Lesson 14.2 (Argument to the Best Explanation)

Over the past two weeks we have achieved a deeper understanding of the method of "Argument to the Best Explanation".  In short, this is the logical process we all perform throughout everyday without even realizing it.  Formally, it is the process used by scientists and historians to explain the causes of given effects.  This is a critically important concept to our study as we are performing our historical study, namely the historicity of Jesus' Resurrection.

We could simply approach this by faith alone, and that would be sufficient.  But we are interested to understand the historical case that can be made for the event.  That case depends on the method of "Multiply Competing Hypotheses", also known as "Argument to the Best Explanation".

Last Thursday night we took a look at an overall "diagram" of our study.  (Here's a link to a PDF of the slides and diagram.)  The rest of our study will need to broken into sections, beginning with the missing component of "Transmission".  We will return to this in a few weeks and understand the nature of oral tradition and it's support for the reliable transmission of the text of the New Testament.

In the meantime, we are going to spend a week or two looking at how historians use mathematical probability to help assess their confidence in the truth of historical claims.

Blessings!

Ricky
worldviewstudy@gmail.com