April 27, 2007

Orbit

Do you believe that the earth revolves around the Sun, or the Sun around the earth?

The earth orbits the Sun, of course, everybody knows that.

And yet, every day you see the Sun rise from the east, travel across the sky, and set in the west. Therefore, based on ordinary sense experience, it's obvious that the Sun goes around the earth.

So why do we believe the opposite of our plain experience? Because somebody has told us that it is so. Because we trust that the astronomers and science teachers and textbooks we have read know what they are talking about. We trust them, and that's enough for us to discount our experience and believe the opposite, without even being bothered by the dissonance!

Well, then, why not believe in the apostles who assure us that Jesus is risen? Surely they also know what they are talking about.

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