More on Mr. Lundahl’s Two-Step Failure
Kevin R. Henke
November 21, 2022
In Henke (2022bh) and Henke (2022b), I stated:
“Mr. Lundahl has the burden of evidence to demonstrate that the claims in Genesis 3 and elsewhere in the Bible are factual.”
In response to my statement, Mr. Lundahl first introduced his two-step approach to Genesis 3 in Lundahl (2022t), where he attempts to demonstrate that Genesis 3 actually happened:
“My way is double:
1) establish - by first known audience - that the text is historic rather than fictional
2) refute any claims Henke may make for its being specifically a fraud perpetrated like this or specifically a misunderstanding which happened like that.”
I refuted his approach in Henke (2022iw). In Lundahl (2022v), Mr. Lundahl again mentions his two-step approach to supposedly demonstrate the historicity of Genesis 3. Once more in Henke (2022ju), I demonstrated that his approach is totally ineffective. Now, Mr. Lundahl invokes his bogus two-step approach for a third time in Lundahl (2022x) in response to Henke (2022bm):
Henke (2022bm) states:
“Hypotheses #3 and #4 in Henke (2022b) already state that the ancient Israelites came to believe either by misinterpretation or by being deliberately deceived that Genesis 3 actually happened.”
Lundahl (2022x) replies:
“My first step is, Genesis 3 is history, not fiction, history, not "lost and spectacularily recovered history."
My second step is, as to misinterpretation or fraud, it is Mr. Henke who should give specifics on how these could be plausible in the case.”
Mr. Lundahl in Lundahl (2022x) again fails to realize that some works of fiction, like the four Gospels in the New Testament (Carrier 2014, pp. 387-509), pretend to be historical accounts. Even if the many far-fetched miracle stories actually occurred, Carrier (2014, pp. 387-509) demonstrates that the accounts in the four Gospels are totally unrealistic. I previously discussed some of Carrier’s examples from the Gospels in Henke (2022hg), including the absolutely ridiculous statement supposedly said by the disciples in Mark 8:4. In the same way, without external evidence for Genesis 3, Mr. Lundahl’s first step has no way of distinguishing a historical document from a work of fiction pretending to be a historical document. Because there is absolutely no external evidence that Genesis 3 ever happened, in all probability, the far-fetched stories involving a Talking Snake and magic fruits are nothing more than a work of fiction. Mr. Lundahl has the burden of evidence to demonstrate otherwise.
In his second step, Mr. Lundahl fails to realize that he, and not me, has the burden of evidence to demonstrate that Genesis 3 occurred (Henke 2022dv). He has not done so. In turn, as I further discussed in Henke (2022ky), I had the burden of evidence to demonstrate that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Mr. Lundahl does not have to demonstrate that the Earth is not 4.5 billion years old. Nevertheless, I successfully met my burden of evidence as shown at my website and in my recommended references in this debate, such as: Strahler (1999), Dalrymple (1991), and Prothero (2007). In response to Mr. Lundahl’s two-step failure, I further stated in Henke (2022ju):
“I’ve already explained in a number of my essays that I don’t have to answer the questions: "is there evidence for a misunderstanding" or "is there evidence for a successful fraud" .... The default position for all claims is skepticism (Henke 2022dv). The burden of evidence is on those that want to believe that a Talking Snake and magic fruit trees were real. They have to demonstrate that their beliefs actually happened. We already know that people often lie and misinterpret accounts. There’s also not a shred of evidence for the existence of a Talking Snake and magic fruit trees. Thus, as I argued back in Henke (2022b), Hypotheses #3 and #4 are far more probable when they state that Genesis 3 is a myth as opposed to the groundless wishful thinking in Hypotheses #1 and #2 that claim that Genesis 3 actually happened. So, Mr. Lundahl and his allies have to demonstrate that Genesis 3 actually happened, I don’t have to provide evidence of a misunderstanding or a successful fraud. That’s already the likely default position until demonstrated otherwise. In the exact same way, if someone claims that their house is haunted, I don’t have to demonstrate that the claim is false to his/her satisfaction. He/she has to demonstrate that the claim is true. Similarly, I don’t need to demonstrate that Xenu did not exist, Scientologists have to demonstrate that he did exist 75 million years ago. I also don’t need to demonstrate that Moroni did not exist, the Mormons have to demonstrate with external evidence that Moroni existed. At least the Mormons, unlike Mr. Lundahl, fully recognize that they need archeology to back up the claims in their ‘scriptures.’” [my emphasis]
References:
Carrier, R. 2014. On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt, Sheffield Phoenix Press: Sheffield, UK, 696pp.
Dalrymple, G.B. 1991. The Age of the Earth: Stanford, California, Stanford University Press, 474 pp.
Prothero, D.R. 2007. Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters: Cambridge University Press: New York, NY, USA, 381pp.
Strahler, A.N. 1999. Science and Earth History: The Evolution/Creation Controversy: 2nd ed., Prometheus Books: Amherst, NY, USA, 552 pp.