I’m not sure I was quite clear enough about what exactly constitutes dishonesty here.
- It is not dishonest merely to be a YEC.
- It is not dishonest to believe that God created the earth recently with the appearance of age.
- It is not dishonest to believe that there are radical new laws of science not yet discovered which will up-end our entire understanding of everything.
- It is not dishonest to believe that science is fundamentally unreliable.
These claims may have their problems – bad theology, distrust in the scientific establishment, or unrealistic expectations – but dishonesty is not one of them.
I am talking specifically about people who:
- are claiming that a young earth is supported by scientific evidence;
- are citing arguments for a young earth that do not meet scientific standards;
- should be reasonably expected to know that their arguments do not meet scientific standards, either through having a science degree or having had it explained to them in terms that they understand;
- are persisting in citing those arguments as scientific evidence despite having been made aware that they are not.
I’m guessing, but the chances are that your friend does not fall into the above category.