Logic: The Fallacy Called Appeal to Ignorance

This is the fourth part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

It’s all about the Faith. Illogical but true…

The fallacy called Appeal to Ignorance, or Argumentum ad Ignorantiam can be understood in the phrase “X is true because it hasn’t been proven false”. So, in the discussion of evolution, the argument goes like this: “we may not have enough evidence to prove evolution, but there is no evidence to disprove it either—therefore, it must be true.” As a reminder—the only reason I am even pointing these out is to help equip the thinking believer with some internal measure of understanding that, even though atheistic scientists and neo-Darwinists like to posture as if they speak from authority and reason, the opposite is most often the case.

There are so many more examples of Logical Fallacies within the ongoing discussions and arguments published out there by the noisy crowd, that I can’t possibly explain all of them. The important thing is to be encouraged by the conclusion that it’s intellectually OK—in fact, more honest and rational to boldly stand on your faith—not relying on logic or reason. Even those who emphatically claim that their position stands solely on reason do not actually employ the discipline of logic in their own publications. Rather, they practice a faith of their own, shaped by their worldview and emotion.

It should be even more encouraging to find that scripture speaks to this very issue—in a way that could not be more relevant to where we are in the progression of how science and faith intersect with our culture.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…”
-1 Corinthians 1:18-27 (NKJV)

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
-1 Corinthians 2:14

Reachlife Ministries Podcast – Part 3 of 3

We conclude our three-part podcast series featuring conversations with two of the passionate, creative leaders from ReachLife Ministries:

BJ Thompson is the Outreach Coordinator for ReachLife Ministries where he spends his time evangelizing, discipling men, and training leaders. BJ grew up in inner-city Dallas and trusted Christ as a freshman in college. Not long after, along with the Hip-Hop artist Lacrae and Executive Director Ben Washer, BJ helped create Reach Records. BJ has been married six years and he and his wife are raising two wonderful children to be God-honoring leaders.

Miguel Davilla is the Curriculum Director for ReachLife Ministries. Miguel grew up in New York City in the Bronx; immersed in the Hip-Hop culture with virtually no contact to authentic Christianity or any connection to church. It was while serving in the Navy that he trusted Christ through a Bible Study led by a friend. Having discovered a passion for Christ and desire to minister full time, Miguel attended seminary after completing his service in the Navy. Shortly thereafter, through God’s providence, Miguel connected with the team at ReachLife. Miguel grew up in New York City and served in the U.S. Navy. He came to know Christ while he was serving in Norfolk, VA. After his naval service, he attended seminary and is currently working as curriculum director for ReachLife Ministries.

Reachlife Ministries Podcast – Part 2 of 3

We continue our three-part podcast series features conversation with two of the passionate, creative leaders from ReachLife Ministries:

BJ Thompson is the Outreach Coordinator for ReachLife Ministries where he spends his time evangelizing, discipling men, and training leaders. BJ grew up in inner-city Dallas and trusted Christ as a freshman in college. Not long after, along with the Hip-Hop artist Lacrae and Executive Director Ben Washer, BJ helped create Reach Records. BJ has been married six years and he and his wife are raising two wonderful children to be God-honoring leaders.

Miguel Davilla is the Curriculum Director for ReachLife Ministries. Miguel grew up in New York City in the Bronx; immersed in the Hip-Hop culture with virtually no contact to authentic Christianity or any connection to church. It was while serving in the Navy that he trusted Christ through a Bible Study led by a friend. Having discovered a passion for Christ and desire to minister full time, Miguel attended seminary after completing his service in the Navy. Shortly thereafter, through God’s providence, Miguel connected with the team at ReachLife. Miguel grew up in New York City and served in the U.S. Navy. He came to know Christ while he was serving in Norfolk, VA. After his naval service, he attended seminary and is currently working as curriculum director for ReachLife Ministries.

Reachlife Ministries Podcast – Part 1 of 3

Reach Records and now ReachLife, has a tremendous impact contextualizing the Christian message into the Hip-Hop culture through music and curriculum. Featuring Hip-Hop artists such as Lacrae, Trip Lee, and the 116 Clique, Reach Records continues to impact a generation heavily influenced by not just the music, but the culture of Hip-Hop. Seeing a greater need for discipleship, the leaders at Reach records branched out and formed the ministry of ReachLife.

