many qualified New Testament scholars who hold to foundational Christian beliefs.'' Probing the Resurrection Characterising the current fascination with the person of Christ as evidence of "a spiritual hunger'', Newcombe defended the show's inclusion of liberal scholars, whose controversial views have received more favourable media exposure than those of their conservative counterparts in this hotly contested theological debate.

"We wanted to reach a wide audience, so we felt that by being inclusive we could reach more than we normally do on our weekly programme, The Coral Ridge Hour, which is reported to have 3.5 million viewers weekly.'' Newcombe says the programme will make use of biblical and secular sources to confirm the veracity of the Christian message. "If we take the time to study history, archaeology, we find that, for example, the New Testament is the best-attested book of antiquity. But, unfortunately, this point is not often heard on the university campus today.'' The central question that the TV special seeks to answer, however, is whether Jesus rose bodily from the grave. As the programme's lead producer, what does Newcombe hope will be accomplished by the airing of the television special? "We hope that people will see that there is indeed credible, even compelling, evidence that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.'' To find out the times when Who Is This Jesus: Is He Risen? will air, check cable listings or log onto website www.whoisthisjesus.tv for more information.