(March 25, 2015 at 1:06 pm)tonyc4444 Wrote: Like let's say for instance we found out that Einstein was a fraud who paid people to back his research, or that Stephen Hawking was a hack. Or better yet, picture yourself living back hundreds of years ago when the debate over whether or not the Earth was flat was raging and all those normal people woke up one day to find out they had been duped for a long time and the Earth was actually round. Would any of this be detrimental to you? Would it really have any effect on your daily life? Do you think it would cause any amount of depression, even if just a small amount?
Though this was directed at another member, I'd say that evidence that Einstein was a fraud or that Hawking is a hack and their findings completely wrong would be something I would roll with. The truth is the truth, and I'm not backing a particular horse. My question would be: what hypothesis then best explains the evidence we have if these theories are not correct? I certainly wouldn't be depressed. It would be fascinating.
Would you be depressed, even if just a small amount, if it turned out that archaeologists can't verify the Exodus or the events in Joshua? What if it turned out that there was good reason to believe that much of the OT and the way Judea and Israel are portrayed was self-serving propaganda meant to prop up Josiah's regime? What if the Gospels serve propaganda purposes and are meant, in part, to insulate the fledgling (and increasingly Gentile) movement from too-close an identification with its Jewish roots by vilifying the Jews in order to absolve the Romans of guilt for Jesus' death?
The point is that those who are concerned with learning about reality will adjust their views accordingly if their worldview is shown to be inadequate. Many theists, especially of the Abrahamic variety, seem to have a problem with this.
