I recently(over the last few weeks) saw several Discovery Channel and PBS documentaries describing similar historical detail as presented in these stories of the Resurrection written over 75 years ago. BUT I hadn't found evidence with that same historical detail until recently.
I was just wondering how others have seen the development of historical evidence surrounding details of The Resurrection in recent times. It seems as we continue to develop our historical understanding of the times of Jesus, more and more details of his life and death fall into place in terms of validity.
The Resurrection Of Jesus
At two forty-five Sunday morning, the Paradise incarnation commission, consisting of seven unidentified Paradise personalities, arrived on the scene and immediately deployed themselves about the tomb. At ten minutes before three, intense vibrations of commingled material and heavenly activities began to issue from Joseph's new tomb, and at two minutes past three o'clock, this Sunday morning, April 9, A.D. 30, the resurrected heavenly form and personality of Jesus of Nazareth came forth from the tomb.
After the resurrected Jesus emerged from his burial tomb, the body of flesh in which he had lived and wrought on earth for almost thirty-six years was still lying there in the sepulchre niche, undisturbed and wrapped in the linen sheet, just as it had been laid to rest by Joseph and his associates on Friday afternoon. Neither was the stone before the entrance of the tomb in any way disturbed; the seal of Pilate was still unbroken; the soldiers were still on guard. The temple guards had been on continuous duty; the Roman guard had been changed at midnight. None of these watchers suspected that the object of their vigil had risen to a new and higher form of existence, and that the body which they were guarding was now a discarded outer covering which had no further connection with the delivered and resurrected heavenly personality of Jesus.
Mankind is slow to perceive that, in all that is personal, matter is the skeleton of morontia, and that both are the reflected shadow of enduring spirit reality. How long before you will regard time as the moving image of eternity and space as the fleeting shadow of Paradise realities?
As far as we can judge, no creature of this universe nor any personality from another universe had anything to do with this morontia resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. On Friday he laid down his life as a mortal of the realm; on Sunday morning he took it up again ... There is much about the resurrection of Jesus which we do not understand. But we know that it occurred as we have stated and at about the time indicated. We can also record that all known phenomena associated with this mortal transit, or heavenly resurrection, occurred right there in Joseph's new tomb, where the mortal material remains of Jesus lay wrapped in burial cloths.
We know that no creature of the local universe participated in this heavenly awakening. We perceived the seven personalities of Paradise surround the tomb, but we did not see them do anything in connection with the Master's awakening. Just as soon as Jesus appeared beside Gabriel, just above the tomb, the seven personalities from Paradise signalized their intention of immediate departure for Paradise.
Let us forever clarify the concept of the resurrection of Jesus by making the following statements:
His material or physical body was not a part of the resurrected personality. When Jesus came forth from the tomb, his body of flesh remained undisturbed in the sepulchre. He emerged from the burial tomb without moving the stones before the entrance and without disturbing the seals of Pilate.
He did not emerge from the tomb as a spirit nor as Ruler of the local universe; he did not appear in the form of the Creator Sovereign, such as he had had before his incarnation in the likeness of mortal flesh on Earth.
He did come forth from this tomb of Joseph in the very likeness of the heavenly personalities of those who, as resurrected heavenly ascendant beings, emerge from the resurrection halls of the first mansion world of this local system. And the presence of the Michael memorial in the center of the vast court of the resurrection halls of mansonia number one leads us to conjecture that the Master's resurrection on earth was in some way fostered on this, the first of the system mansion worlds.
The first act of Jesus on arising from the tomb was to greet Gabriel and instruct him to continue in executive charge of universe affairs under Immanuel, and then he directed the chief of the Melchizedeks to convey his brotherly greetings to Immanuel. He thereupon asked the Most High for the certification of the Ancients of Days as to his mortal transit; and turning to the assembled heavenly groups of the seven mansion worlds, here gathered together to greet and welcome their Creator as a creature of their order, Jesus spoke the first words of the postmortal career. Said the heavenly Jesus: "Having finished my life in the flesh, I would tarry here for a short time in transition form that I may more fully know the life of my ascendant creatures and further reveal the will of my Father in Paradise."
