Why do some people go about making stuff up without ever trying to understand a different point of view?

Same tripe as that Halloween cartoon. These people are basically talking to themselves. They think repeating this dreck out loud makes them more confirmed in their faith. They are unable to look at it from the viewpoint of a non-believer or they would be able to see how ineffective the technique is! They're also really fond of straw man arguments, like the evil industrialist in the cartoon.