The last bastion of those who would defend the ills of fundamentalism is protesting that nobody has ever shown them proof positive that any charge against them has merit.

I recently observed this in person via an online conversation where apologists for a particular fundamentalist college claimed that nobody has ever proven to them that someone has been denied entrance to a graduate school because their undergrad degree lacked accreditation.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

Whether it’s a scandal that is common knowledge or a truth claim that is patently false, the rallying cry of fundamentalists will inevitably be “you have no proof!”

Since our pastor was given a plea bargain to a lighter sentence than the original crime he was charged with, you have no proof that he actually did it! Who cares if the evidence presented to the grand jury was overwhelming? You have no proof!

Since you can’t produce audio tape that our college president actually said that crazy thing you can’t prove he actually said it! It doesn’t matter that there were 5,000 witnesses. You have have no proof!

Hard on the heels of this cry that there is no proof, will come the accusation that lacking this smoking gun all further references to this event are gossip, slander, and attacks upon the blameless figure of God’s man.

Who are you going to believe after all, me or your own lying eyes?