what can pete and Iona say to the rest of the population of the planet to convince us their misplaced faith is literal?
Well, there are several prerequites. One is to get a grasp of English and recognise that asserting something is not the same as demonstrating it. Another is recognising that most people are able to spot such sleight-of-hand [if deliberate] or clumsiness [if accidental]. Another is recognising that we are all limited and on a forum such as this, whoever we are the odds are quite good that there are readers smarter or more knowlegable than us - and I certainly include myself as one of the outclassed people on many topics. Another is to understand we are interested in what you think, not what cross-references you can bring. You can argue from what you think, but not from what other people think. Another is to get a handle on what constitutes a logical argument.

Once those have been mastered, we can move onto what constitutes evidence. Then we are ready to begin.