Atheist fallacies

[Billy Bob Jenkins]

Re: Atheist fallacies

Great post. I consider the "If I were God, I would/ wouldn't argument as God is no smarter than I am argument. It is pretty neat to see you outlining the common approaches that others have in arguing against Christianity. But what I come across most often are two reasons why they are arguing to begin with.

1) Christian representation. They are arguing and criticizing people based on their behavior and belief. However, the people that I have responded to in this type of criticism seemingly fall short when pointing out why criticize Christians when people are going against Christianity? Why would anyone oppose Jesus' teaching then criticize others for not following His teaching? People or rather atheist love to try to shift the current world problems on religion. They try to pass the current day wars on religious difference. But really, people are not killing because they differ in whether Moses wrote the ten commandments or not. They are acting outside religious teaching, at least, on the side of Christianity.

2) The God of the Old Testament - Oh, so many people here or there hate the God of the OT. He was a baby killer, a genocidal maniac and so on. They want to put the problem of evil or sin upon the shoulders of its creator. This, really, falls under your classification of "If I were God I would or wouldn't"... they seemingly fail to understand the difference between Justice and cruelty.

Enjoyable read Pim Pendergast.

How are your studies coming along, friend?

Christ's teachings are so consistent, specific, and unambiguous, it is impossible for there to be any disagreement as to what He meant. That is why there is only one True Christian™ sect. So how could an atheist disagree with two different interpretations of the Gospel? That would be bizarre!

Since no religious text promotes violence (except for the Bible, the Tanakh, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Books of Thelema, and others) the phrase "Holy War" is practically an oxymormon. When did the Barton Cylinder, for example, ever condone violence? Never that I am aware of.

You are also right to point out, friend, that genocide and baby killing are "Justice" when God does it, whereas cruelty is something entirely different.

You are progressing nicely towards salvation, Shimei.

[Shimei]

Re: Atheist fallacies

A fallacy is an error in reasoning or logic. Atheists frequently employ them to support or defend their position. Here are some common ones.

Genetic fallacy. This has nothing to do with genes. It is referring to genesis, or origins. It is the attempt to discredit a belief on the grounds that its origins are dubious. For example, an atheist might claim that religion developed as a means of explaining the world or as an evolutionary adaptation or for psychological or social advantages. But you can’t discredit a belief by discrediting its supposed origins. Besides, we know that belief in the God of the Bible was the original religion and atheism arose out of man’s desire to deny the truth of God’s existence (Rom 1:18). Therefore atheism can be flatly rejected.

Ad hominem. This involves personally attacking your opponent instead of bringing a reasoned argument against him. For example, an atheist might say, “Only gullible/ weak/ uneducated people believe in God.” Just remember that those who reject God are “filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Rom 1:29-31).

Begging the question. Also known as circular reasoning. This is when a claim is assumed to be true without any evidence to support it other than the claim itself. For example, atheists presuppose that God doesn’t exist and then claim that all evidence supporting the existence of God must be flawed because He doesn’t exist. We, on the other hand, know that God exists because the Bible tells us so, and we know that the Bible is reliable because it tells us it is inspired by God.

If I were God, I would/ wouldn’t… I wasn’t sure what to call this one, so I made up a name for it. Perhaps someone else on this godly forum knows the proper name. This is when people try to disprove God’s existence by claiming that if they God they would do things differently. For example, Richard Dawkins claimed that if God were real, He would have created fewer species. People often say something like, “If I were God, I wouldn’t allow suffering in the world; therefore God doesn’t exist.” Just because you might do things differently if you were God doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist. Personally, I wouldn’t do anything differently if I were God. He is perfect.

Can anyone else think of other fallacies?

Great post. I consider the "If I were God, I would/ wouldn't argument as God is no smarter than I am argument. It is pretty neat to see you outlining the common approaches that others have in arguing against Christianity. But what I come across most often are two reasons why they are arguing to begin with.

1) Christian representation. They are arguing and criticizing people based on their behavior and belief. However, the people that I have responded to in this type of criticism seemingly fall short when pointing out why criticize Christians when people are going against Christianity? Why would anyone oppose Jesus' teaching then criticize others for not following His teaching? People or rather atheist love to try to shift the current world problems on religion. They try to pass the current day wars on religious difference. But really, people are not killing because they differ in whether Moses wrote the ten commandments or not. They are acting outside religious teaching, at least, on the side of Christianity.

2) The God of the Old Testament - Oh, so many people here or there hate the God of the OT. He was a baby killer, a genocidal maniac and so on. They want to put the problem of evil or sin upon the shoulders of its creator. This, really, falls under your classification of "If I were God I would or wouldn't"... they seemingly fail to understand the difference between Justice and cruelty.

Enjoyable read Pim Pendergast.

[BelieverInGod]

Re: Atheist fallacies

Excellent post!

The last trend irritates me to no end. I get so sick of hearing, "If I was God I wouldn't want people to be afraid of me", or, "If I was God I wouldn't have bothered giving people free will". Really, why on Earth would I CARE what a godless atheist would do in God's shoes?!

AMEN!

And they don't seem to understand the fact that THEY'RE NOT GOD! I know their mommies all told them they're very special all their life, but seriously, their not that "special"

Anyway, I think 'mommy' usually meant 'special' as in, you go to a 'special' school because you need a 'special' education.

[WalkingInTheLight]

Re: Atheist fallacies

Excellent post!

The last trend irritates me to no end. I get so sick of hearing, "If I was God I wouldn't want people to be afraid of me", or, "If I was God I wouldn't have bothered giving people free will". Really, why on Earth would I CARE what a godless atheist would do in God's shoes?!

[Pim Pendergast]

A fallacy is an error in reasoning or logic. Atheists frequently employ them to support or defend their position. Here are some common ones.

Genetic fallacy. This has nothing to do with genes. It is referring to genesis, or origins. It is the attempt to discredit a belief on the grounds that its origins are dubious. For example, an atheist might claim that religion developed as a means of explaining the world or as an evolutionary adaptation or for psychological or social advantages. But you can’t discredit a belief by discrediting its supposed origins. Besides, we know that belief in the God of the Bible was the original religion and atheism arose out of man’s desire to deny the truth of God’s existence (Rom 1:18). Therefore atheism can be flatly rejected.

Ad hominem. This involves personally attacking your opponent instead of bringing a reasoned argument against him. For example, an atheist might say, “Only gullible/ weak/ uneducated people believe in God.” Just remember that those who reject God are “filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Rom 1:29-31).

Begging the question. Also known as circular reasoning. This is when a claim is assumed to be true without any evidence to support it other than the claim itself. For example, atheists presuppose that God doesn’t exist and then claim that all evidence supporting the existence of God must be flawed because He doesn’t exist. We, on the other hand, know that God exists because the Bible tells us so, and we know that the Bible is reliable because it tells us it is inspired by God.

If I were God, I would/ wouldn’t… I wasn’t sure what to call this one, so I made up a name for it. Perhaps someone else on this godly forum knows the proper name. This is when people try to disprove God’s existence by claiming that if they God they would do things differently. For example, Richard Dawkins claimed that if God were real, He would have created fewer species. People often say something like, “If I were God, I wouldn’t allow suffering in the world; therefore God doesn’t exist.” Just because you might do things differently if you were God doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist. Personally, I wouldn’t do anything differently if I were God. He is perfect.

Can anyone else think of other fallacies?