Showing posts with label Eyewitness Testimony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eyewitness Testimony. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2020

Miracles

"A miracle is an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being (God or gods), a miracle worker, a saint or a religious leader."     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle


It is virtually universal that all religions based on an interventionist deity accept miraculous claims.  In such cases, eyewitness testimony's value is inflated, as scientific scrutiny has failed to support the reality of any miracle.  This link is a textbook example of overselling the importance of eyewitness testimony by a religious apologist:    http://www.toughquestionsanswered.org/2015/08/24/why-was-hume-wrong-about-miracles-part-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ToughQuestionsAnswered+%28Tough+Questions+Answered%29

This link concisely presents the reality of miracle claims from a science-based perspective:  http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Miracle

Joe Nickell, a noted skeptic, wrote this article for The Secular Web:
Examining Miracle Claims

The Skeptic Dictionary addresses the Catholic claims of incorruptible saints:
Incorruptible Body

John W Loftus does a good job of defining miracles and looking at them from biblical times to today here, and also does a good job in exposing the dishonesty of apologetics. He has a nice summary here also.

Rationality Rules clearly and succinctly debunks miracles here.

A final challenging thought for anyone who accepts miracles: 
  • Miracles, if they actually occur, are suspensions of the laws of nature.
  • Science depends on strict regularity of the laws of nature for its success.
  • Science works.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony

"All of this is why when people say, 'I know what I saw,' my answer is, 'No you don’t. You have a constructed memory of a constructed perception all biased by your expectations and beliefs.'”

Making the Non-Existent Disappear
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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Eyewitness Testimony

I continue to be exposed to religious apologists attempting to give credibility to eyewitness testimony.  Not only do some believe that the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses to the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, they accept eyewitness testimony regarding claims of miracles and even everyday religious experiences.  For example:

http://www.toughquestionsanswered.org/2015/08/31/why-was-hume-wrong-about-miracles-part-4/


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Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.

Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.
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