This three-part podcast series features conversation with two of the passionate, creative leaders from ReachLife Ministries:

BJ Thompson is the Outreach Coordinator for ReachLife Ministries where he spends his time evangelizing, discipling men, and training leaders. BJ grew up in inner-city Dallas and trusted Christ as a freshman in college. Not long after, along with the Hip-Hop artist Lacrae and Executive Director Ben Washer, BJ helped create Reach Records. BJ has been married six years and he and his wife are raising two wonderful children to be God-honoring leaders.

Miguel Davilla is the Curriculum Director for ReachLife Ministries. Miguel grew up in New York City in the Bronx; immersed in the Hip-Hop culture with virtually no contact to authentic Christianity or any connection to church. It was while serving in the Navy that he trusted Christ through a Bible Study led by a friend. Having discovered a passion for Christ and desire to minister full time, Miguel attended seminary after completing his service in the Navy. Shortly thereafter, through God’s providence, Miguel connected with the team at ReachLife.

The Prosperity of Pluralism

Pluralism is doing quite well while Christianity seems to be feeling a little ill.

A couple of weeks ago I touched on the spread of mainstream populist tolerance for Islamic law and the potential effects on Christianity in the public forum. Evidence of the complete breakdown of orthodox Christian doctrine in American life is, of course, everywhere. However, it is interesting to note that even within the ranks of those who would state that they believe Jesus’ claim to be The Way, The Truth, and The Life, many also believe that Christ does not have a monopoly on the concept.

In a recent survey of 35,000 adults, a full 57% of “evangelical church attenders” believe that the teaching of other religions can also lead to eternal life. It’s important to avoid a clever play on words—implying that yes, although everyone has eternal life we won’t all be enjoying it—because I don’t think that’s what they had in mind.

The following percentages may not be as surprising, but are nevertheless of concern:

“Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).”

It is interesting to note that the smallest percentage belongs to the Muslim group—once again; the commitment to their religion should make us look inward.

Furthermore, and perhaps even more interesting,“Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with 8 percent “absolutely certain” of it.”

WOW—isn’t that telling?  So do not give up on those atheist friends of yours—most of their talk is defensiveness and insecurity anyway.

“The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. “There’s a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences,” he said.

The consequence, or perhaps the cause, is that Americans jump from one belief to another. There is a lack of commitment to their faith and an avoidance of the deep waters of theology where one can truly grow roots and therefore grow strong in their convictions. Without convictions, no one stands on principals—when it comes to anything. Therefore, they are easily swayed—the first clever orator to come along captures their attention, and soon their lives.

Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput offered a quote which I believe applies to all in the Christian faith:

“Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing its own members.”

We should all work harder at evangelizing our own members—an often overlooked field ready for the harvest and sometimes desperate to be fed the truth—as painful and exclusionary as it may be. That Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life and NO ONE can go to the Father except through the Son.

-AJ Rinaldi

Logic: Fallacies of Context

This is the third part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

The fallacy of false alternative concerns the use of extremes. It attempts to make a case for something that could be stated like “if you’re not with us, you’re against us”, or, “the only possible choice is my choice.” In science, this completely ignores the fundamental goal of scientific inquiry. Those who study evolutionary biology (and believe in a common origin of all life) should be hungry for more data and hypotheses to consider in contrast or comparison with their own. Instead, they completely dismiss and ignore any possible alternative theories. It’s like they are saying, “well OK, we solved that problem, now we can relax”. When in fact the actual physical evidence for the origin of life only as Darwin theorized is completely lacking. Logically, you would think that a scientist whose passion is discovery would be enthusiastically open to new ideas with compelling arguments and evidence to back up those ideas. In the world of the Neo-Darwinist, there is no alternative—hence the false alternative. They make the case for evolution on a grand scale beginning with the extreme of a single progenitor, or common cellular ancestor for all living things. There is no room for consideration or even modification of that theory—which is still theory and based on philosophical conclusions; not scientific ones (since the process cannot be repeated in any type of experiment).

