SAN DIEGO — Why do we believe what we do? Is our religion any better than others? Street epistemology aims to find out.
In contrast to evangelism where one tries to convert another to a belief, street epistemology is quite different in that it does not aim to sway anyone. It is defined as “a conversational tool that helps people reflect on the reliability of the methods used to arrive at their deeply-held beliefs” [1]. While SE’s can discuss nearly any topic, their most fascinating work involves religion. Whereas a missionary would ask passerby to ponder, say, Christianity, a street epistemologist (SE) would ask passerby to ponder why they believe what they believe. SE’s aim is to get people to admit where their double standards lie.
Throughout a series of videos [2], popular SE’s engage with people of various faiths, usually Christian. When asked why the Christians believe what they believe, the SE asks them how they would respond to someone else of another religion making identical truth claims based on the same logic. For example, if a Christian believes their religion is true because they had a “personal revelation,” the SE asks how they would respond to a Hindu who believes Hinduism is true because they had their own “personal revelation.” Personal revelation does not guarantee a belief is true anymore than references to historical people/events guarantees a book is holy. The same goes for supposed “blessings.” Some Mormons claim their religion is true because adherence to commandments of Mormonism enhances their life (e.g. no caffeine and drugs). While their life may very well be blessed when they improve their lifestyle, this does not guarantee that their religion is true anymore than health benefits derived from vegetarianism in Hinduism guarantees that religion is true.
“Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps” (Proverbs 14:15).
After digesting the questions SE’s ask, I have determined my own method of reliably testing whether a religion is true. As will be shown, I believe this can be objectively applied to show Judaism as a superior belief system when compared to other major religions.
This testing involves identifying a religion’s most significant events. The most significant events are those which, if they did not occur, would undermine the bedrock of the faith. All religions are full of legends and tall tales meant to impart some wisdom. These need not all be taken literally and do not impact the likelihood of the religion being true. Minor religious events are those that, if they hypothetically never happened, would not impact the validity of the underlying religion—the religion could still stand on its own. For instance, if Elijah did not really multiply a widow’s oil [3], that would not impact the likelihood of Judaism being true. Conversely, if Jesus did not really walk on water [4], that would not impact the likelihood of Christianity being true. Similarly, if Mohammed did not really split the moon in two [5], that would not impact the likelihood of Islam being true.
Once identifying a religion’s most significant event, the likelihood of said event is tested via scientific means and witness count. There are plenty of miraculous events that have scientific explanations and, while rare, are physically possible. If something appears scientifically impossible and has few witnesses, the likelihood of it being a fabrication increases. Likewise, if something appears scientifically plausible and has many witnesses, the likelihood of it being true increases.
For Judaism, the significant event would be the Exodus from Egypt [6]. While miraculous, all 10 biblical plagues are related to nature and can be explained scientifically. Dying fish could turn water bloody, animals can swarm for various environmental reasons, gnats and lice can cause boils, and a solar eclipse can cause darkness. As for hail occurring in warm middle eastern climates, that is possible when volcanic eruptions coincide with thunderstorms [7]. The death of the firstborn being supposedly avoided by placing the blood of a lamb on one’s doorpost could be attributed to bacterial food poisoning for Egyptian families that had a custom of serving firstborn sons extra portions of certain dishes. Having their own separate hygiene customs, diet, and ritual meals for Passover, it’s possible the Jews avoided the food poisoning. Even the parting of the Red Sea can be attributed to strong winds and gravitational pulls of the moon similar to how tsunamis shift massive amounts of water. Contrary to popular belief from biblical movies, the waters did not part instantaneously. According to the Torah, a strong east wind blew the sea back all night [8]. Most fantastic of all, the Exodus was witnessed by an entire nation of Israelites and is corroborated by ancient Egyptian sources [9].
For Christianity, the significant event would be Jesus’ virgin birth, resurrection, and ascension to heaven [10]. It is quite convenient that only Mary and Joseph (Jesus’ engaged parents) received angelic vision declaring a virgin birth. As for Jesus’ resurrection, it is possible Jesus was still alive when declared dead. The human body can survive three days without water, so if someone opened his tomb (he was not buried) after three days and found him alive, that would be miraculous but not ridiculous. A more implausible claim would be if Christians were to say Jesus rose from the dead after a longer period of time, say 60 days, while physically buried underground. As for a supposed ascension to heaven, that is quite frankly not believable. There is no scientific explanation for people levitating into the upper atmosphere and beyond.
For Islam, the significant event would be Mohammed’s identification as a prophet and his flight to both Jerusalem and heaven via a mythical beast called a burqa [11]. Conveniently, Mohammed was alone when he supposedly received his visit from the angel Gabriel declaring him a prophet. As for his flight upon a mythical beast, that is equally hard to prove. There is no known animal—nor fossil evidence of such an animal during Mohammed’s time—that could have successfully flown with a full grown human on its back hundreds of miles from Mecca to Jerusalem. Furthermore, there are no known witnesses to this flight event.
As is summarized above, Judaism has the highest probability of being true. It behooves persons of all religions to investigate their belief system and ask themselves why they believe what they believe. More importantly, would they believe another religion that made similar claims? Beliefs are truly put to the test when mirrored in other religions. For Christians who believe Jesus is “still alive” and “coming back” to build the third temple, how do they react when Chabad Messianism makes the same claim about the Rebbe? For Muslims who believe Mohammed was given divine revelation revealing his status as a prophet, how do they react when Mormons make the same claim about Joseph Smith? If one believes something as true that they immediately dismiss as ridiculous in another religion, that indicates they need to think twice about why they believe what they believe.
It cannot be stressed enough that just because one has reliably tested the foundation of a religion, that does not preclude all sub-tenets of said religion being true. This is how so many sects, denominations, and cults are able to branch out. By latching themselves onto the coattails of a true belief system, they convince others to blindly accept additional beliefs that are less reliable. One could even say that is how both Christianity and Islam gained so many followers throughout the centuries—by latching onto, twisting, and adding to Judaism.
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
References
1. Magnabosco, Anthony. “Street Epistemology”. Street Epistemology International. 26 July 2022. https://streetepistemology.com/
2. Magnabosco, Anthony. “Anthony Magnabosco”. Youtube. 26 July 2022.
3. 2 Kings 4
4. Matthew 14
5. Bukhari 60
6. Exodus 7 thru 14
7. “Volcano Watch.” USGS. 8 March 2007. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-when-thunderstorms-get-down-and-dirty
8. Exodus 14:21
9. Ipuwer Papyrus
10. Matthew 1, Mark 16