[James C. Bennett]

But I can understand their dilemma, ten verses into Genesis and their cognitive dissonance must make their head explode.

Bingo. It's not that they can decide. They want it to be true, and twist and turn everything to validate their beliefs. This TED talk is particularly insightful on this aspect:

TEDxUSC - Al Seckel: [Y]Our Mind's Eye

Cognitive neuroscientist Al Seckel, formerly of the California Institute of Technology, is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on visual and other sensory illusions. In a transformative talk, Seckel discusses the underlying mechanisms and frameworks of perception, and how they give rise to different systems of belief.

[LeGrande]

Thank you for the link it is very interesting.

I am amazed at how many things I thought were true, only to find out later that I was wrong.

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool” (Feynman, 1985)

[grey_whiskers]

Actually, self-deception applies much more to the Marxist, to the liberal (but I repeat myself), and to the global warming acolyte (and I guess PDS sufferers) than to Christians.

Nice try, though.

Oh, you might recall that "argument from authority" is not logically valid.

Cheers!