Peter Henderson
Posts: 298 Joined: Aug. 2007
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Surely Dr. Jason Lisle's new book is worth a review on the Panda's Thumb:
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundt....reation
Quote | Dr. Lisle (PhD Astrophysics) wrote this about his new book:
Have you ever heard evolutionists say things like this? “Evolution vs. Creationism”, “Why are creationists against science?”, “Nature has designed some amazing animals”, “Creationists do not believe in evolution, but we see evolution happening all the time”, or “Do you believe in science or do you have faith?” Now what do these quotes all have in common? Answer: they are all logical fallacies. Each one of these sentences or phrases contains an error in reasoning. I have found that proponents of evolution and “millions-of-years” commit logical fallacies quite frequently. Their arguments simply do not stand up to rational scrutiny.
But that’s not the really sad part. I suspect that the main reason that logical fallacies are so common in evolutionary arguments is that we creationists have been letting them get away with it! Most creationists do not know how to identify logical fallacies, and thus cannot refute the errors in evolutionists’ arguments. Let’s take a look at a few of the fallacies above. “Evolution vs. Creationism” is a type of logical fallacy called a question-begging epithet. This is where a person uses biased language instead of logic to argue his point. In this case, by putting “ism” on the end of “creation”, the author implies that creation is just a belief whereas evolution is not. But this is simply not so.
“Nature has designed some amazing animals” is a logical fallacy known as reification. This is where concrete (in this case personal) characteristics are attributed to something abstract (in this case “nature”). Nature is simply the name we give to the sequence of events in the world. Nature is not a person and cannot literally design anything at all. “Do you believe in science or do you have faith?” is a fallacy of bifurcation – presenting two options as if they were the only two and mutually exclusive when this isn’t the case. I believe in the methods of science and I have faith in God. In fact, I would say that the reason I believe in the methods of science is precisely because I have faith in God. It is the biblical God that makes science possible by upholding in the universe in a consistent way that the human mind can discover. |
I noticed this at the end:
Quote | Chapters 7 and 8 of my latest book “The Ultimate Proof of Creation” will show readers how to identify and refute the most common errors in evolutionary reasoning. This is such an important aspect of defending the Christian Faith, and yet it is so frequently overlooked. It is really not difficult at all to learn to spot logical fallacies. And you will find that it is life-changing as you begin spotting fallacies not only in evolutionary literature, but in television commercials, advertisements, and everyday conversions. Such knowledge is also good for keeping us from making mistakes in logic as well! |
I thiink we should all be running for cover.
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