Losing credibility in the eyes of the wise, though, is impossible.
Not so. Be wrong on stuff that matters when you clearly had enough evidence available to reach the correct decision (and they previously would have expected you to be correct). If that doesn’t cause you to lose credibility in their eyes then I reject either your definition of “credibility” or “wise”.
I guess I could just claim to be God
It would be sufficient to claim that there is a god (and it is this particular God) despite the information you had available. See above.
Not so. Be wrong on stuff that matters when you clearly had enough evidence available to reach the correct decision (and they previously would have expected you to be correct). If that doesn’t cause you to lose credibility in their eyes then I reject either your definition of “credibility” or “wise”.
It would be sufficient to claim that there is a god (and it is this particular God) despite the information you had available. See above.
You’d be surprised. Many people I know think this fact is true, some think it should be obvious. And these are wise people.