Why do so many Creationists think they're mind readers?
I don't need to be a mind reader to understand motivations.
Only because you are trying to perpetrate the lie that the theory of evolution denies the existence of God.
Speedwell says he believes in a Designer behind evolution. He says evolution
does recognize a designer. It fact, he says it would be a
lie to suggest that Evolution denies any creator behind it all. Why are you letting him continue to believe this?
He says he doesn't want to talk about it in terms of "creation" (which is what it would be if there is a designer behind it all) because he's worried about what others may think of him.
The problem is, that the term "creationist" has been tainted by its association with Fundamentalist Protestantism and other Christians don't like to use it.
He doesn't want you all to mistakenly think he's one of those weirdos, so he steers well clear of calling it creation, just to avoid any possible blowback. Instead, he uses vernacular which will be more pleasing to Atheism, like evolution.
I can understand. I face something similar every time I talk to atheists about Christianity in general. So often it's, "what about the crusades", "what about the witch hunts", "what about all the con-men and their wealthy lifestyles". I even had one guy say he didn't like Christianity because Christians disagree with one another, and he presented this as a valid criticism. So, I sometimes wonder if I should just use different language, too.
But what good would that do? Christian is what I am. I would only create a confusing witness to the world if I tried to run away from the scorn that is so often associated with the word "christian" (or creation) these days.
The same principle is true for speedwell and him running away from using the word creation. He may think, in his heart, that he's really testifying to a God behind it all when he talks about evolution, but what the rest of the world will see is a Christian who declines to give credit to his creator because he's afraid of what others will think of him, especially when all his atheists buddies keep patting him on the back.
If he's pressed into a corner he'll admit to it, but it comes with such an air of intellectual aloofness that it almost seems incidental.
That's not me mind reading. That's me making an assessment of his behavior and motives based on his reasoning and words. But I can see how "mind reading" comes across as a handy way to rather glibly dismiss difficult observations.
