How to avoid losing respect for friends

[compass]

Creation science is a science, if hotly contested. It has little to do with religion IMO. Therefore your objection to keeping this person as a friend is based purely upon disagreement over scientific theory. Science thrives on people thinking outside of the box, it's how progress is made. You seem to be as blinkered as your friend.

Scientific theory? Maybe I misunderstand your point? It's fact surely, something you can see with your own eyes.

Over the last 1000 people who live high up (sorry forget the name of these people) have an evolved vein system. They have many more vein capillaries but they are much thinner than ours. It helps them get more oxygen at altitude.

Let's imagine all the decades of evidence studied by intelligent people disappear and use common sense for a moment.

This is simplistic to save time.

Either;

a) Dogs were around with dinosaurs
b) Dogs came after dinosaurs

If 'b' is correct, then god must repeatedly invent new creatures throughout history.

If 'a' is correct then why do we never see dog bones with dinosaurs?

We see individual species who have slight changes to their bone structure over millions of years. We have, for example, 18 versions of the same create at different points in our history. We see the evidence that it changed throughout history. It evolved.

We can see bacteria evolve incredibly quickly, within 12 month. There was a recent case where a radioactive spillage killed almost all microbial life in a river. The bacteria's DNA changed over the course of the year it was studied and they are now essentially a different type of organism. They evolved.

This is a tiny slither of "evidence". Digging into the evolution facts you will find an overwhelming amount of evidence that has been so compelling that the church (non publicly) accepts it to be fact.

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I chose to put this post in the psychology section because it refers to my feelings about friends who believe in religion and (shall we say) unproven phenomena.

Over the last four years I have increasingly found it very hard to stay friends with anyone who doesn't think scientifically, which is a problem.

I respect other view points and opinions, but all to often non scientific minds will assumes to know the answer to something without research, which I find arrogant.

Last night I learned that one of my best friends is a creationist. I was shocked and hurt that he would dismiss all the years of research and combined scrutiny that produced the evolution theory. I see him as someone who is therefore arrogant and foolish.

I preferred to see him as a great friend (which he is), rather than someone who I have lost respect for. How do I balance those two thoughts simultaneously?

How would you feel explaining to him that the reason you don't want to be his friend anymore is because you think less of him due to his religious views?

I have religious friends and family who I would never give up the relationship with simply because of their political or religious views. To me that is not enough. It may strain the relationship somewhat but if there is something there worth salvaging you guys will find a way.

Say what you feel to him and lay it all out on the table. Honesty is better than hiding what you think.

You are correct. I am not proud of this and sincerely want to rid it from my personality.

But you misunderstand, I don't mind about "religious views", I mind only that he assumes to know the answer without looking at evidence from both sides. That is unfair to all the good people who have collected evidence and dedicated their lives to research.

It is a type if arrogance that I find alien. I often wonder if people like this know within themselves that they are "pretending" to know the answer because they simply don't enjoy research and feel (simultaneously) that they need to have a view one way or the other.

I have never understood the need for "faith" anyway. It seems a pointless pursuit to know what lies beyond this life. I honestly can't see what difference it makes. But maybe I am strange in that respect!

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I chose to put this post in the psychology section because it refers to my feelings about friends who believe in religion and (shall we say) unproven phenomena.

Over the last four years I have increasingly found it very hard to stay friends with anyone who doesn't think scientifically, which is a problem.

I respect other view points and opinions, but all to often non scientific minds will assumes to know the answer to something without research, which I find arrogant.

Last night I learned that one of my best friends is a creationist. I was shocked and hurt that he would dismiss all the years of research and combined scrutiny that produced the evolution theory. I see him as someone who is therefore arrogant and foolish.

I preferred to see him as a great friend (which he is), rather than someone who I have lost respect for. How do I balance those two thoughts simultaneously?

How would you feel explaining to him that the reason you don't want to be his friend anymore is because you think less of him due to his religious views?

I have religious friends and family who I would never give up the relationship with simply because of their political or religious views. To me that is not enough. It may strain the relationship somewhat but if there is something there worth salvaging you guys will find a way.

Say what you feel to him and lay it all out on the table. Honesty is better than hiding what you think.

Thank you. It has nothing to do with religious view (see a response I made further down).

For example, he might deny that paper is made from wood, I would be frustrated because the evidence is out there if he looked, but he would instead stick to his belief. You see, it's not a religious thing, it's a lack of respect for people who "decide" what is real as opposed to learning what is real through evidence.