they may be much less personally offended if you never spell out the application—not sure why, but that probably is how it works.
Once you connect the dots and make the application explicit, they feel honor-bound to take offense and to defend their theism, regardless of whether they personally want to take offense or not. In their mind, making the application explicit shifts the discussion from being about ideas to being about their core beliefs and thus about their person.
they may be much less personally offended if you never spell out the application—not sure why, but that probably is how it works.
Once you connect the dots and make the application explicit, they feel honor-bound to take offense and to defend their theism, regardless of whether they personally want to take offense or not. In their mind, making the application explicit shifts the discussion from being about ideas to being about their core beliefs and thus about their person.
For me, this appears to be correct.