An example of a viable alternative is open dialogue that includes the study of change over time, which all scientists acknowledge, without the necessity of a single-cell ancestry of all life. That is a weak hinge-pin on which their whole case stands—one without hard data (you can’t reproduce history) and a “believe it or leave it” mentality. The Neo-Darwinist excludes anyone in disagreement with their atheistic worldview—not necessarily their science.

In stark contrast, scientists who pursue additional study in the realm of Intelligent Design come from a myriad of perspectives. They bring to the table (or the lab) a sense of exploration and discovery— with an openness to learn that anyone who pursues deeper knowledge must have. Only someone who is teachable can learn new things (duh). Once the Neo-Darwinists closed their minds to alternative theories, they stopped up the very process Darwin himself practiced to develop his theories.

Are Christians at Risk of Becoming An Endangered Species?

What does the future hold for the existence of Christianity in the United States? That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? I think it’s often shrugged off because, after all, we live in a Christian nation, right? Can you imagine a day when a Christian could lose his or her job because of their faith; not that they proclaimed it in the workplace or even in the public schools; but outside of the institution—in their private life?! Imagine no more—the day is here. In fact, it wasn’t even the individual who was “accused” of sharing their faith that was fired—it was guilt by association! Read the story here.

I Am Beginning to Understand What “Post-Christian” Culture Means

Now I do not want to get bogged down in politics—believe me, it would be easy as I am a very politically-minded person. Nevertheless, we should be aware of what is happening in other communities as a foreshadowing of where we could be headed. Consider our European brothers and sisters in the UK. Recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury conceded that the UK will eventually have to consider incorporating elements of Sharia law into the public law. That’s an extreme step for a free European nation—and one we should watch closely. If we lose our moral compass— as some claim has happened in the UK— as a result of the weakening of Christianity, then that vacuum may very well be filled with ideologies that will create an oppressive state of affairs for believers in the US. We should all be asking and observing how far other religious extremists will go to replace Christian thought in the public sector.

We have been blessed with a freedom in this country that millions of Christians around the world do not have. Our plight is nowhere near the real persecution occurring every day around the world. However, Islam is spreading and with it, a subtle, sinister pressure on Christians to be ‘tolerant’—which is a nice way of saying we need to change and adapt to the beliefs of Muslims.

So, to back up and avoid sounding paranoid—what’s the point? Muslims are passionate. They pursue their religion and the attempt to convert others with extreme fanaticism. This is no secret, no great revelation or offensive posturing—it is simply the truth. How about believers in Christ? Ours is the message of hope for eternity and compassion for today. Are we living and communicating the message with these two things in mind? If indeed a moral vacuum exists—are we contributing to it? Like it or not, we are influencers. Compassion and tolerance are not synonymous terms—sometimes being compassionate means sharing a message that is offensive. Although we may not (but you might) have the ability to affect society in big chunks, each of us has a small sphere of personal influence. If you really want to make eternal impact on this culture for tomorrow, work with a passion for Christ and His message within your sphere today.

Logic: Fallacies of Credibility

This is the second part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

Argumentum Ad Verecundiam

An appeal to authority exists in the debate over Intelligent Design when only those who hold an atheistic world view are considered true experts in a field of scientific study. This fallacy occurs when one person’s expert opinion is assumed to be more important than another’s; even though their comparative professional credentials are equivalent. Discriminatory authority ensues because worldview affects the perception of many scientists and, like it or not, impacts interpretation of scientific study. It is not grounded by factual results of experimentation, because neither evolution nor design can be proven by repeatable methodology.

All theories of biological origins are speculative—they are based on beliefs, not observable facts. As a result, if an individual is an educated, highly credentialed, competent scientist, he or she is fully qualified to interpret the same observations, but will do so in light of their worldview. One group is open to finding a designer or creator (often in complete separation from religious overtones), the other desperately hopes not to. Why can’t both engage in rational, respectful discourse? (We already know the answer to that.)

