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At the end of the day, after all your logic and well-reasoned arguments are over and your facts have checked out and you've thoroughly and completely destroyed their argument, guess what?
People are going to believe what they want to anyway. Your facts don't matter one iota.
People are going to believe what they want to anyway. Your facts don't matter one iota.
There's this quaint, cute but frankly bizarre idea, especially among the atheist/skeptic community, that facts matter when it comes to changing hearts & minds. They don't.
Facts matter in science & innovation.
Facts don't matter at all in religion, politics & social issues.
Facts matter in science & innovation.
Facts don't matter at all in religion, politics & social issues.
This is not to say that facts don't exist or shouldn't be looked at. Of course they should. But if you think your facts are any match for their emotional commitment to a cause or movement, you are the one who is not facing facts. Emotional needs trump facts 100% of the time.
This is why I don't do debates or do response videos or challenge members of religions, cults, political groups, etc on social media. It's usually just a circle jerk.
If you don't address the emotional needs of why a core belief exists, you aren't addressing the belief.
If you don't address the emotional needs of why a core belief exists, you aren't addressing the belief.
This thread isn't just a rant or my "hot take" on debates. This has been studied for years by social scientists who know beyond doubt that people double-down on their beliefs when confronted with opposing facts. https://archive.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/
The online atheist community thrives on debates & hot takes on religious believers: how stupid they are, how culty they are, etc.
I am not trying to demean atheists or their efforts, but they do spend a lot of time preaching to their own choirs. I think this can be done better.
I am not trying to demean atheists or their efforts, but they do spend a lot of time preaching to their own choirs. I think this can be done better.
Seeking to find what believers' emotional needs are will get you far more traction in terms of moving the dial of their belief than throwing facts and evidence at them or disputing faith claims or arguing about the plausibility of Jesus' resurrection. But it's a lot harder to do.
