(February 20, 2015 at 1:52 pm)robvalue Wrote: If you apply your normal scientific scepticism to the bible, do you think that the supernatural claims regarding jesus would stand up?
What makes you think any supernatural claims should be taken seriously, ever?
I've studied the bible a lot, and my conclusion is there is barely any evidence jesus actually existed at all, let alone did anything supernatural.
But let's say the accounts are 100% accurate of what people believed happened. Is that good enough evidence to say it actually happened? What evidence would be sufficient for you to conclude, for example, that I am jesus?
Sorry for the hard line of questions! If it's not what you're into, then I'll happily change the subject
Don't worry I like the scrutiny. This should answer doubts about him actually existing:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus
I think I understand your question to be if the events recorded are correct, how do we know anything supernatural was going on?
The truthful answer is there is no way to tell if there was anything extraordinary or if Jesus was an incredibly gifted trickster. But assuming these "miracles" occurred, the only options are he somehow managed to trick scores of people who he was plainly in sight of (large percentage of whom were highly skeptical of anybody claiming to be the Messiah and eager to disprove him), or that he did have supernatural abilities.
There are some things that come to mind in the modern world that science hasn't been able to explain. Like the levitation of Buddhist monks [if you know how they do this I'm all ears] in front of crowds of people and even with tv cameras surrounding them.
Additionally there is recent evidence to suggest that some people can influence electronics with their mind [in the experiment it was just a small amount, but the study concluded that there almost certainly was some effect]. It's thought that manipulation of the electronics may be due to the brain's interaction with electromagnetic fields but there's no concrete explanation as of yet.
National Geographic researchers successfully hypnotized and brainwashed an unwitting man so that he took a fake gun and shot a "politician" they had stepping out of a limo outside the building.
I am sure you are all aware that evidence of the idea that consciousness lives on after bodily death has been recorded. Not proven, but many think that human consciousness lives independent of the body now.
My point in listing these is to illustrate that I can't discount supernatural claims regarding Jesus that are well documented if I can't explain some potentially supernatural things in the modern world.
If you know how those monks levitate I really would like to know. It drives me crazy
