Originally posted by psstein
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Do you agree with my summation of the evidence statement? Here it is again. I hope that Nick will comment on it also when he gets the chance:
1. The tomb was found empty by a number of women (the women tradition is extremely early and the criterion of embarrassment suggests its truth)
2. The disciples had experiences of the risen Jesus, who appeared to all twelve of them, as well as to James and Paul.
3. The disciples were convinced Jesus had risen from the dead, in contrast to a widespread belief that resurrection would only happen at the end of history and what we know of other Jewish Messianic movements.
4. At least three of them died for their belief (1st century sources for James, Paul, and Peter).
Let's add Nick's position to this list:
5. A very shameful belief arose in an Honor Shame Society, and, the believers of this shameful, never-heard-of-before shameful claim were willing to endure intense persecution and even death in defense of this shameful belief.
So, Stein and Nick: Would you agree that there are plausible, alternative explanations for each of these individual pieces of evidence, and, that if there are alternative, plausible explanations for each piece of evidence listed, then it is reasonable to believe that there are plausible alternative explanations for the cumulative evidence?
If we can agree on this point, then I think that we have achieved an important achievement/milestone in our discussions: Skeptics are accepting the possibility of miracles, and Christians are accepting that plausible, alternative explanations can account for all the evidence. The only major disagreement remaining is our differing views on the probability of miracles.
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