In episode 19, Dr. Calum Miller and I complete our discussion of the Prior Probability of the Resurrection. “What the heck is that?” you might be asking yourself. Skeptical arguments against the resurrection of Jesus, for example, the objection that dead people usually stay dead or that miracles never happen, are really arguments that Jesus’ resurrection is supremely unlikely before we look at any of the evidence. Episodes 18 and 19 take these objections to task. Is Jesus’ Resurrection all that unlikely before we look at any evidence?
Dr. Calum Miller
Dr. Calum Miller is a medical doctor, philosopher, and ethicist, currently based in Oxford.
He graduated from the University of Oxford in 2015 with degrees in Medical Sciences (Neuroscience) and Medicine & Surgery. He then worked for 2 years as a doctor in Tameside Hospital, Manchester, while pursuing a part-time degree in Biblical Studies at the University of Manchester. He currently teaches Ethics and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford.
He’s published articles in top journals such as Bioethics, Religious Studies, and Philosophia. He has also taken part in debates, given over 20 conference talks internationally, and written for The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and The Spectator.
Visit his website here.
Episode 19
Episode 18 laid a lot of groundwork for 19. Go listen to it if you haven’t! In episode 19, we get a real understanding of what it takes to form an accurate prior probability for Jesus’ Resurrection. We address several objections like, “dead people tend to stay dead, so in all likelihood, Jesus stayed dead too, ” “miracles almost never happen, so the Resurrection probably didn’t happen,” and “any naturalistic theory is going to be more probable than God raising Jesus from the dead.” All are shown to be lacking.
Toward the end we address some of the concerns that historians like Mike Licona have against using Bayes Theorem in history.
Links mentioned during the show:
- Dr. Miller’s two appearances on Unbelievable
- Dr. Miller’s lecture on probability theory (all of the lectures in this playlist are amazing)
- Dr. Miller’s debates with Greg Cavin: Did Jesus rise from the dead? & Resurrection: Fact or Fiction
People involved in creating this episode:
- Cameron Bertuzzi – Producer, Host
- Sawyer Hudson – Co-producer, Sound Editor
- Dr. Calum Miller – Guest
To listen to this episode, just hit the play button below. It’s that simple! You can always subscribe and listen on iTunes. All of our episodes are pushed there for free.
I listened to both parts at the same time to see if the obvious objection to using bayes theorum were addressed, and since they aren’t I will go ahead and bring them up here. The first, and the one that is the most problematic for theists, is the units of measurement problem. When a theist starts giving off percentages for the weighting of the “evidence”, the unit of measurement is always in “in my opinion.” That is why theists try so hard to discredit the frequentest approach, even though bayes only works reliably if you are using frequentest probabilities. So… Read more »
Check out this analysis of the cumulative evidence for the Resurrection. Is it “strong” as apologists claim?
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2022/01/16/the-cumulative-evidence-for-the-resurrection-is-very-strong-really/
Have a great day,
Gary