Logical Fallacies Jws Use to Win Debates

by maputo95 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • maputo95
    maputo95

    Hi All

    Please feel free to contribute any experience you may have on dishonest tricks JWs use to put their fallacious, moronic agenda across. I have not touched upon 'red herrings' and 'circular arguments' below:

    The best way to ge through to a JW is to pray for him. He is there to convert you from " Babylon the Great", your FALSE, SATANIC religion to his "TRUTH" so he is trained and primed to defeat you in debate and he will use any logical fallacy to do so. As soon as you challenge him, say, on blood issues, he will change the topic to, say, the Inquisition, based on his knowledge of the comic book representation found in their simplistic treatment, or to the Crusades as if they actually understood History. What is galling is that the time they spend with you is recorded as their service hours in a booklet. However, if they spend time with you that is less time to convert some other unsuspecting bloke!! It's my birthday today and my JW friend sent me the following SMS message: "Are you feeling older today, bro?" THERE IS VERY LITTLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ME AND THIS CULT AND THUS AFFINITY IS LOW AND SO IS COMMUNICATION AFTER I HAVE REACHED THE QUESTIONS THEY CANNOT ANSWER WITHOUT COMPROMISING THEIR BELIEF SYSTEM. THEY WILL NEVER RETURN TO THESE QUESTIONS FOR WHICH THERE IS NO DEFENCE.

  • TD
    TD

    JW's use logical fallacies as naturally as most of us breathe:

    Equivocation:

    The Bible forbids "taking in" blood

    Argument from Ignorance:

    God never gave us permission to do X. Therefore X is forbidden (e.g. Using blood in medicine)

    Hasty Generalization:

    Every mention of X in the Bible is in a negative light. Therefore God doesn't want us to do X (e.g. Birthdays)

    Poisoning the Well:

    Did you get that information from an "apostate" source?

    Ad hominem:

    You just don't want to serve Jehovah and live by his righteous law. That's all!

    Special Pleading:

    Christendom's churches have had to change their mind on past teachings.

    Straw Man

    One animal "kind" is never going to suddenly turn into another animal "kind"

    Begging the Question

    I know from The Watchtower that God has a faithful slave on earth today.

    False Dilemma:

    If 1914 is not the correct date for the end of the Gentile Times, then what is?

    Burden of Proof

    Proove to me that this is not the Time of the End!

  • The Oracle
    The Oracle

    Don't you want to live in a paradise on earth? (perhaps they will point to a picture of a beautiful paradise scene)

    This is completely disconnected from reality. Just because a person may really really want something, it doesn't move it one inch closer to reality.

    Armageddon has to be coming. The world is just so wickid. There are just so many problems. There has to be something better.

    This is completely disconnected from reality. Just because a person may think a situation really should change because the current situation is not pleasant, doesn't move it one inch closer to reality.

    The Oracle

  • Farkel
    Farkel

    TD,

    Good summary. Here's a classic JW circular argument:

    "Using only the Bible we can prove that the Bible tells us everything God expects from us."

    Frkel

  • TardNFeatheredJW
    TardNFeatheredJW

    I always loved:

    "Jehovah is god and created us."

    me - "Oh, and how can you prove this?"

    "The bible tells us."

    me - "And how did god come to exist?"

    "The bible shows us he's always been, alpha-omega."

    me - "So, how do we know the bible is true?"

    "The bible is the word of god and is inspired, it says it right here, in the bible."

    me - "So, the bible is the word of god because it says so in the bible?"

    "You need more faith."

  • The Oracle
    The Oracle

    that is a classic Farkel...

    how about "using only the bible, we can prove to you that the bible is from God"

  • maputo95
    maputo95

    Excellent. Thank you all for the insights you provide!

  • aSphereisnotaCircle
    aSphereisnotaCircle

    But where else will you go?

  • TD
    TD

    Sometimes the circularity is not contained in a single argument. The premise(s) of an argument in one publication will be the conclusion of an argument in another:

    "The worldwide preaching of the good news by God's people is one proof that we're living in the time of the end"

    "The worldwide preaching of the good news in the time of the end is one proof that Jehovah's Witnesses are God's people."

  • cyberjesus
    cyberjesus

    TD: I am sure you can find an example of every Fallacy on JW reasoning. keep going I like your summary

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