Religions > Atheism > Oxford Professor: It Is 97% Certain That Jesus Christ Rose From The Dead
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"words of truth" |
| Date: |
05 Nov 2005 11:00:29 AM |
| Object: |
Oxford Professor: It Is 97% Certain That Jesus Christ Rose From The Dead |
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3350172a1861,00.html
Jesus story 'gets it 97pc right'
20 July 2005
By BARNEY ZWARTZ
The Age
It is 97 per cent certain that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead -
based on sheer logic and mathematics, not faith - according to Oxford
professor Richard Swinburne.
"New Testament scholars say the only evidence is witnesses in the four
gospels. That's only 5 per cent of the evidence," Professor Swinburne,
one of the world's leading philosophers of religion, said last night.
"We can't judge the question of the resurrection unless we ask first
whether there's reason to suppose there is a God, second if we have
reason to suppose he would become incarnate and third, if he did,
whether he would live the sort of life Jesus did."
Professor Swinburne, in Melbourne to give several seminars and a public
lecture at the Australian Catholic University last night, said the
mathematics showed a probability of 97 per cent.
This conclusion was reached after a complex series of calculations. In
simplified terms, it began with a single proposition: the probability
was one in two that God exists.
Next, if God exists, the probability was one in two that he became
incarnate. Further, there was a one in 10 probability that the gospels
would report the life and resurrection of Jesus in the form they do.
Finally, the clincher: the probability that we would have all this
evidence if it wasn't true was one in 1000.
He argued that any evidence for the existence of God was an argument
for the resurrection, and any evidence against the existence of God was
an argument against the resurrection.
"Does he have reason to become incarnate? Yes, to make atonement,
identify with our suffering and to teach us things, " Professor
Swinburne said.
Even Jesus' life is not enough proof, he said. God's signature was
needed, which the resurrection was, showing his approval of Jesus'
teaching.
The mathematical equations appear in the professor's book, The
Resurrection of God Incarnate (OUP, 2003).
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| User: "2045 Dead" |
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| Title: Re: Oxford Professor: It Is 97% Certain That Jesus Christ Rose From The Dead |
05 Nov 2005 11:51:26 PM |
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On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 03:47:35 GMT, Colin Day <cday3@sc.rr.com> wrote:
J Forbes wrote:
words of truth wrote:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3350172a1861,00.html
This conclusion was reached after a complex series of calculations. In
simplified terms, it began with a single proposition: the probability
was one in two that God exists.
If the probability that god exists is one in two, then the final
probability of this long equation multiplying fractions, must be LESS
than half (50%).
Or is this new math?
Jim
I believe that Swinburne is arguing that in the absence of the Gospels, the
probability would be one in two. He is also claiming that with the Gospels,
the probability is higher.
Swinburne is a doctor of theology at Oxford. The Anglican Church
plays a direct role with this department, and not surprisingly, it's
loaded down with Christian apologists.
Swinburn is just another theologian masturbating. He is not a
scientist, and his calculations aren't likely to be peer-reviewed.
Colin Day aa #1500
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