Unfashionably Late

There are several reasons why I simply don’t argue with creationists anymore. The first among them being time. There was a time when evolution was unconfirmed. There was a time when we didn’t have thousands of fossils. There was a time when we had no genetic evidence of evolution whatsoever. There was a time when the evidence for evolution was not readily available to the general public. That time has long since passed.

Arguing about evolution makes about as much sense these days as arguing over a flat earth. The evidence is in, it is overwhelming, and it is conclusive. There simply isn’t anything to argue about anymore. Continuing to argue about evolution decades after mountains of evidence has confirmed it sends the wrong message that there actually is something worth arguing about.

Straw Man of Steel

Another reason I don’t argue over evolution is that creationists rarely exhibit even a basic understanding of evolution, and openly display their desire to retain said ignorance. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard “I didn’t evolve from no monkey…We didn’t evolve from rocks…We didn’t evolve from bacteria…”

In the vast majority of cases, being corrected just doesn’t register with creationists. Evolution is not about evolving from rocks, bacteria or monkeys. But telling creationists this doesn’t stop most of them from repeating the same stupidity less than ten minutes later anyway.

I’m Not a Biologist

Creationists almost always lack the credentials to speak on the subject of evolution. Most creationists don’t seem to care about their lack of education. I do. I’ve studied biology and genetics in college, but I am not biologist or geneticist. Not having any notable education or experience in agriculture, I would not presume to argue over the best methods for growing corn. The same holds true for any field of study.

Who Cares

The best reason for not arguing over evolution is that it is entirely irrelevant to discussions regarding the possible existence of any deities. That is to say, evolution could be totally wrong and there’s still no god or gods. And on the flip side, there could be a god or gods and evolution is true.

So I make a deal with creationists. I concede evolution entirely. I let them know we can throw evolution right out the window, and then provide them the opportunity to offer evidence for the existence of their deity. About 10% of them continue trying to argue over evolution anyway. Another 10% proceeds to fumble over themselves looking for an argument that doesn’t exist to substantiate their beliefs. But the overwhelming majority don’t respond at all. Once they’ve discovered they can’t have the argument they want and are unprepared to actually argue theology, they just shut up. It’s a wonderful experience I encourage everyone to try.