Tactic of Obtuseness / Willful Ignorance  / Willed Ignorance

The Tactic of Obtuseness / Willful Ignorance  / Willed Ignorance occurs when, rather than discussing the issue or misunderstanding, there is a deliberate effort to appear not to understand. This fallacy is difficult to understand because of the universal human problem with paradigms. We humans all have a paradigm (worldview, fake-reality, filter) that is a complete representation of the real world in our minds. It acts as a filter to filter out anything that we don’t already believe about life. This makes us obtuse. On the other hand, when someone who loves to argue has run out of things to say, sometimes, they will drop back into consciously pretending not to understand the other point of view.

Examples of the Tactic of Obtuseness / Willful Ignorance  / Willed Ignorance

2 Peter 3:5-7: "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

Romans 1:18-19: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them."

The Naturalistic worldview is a filter that is developed as a mechanism to suppress the truth. This can be seen in the misuse of logic, logical fallacy, and science. It is part of the fallen human nature that has refused to be redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. This willful ignorance must be judged in God's righteousness and holiness. The first judgment is that God turns them over to a reprobate mind, that is, their own fallen human minds. Yet, God has revealed that they know that He exists, but are willfully ignorant. They know about the Creation, but they are willfully ignorant. They know about the Genesis Flood, but they are willfully ignorant. They know about the punishments for sin, yet they are willfully ignorant and they commit those sins anyway.