You Can't Prove It Didn't Happen

Burden of Proof is a legal term, which says, "The necessity of proof always lies with the person making the charge". Burden of Proof is at the heart of the American justice system and it is how we maintain the doctrine of "innocent until proven guilty". Read all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof

Were it not for this simple doctrine, any manner of unfounded charges could be brought against anyone. Someone could accuse you of stealing a car and without the burden of proof doctrine, the courts could be made to consider that charge until you proved that you were not guilty of stealing the car.

Proper biblical interpretation uses "burden of proof" to evaluate any proposed doctrine. For example, Dan Brown, the author of the book The Da Vinci Code claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. The bible does not say that Jesus was NOT married to Mary Magdalene and sure enough, you cannot prove He wasn't.

Just as in a court of law, serious students of the bible are not fooled by these tactics. If someone makes a claim about God, he is under obligation to produce scriptural evidence to support his claim. Dan Brown is not interested in promoting the cause of Christ, he is in the business of selling books.

So, in a discussion regarding the nature of God, I made the statement, "Jesus never turned anyone down for healing who came to Him in faith". I used as my evidence, the four gospels. This is what was said in response:

To say that Jesus never turned anyone down for healing who came to Him in faith is actually a very weak argument. First, we have insufficient info to be able to state with confidence that he "never" turned anyone away. None of the gospels professes to account for everything Jesus did (or didn't do). He just may have.

... Second, the gospels are each a selective retelling. The writers are not telling the whole story of Jesus' ministry, but only what will achieve their purposes in writing.

In the above sentences, let's replace healing with being married:

To say that Jesus never [married] is actually a very weak argument. First, we have insufficient info to be able to state with confidence that he "never" [married]. None of the gospels professes to account for everything Jesus did (or didn't do). He just may have [been married].

... Second, the gospels are each a selective retelling. The writers are not telling the whole story of Jesus' ministry, but only what will achieve their purposes in writing.

It's easy to see that this is an unfounded accusation that the writer is attempting to support with a lack of evidence. That brand of bible interpretation may be good enough for selling books and movie tickets but to base your immortal soul on it...? Good luck.

If you remember the Burden of Proof doctrine, you will be well equipped to filter out much falsehood. On the basis of the Burden of Proof doctrine, to say, "Jesus never turned anyone down for healing who came to Him in faith" is a very STRONG argument indeed because it is supported by all available evidence.

It is important to note, that not all denominations adhere to the Burden of Proof requirement. The Catholic Church has very elaborate doctrines based on nothing more than, "You can't prove it didn't happen". The whole doctrine around Mary, the mother of Jesus, is not supportable by scriptural evidence but because we can't prove it didn't happen, it passes.

The men who penned the Constitution of the United States of America are not given nearly enough credit. The care they took to prevent humanistic excesses borders on Divine inspiration. The United States of America is one of a few nations, which have purposely outlawed unfounded charges. This was no accident. These brilliant men were themselves abused by an insane and unjust justice system and they took steps to insure that it would not happen in their country. Religion could learn a thing or two from the likes of these great men.

Rob