Reference no: EM13190702

MINI-PROJECT 2: PROBABILITY AND PROPHECY
When we do a hypothesis test, we need to make an assumption in order to perform the test. We assume that the hypothesis we are testing (the null hypothesis) is true. This assumption allows us to calculate the probability of the results of our test. We then use that probability to decide whether or not we will accept the hypothesis and the claim associated with the hypothesis. The more likely the results, the more readily we accept the hypothesis.
This kind of analysis can be used to evaluate any idea for which we have enough facts or data. How about the idea that Jesus is the Son of God? Josh McDowell takes a similar kind of approach to answering this question in his book, "Evidence That Demands A Verdict" (Campus Crusade for Christ, 1972).
In this book, Josh McDowell collects a variety of information that attests to the validity of the Bible and to Jesus' claims to being the Son of God. The book includes the results of a large amount of research. It makes for some interesting reading. In the section about messianic prophecy, he quotes the probabilistic analysis of Peter Stoner in "Science Speaks" (Moody Press, 1963).
Stoner used the assumption that Jesus was just a man and not the Son of God to perform a probability analysis on some messianic prophecies and perform a hypothesis test. In this case the hypothesis is that Jesus was not the foretold Messiah and the Son of God. He then examines the probability of a selection of prophecies coming true if Jesus was in fact not divine.
Using a selection of eight prophecies, Stoner showed that the probability of all eight prophecies being fulfilled is 1 in 1017. Using the language of hypothesis tests, this means that we would reject the hypothesis that Jesus is not the Messiah for any α > 10-17 or, to put it another way, α > 0.00000000000000001. The smallest α that is normally used for a hypothesis test is α = 0.01. This means that we can safely reject the hypothesis that Jesus is not the Messiah and the Son of God.
For more on this, I recommend Josh McDowell's book "Evidence That Demands a Verdict." Peter Stoner's work can be found in "Science Speaks," published by Moody press. Stoner's book might be difficult to find, but McDowell's book, "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" is still in print.
The verse references for the eight Old Testament prophecies that Peter Stoner analyzed are listed below along with the verse references for their fulfillment. Your assignment is to find and write out the verses containing each of these prophecies and their fulfillment.