Thomas Cooper - The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time: A Popular View of the Historical Evidence for the Truth of Christianity 19/26 Written by the former skeptic, poet, and scholar, Thomas Cooper (1805-1892), The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time admirably sets forth a winsome defense of Christianity. Written as the substance of fourteen years of lectures, at the request of his hearers, Cooper leads his reader across the bridge of history, through the centuries, tracing Christianity. At last, he addresses "Leben Jesu" by Dr. David Friedrich Strauss, discusses the historicity of the four Gospels, and offers some concluding evidences for the truth of Christianity.