You have to wonder what’s more embarrassing: not being able to answer the intellectual challenges of an 11 year-old, or trying to badger your way out of his question when it proves to be too difficult.

During a debate in Portland back in November of 2012, young earth creationist Eric Hovind asserted that “if you don’t know everything, then you can’t know anything – unless you know someone who does.”

Huh?

That was exactly the reaction of a skeptical 6th grader in the audience, identified as “Chad,” who challenged Hovind to explain how he knows God exists if you can’t know anything without knowing everything.

Confused yet?

Hovind claimed that the only way humans can claim to know anything is if an all-knowing creator revealed itself to them. Otherwise, philosophy, science, etc., is all unreliable. Hovind then set himself up for disaster by using the “2 + 2 = 4” example.

“Chad, if I knew everything there was to know, if I had all knowledge and you didn’t and there was a rule that said I’m am never ever allowed to tell a lie,” Hovind said, using himself as an analogy for God. “And I said, ‘Chad, I know everything, I’m not allowed to lie; two plus two equals four.’ Could you now know that to be true, even though you Chad don’t know everything?”

“I know that two plus two is four,” Chad responded in bewilderment.

Hovind posed the question to Chad again. “If I knew everything and I couldn’t lie and I told you two plus two equals four, could you trust that to be true?”

“Yes, because I know it,” Chad shot back. “There’s proof for it. There’s no proof for God.”

Watch:

Featured image via screen grab