Category All Articles

LOGICAL FALLACIES

2 main types: fallacies of distraction           fallacies of form

Fallacies of Distraction:

Ipse dixit:        “he said it himself”. Appeal to authority.  – Citing a source or person because they have some aspect of authority (education, position, etc) which has no bearing on their ability to speak to the issue at hand.

Ad populum:      “bandwagon” appeal to popular opinion or practice. Numbers do not make something right or wrong.

Ad baculum:        “to the stick” concede or suffer – Appealing to someone’s fear or vulnerability to influence their position.

Ad hominem:      “to the man” personal attack – Criticize the messenger instead of evaluating the message on its own merits...

Read More

Faith is not based on ‘facts’, but faith is in facts because of our faith in the Person who spoke those facts.

We can have faith before we know ‘all the facts’, but many believe they have facts that refute our faith, accusing us of having faith despite or contrary to the facts. These people need to see that facts support faith. We have not chosen faith over reason, but rather our faith is also reasonable. Reason supports faith:

2 Peter 1:16-18: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased...

Read More

1. The nature of God’s word. God directed the writing of a very specific and detailed account of the genealogy of the universe. Why would God direct such precision of input for an analogous story? Either the statements are true, or they are of no value.

2. What could be the purpose of Gen 1:1 – 2:4, which is identified as a “genealogy of the heavens and the earth” when they were created, if it is in fact not an account of how the heavens and earth came into being?

3. Gen 1:3 identifies a separation of light from darkness, and defines both “day” and “night” by them respectively.

4. In Gen 1:3, after defining day and night, it is recorded “evening was and morning was, the first day...

Read More

Jesus says we must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23.24) But what is truth? Again, Jesus says that God’s word is truth. (John 17:17) Both Paul and Timothy identify the Scriptures as God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). So if we want to know the truth about God, we must go to God’s word, the Bible, to learn what it is.

In order to worship God in truth, we must do so according to what He says about who He is. We cannot please Him by worshipping a false “God”. This is the most fundamental question to answer: who is God? The second is: what is the true gospel? To know the true gospel, we must know the true God.

The Bible tells us there is one God...

Read More

Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.
– Newton’s First Law of Motion, translated from the Principia‘s Latin

“A body that is acted on by no net force moves at a constant velocity (which may be zero) and zero acceleration.”   http://physics.about.com/od/classicalmechanics/a/lawsofmotion_2.htm

1.     If the action of any body of matter is static in the absence of the introduction of an outside force, original matter would maintain stasis apart from a new force acting upon it, since only the original forces would also be present to act upon the original mass.

2...

Read More

But the angel said unto him, ‘Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'”

Luke 1:13-17

13  ειπεν δε προς αυτον ο αγγελος μη φοβου ζαχαρια διοτι εισηκουσθη η δεησις σου και η γυνη σου ελισαβετ γ...

Read More

Beloved, doing all diligence to be writing to you concerning the common salvation, I have had necessity to write to you entreating to be contending for the faith once being given to the saints." Jude was pressed also, that urging them to “contend earnestly” for that faith was imperative.Read More

Zech 2:1-13:    “…another angel …said unto [the first angel that spoke to Z] run, speak to [Z] saying Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls…” “For thus says the LORD (YHWH) of hosts, “After the glory has he sent me to the nations who spoiled you, for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For behold, I will shake mine hand upon them and they shall be a spoil to their servants, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you,” says the LORD …and many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you...

Read More

Repentance is part of the “process” of faith. We not only “believe” Jesus – affirm that He and His words are true – we also “trust” Jesus (interesting that Greek has a verb for “faith”, but English does not; we’re stuck with “trust”) as He Who has borne our sins upon His cross so that we may be forgiven, Who has risen from the grave, opening the graves of men, that we may have everlasting life.

We aren’t going to do that, until we have come to understand:

1. Who God and Christ are,
2. what our condition and position before God is,
3. that we have no remedy in ourselves to overcome our lostness, our guilt, and our condemnation, BUT
4. that in Christ, that remedy has been fully provided, through His death & resurrection,
5. that we must come to Christ, acknowledging our sin, our powerlessness to remedia...

Read More

Nearly every presentation of the gospel in the New Testament includes a call to repent(ance).

Most do not specify in the text what is meant by repent(ance) nor specify to or from what a person should repent.

The majority of passages that do specify, refer to repenting from sinful actions.

One refers to repentance toward God.

Several other passages make reference to turning from sinful actions.

A few passages make reference to turning to God.

Those who argue that because repentance means a “change of mind”, it does not refer to repentance from sin, are imposing their personal doctrinal bias and making assumptions not provided in the text.

Because most references to repent(ance) do not qualify to or from what, we must refer to the passages that do qualify what has been or is to be repented t...

Read More