(February 26, 2015 at 11:17 am)robvalue Wrote: What I mean is... To say jesus is mythical isn't making a claim as such, it's just saying HJ has not met its burden of proof. And I don't mean declaring that it definitely is mythical; just that if something isn't demonstrably real, we have no reason to assume it's anything but fiction.Burden of proof is not a rule of logic, it's a rule of debating and arguing etiquette.
If you mean "improbable claims" have the burden of proof then you beg the question because that's the point at issue. When you're dealing with ancient history things are going to get iffy anyway. For example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_problem .
It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley, but to believe or not believe in God is not important at all. - Denis Diderot
We are the United States of Amnesia, we learn nothing because we remember nothing. - Gore Vidal
We are the United States of Amnesia, we learn nothing because we remember nothing. - Gore Vidal
