Archive for 13. November 2008

Given the frailty of memory, how can we trust in the accuracy of the Gospels?

In her book “The Myth of Repressed Memory,” Elizabeth Loftus describes Ulric Neisser’s experiences with what are called flash-bub memories.  The morning after the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off,  Neisser asked students at Emory University to write about how they learned about the disaster.  Two and a half years later, he asked the 44 students to recall that same experience.

While most of the students described their memories of the event as vivid, not one of the students gave an account that was completely in accord with their description that was recorded the morning after the Challenger disaster.  And a third of the accounts were widely inaccurate.

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