Dr Adrian Bury's blog
Christian theology, basic teachings, apologeticsBull Detector
So much incorrect thinking and false reasoning has been set loose on the world that we are in need of protection. We have to learn how to argue logically, and how to examine people’s claims and convictions. If we are Christians then we accept that we are saved by faith, but that cannot mean that from now on we have to switch off our brains. The apostle Paul writes: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10: 4-5).
A well assembled “bull detector kit” will help us to defeat false concepts. There are listed here a few common tactics that are used to lead people astray.
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Section 1 – Propaganda
Tactics: Influence people’s actions and attitudes without allowing them to think.
- Big lie
Definition: Tell a total falsehood with decisive conviction.
Examples: You will not surely die (Satan to Eve) – If you die in Jihad by blowing yourself up in a shopping centre, killing lots of innocent victims at the same time, you are guaranteed a place in paradise – Evolution is no longer a theory, it’s a proven fact – your car will be ready tomorrow (mechanic)
- Half truth
Definition: Just tell half the truth, and mix it with falsehood.
Examples: According to his accusers, Jesus claimed he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days (he said: “destroy it” not “I will destroy it” and he was speaking of his body) – That person was very rude to me (but you don’t say you provoked him, or that he later apologised) – a woman should decide what to do with her own body (but the baby to be aborted also has its own body, blood, brain, heartbeat and genetic structure).
- Repetition
Definition: Repeat something so often that it takes root in people’s thinking.
Examples: TV adverts (I’m loving it doesn’t say anything about the product) – “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (for two hours) – Evolution is science, creation is religion.
- Majority opinion
Definition: Everyone’s doing it! Join the victorious movement!
Examples: Style of clothes or music, in a word, fashion – All scientists accept evolution – Everyone gets drunk down the disco on a Saturday night – It’s cool – My opponent is a member of a fanatical cult.
- Argumentum ad populum
Definition: The public is with us. We are just normal guys.
Examples: Politicians dressed in overalls being photographed talking to factory workers – Conspiracy theories (the government knows that aliens have landed).
- Glittering generalities
Definition: Broad oversimplification, while ignoring problems and exceptions.
Examples: Stereotypes (women don’t think logically) – Politician raising taxes, says: “We must invest in our future” – All religions are just different paths leading to the top of the hill – Over a period of 15 billion years, hydrogen became man.
- Emotive words
Definition: Provoke a reaction by using emotive words, either positive (euphemism) or negative.
Examples: Latter Day Saints (cult of Joseph Smith) – Free love (immorality with consequences) – Gay (homosexual) – Christian Science (cult of Mary Baker Eddy) – Organic food – “There is no rival hypothesis except the outworn and completely refuted idea of special creation, now retained only by the ignorant, the dogmatic, and the prejudiced.” (H. H. Newman, 1932).
- Association
Definition: Link the product to be sold with things people like, and give things we want them to reject unpleasant associations.
Examples: Politicians kissing babies – Hungarian Truth and Life Party (extreme right wing) – Half-naked girls in car adverts – Would you like to survive the battle of Armageddon, soon to be upon us? (Jehovah’s witness opener) – Would you like to live with your family for ever? (Mormon opener)
My opponent is like Hitler – Creation is a pseudo-scientific subject like astrology, alchemy and phrenology.
- Suggestion
Definition: Use psychological tricks to influence people
Examples: Use of colours, music, lighting in adverts – “I never said my opponent was a fascist” (True, but the point has now been raised) – Whatever happens, DO NOT think of a pink elephant!
- Intimidation
Definition: Use of power to obtain the desired reaction or silence the opponent!
Examples: We just want to help you (Spanish inquisition) – Sending tanks into Budapest in 1956 – Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand (Sennacherib to the inhabitants of Jerusalem) – If you leave this church you are going against God’s will and Satan will destroy your life! – When I send you a testimony of warning and reproof, many of you declare it to be merely the opinion of Sister White. You have thereby insulted the Spirit of God. (E. G. White) – Only members of the Communist Youth are admitted to university – I don’t think these kind of people (who believe in creation) should get degrees, and I’m going to do what I can to stop them.” (Dr. Trevor Phillips)
- Scare tactics
Definition: Arousing animosity, hatred or suspicioun against a person, group or movement.
