(Published in Faith and Philosophy 2011. Volume 28, Issue 2, April 2011. Stephen Law. Pages 129-151) EVIDENCE, MIRACLES AND THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS Stephen Law Abstract The vast majority of Biblical historians believe there is evidence sufficient to place Jesus’ existence beyond reasonable doubt. Many believe the New Testament documents alone suffice firmly to establish Jesus as an actual, historical figure. I question these views. In particular, I argue (i) that the three most popular criteria by which various non-miraculous New Testament claims made about Jesus are supposedly corroborated are not sufficient, either singly or jointly, to place his existence beyond reasonable doubt, and (ii) that a prima facie plausible principle concerning how evidence should be assessed – a principle I call the contamination principle – entails that, given the large proportion of uncorroborated miracle claims made about Jesus in the New Testament documents, we should, in the absence of indepen
Stephen Law is a philosopher and author. Currently Director of Philosophy and Cert HE at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. Stephen has also published many popular books including The Philosophy Gym, The Complete Philosophy Files, and Believing Bullshit. For school talks/ media: stephenlaw4schools.blogspot.co.uk Email: think-AT-royalinstitutephilosophy.org
Comments
@Alex -- Surely, you just want the page pointed to by the "here" hyperlink at the end of the above post? Since you're asking, I think you might find this video interesting too.
Also, if anyone is interested in how I calculated this then read my original post. But be warned, there's a (tiny) little math involved.
To quote a friend who was reading my post "Oh, to be honest, I didn't read that. Just saw maths and then it was over..."
Apparently the RAF believe philosophy to be a desirable study for recruits. Perhaps when confronted with a brain that insists the ‘plane is straight and level. While instruments indicate a perilous attitude. Being able to appreciate that your mind might just be plain wrong, is advantageous.
physicists are astronomically (ahem) smart.
They certainly need to be. As dark matter, force and space, appear leaps of intellect commensurate with devising a deity. Lets pray they pan out.
MCAT -> Medical College
LSAT -> Law School
GMAT -> Management
GRE -> Every other graduate school.
That's why you don't see medicine or law.