From 'Creation Science' to 'Resurrection Math'

[Robert_Moriyama]

From Netscape News (with CNN)<br><br>Math Proves Christ's Resurrection?<br><br>It is faith, not proof, that makes Christians believe in Jesus Christ's resurrection, the central tenet of the religion. Until now.<br><br>Oxford University professor Richard Swinburne, a leading philosopher of religion, has seemingly done the impossible. Using logic and mathematics, he has created a formula that he says shows a 97 percent certainty that Jesus Christ was resurrected by God the Father, report The Age and Catholic News.<br><br>This stunning conclusion was made based on a series of complex calculations grounded in the following logic:<br> <br>The probably of God's existence is one in two. That is, God either exists or doesn't.<br>The probability that God became incarnate, that is embodied in human form, is also one in two.<br>The evidence for God's existence is an argument for the resurrection. <br>The chance of Christ's resurrection not being reported by the gospels has a probability of one in 10.<br>Considering all these factors together, there is a one in 1,000 chance that the resurrection is not true.<br>"New Testament scholars say the only evidences are witnesses in the four gospels. That's only five percent of the evidence," Swinburne said in a lecture he gave at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. "We can't judge the question of the resurrection unless we ask first whether there's reason to suppose there is a God. Secondly, if we have reason to suppose he would become incarnate, and thirdly, if he did, whether he would live the sort of life Jesus did." He says that even Jesus' life is not enough proof. However, the resurrection is "God's signature," which shows "his approval of Jesus' teaching." <br><br>The calculations that Swinburne says prove the resurrection are detailed in his book, "The Resurrection of God Incarnate." <br><br>****<br>According to this kind of argument, there is a 25% chance that Elvis is alive and working at a 7-11 in Tupelo.<br><br>Either Elvis is alive or he isn't. 50%<br>Either he is working at a 7-11 in Tupelo, or he isn't. 50%<br><br>50% x 50% = 25%.<br><br>Similarly, there is a distressingly high probability that I will be hurled into space due to a sudden failure of gravity (whatever that is) at any moment.<br><br>Either gravity will fail in the next five minutes, or it won't ...<br><br>The really scary thing is that Dubya would probably be happy to promote these findings, and an awful lot of people would accept them as (drum roll) Gospel (rimshot).<br><br>Thank you, thank you, you've been a great audience. We're here all week ...<br><br>Robert M.<br>

[Robert_Moriyama]

From this weeks edition of 'The Onion':<br><br>"Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity with New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory"<br><br>http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php? ... n=2<br><br>... Of course, somewhere out there, there are people who will read this story and BELIEVE IT. (They may have to sound out the words, one at a time, using their 'Dukes of Hazzard' Special Edition Speak 'n' Spell, but they WILL read it.)<br><br>Robert M.

[doc]

From this weeks edition of 'The Onion':

"Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity with New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory"

http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4133&n=2

... Of course, somewhere out there, there are people who will read this story and BELIEVE IT. (They may have to sound out the words, one at a time, using their 'Dukes of Hazzard' Special Edition Speak 'n' Spell, but they WILL read it.)

Robert M.

<br><br><br>Of course, David Simpson did that joke 3 months earlier:<br><br>http://www.idrewthis.org/2005/gravity.html<br><br>He was rather amused at being "ripped off" by the Onion. :)

[Robert_Moriyama]

Interesting opinion piece in the New York Times ...<br><br>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/01/opini ... ?th&emc=th