Examples: The Jews are responsible for all the problems in this country (Hitler) – Christians are cannibals, they drink blood (first century gossip) – Jesus is a danger to Roman authority in Judea (the Pharisees to Pilate)
- Sarcasm
Definition: Mock your opponent’s point of view, thus arousing dislike.
Examples: Satire – If a fox climbed on your wall, it would fall down (Tobiah to Nehemiah) – Calling those who believe in creation troglodytes
If all the above have failed, there is one more possibility:
- Subversion
Definition: Prevent your opponent being heard.
Examples: Raise a generation of faithful follower (Communist youth) – Infiltrate your opponent’s organisation – Start a slander campaign against your opponent – “If someone leaves this church, or if we disfellowship anyone they are spiritually dead, and no-one must speak to them!” (Just in case you might find out their side of the story – Jesus said that a disfellowshipped person should be treated as a pagan or a tax-collector, but he did not say we must not speak to pagans or tax-collectors) – Ban your opponent’s books, or burn them – Turn your enemies against each other (then they’ll leave you alone) – Hire an assassin – the end justifies the means.
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Section 2 – Logical fallacies
Tactics: Using false reasoning when arguing.
- Circular reasoning
Definition: Assume what you want to prove.
Examples: Tautology (deafness is caused by loss of hearing) – dating rocks by means of index fossils, then using the age of the rocks to date the fossils found in them.
- Non sequitur
Definition: The conclusion does not follow from the premise. Use of bad syllogism.
Examples: Save your children’s future, vote for the Veggie Party – Amino acids have been found in a meteorite, this proves evolution – I am the pastor of this church, so I am always right, and you have to do what I say – All fish are good swimmers. Some birds are also good swimmers. So some fish are really birds. – The Lord is using us. So if it appears that God is using others, that is really of the devil.
- Post hoc
Definition: After the fact, because of the fact.
Examples: Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (Jesus’ disciples) – I am a Christian, I have been baptised – We are here, therefore we evolved.
- Circumstantial evidence
Definition: Assume that the physical evidence actually proves the desired result.
Examples: Putting horse fossils is an assumed evolutionary order – Sister Mary saw you standing near an unsuitable boy the other day, so we will have to disfellowship you for immorality..
- Either-or fallacy, false dichotomy
Definition: Assuming only two possible alternatives, when several may be justified.
Examples: Religion or science – Hypercalvinism or hyperarminianism – Throw the baby out with the bathwater, or swallow everything hook, line and sinker (there may be a mixture) – Sabbath keeping or Sunday keeping (some may keep Friday, like the Muslims, or some may not observe a holy day at all) – I am not a sinner, I have never killed anyone – If I trash my opponent, I will look better.
- Personification
Definition: Attributing personal characteristics to lifeless objects and concepts.
Examples: The primordial molecules assembled themselves into the first cell, which began to reproduce itself – Birds developed feathers – Nature ensured the survival of many species.
Note: Personification is a fine literary device, but as a means of argument it is misleading and often meaningless. According to the theory itself, evolution is purposeless, directionless and the result of chance.
- Analogy
Definition: Using parallels as illustrations, which actually give a false impression.
Examples: One million monkeys typing on one million typewriters would eventually produce Shakespeare’s plays -
“Is it any more incredible that a bird should come from a dinosaur, than that a bird should come from an egg?” (David Morotka) – “One can no more master biology while denying the fact of evolution than one can understand chemistry while refusing to admit the existence of atoms.” (Jared Diamond).
- Reductionism
Definition: Narrow a complex issue down to a part of its components, as if this represents the whole
Examples: A Beethoven string quartet is just horsehair scraping on catgut – We are what we eat – The human body is just carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, a little phosphorus and a few trace elements – Speaking in tongues, miracles and healing were just sign-gifts, characteristic of the apostolic age – The constitution is just a piece of paper.