After Jesus had spoken, he signaled to the Personalized Adjuster, and all universe intelligences who had been assembled on Earth to witness the resurrection were immediately dispatched to their respective universe assignments.
Jesus now began the contacts of the heavenly level, being introduced, as a creature, to the requirements of the life he had chosen to live for a short time on Earth. This initiation into the transitional heavenly world required more than an hour of earth time and was twice interrupted by his desire to communicate with his former associates in the flesh as they came out from Jerusalem wonderingly to peer into the empty tomb to discover what they considered evidence of his resurrection.
Now is the mortal transit of Jesus—the transitional heavenly resurrection of the Son of Man—completed. The transitory experience of the Master as a personality midway between the material and the spiritual has begun. And he has done all this through power inherent within himself; no personality has rendered him any assistance. He now lives as Jesus of heavenly transition, and as he begins this Transitional heavenly life, the material body of his flesh lies there undisturbed in the tomb. The soldiers are still on guard, and the seal of the governor about the rocks has not yet been broken.
I recently(over the last few weeks) saw several Discovery Channel and PBS documentaries describing similar historical detail as presented in these stories of the Resurrection written over 75 years ago. BUT I hadn't found evidence with that same historical detail until recently.
I was just wondering how others have seen the development of historical evidence surrounding details of The Resurrection in recent times. It seems as we continue to develop our historical understanding of the times of Jesus, more and more details of his life and death fall into place in terms of validity. While many aspects of the resurrection are still taken on Faith, the historical evidence for the possibility of the Resurrection slowly grows over time.
The Resurrection Of Jesus
At two forty-five Sunday morning, the Paradise incarnation commission, consisting of seven unidentified Paradise personalities, arrived on the scene and immediately deployed themselves about the tomb. At ten minutes before three, intense vibrations of commingled material and heavenly activities began to issue from Joseph's new tomb, and at two minutes past three o'clock, this Sunday morning, April 9, A.D. 30, the resurrected heavenly form and personality of Jesus of Nazareth came forth from the tomb.
After the resurrected Jesus emerged from his burial tomb, the body of flesh in which he had lived and wrought on earth for almost thirty-six years was still lying there in the sepulchre niche, undisturbed and wrapped in the linen sheet, just as it had been laid to rest by Joseph and his associates on Friday afternoon. Neither was the stone before the entrance of the tomb in any way disturbed; the seal of Pilate was still unbroken; the soldiers were still on guard. The temple guards had been on continuous duty; the Roman guard had been changed at midnight. None of these watchers suspected that the object of their vigil had risen to a new and higher form of existence, and that the body which they were guarding was now a discarded outer covering which had no further connection with the delivered and resurrected heavenly personality of Jesus.
Mankind is slow to perceive that, in all that is personal, matter is the skeleton of morontia, and that both are the reflected shadow of enduring spirit reality. How long before you will regard time as the moving image of eternity and space as the fleeting shadow of Paradise realities?
As far as we can judge, no creature of this universe nor any personality from another universe had anything to do with this morontia resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. On Friday he laid down his life as a mortal of the realm; on Sunday morning he took it up again ... There is much about the resurrection of Jesus which we do not understand. But we know that it occurred as we have stated and at about the time indicated. We can also record that all known phenomena associated with this mortal transit, or heavenly resurrection, occurred right there in Joseph's new tomb, where the mortal material remains of Jesus lay wrapped in burial cloths.
We know that no creature of the local universe participated in this heavenly awakening. We perceived the seven personalities of Paradise surround the tomb, but we did not see them do anything in connection with the Master's awakening. Just as soon as Jesus appeared beside Gabriel, just above the tomb, the seven personalities from Paradise signalized their intention of immediate departure for Paradise.
Let us forever clarify the concept of the resurrection of Jesus by making the following statements:
His material or physical body was not a part of the resurrected personality. When Jesus came forth from the tomb, his body of flesh remained undisturbed in the sepulchre. He emerged from the burial tomb without moving the stones before the entrance and without disturbing the seals of Pilate.
