Called 'The Difference Christmas Makes', the program is hosted by Karl Faase, Senior Pastor of Gymea Baptist Church. Karl also hosts 'Face to Face' seen weekly on the Australian Christian Channel.
"The program sets out to show that belief in the Christmas story and Christianity is firstly based on reliable historical evidence," said producer and CTA CEO, Martin Johnson. "In the past few months there has been a lot of discussion about Christian faith, religion and what some critics call the 'delusion' of God. We have set out very deliberately to show that not only are the events of the first Christmas based on fact, when you look at the impact that Christian faith has on people's lives and the work of Christian organisations, you have to say that there is nothing delusional about Christian faith," he said.
Host Karl Faase, who worked with Martin in developing the concept said he was very moved by the story of Paula, who features in the program.
"Paula suffered from post-natal depression and she told me that if it wasn't for coming to a point of personal belief in the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ, she doubts whether she would have lived," said Karl. "I worked with Paula during the year and had no idea of her story. She is now a very capable mother and organiser of events but I was so moved by her story that we decided to include it in the program," he said.
Dr John Dickson from the Centre of Public Christianity provides the historical background to the Christmas events. "No ancient historian has any doubts that Jesus existed – the evidence is overwhelming, not just for Christian historians but for historians of other faiths or no faith at all," John said.
The third part of the program features the work of Mission Australia.
"Like many similar organisations, Mission Australia carries out its caring work because of its commitment to the teachings of Jesus," said Karl. "When you look at the documentary evidence, meet people like Paula and see the work of Christian based charities like Mission Australia, you can't just dismiss Christianity or Christmas as a delusion," said Karl.
The program is expected to air around midday on Christmas Day – please check local TV guides.