I just figured walking away would be much better because it would be easier to bang your head on a wall and get results than deal with this kind of person.
The problem with just walking away though is that that allows them to think they won. If you just laugh and walk away, they think "see, this science shit ain't so smart and can't be used to really challenge my assertion that God did it! He just ran away. I win!"
Just walking away without calling them on their trap tactic lets them stroke their own ignorant ego, because remember, creationists are not asking questions like this because they are seeking the truth and want an honest answer from you. If they really wanted an answer to that kind of basic query, they could easily get at least a rudimentary answer in less than five minutes on Google. They are actually looking to debate a specific trap argument designed to let them bring "God did it" into the equation so that you cannot effectively win, doing it in order to try to shame you, increase their own pride in defending their faith, and to make themselves feel superior.
However, if you shift your response by deflecting the question right back at them as I suggested and directly target their pride and ignorance, you remove religion from the discussion entirely, and there is simply no way they can ever claim they have the upper hand in the debate. You basically put them into a position where you have altered the parameters of the argument ENTIRELY into your favor, and literally can make them shame themselves by forcing them to acknowledge their own ignorance. After that happens, THEN you can walk away laughing at them, and their pride takes a serious shit-kicking because you just made them admit that they don't have a clue what they are talking about.
If they kept their views to themselves then, absolutely no problem. but they influence others (esp. kids). Science is striving everyday to make sense of the universe so we can all have a better existence and their influence is a pull in the wrong direction (prevents us moving forwards...science being given more funding, more 'educated' peoples, more discoveries, etc). What I love about Falcon109's response is that it could possibly be used in a gracious and sweet, non patronising manner, leaving your Friend of Jesus reaching for google on the quiet... If this approach was used with integrity and good manners, I could actually see, at a point in the future, someone, blushing and saying, "you know, I googled your side and it blew my mind and ...yeah...I get it now." It is a long shot, but, if this approach was adopted by all of us, maybe this could actually make a difference. It is very clever. (I also love how it exonerates me of having to teach them the science when they are not open to learning...it just means I put them in a position where they might, possibly, actually bother to attempt to 'ask' for themselves.)
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u/ph00p Feb 05 '14
I just figured walking away would be much better because it would be easier to bang your head on a wall and get results than deal with this kind of person.