Someone told me a story once–it was probably a sermon illustration–about a man in an insane asylum thought he was dead. A young, optimistic caretaker asked this insane person if dead people could bleed.

“No, of course not!”

“Well, in that case, why don’t you prove to me your dead by pricking your finger with this pin.”

“Ok.” said the compliant “corpse.” He pricked his finger, winced, and watched in amazement as a drop of blood welled up from the tiny puncture.

“See?” said the caretaker trying not to sound triumphalistic.

“Wow, I don’t believe it,” said the man who had believed he was dead. “All this time I have been entirely deluded.”

“I’m glad you realize that.”

“Me too. Now I know dead people really do bleed!”

I was thinking about this as I remembered an episode of Veronica Mars an episode or two ago. In this scene Veronica was blown away and temporarily silenced by something Logan said in an argument. Logan didn’t wait for her to get over it. He said while she was still stunned (according to my memory), “And even right now as your thinking, ‘Oh, crap, he has a point,’ you are still sure that you are right.”

Isn’t that exactly what happens when you point out to a Christian that their tradition is in error? Isn’t it what you and I do?