An argument that appeals to only one group of two distinct groups within the same expertise, when neither can be conclusively proven, is fallacious. Both sides must be considered equally and given equal due—that is really what the overall debate is about. One reason the ID scientists are not guilty of this fallacy is that they are not attempting to attack or discredit evolutionary researchers. Their platform is to achieve equal ground and opportunity within scientific academia to pursue research of their own: objective, scientific research.

Ad Hominem

No doubt you have read and heard many examples of this fallacy. Now you know what to call it. This argument attempts to reject or dismiss another person’s statement or position by attacking the person rather than the statement or position itself. Ad Hominem is the most frequent tactic employed by the Neo-Darwinist movement and their supporters. The most commonly used words in the works of these scientists when addressing intelligent design proponents are: “stupid, idiots, imbeciles, ignorant, crackpots, loons, irrational (this one’s ironic considering their use of the term in an Ad Hominem fallacy)” and many, many more (some unprintable). But you get the picture.

Did they really just say that?

A very small, but striking example containing both fallacies (italics mine) is below. There are so many more out there to be read…

“…the DI [Discovery Institute] got its list by asking crackpots and specialists in irrelevant disciplines to volunteer to sign on [To sign on to the DI’s list of scientists who support researching intelligent design.], so it is a real (but silly) list that exposes the existence of a tiny minority of loons within science.”(an excerpt from Science Blogs – Pharyngula)

Are You Chasing or Shaping Culture?

“But the church’s best days are when we are no longer chasing or imitating culture, but actually shaping it!” – Scott Hodge

This insightful statement is the conclusion of a blog post about how a person can keep a pulse on culture written in response to a reader’s question about maintaining relevance. The hope is that effective ministry will not be sacrificed at the expense of conformity. What I like about Hodge’s response is he does not suggest that. In fact, he points out “MOST churches are CHASING culture (because MOST are years BEHIND it)” and follows with the thought that the Church should be leading changes rather than changing in response to shifts in culture.

I would add one thought: As the Church, how do you shape culture? By reaching individuals within the culture; one person at a time. That’s the job of every one of us. What are you doing today to accomplish that mission?

Logic: Subjectivist Fallacies

This is the first part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

Appeal to Majority

The majority of people (in this case, academic scientists) believe something to be true, therefore it is true. This fallacy is committed when the rhetoric turns to comments such as “everyone knows” or “any true scientist will tell you”, etc.

Wherein the appeal is to consider how many ascribe to the position instead of calmly using the merits of the position itself. This is very common among evolutionists.

Argumentum Ad Populum

An appeal to emotion occurs when rhetoric replaces logic and the intent is to make an audience act on emotion instead of rational judgment.

It is ultimately an attempt to steer the thinker toward subjectivism—a position based on the desire to believe something rather than a logical conclusion based on fact.

A Thin Smokescreen at Best

In the neo-Darwinist strategy, there is a continuous tension to ensure our children are educated in line with the rest of the world. It appeals to the emotions of parents who might somehow be concerned that we are robbing our kids of a decent “science” education by considering, for example, intelligent design. It’s funny that even though evolution has not been proven as fact, the argumentum ad populum and appeal to majority are played as smokescreens to strongly imply that it has been proven and accepted by true scientists all over the world, and therefore should not be questioned. Otherwise, we Americans might be ridiculed by the international community and left behind as other cultures embrace the implications that evolution gives society the freedom to pursue. This entire strategy is heavily rooted in these two logical fallacies.

For example:

“…remember that this is a political problem, not a scientific one. Please try to avoid “science talk.” As Eugenie Scott, our executive director at the National Center for Science Education says, “We will not solve this problem [allowing the teaching of ID theory in schools] by throwing science at it. We must appeal to the legislators as fellow citizens, parents, and educators. No academic-speak! …We have to stop them [ID advocates]” (excerpt from The Panda’s Thumb).

This one’s pretty clear—a thin smokescreen at best.

There are lots more examples where this came from. Proceed with caution though as you search for them. You will find the rhetoric quite harsh, illogical, venomous, insulting, condescending, and: all directed at you—the thinking believer. And if you feel the need to respond to some of these posts, remember—attract don’t attack; we must be the salt and light to a lost world…

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