That’s because, as it’s often the case, the jump from “The Grand Canyon is beautiful -> An higher intelligence must have created it” is not a logical conclusion, but rather the rationalization of a preconceived belief.
It reminds me of the first time I went to the US. Of course I got to be seated in the plane next to some religious nutjob. So he looks through the window at some clouds below us and turning to me “isn’t god’s creation amazing?”.
As I had little experience with his kind, I didn’t comment (which, luckily, was the right answer).
He mostly took me by surprise. It’s something nobody sane would ever say in Europe.
Later during that trip, I had another surreal exchange in a little nowhere place. We were stopped in the centre of a little village, wondering where we could find some kind of restaurant, but the place was utterly empty. Presumably there might have been some kind of mall or something in the area, but we hadn’t spotted it.
Anyway a local helpfully came and told us that he had no idea where a restaurant was, but maybe there was one at some other village 30 km away. And also were we Christians?
Um, what?
For then we shall meet again in heaven.
So I mumbled something along the lines that the whole Christian thing wasn’t really all that hot in Europe any longer, and wished him luck with his heavenly endeavours, and we got the fuck out of there.
I met a few of those guys, but that one was the weirdest.
That’s because, as it’s often the case, the jump from “The Grand Canyon is beautiful -> An higher intelligence must have created it” is not a logical conclusion, but rather the rationalization of a preconceived belief.
It reminds me of the first time I went to the US. Of course I got to be seated in the plane next to some religious nutjob. So he looks through the window at some clouds below us and turning to me “isn’t god’s creation amazing?”.
As I had little experience with his kind, I didn’t comment (which, luckily, was the right answer).
You avoided the bait. I wouldn’t have been that wise.
He mostly took me by surprise. It’s something nobody sane would ever say in Europe.
Later during that trip, I had another surreal exchange in a little nowhere place. We were stopped in the centre of a little village, wondering where we could find some kind of restaurant, but the place was utterly empty. Presumably there might have been some kind of mall or something in the area, but we hadn’t spotted it.
Anyway a local helpfully came and told us that he had no idea where a restaurant was, but maybe there was one at some other village 30 km away. And also were we Christians?
Um, what?
For then we shall meet again in heaven.
So I mumbled something along the lines that the whole Christian thing wasn’t really all that hot in Europe any longer, and wished him luck with his heavenly endeavours, and we got the fuck out of there.
I met a few of those guys, but that one was the weirdest.