He did not emerge from the tomb as a spirit nor as Ruler of the local universe; he did not appear in the form of the Creator Sovereign, such as he had had before his incarnation in the likeness of mortal flesh on Earth.
He did come forth from this tomb of Joseph in the very likeness of the heavenly personalities of those who, as resurrected heavenly ascendant beings, emerge from the resurrection halls of the first mansion world of this local system. And the presence of the Michael memorial in the center of the vast court of the resurrection halls of mansonia number one leads us to conjecture that the Master's resurrection on earth was in some way fostered on this, the first of the system mansion worlds.
The first act of Jesus on arising from the tomb was to greet Gabriel and instruct him to continue in executive charge of universe affairs under Immanuel, and then he directed the chief of the Melchizedeks to convey his brotherly greetings to Immanuel. He thereupon asked the Most High for the certification of the Ancients of Days as to his mortal transit; and turning to the assembled heavenly groups of the seven mansion worlds, here gathered together to greet and welcome their Creator as a creature of their order, Jesus spoke the first words of the postmortal career. Said the heavenly Jesus: "Having finished my life in the flesh, I would tarry here for a short time in transition form that I may more fully know the life of my ascendant creatures and further reveal the will of my Father in Paradise."
After Jesus had spoken, he signaled to the Personalized Adjuster, and all universe intelligences who had been assembled on Earth to witness the resurrection were immediately dispatched to their respective universe assignments.
Jesus now began the contacts of the heavenly level, being introduced, as a creature, to the requirements of the life he had chosen to live for a short time on Earth. This initiation into the transitional heavenly world required more than an hour of earth time and was twice interrupted by his desire to communicate with his former associates in the flesh as they came out from Jerusalem wonderingly to peer into the empty tomb to discover what they considered evidence of his resurrection.
Now is the mortal transit of Jesus—the transitional heavenly resurrection of the Son of Man—completed. The transitory experience of the Master as a personality midway between the material and the spiritual has begun. And he has done all this through power inherent within himself; no personality has rendered him any assistance. He now lives as Jesus of heavenly transition, and as he begins this Transitional heavenly life, the material body of his flesh lies there undisturbed in the tomb. The soldiers are still on guard, and the seal of the governor about the rocks has not yet been broken.
The Disposition Of Jesus' Physical Body
At ten minutes past three o'clock, as the resurrected Jesus fraternized with the assembled heavenly personalities from the seven mansion worlds. the chief of archangels—the angels of the resurrection—approached Gabriel and asked for the mortal body of Jesus. Said the chief of the archangels: "We may not participate in the transitional heavenly resurrection of the bestowal experience of Michael our sovereign, but we would have his mortal remains put in our custody for immediate dissolution. We do not propose to employ our technique of dematerialization; we merely wish to invoke the process of accelerated time. It is enough that we have seen the Sovereign live and die on Earth; the hosts of heaven would be spared the memory of enduring the sight of the slow decay of the human form of the Creator and Upholder of a universe. In the name of the celestial intelligences of all the universe, I ask for a mandate giving me the custody of the mortal body of Jesus of Nazareth and empowering us to proceed with its immediate dissolution."
And when Gabriel had conferred with the senior Most High of Edentia, the archangel spokesman for the celestial hosts was given permission to make such disposition of the physical remains of Jesus as he might determine.
After the chief of archangels had been granted this request, he summoned to his assistance many of his fellows, together with a numerous host of the representatives of all orders of celestial personalities, and then, with the aid of the Earth midwayers, proceeded to take possession of Jesus' physical body. This body of death was a purely material creation; it was physical and literal; it could not be removed from the tomb as the transitional heavenly form of the resurrection had been able to escape the sealed sepulchre. By the aid of certain transitional heavenly auxiliary personalities, the transitional heavenly form can be made at one time as of the spirit so that it can become indifferent to ordinary matter, while at another time it can become discernible and contactable to material beings, such as the mortals of the realm.
