A lot of people want to talk to Wes Huff about Christianity.

The Biblical scholar – still completing his PhD in New Testament at Wycliffe College in Toronto – has had a banner 18 months; a viral debate with Billy Caron at the end of 2024 led to invitations on some of the world’s biggest podcasts, including the Joe Rogan Experience, Diary of a CEO, and multiple appearances on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

The main topic of conversation? The historicity of Christianity.

“I think people are curious about what happened in the past in general,” Wes said, speaking on Undeceptions episode 177. 

“I think more and more people understand that where we’re going as a society and where we are right now has a direct correlation to where we’ve been, and no person, culture, philosopher, ideology, or religion exists in a vacuum. It all comes from somewhere.”

Wes is convinced that this ‘somewhere’ is the first-century Palestine, thanks to the life and teachings of Jesus, and the beliefs and ideas preached by his immediate followers.

Wes works primarily with early Biblical fragments and manuscripts, focusing on “paratextual features” – essentially, the ‘non-textual’ parts of texts, such as margins, fonts, grammar and the like. This helps researchers determine how the text might have been altered over time. 

Its the kind of work used to be confined to universities, where experts wrote for other experts. But now, millions are taking an interest – specifically in the historical veracity of the Gospels.

This is – in part – driven by what Wes sees as a vacuum of meaning left over by the New Atheists of the 00’s.

“In my teen years, in the middle of new atheism in the early 2000s, ruled by the likes of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Chris Hitchens … and their arguments worked a lot better on paper than they did in practicality, but they were popular nonetheless,” he said. 

“(But) I’ve been seeing a clear shift in people’s perceptions of how those ideas actually played out. I think a lot of people realise now that while it’s very philosophically interesting to talk about religion disparagingly, when you really try to remove that understanding of the transcendence or morality or accountability from society in general, you don’t end up with a whole lot of hope and meaning and purpose … it does kind of very negative things to identity.” 

These are ideas we’ve covered on Undeceptions before (check out our episode with Justin Brierley here, and Chris Palmer here). Still, Wes goes further than cultural reasons for taking Christianity seriously. He’s offering historical reasons – and people are listening.

He believes that a historically minded seeker will find the case for Jesus compelling.

“Christianity is a religion that hinges on a very tangible, historical reality in that it has to be Jesus”, he said. 

“In other philosophies, it could be other people. You could have had a different philosopher come up with similar ideas as Confucius, or with Siddhartha (the Buddha); someone else could have come up with those paths and philosophies that lead to enlightenment.

“In a hypothetical universe, it could have been someone else, and that’s not true of Christianity. The door swings on the hinge of this first-century Jewish itinerant Rabbi who walked the dusty streets of first-century Palestine, who lived a particular life, had a very specific birth and went to the cross to do something that even our comprehension can’t fully grasp and then predicted his own death and resurrection. 

“I think the historiography question about Christianity rings slightly differently than what you get in other worldview perspectives.”

But Wes isn’t just persuaded by the consistency of ancient papers: he also believes Christianity has something unique to offer emotionally.

“I think a God of the highest high stepping into the lowest lows should move us in the way that it communicates who God is and who we are,” he said.

“When I study world religions, I see a lot of mercy in not getting what you do deserve. I see a lot of justice in getting what you do deserve, but mercy and justice are not the same thing as grace. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve – and when we look at what happens with Jesus on the cross, God’s justice is fulfilled.

“Now we get what we don’t deserve. We’re adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High. I can’t think of a more beautiful message that has all of this historical backing to it.”

Adapted by Alasdair Belling from Undeceptions episode 177, ‘Wes Huff’. You can listen to the full episode here.

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