Historical Documentation of Miracles

[The Cadet]

Imagine that you have a few dozen people come to you and claim that they were abducted by aliens. They all provide a very similar story. Do you believe them?

I think most people would say "no". There are a lot of problems with the idea that we are being visited by aliens - the complete lack of independently observable evidence, the absurdity that these aliens travel over absurdly long distances only to "buzz" a few random yokels, and the like.

So let's say you find a handful of old historical documents that claim that someone rose from the dead. Do you believe them?

I think a lot of people would say "yes".

But why? The sources are fewer in number. They are separated by far more time. They could have been forgeries. And what they describe is even more unlikely - at least there is some conceivable natural mechanism by which aliens could visit the earth.

So why, exactly, should we consider historical testimony of supernatural events to be reliable when we don't even accept personal testimony from people who are alive today as evidence of paranormal phenomenon?

 

[SkyWriting]

So let's say you find a handful of old historical documents that claim that someone rose from the dead. Do you believe them?I think a lot of people would say "yes".But why? The sources are fewer in number. They are separated by far more time. They could have been forgeries. And what they describe is even more unlikely - at least there is some conceivable natural mechanism by which aliens could visit the earth.

There are two ways to answer your question:

One, people being mistaken for dead is a daily and documented occurrence.

Two, historical records can be examined and analyzed by 1000's
and are open to written rebuttal which can also be reviewed by 1000's.

 

[juvenissun]

So why, exactly, should we consider historical testimony of supernatural events to be reliable when we don't even accept personal testimony from people who are alive today as evidence of paranormal phenomenon?

It is not just the testimony alone. There is a whole theory (theology) behind it. That made people convinced.
The scientific theory of alien abduction is not convincing at this time. It is rare that any incident is only an accidental event. Alien abduction will open a can of worm which is hard to accept yet.
But, watch carefully, there will be miracles or witnesses to come that would look or sound very reasonable. It would be a very bad sign.

 

[Colter]

Imagine that you have a few dozen people come to you and claim that they were abducted by aliens. They all provide a very similar story. Do you believe them?

I think most people would say "no". There are a lot of problems with the idea that we are being visited by aliens - the complete lack of independently observable evidence, the absurdity that these aliens travel over absurdly long distances only to "buzz" a few random yokels, and the like.

So let's say you find a handful of old historical documents that claim that someone rose from the dead. Do you believe them?

I think a lot of people would say "yes".

But why? The sources are fewer in number. They are separated by far more time. They could have been forgeries. And what they describe is even more unlikely - at least there is some conceivable natural mechanism by which aliens could visit the earth.

So why, exactly, should we consider historical testimony of supernatural events to be reliable when we don't even accept personal testimony from people who are alive today as evidence of paranormal phenomenon?

Based on the arguments that atheist make, there seems to be an assumption that people of faith arrived at their faith through logic alone, that we put claims on trial, tested them in a lab somewhere, were convinced by evidence, proven assertions etc. Even the purported witnesses of miracles still were not won over to the gospel, in fact some claimed Jesus got his power from Satan.

To answer your question specifically, faith in Jesus is augmented by his presence in spirit. After the ascension to heaven the gift of the "spirit of truth" was pored out upon all flesh. Combined with the indwelling spirit of the Father who bore witness to the identity of the Son within the hearts of the apostles, these influences go a long way towards buttressing our faith in the risen Christ today.

But then there is a practical consideration of the Jesus story in it's totality.