a massive growing snowball of subtlety

From time to time, I hear a seemingly innocent statement from someone, but to me it has an effect more like a huge flashing sign that exclaims, "Ideas like this are part of why I dropped my old beliefs!" 

Today's example is when a reasonable-sounding person says with an amused chuckle, "I understand that you wish my beliefs were stark and sharply defined. That would make it easier for you to scrutinize and pick apart the beliefs. I'm sorry I must let you down. I'm simply more subtle than that. My philosophies are more like an art that I've mastered over time, not a science that produces dead numbers."

And of course the response has some merit. I certainly admit that reality is complex, and the complexity shouldn't be dismissed. The problem is that the escape hatch of thoughtful subtlety wears out pretty quickly when it's put to use in all the contexts that demand it.

• Reapplying ancient texts to fit contemporary dilemmas? It's a subtle art.
• Seeing the handiwork of the divine in everyday life? It's a subtle art.
• Translating all possible outcomes of a prayer into a usable viewpoint of how the god reacted to the prayer? It's a subtle art. (Hint: just say that the reaction can be "Yes", "no", or "later". Presto! All the bases are covered.)  
• Detecting the guidance of one or more gods or spirits about what to do? It's a subtle art.
• Defining the intersection between physical reality and an intangible soul or mind, which is perfectly free in the sense that it only causes and is never caused? It's a subtle art.
• Explaining why different sects of a religion all claim the same exact gods yet differ constantly about the correct rituals and doctrines? It's a subtle art.
• Justifying why religious experiences and feelings are excellent ways to reach accurate conclusions for one religion, yet the same experiences and feelings are terrible ways to reach accurate conclusions in the context of all the incorrect religions? It's a subtle art.
• Renovating foundational myths about creation to fit the facts of geological and evolutionary time? It's a subtle art.
• Reforming morality from a very different historical period in order to remain sort-of the same as always, while not violating contemporary non-negotiables about how people should be treated? It's a subtle art.
• Inventing solutions for beings that can have amazing powers and be compassionate without using their amazing powers to stop real evils? It's a subtle art.  

For me at least, the crux wasn't any single subtlety out of the list. It was the unceasing pressure of the whole list at once.  The mass of subtleties on subtleties on subtleties lost credibility. It's quite possible to maintain these subtle arts and to continue doing it for decades, especially if someone is motivated to not pay close attention. The most important rule is that one must never step back for a second, look around curiously, and ask the piercing question "What if the more sensible viewpoint here is that rather than something being very very very very subtle...that something was never there to start with?"