As they made ready to remove the body of Jesus from the tomb preparatory to according it the dignified and reverent disposal of near-instantaneous dissolution, it was assigned the secondary earth midwayers to roll away the stones from the entrance of the tomb. The larger of these two stones was a huge circular affair, much like a millstone, and it moved in a groove chiseled out of the rock, so that it could be rolled back and forth to open or close the tomb. When the watching Jewish guards and the Roman soldiers, in the dim light of the morning, saw this huge stone begin to roll away from the entrance of the tomb, apparently of its own accord—without any visible means to account for such motion—they were seized with fear and panic, and they fled in haste from the scene. The Jews fled to their homes, afterward going back to report these doings to their captain at the temple. The Romans fled to the fortress of Antonia and reported what they had seen to the centurion as soon as he arrived on duty.
The Jewish leaders began the sordid business of supposedly getting rid of Jesus by offering bribes to the traitorous Judas, and now, when confronted with this embarrassing situation, instead of thinking of punishing the guards who deserted their post, they resorted to bribing these guards and the Roman soldiers. They paid each of these twenty men a sum of money and instructed them to say to all: "While we slept during the nighttime, his disciples came upon us and took away the body." And the Jewish leaders made solemn promises to the soldiers to defend them before Pilate in case it should ever come to the governor's knowledge that they had accepted a bribe.
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus has been based on the fact of the "empty tomb." It was indeed a fact that the tomb was empty, but this is not the truth of the resurrection. The tomb was truly empty when the first believers arrived, and this fact, associated with that of the undoubted resurrection of the Master, led to the formulation of a belief which was not true: the teaching that the material and mortal body of Jesus was raised from the grave. Truth having to do with spiritual realities and eternal values cannot always be built up by a combination of apparent facts. Although individual facts may be materially true, it does not follow that the association of a group of facts must necessarily lead to truthful spiritual conclusions.
The tomb of Joseph was empty, not because the body of Jesus had been rehabilitated or resurrected, but because the celestial hosts had been granted their request to afford it a special and unique dissolution, a return of the "dust to dust," without the intervention of the delays of time and without the operation of the ordinary and visible processes of mortal decay and material corruption.
The mortal remains of Jesus underwent the same natural process of elemental disintegration as characterizes all human bodies on earth except that, in point of time, this natural mode of dissolution was greatly accelerated, hastened to that point where it became well-nigh instantaneous.
The true evidences of the resurrection of Michael are spiritual in nature, albeit this teaching is corroborated by the testimony of many mortals of the realm who met, recognized, and communed with the resurrected transitional heavenly Master. He became a part of the personal experience of almost one thousand human beings before he finally took leave of earth.
The Resurrection
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Post #51
.
The admissions are is accurate from all that I have observed in the study of nature and in debate with believers. The only “arguments” offered in “support” of the flood tale are bible references, personal opinions, fake science, and excuses for the absence of evidence.
If one attributes the flood to gods, there is admittedly no evidence that it ever happened -- except in storybooks. That is what is known as fiction -- stories about things that happened only in stories.
The argument that "You must acknowledge god to debate the flood" is nothing more than an admission that the pro-flood position cannot be defended with evidence that a flood actually occurred – and supernaturalism must be accepted in order to “know” about the proposed flood.goat wrote:That is your claim. However, the evidence for a world wide flood would be independent from there being a god, or there not being a god.twobitsmedia wrote:Zzyzx wrote:Are you willing to defend in debate the biblical account of a worldwide flood as being an event that actually, literally, physically, really happened on the Earth and to show evidence that the contention is true -- opposed to someone who does not accept your god beliefs?twobitsmedia wrote:I am already quite aware of your inability to debate believers.
I think the problem begins with the existence of God. If there's no God, then there was no flood. We have already been over this.
The admissions are is accurate from all that I have observed in the study of nature and in debate with believers. The only “arguments” offered in “support” of the flood tale are bible references, personal opinions, fake science, and excuses for the absence of evidence.
If one attributes the flood to gods, there is admittedly no evidence that it ever happened -- except in storybooks. That is what is known as fiction -- stories about things that happened only in stories.
.
