If, by stating fact, you cause someone to feel that you're "bashing" them, should you stop telling the truth?

Question

I understand about tact. The conversation which begins with "Does the purple dress make me look fat?" and ends with "No, your fat makes you look fat; the dress just makes you look purple" is a lose/lose situation.

What I mean to ask is..... if you tell a Creationist "All life on earth evolved; Creation is purely fantasy", are you "bashing" them? Should you shut your mouth and keep the facts to yourself if they feel slighted by it?

Answer 1

Religious worshipers are programmed to deal with doubters. Need I mention the tiresome and trite bible quotes used to justify the rejection of reality? (John 15:20 & Matthew 5:10-12) I hear the 'end-of-dayers' quote those constantly and each time my eyes just glaze over. The bible (and the Koran) is filled with stories of the faithful be ridiculed by doubters (Noah, Exodus, Revelations, and of course Jesus) But the faithful of course are always rewarded and the doubters punished. By brainwashing them into expecting doubters and giving them defenses with which to reject reality, they suddenly become the hero of their own story and can live out their own persecution fantasy.

Answer 2

Do cons ever ask real questions that could be resolved through debate? Or, do they just disguise Obama bashing as questions? Such as: Isn't Obama the worst President ever? Can you believe how stupid Obama is? And, now Does Obama ever tell the truth? Similarly, you could see questions on Bush with the same effect: Was Bush the worst President in history? Why did Bush lie so much? My point is this is not a real question. It's a rant. Break it down to smaller points, cite examples of individual issues and start a debate. For example, you could say: Yesterday, Obama said X about issue Y. But, then he did something else. What was his motivation? Without making a point, your question is pointless. Sorry.

Answer 3

Howdy ZERO, its so good to see you still active here. :) I will be more regular again some day.
I think that many people (eg creationist) can be way too defensive of their position because they intuitvely are aware they cannot support that position, and this may help cause that person to be aggresive towards you one way or another. So YES, I think at times if the person says "You are BASHING me", then its a good idea to stop. Some things can be more important than such truths.
But |I dont think you are 'bashing' any particular person by asking such questions here, you only the voice of one crying out in the wilderness "repent and turn to truth". lol
peace

Answer 4

The "you're bashing us" thing is a defense for both tactful and malicious questioning and it has out-reached it's useful intension - that to put a stop to rudeness. It has so badly out-stepped it's reasonably boundary that it must from here forward be ignored.

I personally don't give a darn anymore about politeness when dealing with ignorance and denial. So much argumentation of a reasonable and tactful nature has been offered to date on the subjects and topics of interest to religion and belief and so very, very much has been met with illogic and stubborn ignorance, irresponsible refusal that I no longer feel required to be civil on the any matters of politeness in the future.

Those who wish to ignore facts are fools... Those who will argue with the reflection of the best quality of opinions from established professionals in their fields are either imbeciles or they are the next Einsteins; and since, Einsteins are so very rare, I am willing to risk offending everyone else until I find the one in a trillion who cannot be refuted because he is overwhelmingly correct. Knock down the fat-heads, I say, they have earned it; and, treat only those who have an open mind with an open mind.

Tolerance of ignorance is no longer tolerable. The standard must be raised. Screw being nice. Demand reason.

Consider this opinion and tell me it isn't correct: http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb62/Randall_Fleck/disgrace_GIF.gif

[][][] r u randy? [][][]
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Answer 5

Telling the scientific facts of reality to someone is NOT "bashing." But, the simple-minded and uneducated who make up the bulk of the religous-minded around the world are easily duped by their leaders into "feeling persecuted" at the drop of the hat. The reason is simple: if they feel like they're victims, then they feel justified in terrorizing and persecuting their alleged "persecutors." Sel-defense becomes a meaningless rationalization to justify even the worst genocides committed in the name of whatever the god du jour is.

Answer 6

Well, first off, in your analogy, both people think that what they think are the "facts". Then connotations count -- what "baggage" do words carry with them? "Fantasy", in your analogy, would carry negative connotations and could possibly be interpreted as "bashing", whereas "I think creation is a fantasy" puts you in the position of stating what you think, and nobody can call that bashing without being extremely thin-skinned or picking a fight in the first place. "I think" or "I believe" statements are usually a good way, IMHO, to avoid being confused with the bashers.

Just an idea.

Have a great night!

Answer 7

Tell the truth but put it in a different way. Like there is no proof for creation or evolution is more plausible. However, I have a feeling you'd just be hitting your head against the proverbial brick wall, so let them think what they want because I think they always will.

Answer 8

No! They don't stop ramming their believes on us. Only 'bash' the ones that bash. If they don't try to force their believes on me I don't impart my beliefs on them. If an, in your face, believing wont drop it, then I tell them it's not the dress that makes you look fat it's your fat that makes you look fat! If they can dish it out then they should take it back. I don't see why believers are seen to have more right to not be challenged than anyone else. So no, you should not stop telling the truth.

Answer 9

Not Bashing: "You are wrong. Life on earth evolved."

Bashing: "You are stupid, you are irrational, you are uneducated, you don't understand big words."

Logical Fallacy: "All Christians believe in Creationism. The Bible teaches Creationism."

To call Creation (in general) "pure fantasy" could be construed as offensive, even to folks who don't believe in Creationism per se. "Creation," as a religious belief, takes many forms, including allegories representing psychological or metaphysical concepts, or simply an aknowledgment of the role of Providence in natural processes. Especially when "fantasy" connotates a willful rejection of reality. It may be true, but it is bashing when you start attacking the personal character of the individual, rather than simply evaluating the weaknesses of their arguments.

Answer 10

what would you say if i told you that creationism is the only possible way that life on earth exists .i.e. without divine intervention there could be no evolution.
in the known universe or at least ,here on earth ,things tend towards disorder this is an easily proved fact.fill a jar 1/4 with silver b.b.s and 1/4 of the way with copper b.b.s put the lid on the jar and begin shaking it. now you e-mail me when they get back in order .
so this fact being established and so easily demonstrable how is it that you believe that complex life forms such as humankind evolved from simple organisms such as bacterium
and amoebas and such. not possible ..without divine intervention.
i've gone over this time and again and can reach no other conclusion .whether you think it was extra-terrestrial or god something had to have intervened on the primal earth or we simply couldn't exist.