A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that weakens an argument, even if the conclusion may seem convincing.

Kindly and gently expose contradictions and logical fallacies you hear in people’s arguments or perspectives. Here are a handful of logical fallacies to watch for while engaging others in conversation.

Note: these are logical fallacies the Christian engager should avoid using, too!

logical falLacies

False Cause – Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.

• “Christianity has caused most of the wars in history.”
  (Assumes correlation equals causation without careful historical analysis.

Appeal to Emotion – Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.

• “I just can’t believe in a God who would allow suffering. That idea is too painful to accept.”
  (Emotional weight replaces examination of the argument.)
  

Slippery Slope – The assertion that if ‘A’ is allowed, then ‘Z’ will consequently happen, therefore ‘A’ should not happen.

• “If we allow religious belief to influence public life at all, we’ll end up in a theocracy.”
  (Assumes one step inevitably leads to an extreme outcome.)

Ad Hominem – Attacking your opponent’s character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.

• “You’re only defending Christianity because you’re afraid of death.”
  (Attacks motives instead of addressing the claim.)

Personal Incredulity – Saying that because one finds something difficult to understand that it is therefore not true.

• “Miracles violate science. I can’t imagine how that could happen, so it’s unlikely.”
  (Difficult ability to comprehend a claim is not evidence that the claim itself is untrue.)

Special Pleading – “Moving the goalposts” to create exceptions when a claim is shown to be false.

• “Science requires evidence for everything — except when it comes to the origin of the universe. That just happened.”
  (Exceptions made to protect a preferred view.)

Loaded Question – Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can’t be answered without appearing guilty.

• “Why does Christianity oppress women?”
  (Assumes oppression as a settled fact within the question.)

Burden of Proof – Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.

• “Unless you can prove God exists beyond all doubt, I have no reason to believe.”
  (Demands absolute proof rather than proportionate evidence.)

Bandwagon Fallacy – Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation.

• “Most educated people today don’t believe in God anymore.”
  (Truth reduced to majority opinion.)

Appeal to Authority – using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.

• “A Nobel Prize–winning scientist says religion is a myth, so that settles it.”
  (Authority cited instead of argument examined.)

Genetic Fallacy – Judging something good or bad on the basis of where the belief or argument comes from, or from whom it comes.

• “Christianity was invented by ancient, pre-scientific people.”
  (Dismisses a belief because of its historical origin.)

Black-or-White – Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

• “Either you accept evolution exactly as presented, or you reject science entirely.”
  (Forces two options where nuance exists.)

Begging the Question – A circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise.

• “The Bible can’t be trusted because it’s just a human book.”
  (Assumes what it is trying to prove.)

Appealing to Nature – Making the argument that because something is ‘natural’ it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good, or ideal.

• “It’s human nature, they evolved to behave this way, so it must be morally right.”
  (‘Natural’ equated with ‘morally good.’)

Anecdotal Argument – Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.

• “I prayed once and nothing happened. That proves God doesn’t answer prayer.”
  (One experience used to dismiss broader claims.)

The Texas Sharpshooter – Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.

• “Look at these hypocritical Christians. That shows Christianity can not be trusted.”
  (Selective examples used to generalize.)

Fallacy of the Middle Ground – Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes must be the truth.

• “Some say Jesus is God, others say He’s a legend. The truth is probably somewhere in between.”
  (Assumes compromise equals truth.)

We all show up to a conversation with assumptions and a filter that shapes how we understand and interpret the world around us, this is called a presupposition. When engaging with others, it is wise to be able to identify what presupposition one might hold.