Non-Theist
ANY of the thousands of "gods" proposed, imagined, worshiped, loved, feared, and/or fought over by humans MAY exist -- awaiting verifiable evidence
Non-Theist
ANY of the thousands of "gods" proposed, imagined, worshiped, loved, feared, and/or fought over by humans MAY exist -- awaiting verifiable evidence
- Cathar1950
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Post #53
twobitsmedia wrote:We are not looking for its cause just some evidence it happened.goat wrote:And (again) what would the evidence be of a flood started by God and ended by God with no apparent natural warning or natural ending.?twobitsmedia wrote:That is your claim. However, the evidence for a world wide flood would be independent from there being a god, or there not being a god.Zzyzx wrote:.twobitsmedia wrote:I am already quite aware of your inability to debate believers.I think the problem begins with the existence of God. If there's no God, then there was no flood. We have already been over this.Are you willing to defend in debate the biblical account of a worldwide flood as being an event that actually, literally, physically, really happened on the Earth and to show evidence that the contention is true -- opposed to someone who does not accept your god beliefs?
There are indications of large floods but nothing that would cover the world or mountains. Sumer seems to be where the story started and was used by others later. There are flood stories in the New World but again after the last ice age there were a number of those also. The Bible OT or NT is not a record.
They are stories.
Post #54
Cathar1950 wrote:What evidence would there be for a flood that was not caused by natural causes, with no natural warning, coming very quickly and ending very quickly and unnatural, and ended and started by God? What benchmark do you use?twobitsmedia wrote:We are not looking for its cause just some evidence it happened.goat wrote:And (again) what would the evidence be of a flood started by God and ended by God with no apparent natural warning or natural ending.?twobitsmedia wrote:That is your claim. However, the evidence for a world wide flood would be independent from there being a god, or there not being a god.Zzyzx wrote:.twobitsmedia wrote:I am already quite aware of your inability to debate believers.I think the problem begins with the existence of God. If there's no God, then there was no flood. We have already been over this.Are you willing to defend in debate the biblical account of a worldwide flood as being an event that actually, literally, physically, really happened on the Earth and to show evidence that the contention is true -- opposed to someone who does not accept your god beliefs?
There are indications of large floods but nothing that would cover the world or mountains. Sumer seems to be where the story started and was used by others later. There are flood stories in the New World but again after the last ice age there were a number of those also. The Bible OT or NT is not a record.
They are stories.
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Post #55
twobitsmedia wrote:So it is kind of like it never happened.Cathar1950 wrote:What evidence would there be for a flood that was not caused by natural causes, with no natural warning, coming very quickly and ending very quickly and unnatural, and ended and started by God? What benchmark do you use?twobitsmedia wrote:We are not looking for its cause just some evidence it happened.goat wrote:And (again) what would the evidence be of a flood started by God and ended by God with no apparent natural warning or natural ending.?twobitsmedia wrote:That is your claim. However, the evidence for a world wide flood would be independent from there being a god, or there not being a god.Zzyzx wrote:.twobitsmedia wrote:I am already quite aware of your inability to debate believers.I think the problem begins with the existence of God. If there's no God, then there was no flood. We have already been over this.Are you willing to defend in debate the biblical account of a worldwide flood as being an event that actually, literally, physically, really happened on the Earth and to show evidence that the contention is true -- opposed to someone who does not accept your god beliefs?
There are indications of large floods but nothing that would cover the world or mountains. Sumer seems to be where the story started and was used by others later. There are flood stories in the New World but again after the last ice age there were a number of those also. The Bible OT or NT is not a record.
They are stories.
After all if there are no signs and signs that say there was no break bewteen cultures I guess it is just a story.
I guess you would not have much to defend.
Maybe some have a misplaced trust in their Bible about the wrong things.
Post #56
That's not what I said, I asked what kind of evidence would be expected. When we can conclude what it would be, I suspect we will find it.Cathar1950 wrote:
So it is kind of like it never happened.
After all if there are no signs and signs that say there was no break bewteen cultures I guess it is just a story.
I guess you would not have much to defend.
Maybe some have a misplaced trust in their Bible about the wrong things.
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Post #57
.
A real flood, one that actually occurred, one that lasted a year (as per genesis) would be expected to leave evidence such as wave-cut features at high elevations on mountains, deposits of sedimentary layers of similar age and characteristics worldwide, rock strata containing mixtures of fossils of primitive and complex organisms. These and other indications of the presence of water on the land can be studied long after the water is gone IF the water was actually present.
