> Indeed !!!
>
> "Thomas, here are my hands, put your hand inside my chest
> wound, do you now believe?"
>
> I say that's a call for "scientific" validation!!!
Yes it is - if it is a true account of an actual event! Is
it? How can you be sure? How have you tested the veracity of
this story?
The same author claimed (John 20:19 & 26) that Jesus
appeared in a closed room - a very clear indication of
either "ghostliness" or a shared vision rather than a real
experience. How can this claim be reconciled with the
physical presence required for the offer of "scientific
validation" described in John 20:27.
This is a story that is only told in John and not referred
to in any of the synoptics. How might that affect the
story's credibility?
Did all of the events described in all of the gospels
actually occur as described? How has their veracity been
validated?
You may be willing to believe the Thomas story, based on
what appears to me to be no more than the fact of its
inclusion in the Bible, but I am not willing to accept the
truth of such a claim solely on this basis.
Proponents of Judaism and Islam would almost certainly deny
any reality to the Thomas story, since it is somewhat
dependant on the resurrection of Jesus, which they also
deny. I have yet to have someone explain to me why Christian
claims about supernatural phenomena are intrinsically more
believable than the contradictory claims of Judaism or
Islam.
I'm sure you've heard that extraordinary claims demand
extraordinary evidence. I await this extraordinary evidence.
> DM> Many people would claim that science doesn't cover
> claims of past,
> present or future specific actions by a deity. However, I
> see no
> reason why claims that a deity may have acted in a
> specific manner
> should be exempt from the processes of scientific
> methodology in
> assessing their validity.
--RegardsDerek
-----------------------------------------------------| Derek McLarnen | dmclarne@pcug.org.au || Melba ACT | derek.mclarnen@telstra.com.au || Australia | | -----------------------------------------------------