Verisimilitude
Since you folks seem to think that anything philosophical I post is actually an issue of semantics (mainly because you're all unfamiliar with the original, historically accurate contexts of the words in question), I want to talk about a word in particular: verisimilitude.
Now, given the fact that most of the readers of this blog are from my generation, it's likely that the only thing that the word "verisimilitude" is likely to invoke is a memory of Jason Biggs from American Pie, reciting big words that he knows in an effort to prove that he scored well on his SATs. Of course, the word has meaning beyond that.
What are some examples of verisimilitude? Well, one is the level of detail in the accounts of Jesus' tomb following the resurrection. The Bible doesn't just say that He wasn't there when the investigators searched the tomb the next morning; they say that the cloth that had been on his face was neatly folded. The fact that the account is so detailed affords it added credibility.
Another Biblical example of this is found in the third chapter of Exodus.
Think about this passage. We all know that God got Moses' attention through an angel, manifested in a bush that burned, but was not consumed. Think about what Moses was doing: tending a flock. God didn't shout out, "Moses!"; that would have scared the flock. Instead, God, who we know to be all-knowing, made a calculated move: he got Moses' attention by sending an angel to appear as something that would get Moses' attention without spooking his flock. The flock most likely kept a comfortable distance from the burning bush, while Moses was able to investigate and encounter God.
The rest is history, and why? Because of the story's verisimilitude.
Now, given the fact that most of the readers of this blog are from my generation, it's likely that the only thing that the word "verisimilitude" is likely to invoke is a memory of Jason Biggs from American Pie, reciting big words that he knows in an effort to prove that he scored well on his SATs. Of course, the word has meaning beyond that.
What are some examples of verisimilitude? Well, one is the level of detail in the accounts of Jesus' tomb following the resurrection. The Bible doesn't just say that He wasn't there when the investigators searched the tomb the next morning; they say that the cloth that had been on his face was neatly folded. The fact that the account is so detailed affords it added credibility.
Another Biblical example of this is found in the third chapter of Exodus.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
Think about this passage. We all know that God got Moses' attention through an angel, manifested in a bush that burned, but was not consumed. Think about what Moses was doing: tending a flock. God didn't shout out, "Moses!"; that would have scared the flock. Instead, God, who we know to be all-knowing, made a calculated move: he got Moses' attention by sending an angel to appear as something that would get Moses' attention without spooking his flock. The flock most likely kept a comfortable distance from the burning bush, while Moses was able to investigate and encounter God.
The rest is history, and why? Because of the story's verisimilitude.
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