- Authority
Definition: Ignoring logic and sober thinking, I just quote an authority that happens to agree with my point of view.
Examples: TV advert (4 out of 5 doctors agree…) – You can trust me, because I am a church pastor – Derek Prince states… – This rock is 50 million years old.
Note: It is all fine and good to quote authoritative opinion, particularly in scientific studies, but not just one, and only for confirmation. It cannot serve as the basis of an opinion.
Consider the following: Is this person really an authority in this field? Are there possibly other authorities who do not agree? Has further research refuted this opinion? Is he right? (no scholar is infallible).
- Extrapolation
Definition: Concluding much more than the facts would allow.
Examples: The case of Nebraska man (postulating an ancient human culture on the basis on one single fossilised tooth – which later turned out to belong to an extinct pig species) – TV advert (if these pills helped me, then they will be good for you too!) – An oscillation pattern has been observed in a nearby star; this could mean that it has giant plants in orbit; perhaps there are also earth-like planets; we could image life having developed there; perhaps there are also beings similar to man living there (BBC news programme – the only solid fact is the oscillation in the star).
- Statistics
Definition: Misusing numbers to create an impression of reputable science.
Examples: Showing a graph without numbers on the axes – One women can produce a baby in nine months, so nine women in one month… – There are lies, damned lies, and statistics (Disraeli)
- This is the best theory
Definition: The theory which is considered that best is not necessarily acceptable.
Examples: In the absence of opposing evidence it may be assumed that the seventy years may be taken away from the beginning of the period (of 2300 years) (SDA Bible commentary on Daniel 9) – There may be problems with the big bang theory, but it is the best we have at the moment.
- Shifting the burden of proof
Definition: Forgetting that it is the duty of the inventor of a theory to proof it, and not the task of an opponent to refute it
Examples: If you can’t proof that Father Christmas doesn’t exist, then he must be real! – Have you ever been a Mormon? Then how do you know it is not the one true church?
- Self-referential fallacy
Definition: The premise itself refutes the argument.
Examples: Relativism: there is no such thing as absolute truth (is that statement absolute truth? – Maya: everything is illusion (how do you know your philosophy is not an illusion?) – Materialism: only physics and chemistry exist (can you prove that using only physics and chemistry?)
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Section 3 – Smokescreen
Tactics: Evades or confuses the point of an argument.
- Ad Hominem
Definition: Against the man; attack the proponent of an argument rather than dealing with the theory itself.
Examples: Political campaigns – Pentecostals are ignorant and anti-intellectual (anti-charismatic apologetics) – My opponent is just building his own empire – Can anything good come from Nazareth? (Nathaniel to Philip)
- Evasion
Definition: Evade the issue, change the subject.
Examples: You have your opinion, I have mine – Evolutionists often talk about philosophy and religion, but don’t want to discuss the evidence supporting evolution (or lack of it) – Ellen G. White may well have copied 80 percent of her materials from others without giving credit, but there were no copyright laws at that time, so she did not break the law.
- Red herring
Definition: Going off at a tangent onto a different subject.
Examples: Just by reading the Bible, no-one would come to the conclusion that the gifts of the Spirit were withdrawn at the end of the first century; Right, and no-one would conclude we have to roll around the floor barking like dogs in the Holy Spirit either! (Pentecostal-Evangelical debate) – I don’t need to get saved, what about those priests who molest little boys?!
- Equivocation
Definition: Cloud the issue by using vague terms or shifting definitions.
Examples: Superman flies like a plane, but fruit flies like bananas – Cults often redefine Christian terminology, e.g. Of course we believe that Jesus is the Son of God (as his first creation – Jehovah’s Witnesses); We also accept justification by faith (which gives us a new start in our attempt to be good enough to become gods – Mormons) – Defining your terms so that your opponent is wrong by definition (Arminianism ultimately leads to Universalism – Yes, if you define the atonement using Calvinist presuppositions) – Confusing microevolution with macroevolution, i.e. development of resistance to antibiotics by bacteria shows that man evolved from the primordial soup – Truman’s law: If you cannot convince them, confuse them.