The reference to “wave cut features” applies to distinctive features found along shorelines of lakes and oceans – eroded by waves. Photographs of the Pacific shore of western states can provide examples of the kinds of features produced by waves. Ancient lakes are identified and studied by the shoreline features left millions of years after the lakes have drained. These features are very distinctive and are easily recognized by those who study such things. I know this from personal experience.
Perhaps many readers are familiar with recent attempts to determine if other planets and their satellites had bodies of water. What researchers look for is indication such as shoreline (or wave-cut) features. Those who do not dismiss science (because it may conflict with their chosen dogma) can learn about such things with Internet searches for related terms.
The lack of mixing of fossils of ancient (primitive) and more modern (complex) organisms (mixing = occurring within single rock strata) is VERY significant to people who actually study Earth sciences. If a flood wiped out all life on Earth (as the tale claims), body parts of animals and plants should be thoroughly mixed in sedimentary rocks deposited during the flood. There is no known means of “sorting” all the primitive fossils into some rock strata and all complex fossils into other strata. There is no known rock strata in which ancient and modern fossils are mixed BUT such mixed-fossil strata should be worldwide if the tale was true.
Since the flood is claimed to have been worldwide, evidence should be worldwide. Those who propose that the biblical flood story is literally true are encouraged to present the evidence for consideration by all.
The lack of physical evidence of flooding in only one of MANY defects in the “literal flood” theory. Among the major defects I have pointed out in a previous debate in Head to Head http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... &start=110 are:
1. Origin of the flood water (one billion cubic miles of water in addition to the Earth’s present supply required to flood the Earth “to tops of mountains”)
2. Disposal of water post-flood
3. Survival of fish (salt water and fresh water species have specific habitat requirements which cannot be met simultaneously under proposed worldwide flooding conditions)
4. Survival of plants in a year of flooding (particularly those that do not reproduce by seeds) and rapid re-growth of plants as food for herbivores
5. Evolution of fish and plants occurring rapidly post-flood but slowing currently
6. Accumulation of animals from all over the globe at the ark (without transportation)
7. Return of animals to their specific habitats post-flood (without transportation)
8. Mountains being “lower” a few thousand years ago, rising rapidly, stopping rise (as is usually claimed by apologists)
9. Continents being shoved apart by water pressure (and continuing to move – according to “hydroplate theory”)
10. Building and sailing by eight people of a wooden ship larger than any known to have been built
11. Care and feeding of thousands or millions of animals for a year on a boat
12. 100% survival of all pairs of animals
13. Atmosphere being a “blanket of water” and “no rain” before the flood (as often proposed by apologists)
14. Earth’s climate being significantly more mild a few thousand years ago
15. Genetic diversity in humans evolving rapidly post-flood to produce variations now present – then slowing or stopping.
16. Precise sorting of fossils in sedimentary rocks – so perfect that no fossil of any animal or plant is found lower in the stratigraphic column than would be consistent with when it evolved according to stratigraphy and paleontology.
Can anyone address these issues with evidence? The claim that “goddidit” is not acceptable in reasoned debate unless evidence is presented that a god actually performed the deeds. Note: evidence is NOT conjecture, opinion, hearsay or ancient stories.
There would be NO evidence of an imaginary flood, a mythical flood, a fictional flood.twobitsmedia wrote:What evidence would there be for a flood that was not caused by natural causes, with no natural warning, coming very quickly and ending very quickly and unnatural, and ended and started by God? What benchmark do you use?
A real flood, one that actually occurred, one that lasted a year (as per genesis) would be expected to leave evidence such as wave-cut features at high elevations on mountains, deposits of sedimentary layers of similar age and characteristics worldwide, rock strata containing mixtures of fossils of primitive and complex organisms. These and other indications of the presence of water on the land can be studied long after the water is gone IF the water was actually present.
