For reasons that I won't get into in this OP, in my 20+ years of debating creationists I've often been struck by how often a creationist who knows very little about evolutionary biology, biology, or even science in general nevertheless thinks themselves qualified to not only speak as an authority about them, but to also make rather grand assertions about them.
So a while ago, I came up with the following analogy/scenario to demonstrate how that comes across to those of us who do have some level of expertise and knowledge. I give you a debate about the Bible between (hypothetical) me and someone we'll call "Mrs. Marple".
Jose Fly: Christianity is a farce and the Bible is completely wrong on everything it states.
Mrs. Marple: That’s not true. On what do you base your assertions?
JF: For example, when Jesus said, "Physician, heal thyself" to the lepers, he showed the cruelty that lies at the heart of Christianity.
MM: What? Jesus never said that! Here, read Luke 17:11-19.
JF: You are obviously biased. Plus, I don’t see how any Christian can go along with reincarnation.
MM: Christianity doesn’t have reincarnation as a belief.
JF: Yes it does. What happened to Jesus after he died? Doesn’t Jesus also speak of being "born again"?
MM: Jesus was resurrected, not reincarnated and "born again" refers to spiritual rebirth.
JF: So you agree that my position is supported by the facts. I’m just interpreting them differently than you.
MM: No you’re not. You’re distorting them and basing your interpretation on a total misunderstanding.
JF: SEE! You’re being dogmatic! You just won’t allow any interpretation of the facts other than your own biased one. Besides, like I said Christianity is a very cruel system.
MM: Why?
JF: Like when Moses came up from Death Valley with the 7 commandments, he got so mad when he saw the Babylonians worshiping a sheep, he grabbed the closest woman to him and smashed her on the rocks. That’s really mean.
MM: Oh brother! There’re so many errors in what you said, I don’t even know where to start! Have you actually read any of the Bible?
JF: So now I’m ignorant eh? Ad hominem! That’s how you Christians have been able to maintain your place in society. Anyone who disagrees with you is automatically labeled as ignorant. I imagine this is how it works in Sunday School; anyone who expresses a different view is made to feel like an idiot and called ignorant.
MM: But you ARE ignorant of the stories in the Bible! Your posts show that very well. Here, read the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments for yourself. Read Exodus 19-20.
JF: Again you keep resorting to ad hominem. That’s all you can do. I disagree with you, so I must be ignorant. But like I said, Christianity is cruel. I know because I've studied it.
MM: What have you studied?
JF: I’m not a good record keeper.
MM: Did you read books? What were the titles?
JF: You keep trying to make this about me. Like I said, Christianity is cruel, like when Jesus told the lepers, "Physician, heal thyself".
MM: I already showed you how that was wrong!
JF: I’ve seen enough to convince me which side of the argument I stand on. Like the story of Noah. How many Christians are there that don’t buy the story of God telling Noah to build an earthquake resistant house and save twelve of every marsupial, right before he destroyed all life on earth with a massive, global quake.
MM: Oh please, just stop. You obviously know NOTHING about anything in the Bible at all. Please, you’re just exposing more of your ignorance with each post.
JF: More ad hominem. That’s all you have isn’t it? Just like Jesus telling the lepers, "Physician, heal thyself."
MM: How many times do I have to show you that Jesus healed the lepers? I keep showing you, and you keep denying that Jesus healed them!
JF: That's not true.
MM: Why not?
JF: I'm not wasting my time explaining, you'll never accept what I say anyways because you're wedded to your cruel religion, like when Jesus was confronted by a hungry crowd who were going to stone Him, and he appeased them by casting his nets over the side of the boat and feeding the multitude with ratfish and salt water. That’s just mean.
MM: Please stop. Do you know anything about the Bible?
JF: Here you go again, just like Jesus when he told the lepers, "Physician, heal thyself".
MM: This is beyond ridiculous.
JF: More ad hominem. I'm going to the mods!
For debate: What do folks think drives some people to try and debate subjects they know little to nothing about? Lack of self-awareness (they don't recognize their ignorance)? Pride? Arrogance? Something else?