- Straw man
Definition: Paint a false or ridiculous picture of your opponent’s point of view, then refute the position you have invented which is easy to attack..
Examples: The Christian Trinity is the Father, the Son and the Virgin Mother, but Mary is only human and not God, so Christianity cannot be true (Mohammed) – My opponent believes that God created the universe at 9 o’clock in the morning on the 23rd of October 4004 BC – Extrapolate your opponent’s position into something absurd: “You’re against gun control? So do you want everyone to be free to walk around with their own atom bomb?”
- Selective use of evidence
Definition: List all the points in your favour while ignoring the serious points against your view.
Examples: Variants of peppered moths and finch beaks as against the fossil record and irreducible complexity – Jonestown and Waco against religious freedom – Pounce on your opponent’s only mistake but ignore the main points of his argument
Comment: Listing evidence while arguing is a legitimate procedure, but it must be done in an honest and balanced way.
“The first to present his case seems right, until another comes forward and questions him.” (Proverbs 18: 17)
- Bluffing
Definition: Pretend you know far more than you do, and hope that no-one notices.
Examples: Use scientific sounding words: ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny – Preacher’s notes: weak point, lean forward and speak with conviction – It’s been documented! (where, when, so what?) – Evolutionists claim that the rocks are full of transitional form fossils (for example?) – The Pope changed the Sabbath (E. G. White) – The Bible says that only the pastor of a church may baptise new converts (I was told by a Hungarian pastor. As the Bible does not mention the office of pastor at all, I found this rather difficult to believe) – God has chosen and anointed me to pass on a special message to this generation (donations to the following bank account…)
- Appeasement
Definition: Claiming: “Our views are not really so different, why can’t we be friends?” (Acceptable in a personal relationship, but it does not solve the dispute).
Examples: How are you brother? (as I stab you in the back), E.g. Joab to Amasa, 2 Sam 20: 8-10 – I’m a Christian too, I attend church regularly (every Christmas and Easter – politician winning a pastor’s vote) – It’s great that there’s someone else here who takes his religion seriously (a Buddhist colleague of mine in Wales) – Calling the big bang the “creation event”.
- Humour
Definition: Divert attention from the issue with a joke.
Examples: Humorous TV advert which has no information about the product – Theology is less important than “knee-ology” – Political caricature.
- Subjectivity
Definition: Appeal to unverifiable, illogical or intuitive feelings and opinions.
Examples: This burning in my bosom proves to me that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God (Mormon testimony) – “Your position is incorrect, because it is unscientific, it is not in the Bible, and it is contradicted by the following Scriptures…” Response: “I’m sorry your feelings were hurt by what I said” – We know that scientists will soon discover the mechanism of evolution – Dr. Quack is such a kind person, much nicer than those people in the hospital who just want to fill you up with chemicals.
- Visualisation
Definition: Use images to attract or distract, instead of using logic and evidence.
Examples: Haeckel’s embryos – Geological column – Adverts give a product “image”, but don’t tell us why we should buy it – Fact: President Bush refused to make arsenic standards that have been in place for 50 years more stringent. Democratic TV advert: a scene of a little girl asking with a smile, “May I please have some more arsenic in my water, Mommy? – National Geographic calls the extinct Pakicetus “walking whale” and depicts it in a swimming posture, as the evolutionary predecessor of the whale. The picture bellow is closer to reality.
A final warning from the apostle Paul: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4: 14-15.
Based on, borrowed from “Bible Science Association Baloney Detector”
http://creationsafaris.com/crevbd.htm
Plagiarised, abbreviated and adapted by Dr. Adrian Bury
Just picked up a book called “Nonsense” that outlines these things too. LOVE your artwork you added in. Great touch! I want to study these so as not to be fooled by them, or USE them, which I’m sure I have!
Yeah, I’m sure I have too, that’s the scary bit.
Thanks for comment!