If faced with critical thinking, people tend to disregard what you’re trying to say and push back to their outlook.

  • leapingleopard@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    1 year ago

    Some people honestly believe the Earth is 6000 years old. And not a little amount of people, giant percentages of the United States of America. They believe dinosaur bones were placed by Satan. These people walk amongst us.

    how are you going to reason with somebody like that??

    • LemmyLefty@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      The vast majority, virtually all, believe so because they believe that is what the Bible says.

      And since they also believe their interpretation is the only correct one, and said interpretation requires everything be accepted OR they’ll go to eternal hellfire and burn forever there, as they deserve, there is basically no way to change this worldview without shattering it entirely. It benefits from being fragile because it causes so much mental anguish to depart from it, and people who walk away can turn into totally different people as a result of rejecting it and thus being rejected by their friends and family and community at large.

      You, as a single, and likely, stranger to them, can’t get them to change. Alternative points of view or lifestyles are evidence of Satan’s trickery, so directed and deliberate debate with these people functions for them as a test of faith: they just have to weather the blows and they get Good Christian points and become closer to God. Nevermind that you have no intention of causing them harm or tricking them: you want to do the opposite, but it doesn’t matter.

      The best you can do is be a kind person and be sure of yourself and your views. Planting a seed of doubt is much better than being used as a piece of evidence that they should not be looking for friends in worldly places.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        While I never believed in YE creationism… i did a become a better person when I turned apostate.

        A substantially better person, if I’m being honest.

        • LemmyLefty@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Which is funny, since the idea that you’ll go off the deep end and become a cruelly nihilistic hedonist if you ever leave is such a constant drumbeat in that culture.

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Yup. I was going to be a pastor until, at college for it… some LGBTQ protests came to campus (late 2k’s) and saw people being down right hateful. And everyone else being okay with that.

            Made me realize…. I was an asshole. I didn’t want to be an asshole.

    • HeartyBeast@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I mean - it may be that OP finds himself constantly coming across Young Earthers - but I am interested in hearing directly about the kinds of opinions they find the rest of the world struggles with.

    • Omodi@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Only morons would believe the world was 6000 years old. The universe started last Thursday.