Not Convinced by the Facts
In a January 2017 article, atheist Michael Shermer offered suggestions on dealing with people who are not convinced by the facts, preferring to cling to their worldviews. Interesting that owlhoots like Shermer consider atheism the embodiment of logic and reason, yet demonstrate disdain for actually using logic and reason. It's not a matter of facts, but of interpretations of facts.
People can assert things they consider to be facts, such as, "St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland", or, "St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the Trinity". Sorry, Seamus, those are legends that people consider factual.
Going further, someone can claim, "This fossil is fifty million years old, that's a fact." Nope. It's an interpretation of the evidence based on presuppositions. Atheists and evolutionists interpret evidence while wearing their Darwin spectacles that distort what they understand. People like Shermer have a starting point that presupposes their materialistic evolutionary worldview is "reality", and have no respect for others who have a different starting point. Those of us who are biblical creationists start with the truth of the Word of God, and interpret the evidence quite differently. They don't cotton to how observed evidence actually supports biblical creation, either. Let me flip this Shermer thing upside down: Why do atheists and evolutionists reject creation and the Bible despite evidence? Because they want to.
In the article linked below, Shermer used several fallacies, including appeal to motive, straw man, and others. He not only ignores the underlying reasons that people are not convinced by facts, but also, atheists and evolutionists do not use the advice he offers. Of course not, they are in rebellions against the Creator!
 |
| Modified from Freeimages / Kenn Kiser |
Going further, someone can claim, "This fossil is fifty million years old, that's a fact." Nope. It's an interpretation of the evidence based on presuppositions. Atheists and evolutionists interpret evidence while wearing their Darwin spectacles that distort what they understand. People like Shermer have a starting point that presupposes their materialistic evolutionary worldview is "reality", and have no respect for others who have a different starting point. Those of us who are biblical creationists start with the truth of the Word of God, and interpret the evidence quite differently. They don't cotton to how observed evidence actually supports biblical creation, either. Let me flip this Shermer thing upside down: Why do atheists and evolutionists reject creation and the Bible despite evidence? Because they want to.
 |
| Used under Fair Use for educational purposes |
An article recently appeared on Scientific American titled “How To Convince Someone When Facts Fail: Why Worldview Threats Undermine Evidence.” The author, Michael Shermer, writes,To finish reading why Mike is inconsistent and doesn't understand worldviews, click on "Why Aren’t People Convinced by Facts?"
Have you ever noticed that when you present people with facts that are contrary to their deepest held beliefs they always change their minds? Me neither. In fact, people seem to double down on their beliefs in the teeth of overwhelming evidence against them. The reason is related to the worldview perceived to be under threat by the conflicting data.He provides several examples of what he means by this, including,
Creationists, for example, dispute the evidence for evolution in fossils and DNA because they are concerned about secular forces encroaching on religious faith.He says “proponents' deepest held worldviews were perceived to be threatened by skeptics, making facts the enemy to be slayed.” But do creationists really view facts as the “enemy to be slayed”? Well, let’s turn this thinking around on him. What about those who hold to evolutionary ideas? Do evolutionists listen to facts when they are presented by creationists? Or do they “double down on their beliefs” and “dispute the evidence?” Of course they dispute the evidence because it goes against their deeply held worldview.