The Problem with Christians

[Esquilax]

Confirmation bias at work.

Only things that support the beliefs already held are considered to be valid.

Anything else is explained away, no matter how ridiculous the explanation.

You're guaranteed never to change your mind. Congrats!

Geez, I wish we'd get an unfulfilling explanation out of AJW to dismiss the things he doesn't already believe, at least that'd have some entertainment value. Unfortunately, all we get is "that doesn't make sense," and then... that's the end. Just that. It's actually very sad how little effort he's willing to put in.

Definitely a lower quality chew toy than what we usually get.

[robvalue]

I keep thinking about this...

These people are supposedly studying actual science at an actual proper place. Let's assume that is true.

They have things that they think don't add up about evolution. Do they go and talk to the staff there? Do they go and seek any actual answers? That AAA guy admitted that he hadn't brought any of it up. So they're not interested in learning, to see if they might not understand it properly.

Instead, they turn up here at an atheist (not even science) forum, and write these questions as a "gotcha", as if there is no answer. If those questions are so stumping, why not present them at their university or whatever? And what do they hope to achieve, even if they did manage to stump a bunch of strangers on a forum?

Instead, the questions could be used to learn something. But they don't want to learn, they don't want the actual answer. They want us to say, "Yes you're right. You just busted evolution wide open. Care to insert your personal magical explanation in its place?"

[abaris]

These people are supposedly studying actual science at an actual proper place. Let's assume that is true.

No, let's not. Some of them study at a christian place. Which already rigs the process of understanding. Others may be talking out of their ass. Others studied fields that aren't even remotely related to brush with the relevant fields.

I wouldn't enter a stage to talk on Quantum physics or biology that goes beyond school knowledge. I don't do it here and I certainly wouldn't make a speech on it, since I know shit about it. They don't have that kind of inhibition.

[TheRocketSurgeon]

I keep thinking about this...

These people are supposedly studying actual science at an actual proper place. Let's assume that is true.

They have things that they think don't add up about evolution. Do they go and talk to the staff there? Do they go and seek any actual answers? That AAA guy admitted that he hadn't brought any of it up. So they're not interested in learning, to see if they might not understand it properly.

Instead, they turn up here at an atheist (not even science) forum, and write these questions as a "gotcha", as if there is no answer. If those questions are so stumping, why not present them at their university or whatever? And what do they hope to achieve, even if they did manage to stump a bunch of strangers on a forum?

Instead, the questions could be used to learn something. But they don't want to learn, they don't want the actual answer. They want us to say, "Yes you're right. You just busted evolution wide open. Care to insert your personal magical explanation in its place?"

When I was an undergraduate in Bio at a university in the deep South, we had Kent Hovind (formerly known as "Dr. Dino", for his claims that humans and dinosaurs coexisted before Noah's Flood wiped the latter out... and more recently known as Inmate #135733) come to my university to debate one of our biology professors, and I researched his tactics, since I knew most of their arguments were designed to fool the audience, rather than to actually win the debate. I called what I discovered "the machine-gun tactic" (they ask one question, which the professor answers, and quickly move on to the next question so no one would notice that the "GOTCHA!" didn't get anything, until they finally get to one the professor doesn't know, at which point they latch on and say, "Aha! You see, folks..."), and I set up a LAN of three computers on which we (three grad students, with me as a "runner" to take the printout to the professor) could look up the information from the databases online at UC Berkeley and such. After that, since I was the main one visible, I was called "the Evolution Guy" when people from that audience recognized me on campus.

The crazy part isn't the nickname, it's that I was constantly asked "gotcha" questions of their own. They'd ask something in a tone that clearly indicated that they thought they had "busted all of evolution wide open", as you put it... even the really inane questions like, "Well if you think we came from monkeys then why are there still monkeys!?" 

At first, I exercised my patience and tried to explain the facts to them... but after meeting wall after wall of deliberately-maintained ignorance, I finally started telling them that they need to inform the scientific community of their inescapable conclusions, and mocking them with things like, "Oh wow... how did we MISS that!?"

When I was able to leave that place, it was none too soon. The school had great bio and genetics departments/labs... but I could feel my IQ points being sucked away through osmosis, every day I was in that town.

[Whateverist]

The Problem with Christians:

I just don't think they taste good anymore. They've changed the damned recipe.

[robvalue]

That's a great story Rocket, thank you!

Wow yes, I can imagine the frustration at having to deal with all that willful ignorance and dishonest tactics. I believe the machine gun technique is sometimes called "Gish gallop". Just throwing so much shit everywhere that there's not enough time to clean it all up.

[AJW333]

However, that's nothing like being in favor of genocide or starvation. Through his Gates Foundation, in particular, Bill Gates has done amazing work in staving off both disease and starvation in third-world countries.

Bill has also stated that the worlds population can be reduced by about a billion people thru using vaccines. Maybe he plans to put something special in them. It's been done before.

"Previous vaccination programs have been shown to have covertly been used to sterilize women.  In 1995, the Supreme Court of the Philippines found that vaccines used in a UNICEF anti-tetanus vaccination program contained B-hCG, which when given in a vaccine, permanently destroys women's ability to sustain a pregnancy."

The Hcg hormone was also added to tetanus vaccines in Kenya.

Here's an interesting article on the subject of tainted vaccines.

[LadyForCamus]

Anti Vaxer?! Nooooooooooo!!!!!! *tripple face palm*

[TheRocketSurgeon]

Anti Vaxer?!  Nooooooooooo!!!!!!  *tripple face palm*

You didn't bet that one, either? I bet he'd be a Flat-Earther, true to the original Hebrew cosmology and thus to the Word of God™. 

"NASA is lying to all of you! We never went to the moon!"

What brand of cult-subcult did you bet on?

[LadyForCamus]

Anti Vaxer?!  Nooooooooooo!!!!!!  *tripple face palm*

You didn't bet that one, either? I bet he'd be a Flat-Earther, true to the original Hebrew cosmology and thus to the Word of God™. 

"NASA is lying to all of you! We never went to the moon!"

What brand of cult-subcult did you bet on?

Lol, I SHOULD have!  Conspiracy theorists drive me crazy.  If they truly believe that almost every facet of our lives is being influenced by a secret, elite government, then the only logical thing for them to do is cut ties with society and go live in the woods somewhere.  I mean, seriously, how do they get from one day to the next?