Ok, so call me sadistic- but I popped over to www.watchtower.org, just to see what important, relevant issues they're advising their internet viewers about. "The Enchanting Hue of Koryo Celadon" didn't hold my attention for long though, so I was randomly clicking through stuff and I came across this wonderful little gem under and article entitled, "Why you trust the Bible's prophecy" or some such:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1999/7/15/article_02.htm
The basic logical thrust of the article is that Biblical prophecies are better than oracles so you should believe them. What type of fallacy is that? Sort of a combination strawman and false dilemma.
Here's a good snippet for the general flavor:
The trademark of oracles was their ambiguity. At Delphi, for example, the answers provided were uttered in unintelligible sounds. This made it necessary for priests to interpret them and create verses capable of opposite interpretations. A classic example of this is the answer given to Croesus, king of Lydia. When he consulted the oracle, he was told "If Croesus crosses the Halys, he will destroy a mighty empire." Actually, the "mighty empire" destroyed was his own! When Croesus crossed the river Halys to invade Cappadocia, he met defeat at the hands of Cyrus the Persian.In sharp contrast with pagan oracles, Bible prophecies are noted for their accuracy and clarity. A case in point is the prophecy regarding the fall of Babylon, which is recorded in the Bible book of Isaiah. (sinpped for brevity)
Consider, too, the explicit nature of this warning declared by the prophet Jonah: "Only forty days more, and Nineveh will be overthrown." (Jonah 3:4) There is no ambiguity here! The message was so dramatic and straightforward that the men of Nineveh immediately "began to put faith in God, and they proceeded to proclaim a fast and to put on sackcloth." As a result of their repentance, Jehovah did not bring calamity upon the Ninevites at that time.—Jonah 3:5-10.
Oddly, they don't seem to ever fault an Oracle's prophecy on the simplest imaginable grounds-that what they predicted didn't come true. Instead, they complain that the Oracles are ambiguous and sometimes secretive. Why do they never bring up false prophecies? Obviously they don't want any r&f cluing into the fact that the WT itself has made lots of oracle-like statements that never came true.
But more importantly, we have Jonah's prophecy up above. The WT is correct in saying that it's pretty darn clear and explicit. It's also dead wrong. What Jonah was proclaiming didn't come true.
Luckily, they skip over this point, because it lies at the heart of the conclusion to the article, the bold and logically unsupported statement that you can trust the Bible's prophecy about living on the new earth with JW's where the resurrected can't marry, etc (ok, they don't actually go into all that).
If Jehovah can change his mind after making a prophecy, then you can't trust any as-of-yet unfufilled prophecy in the Bible because Jehovah might change his mind again. Maybe He'll start thinking and realize that a paradise earth is boring, and we'd be better off elsewhere. We just don't know.
Personally, I'm hoping for the paradise Mars bit. That would be cool.
terally, of the why-the-heck-does-"There is no ambiguity here!"-deserve-an-exclamation-point class
edited for technical reasons