The reference to “wave cut features” applies to distinctive features found along shorelines of lakes and oceans – eroded by waves. Photographs of the Pacific shore of western states can provide examples of the kinds of features produced by waves. Ancient lakes are identified and studied by the shoreline features left millions of years after the lakes have drained. These features are very distinctive and are easily recognized by those who study such things. I know this from personal experience.
Perhaps many readers are familiar with recent attempts to determine if other planets and their satellites had bodies of water. What researchers look for is indication such as shoreline (or wave-cut) features. Those who do not dismiss science (because it may conflict with their chosen dogma) can learn about such things with Internet searches for related terms.
The lack of mixing of fossils of ancient (primitive) and more modern (complex) organisms (mixing = occurring within single rock strata) is VERY significant to people who actually study Earth sciences. If a flood wiped out all life on Earth (as the tale claims), body parts of animals and plants should be thoroughly mixed in sedimentary rocks deposited during the flood. There is no known means of “sorting” all the primitive fossils into some rock strata and all complex fossils into other strata. There is no known rock strata in which ancient and modern fossils are mixed BUT such mixed-fossil strata should be worldwide if the tale was true.
Since the flood is claimed to have been worldwide, evidence should be worldwide. Those who propose that the biblical flood story is literally true are encouraged to present the evidence for consideration by all.
The lack of physical evidence of flooding in only one of MANY defects in the “literal flood” theory. Among the major defects I have pointed out in a previous debate in Head to Head http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... &start=110 are:
1. Origin of the flood water (one billion cubic miles of water in addition to the Earth’s present supply required to flood the Earth “to tops of mountains”)
2. Disposal of water post-flood
3. Survival of fish (salt water and fresh water species have specific habitat requirements which cannot be met simultaneously under proposed worldwide flooding conditions)
4. Survival of plants in a year of flooding (particularly those that do not reproduce by seeds) and rapid re-growth of plants as food for herbivores
5. Evolution of fish and plants occurring rapidly post-flood but slowing currently
6. Accumulation of animals from all over the globe at the ark (without transportation)
7. Return of animals to their specific habitats post-flood (without transportation)
8. Mountains being “lower” a few thousand years ago, rising rapidly, stopping rise (as is usually claimed by apologists)
9. Continents being shoved apart by water pressure (and continuing to move – according to “hydroplate theory”)
10. Building and sailing by eight people of a wooden ship larger than any known to have been built
11. Care and feeding of thousands or millions of animals for a year on a boat
12. 100% survival of all pairs of animals
13. Atmosphere being a “blanket of water” and “no rain” before the flood (as often proposed by apologists)
14. Earth’s climate being significantly more mild a few thousand years ago
15. Genetic diversity in humans evolving rapidly post-flood to produce variations now present – then slowing or stopping.
16. Precise sorting of fossils in sedimentary rocks – so perfect that no fossil of any animal or plant is found lower in the stratigraphic column than would be consistent with when it evolved according to stratigraphy and paleontology.
Can anyone address these issues with evidence? The claim that “goddidit” is not acceptable in reasoned debate unless evidence is presented that a god actually performed the deeds. Note: evidence is NOT conjecture, opinion, hearsay or ancient stories.
.
Non-Theist
ANY of the thousands of "gods" proposed, imagined, worshiped, loved, feared, and/or fought over by humans MAY exist -- awaiting verifiable evidence
Non-Theist
ANY of the thousands of "gods" proposed, imagined, worshiped, loved, feared, and/or fought over by humans MAY exist -- awaiting verifiable evidence
Post #58
What about this?Zzyzx wrote:.There would be NO evidence of an imaginary flood, a mythical flood, a fictional flood.twobitsmedia wrote:What evidence would there be for a flood that was not caused by natural causes, with no natural warning, coming very quickly and ending very quickly and unnatural, and ended and started by God? What benchmark do you use?
A real flood, one that actually occurred, one that lasted a year (as per genesis) would be expected to leave evidence such as wave-cut features at high elevations on mountains, deposits of sedimentary layers of similar age and characteristics worldwide, rock strata containing mixtures of fossils of primitive and complex organisms. These and other indications of the presence of water on the land can be studied long after the water is gone IF the water was actually present.
