Is there more proof of Jesus than Evolution?

srmclauren · August 19, 2006, 6:15am

Apos:

Let me take a more contentious position: the evidence for evolution (common descent, withe the diving mechanism an evolutionary change) is stronger than the evidence for MOST historical events on a human scale prior to the advent of modern historical record (and maybe even after).

The reason is that the evidence for evolution is both vast, broad, and convergent in ways that mere historical events are not. Most historical events have a few primary sources, lots of secondary commentary, and some physical evidence. Now, that’s pretty good, often good enough to be very certain.

But that just doesn’t even scratch the surface of how powerful the evidence for evolution is. Here we’re dealing with vast vast reams of physical evidence that simply dwarf almost to nothing the amount of physical evidence we have, for, say some ancient battle: any one of which COULD totally contradict and throw things off, but never does. This evidence litterally spans the globe to every corner of the planet in the air and in the seas and under them: both spatially and in time, and it fits into countless different areas and histories. Even more powerful are the ways in which different lines of evidence all converge with each other that becomes less and less possible to write off as a coincidence even if you claim that the lines of evidence are themselves all flawed (why would erroneous reasoning all give even roughly the SAME erroneous conclusions, particularly on things like dates, much less fitting together in fine detail). You can take evidence from geology, fossils, and genetics and put it all together and it just all fits into a coherent whole, even in unexpected detail. There are so many different ways to come at the evidence, to think of the situation, and they all. just. fit.

Historical events can be very certain. But it’s rare that they have the power of multi-dimensional evidential convergence to the degree which the physical sciences have. It’s rare that they even come CLOSE.

Incredible! I’d even go so far as to say, “UNBELIEVABLE!”