Posted on 09/28/2015 11:51:11 AM PDT by damonw
If you have ever debated with hard-line Church of Christ members you are probably aware that many of them will resort to using some very fallacious tactics in defending their truth claims. One ex-Church of Christ writer from the site chocd.org correctly claims…
The Church of Christ denomination uses four main tactics in debating their pet doctrines. These tactics are generally used by all cultic groups. They are:
1. Change the subject 2. Take scripture out of context 3. Straw man arguments 4. Ad hominem attacks (attacking you instead of the issue)
The way to counter these tactics is very simple: Stay on the subject until you are allowed to make your point! http://chocd.org/conclusions.html
But these are not the only unscrupulous and fallacious debate tactics that they will use to try and shut down the debate and make it appear to some that they have won the debate and their claims are true. I will call the two fallacious debate tactics I will be highlighting in this article the Trump Card Fallacy and the Obvious Fallacy. First we will look at the more simplistic fallacy of the Obvious fallacy.
THE OBVIOUS FALLACY
What is an Obvious Fallacy? James W. Sire in his book “Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible” list the Obvious Fallacy as the 15th way Cults misread the Bible. On page 99 he says….
Interpretation of some bible text requires great study. Even then, honest scholars are uncertain and disagree with each other. Yet we frequently find cult writers drawing conclusions with great ease and expecting us to follow their lead. The impression that the interpreter wants to give is that the case is closed. His view is the obvious one.
Words like OBVIOUSLY, UNDOUBTEDLY, CERTAINLY, ALL REASONABLE PEOPLE HOLD THAT and so forth are substituted for logical reasons. The reason this writing and debate tactic is a fallacy is that it is not true that something is obvious unless it is obvious to everyone. Just because someone says something is obvious does not make it true, even if they sincerely believe it is obvious to them. And this in itself, I believe, is a form of what I call the Trump Card Fallacy. It is used to not only to stifle conversation and debate but is a blatant attempt to end all discussion and debate. GAME OVER, THEY WIN.
THE TRUMP CARD FALLACY
What is a Trump Card fallacy? Like the Obvious Fallacy it is a means to try and shut down conversation and it also further enables their cognitive dissonance. We will look at an example of what I mean by a Trump Card and then I will explain why it is a logical fallacy.
SNAPSHOT OF COMMENT PHOTO HERE
A trump card is anything that is like CHECK-MATE, GAME OVER and CASE CLOSED. For example if your debating someone and they say “God told me to tell you your wrong”, what can you say to that other than “if God told you that then why did he not tell me”. Notice that my interaction here with Keven might as well be over because his mind is closed and his thinking has become authoritarian and fallacious. In his mind he is the authority and there is no possible way he could be wrong and everything thing he says is straight from God and His word,, not from Deven and his opinion of Gods word because he speaks “in accordance with the Bible” while others are merely speaking their opinion or feelings. What else can you say to someone who says they do not state their feelings, theology, philosophy or opinion – other than to respond as I did, “according to your opinion”.
Here is why this kind of statement is Trump Card and a logical fallacy, it is purely a subjective statement (based on feelings or opinions rather than facts http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subjective) and could be said by anybody about anyone to try and shut down debate. When these tactics are used we must point out their fallacious thinking, if not for their benefit, then for others who may be reading the exchange. These tactics do indeed mean the debate is over, but it is the ones who use such fallacious thinking that have lost. And that is not just opinion, it is a fact, whether they themselves and others can see it or not. The debate is over because they have quit debating and resorted to a Trump Card.
Looks pretty obvious to me. Undoubtedly all reasonable people would hold that opinion. Certainly this is no jest.
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