The reference to “wave cut features” applies to distinctive features found along shorelines of lakes and oceans – eroded by waves. Photographs of the Pacific shore of western states can provide examples of the kinds of features produced by waves. Ancient lakes are identified and studied by the shoreline features left millions of years after the lakes have drained. These features are very distinctive and are easily recognized by those who study such things. I know this from personal experience.
Perhaps many readers are familiar with recent attempts to determine if other planets and their satellites had bodies of water. What researchers look for is indication such as shoreline (or wave-cut) features. Those who do not dismiss science (because it may conflict with their chosen dogma) can learn about such things with Internet searches for related terms.
The lack of mixing of fossils of ancient (primitive) and more modern (complex) organisms (mixing = occurring within single rock strata) is VERY significant to people who actually study Earth sciences. If a flood wiped out all life on Earth (as the tale claims), body parts of animals and plants should be thoroughly mixed in sedimentary rocks deposited during the flood. There is no known means of “sorting” all the primitive fossils into some rock strata and all complex fossils into other strata. There is no known rock strata in which ancient and modern fossils are mixed BUT such mixed-fossil strata should be worldwide if the tale was true.
Since the flood is claimed to have been worldwide, evidence should be worldwide. Those who propose that the biblical flood story is literally true are encouraged to present the evidence for consideration by all.
The lack of physical evidence of flooding in only one of MANY defects in the “literal flood” theory. Among the major defects I have pointed out in a previous debate in Head to Head http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... &start=110 are:
1. Origin of the flood water (one billion cubic miles of water in addition to the Earth’s present supply required to flood the Earth “to tops of mountains”)
2. Disposal of water post-flood
3. Survival of fish (salt water and fresh water species have specific habitat requirements which cannot be met simultaneously under proposed worldwide flooding conditions)
4. Survival of plants in a year of flooding (particularly those that do not reproduce by seeds) and rapid re-growth of plants as food for herbivores
5. Evolution of fish and plants occurring rapidly post-flood but slowing currently
6. Accumulation of animals from all over the globe at the ark (without transportation)
7. Return of animals to their specific habitats post-flood (without transportation)
8. Mountains being “lower” a few thousand years ago, rising rapidly, stopping rise (as is usually claimed by apologists)
9. Continents being shoved apart by water pressure (and continuing to move – according to “hydroplate theory”)
10. Building and sailing by eight people of a wooden ship larger than any known to have been built
11. Care and feeding of thousands or millions of animals for a year on a boat
12. 100% survival of all pairs of animals
13. Atmosphere being a “blanket of water” and “no rain” before the flood (as often proposed by apologists)
14. Earth’s climate being significantly more mild a few thousand years ago
15. Genetic diversity in humans evolving rapidly post-flood to produce variations now present – then slowing or stopping.
16. Precise sorting of fossils in sedimentary rocks – so perfect that no fossil of any animal or plant is found lower in the stratigraphic column than would be consistent with when it evolved according to stratigraphy and paleontology.
Can anyone address these issues with evidence? The claim that “goddidit” is not acceptable in reasoned debate unless evidence is presented that a god actually performed the deeds. Note: evidence is NOT conjecture, opinion, hearsay or ancient stories.
Benjamin Sillman, head of geology of Yale in the 1800's, wrote,
"Respecting the Deluge there can be but one opinion: geology fully confirms the scriptural history of the event. Whales, sharks, crocodiles, amphibians, mammoths, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, hyenas, tigers, deer, horses, bullpine families are found buried together in deluvian at a greater or lesser depth and in most instances, under circumstances indicating that they were buried by the same catastrophe which destroyed them, namely a sudden and violent deluge."178, 179
Post #59
You are right. Thats why the one you propose has no evidence. It puts you in kind of a win-win scenario of your own creation. You propose a flood that didnt happen and then challenge people to come up with evidence for this nonexistent flood and when they cannot you declare yourself the winner. If you could collect bets on it you could make a fortune.Zzyzx wrote:.
There would be NO evidence of an imaginary flood, a mythical flood, a fictional flood.
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Post #60
I really find it hard to believe that people are still willing to defend the Biblical Flood as a literal event. I'm just going to leave it at that.