September 17, 2016 by David Sutton

8 Human Follies Of The Religious God-Fearing Variety

Do not suffer the burden of religious god-fearing arguments when you can actively expose their folly. These logical fallacies exist outside the bounds of reasoned thought, deployed by zealous defenders as proof of their god and faith.

What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.

– Christopher Hitchens

1. Ad Populum – A logical fallacy that posits something is true because many people believe it.
   Most people believe in God, therefore God exists.
   
2. Ad Ignorantium – A logical fallacy posting something is true because it cannot be proven false.
   God must exist because nobody is able to prove God doesn’t exist.
   
3. Circular Reasoning – A logical fallacy positing a conclusion that is the same as the premise. The thing you are trying to prove is also the evidence.
   The Bible says it is the word of God. The word of God is true. Because the Bible is the word of God, the Bible is true.
4. Watchmaker Analogy – A logical fallacy, by way of an analogy, that posits the complex inner workings of a watch necessitate a designer, therefore a designer is also required for something as complex as life and the universe.
   Because the universe is too complex to explain, that means an intelligent designer (God) created it.
5. Slippery Slope – A logical fallacy positing that an event will eventually lead to an undesirable result.
   If we allow gays to marry, it will cause irreparable harm to “traditional marriage” between a man and a woman.
6. Argumentum Ad Baculum – An appeal to fear as means to believe something.
   You will burn in hell if you don’t believe in God.
7. Confirmation Bias – The selective use of evidence to support a belief while ignoring evidence that contradicts it.
   Prayer works because what I prayed for came true. (This of course ignores that most prayers do not come true.)
8. God Of The Gaps (similar to the Watchmaker Analogy) – A logical fallacy positing gaps in scientific knowledge is evidence God exists.
   There are gaps in our scientific understanding of things like evolution and the universe, and that’s because there are some things human beings will never know, and that is where you will find God.

Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.

– Thomas Jefferson

#belief#Christopher Hitchens#creation#gay marriage#god#life#logical fallacy#religion#religious#Thomas Jefferson#universe