Strident New Atheists who seek to disprove God make historical attacks on the New Testament Gospels as a major part of their strategy. According to the late Christopher Hitchens, in God Is Not Great, 'The case for biblical consistency or authenticity or "inspiration" has been in tatters for some time, and the rents and tears only become more obvious with better research, and thus no "revelation" can be derived from that quarter.'

In responding to Hitchens and others, Paul Barnett concedes that their instincts are correct: destroy the credibility of the Gospels and you destroy the credibility of Jesus and thus the credibility of God and the structure of Christian belief. The issue of 'gospel truth', that is, of the Gospels' historical truth, is of critical importance.

Barnett surveys the main issues and questions, offering historical arguments in response to the critics and sceptics: New Testament dating and history, hostile witnesses to Jesus, his immediate impact, wider world history, archaeology, contradictions in the Gospels, the stories of Jesus' birth, miracles, the resurrection of Jesus, and other 'gospel' texts. He concludes with a clear affirmation of true and trustworthy revelation from God in the Gospels and in the person of Jesus Christ.