When the frustration sets in

I spoke to a man four different times over the three days. The first time he commented on the evils of the flu shot. He was encouraging others to rely on faith to carry them the flu season. His reasoning was sound, at least it was to him. If you lived right, prayed and rejected pseudo-science, one would not get the flu. After all, he had not had the flu for years. While the room rolled it's collective eyes, I countered his assertion with the safety of the herd argument, socialized immunization and what happens when immunization is interrupted, and lastly, reasons why at-risk individuals should ignore his advice. I finished with my story. After a particularly nasty round of the flu in 2001, one where I was out for 14 days, I started getting a regular yearly flu shot. I used to get the flu every year, sometimes several times, and now I never get it, nor does my family. He laughed at my comments and said something about the flu shot and eugenics.

The next day he offered that there was more historical evidence for Jesus than there was for Julius Caesar. I countered with Caesar's life and accomplishments being documented in historical documents, accounts, and the writing of secular histories of his time. I added that there was no such evidence for Jesus and that he is not mentioned in any historical documents or accounts of that time period. The bible aside, Jesus does not exist in history. I went on to talk about this argument being something that Christian apologists put forth as to uneducated Christians in an effort to give them intelligent sounding talking points. He countered with, "Your facts are incorrect. I know what I know."

The third day he talked about how the Theory of Evolution does not address how the universe was created, therefor he did not believe it. I said that is like saying that the Theory of Gravity does not explain how bread is made. I pointed out that Evolution is about Natural Selection and not cosmology. He countered with my lack of faith blinding me to the truth.

I grew frustrated... I took a deep breadth and let it go. The problem i,s that when this man speaks about anything, I get stuck on the idiocy he spews related to his faith or beliefs. If he can't see truth in facts, how am I supposed to listen to him on other subjects? For me, it is best to just walk away.