So, here is my question to you all: how do you get your points across to a theist without pushing any of their Berserk Buttons, without coming off as a condescending and dismissive jerk, and without having to shorten all of the freaking Inferential Distance?
If I was trying to get my points across to a theist and they didn’t show any sign of being offended, I would conclude that I was failing to get my points across, because the main point is that their beliefs and the way they arrived at them are completely insane.
That’s OK though, people can still be convinced even when they’re feeling offended, if they’re the kind of people who care about the truth (deep down, on some level). If they don’t, you’re wasting your time anyway.
People who’re so dedicated to the truth that being offended does not make them at all less receptive to arguments are profoundly rare. If you actually want to change people’s minds, I don’t think it’s appropriate to make excuses for a method that’s less effective than it could be.
If I was trying to get my points across to a theist and they didn’t show any sign of being offended, I would conclude that I was failing to get my points across, because the main point is that their beliefs and the way they arrived at them are completely insane.
That’s OK though, people can still be convinced even when they’re feeling offended, if they’re the kind of people who care about the truth (deep down, on some level). If they don’t, you’re wasting your time anyway.
I was afraid it might come to this...
People who’re so dedicated to the truth that being offended does not make them at all less receptive to arguments are profoundly rare. If you actually want to change people’s minds, I don’t think it’s appropriate to make excuses for a method that’s less effective than it could be.