Slides: Fallacies of Omission (Dr. Feddes)

Fallacies of omission

Leaving out necessary material in an argument or misdirecting others from missing information.

Stacking the deck
Listing examples that support your case but avoiding any examples that don’t.

“Jesus’ disciples spoke in tongues when the Spirit filled them on Pentecost (Acts 2:4). So did Cornelius’ household (Acts 10:44-46) and Christians in Corinth (Acts 19:6). This proves that all Spirit-filled people speak in tongues.”

“News reports keep telling about pastors of independent megachurches who have fallen into financial or sexual scandals. Clearly, denominational ties help pastors to avoid pitfalls that ensnare independent pastors.”

No true Scotsman
Redefining to exclude counterexample.

“Socialism always liberates and lifts up.”
“Socialism led to tyranny and poverty in the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela.”
“That wasn’t real socialism.”

“All Christians are peace-loving.”
“But crusaders were violent and cruel.”
“Crusaders were not true Christians.”

“All Christians reject racism.”
“But Luther was terribly anti-Jewish.”
“Then Luther was no true Christian.”

"All Bible-believers reject infant baptism.”
“But millions of Bible-believers throughout history have baptized their babies.”
“Then they are not really Bible believers.”

Argument from negative

"Atheism is false.
Therefore, Christianity is true."

"Cruelty to homosexuals is wrong.
Therefore, homosexuality is right."

"Hypocrisy is wrong.
Therefore, sinning openly is right."

Appeal to ignorance/lack of evidence

"Jesus never said that abortion is wrong, so abortion must be okay."

"Archeologists haven’t found the ark of the covenant, so it probably never existed."

"God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, so its author was a secular Jew who did not believe in divine intervention."

Hypothesis contrary to fact
Using imaginary examples to prove something in the real world.

“You only believe in Jesus because you were born in a Christian setting. If you had been born in Algeria, you would be Muslim.”

“If Jesus were on earth today, he would surely support ________.”

Complex question

"Have you stopped beating your wife?"

"Why are Pentecostals so much more spiritual than Presbyterians?"

"What makes you Christians leave your brain at the church door and believe nonsense without evidence?"

Burden of proof

“If you think churches should not allow godly, gifted women to be pastors and elders, the burden of proof is on you.”

“If you think the church should abandon its biblical stance over the past 2,000 years that senior pastors and elders should be men, the burden of proof is on you.”

Fallacy fallacy

“If someone uses a flawed argument to make a point, their point must be false.”

Many true statements are argued poorly. If we notice a fallacy and see that an argument does not support the conclusion, we can’t assume the conclusion is false. Otherwise we commit the fallacy fallacy.

A Useful Tool in Logic: Occam’s Razor
All things being equal, the simpler theory is more likely to be correct.

“The Bible contains many hidden codes and numbers that most readers don’t see but that I can decode for you.”

“Jesus will come secretly at the rapture, then openly a few years later, and then judge everyone a thousand years later.”