Quote:
Originally Posted by Abel  Proof and evidence are the same thing:
ev·i·dence Audio Help / Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ev-i-duhns] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, -denced, -denc·ing.
–noun 1. that which tends to prove or disprove something; ground for belief; proof.
2. something that makes plain or clear; an indication or sign: His flushed look was visible evidence of his fever.
3. Law. data presented to a court or jury in proof of the facts in issue and which may include the testimony of witnesses, records, documents, or objects. |
You're seriously holding onto this notion that proof and evidence are the same thing? You underline "prove" but ignore the modification of prove: "tends to"???
Evidence is NOT proof. Not in a legal sense or in a scientific sense or any other sense of the term. A proof is obtained via acceptance of axioms. Proof can be used in a colloquial sense when you're not interacting with someone who is part of the discovery process, but it's not the strict distinction that is required when participating in a process of self correcting scientific discovery.
Furthermore, perhaps you could listen to this NPR interview with Ehrman:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=5052156
He addresses specifically the stoning of the adulteress story and puts it in a historical context and references how the story doesn't exist in our oldest manuscripts of the bible but was inserted sometime in the first millenia. He even sites historical pressures on individuals producing translations.
I was offering evidence of biblical inconsistencies (you asked for them in this thread). This seemed to be one of them. Perhaps you could illustrate how he is mistaken about this particular story in the bible and how it is clearly not a component of the original. Then perhaps you could talk about why we're supposed to accept the bible as fact given that it was written within 80-100 years AFTER jesus died?
You simply make statements that he is wrong, but offer no reason for your statement. This doesn't mean that your statement is incorrect but it doesn't provide reason for anyone to accept it.