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<\/a><\/p>\nIf you asserted to me that you drive a Honda, I\u2019d probably believe you with ultimately very little in the way of supporting evidence \u2014 a photo (which could be faked), your registration card (which could also be faked), your car keys (which could be someone else\u2019s). The thing is, I have plenty of evidence from my regular life that people often drive Hondas. If you were to claim that you drive a flying saucer, I would require a whole lot more evidence \u2014 because \u201cit is an extraordinary claim,\u201d meaning that I lack other evidence to support this as a possibility in the first place. I think I\u2019d be requiring the same level of total evidence in each case, but it would feel like a lot more to you if you were claiming to own a flying saucer (because more of the burden is on you). <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n The title from this post comes from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 15 verse 17. \u00a0Paul writes:<\/p>\n 14<\/em> <\/span>And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15<\/em> <\/span>More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 <\/em><\/span>For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17<\/em> <\/span>And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. <\/em>18<\/em> <\/span>Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19<\/em> <\/span>If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Despite\u00a0Paul\u2019s epistle, some Christians<\/a> are entirely comfortable reconciling their faith with a non-literal resurrection of Christ. \u00a0But for other Christians, any definitive disproof of the resurrection would mean the end of their faith. \u00a0This is the question that drives Martin Gardner\u2019s novel The Flight of Peter Fromm<\/em><\/a> (about which more later).<\/p>\n Christianity (and most other religions) make claims about our world, some of which may be vulnerable to empirical\u00a0inquiry, but many Christians do not engage in deep investigation of the historicity of the gospels or other types of tests. \u00a0Is it incumbent on them to research these possible disproofs? \u00a0Where should they be looking?<\/p>\n Some kinds of claims are firmly within our ability to research. \u00a0For instance, does praying speed recovery times from illness? \u00a0(The Mayo Clinic says no<\/a>).<\/p>\n Some disproofs could come, but are not possible to test through experiment. \u00a0The Roman Catholic Church\u2019s claim to be the institution referenced in Matthew 16:18<\/a> (\u201cAnd I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.\u201d) would certainly be disproved if a yawning, brimstone-scented gulf opened under St. Peter\u2019s Basilica and swallowed Vatican City whole. \u00a0It might even be\u00a0disproved\u00a0if the Catholic Church voluntarily dissolved itself or dwindled away into nothing. \u00a0However, none of these outcomes can be tested experimentally.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em> Thanks all for your comments on last week\u2019s post<\/a> on standards of evidence (extraordinary and otherwise). As always, if you\u2019d like to respond to a Monday Call to Arms in longer form as a guest blogger, please email me at leah (dot) libresco (at) yale (dot) edu. The highlighted comment from last week comes from No Forbidden Questions<\/a>:<\/em> <\/em>
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