MERGED: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 1) & (Part 2)

[JonDarbyXIII]

You're missing the point. You see the longer people wait to describe an event, the more likely they are to misremember it.

Bullshit.

1. I remember watching a documentary on the JFK assasination, and in the documentary, there was a host of witnesses of that day...and there was even a young fella (at the time) on there that testified to what he saw, since he was at the hospital when the vehicle that JFK was shot in pulled up, and he said he remember seeing pieces of brain matter inside the vehicle. This was over 50 years ago, and guess what, he remembered it.

2. Some of the survivors of the Jonestown mass suicide are still living today and have testified in documentaries on what it was like living in Jonestown...and this was over 30 years ago.

3. In 1994, I went on a trip to Seattle to spend Christmas with my uncle...and I remember the trip very vividly. That was over 20 years ago.

Sorry, I have to interject on this one because it's something I cover specifically in my book: Jenny said misremember, not that they wouldn't remember it at all.

The example I've always used is the Oklahoma City Bombing. I remember sitting in my Biology class when we heard and felt the blast. I remember that when we were told a bomb had gone off downtown, someone asked whether it was downtown Oklahoma City or downtown in our suburb. I remember my exact response: “There’s no way it was Oklahoma City, you moron. Do you realize how big a bomb would have to be to feel it this far away?” (Even then, I was a smart ass and had a habit of putting my foot in my mouth.) I remember my best friend and I jumping into his car and heading downtown since we both had first aid training. (We were young and naïve, thinking we could help, never considering we would probably just get in the way.) I especially remember the screeching U-turn we made when we heard on the radio that investigators thought they might have found additional bombs in the rubble. This was the basis of the story as I retold it over the years, and not surprisingly, that is the extent of what I remember.

Looking back there is much more that I do not remember. I can’t for the life of me remember to whom I had made the sarcastic comment, though I seem to think I could narrow it down to a few specific people who I remember having been in that class. I have no idea if my friend and I simply left class in the ensuing chaos or if we told anyone what we were doing. I don’t even remember what I did after we turned around—I wouldn’t think I would have gone back to class, but I remember spending some time watching the news on a TV in another class-room. (Though actually, that might have been before we decided to try to go and volunteer. But again, I don’t remember.)

There are also details over which my friend and I have argued as the years have passed. I remember the class immediately coming to a standstill with the interruption. I remember someone sticking her head in to tell us what had happened. My friend, however, specifically remembers us only hearing the news after class had let out—specifically citing someone who had been upset that we hadn’t been informed earlier. Both of us have specific logical reasons that convince us that the events unfolded exactly as we remember them, and although these details don’t appear to be reconcilable, neither of us was ever willing to budge.

Then there are the details that I have crafted in my own mind. A few years after the fact, I couldn’t remember if we had been in Biology or Human Physiology. My friend said he was absolutely certain it had been Biology. Although I concur now, I’m not sure if it’s because I actually remember it or because his certainty convinced me and just made me think I remembered it. Likewise, the exact time of the blast is a matter of historical record, but in my mind, I tend to want to re-member my Biology class being earlier in the morning.

All the examples you gave are the same--I'm sure people remember those events, but I imagine that if pressed, there would be numerous discrepancies to actual occurences.