Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
Current time: August 24, 2026, 5:45 am

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Most frustrating Fallacies that Religious people bring up?
#21
RE: Most frustrating Fallacies that Religious people bring up?
Special Pleading: Asking for a lower standard of evidence for your favorite beliefs than you would apply to anyone else's.

"Those other gods are fake but Jesus is real."
"The Bible says [belief goes here] so it's true. I don't care what the Koran says."
"All those people who died in modern cults are crazy. The early Christians who died for their beliefs proves that Jesus rose from the dead."

Ad Hoc Hypothesis: Spuriously dismissing all contrary evidence by inventing new assertions, often pulled out of one's butt, that the skeptic must now disprove. The object is to wear down the skeptic and eventually force him/her to prove a negative.

Skeptic: Herod died in 4 BCE. Qurinius didn't start his administration until 6 CE. Matt says Jesus was born before Herod died while Luke says Jesus was born during the administration of Quirinius.
Christian: Well, maybe Quirinius had an earlier administration in Syria.
Skeptic: But Rome never allowed that, lest a governor get too much support from one province.
Christian: Well, maybe they made an exception for Quirinius.
Skeptic: But Judea was another kingdom under Herod, Rome wouldn't have conducted a census there.
Christian: Well, maybe they did anyway and Herod complied.
Skeptic: OK, I looked up the information on Quirinius and it says he was governor of another province in modern day Turkey at the time.
Christian: Well, maybe he was brought in to administer the census in Syria. And maybe Luke meant "administrator", not "governor".
Skeptic: What do you base that on?
Christian: It coulda happened.
Skeptic: OK, the census prior to 4 BC was in 8/9 BCE. Jesus would have been too old to be "about 30" when John the Baptist was arrested. JtB didn't even start his ministry until 28 CE according to Luke.
Christian: Well, maybe Luke meant 37 when he said "about 30".
Skeptic: What? That's ridiculous.
Christian: Can you prove Luke wouldn't think 37 was "about 30".
Skeptic: No one does!
Christian: Have you polled everyone on the planet about that?
Skeptic: OK, even if that is true, Jesus would have been 37 when JtB started his ministry, not when he finished it.
Christian: Well, maybe JtB only had a ministry for a year.
Skeptic: Gah! His hugely successful ministry was built in one year?
Christian: It coulda happened.
Skeptic: Look, John the Baptist was arrested for speaking out against Herod Antipas' marriage to Herodius. We know this marriage and divorce of Antipas' previous wife triggered a war with his neighbor and that battle happened in 37 CE. Why would king Aratas IV wait 10 years before attacking Judea?
Christian: It coulda happened.
[...]

The fallacy continues until the Christian "wins" when the skeptic gets frustrated and goes home.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
...      -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
...       -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
Reply



Messages In This Thread
RE: Most frustrating Fallacies that Religious people bring up? - by DeistPaladin - April 10, 2014 at 5:31 pm

Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Stupid things religious people say Paraselene 2847 616154 August 20, 2026 at 6:50 am
Last Post: Fake Messiah
  Are religious people really afraid of death? Alexmahone 40 14322 June 11, 2026 at 6:03 am
Last Post: BrianSoddingBoru4
  A thing about religious (and other) people and the illusion of free will ShinyCrystals 268 80130 June 23, 2025 at 10:23 pm
Last Post: awty
  If Any, What is Your Most Negative View on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)? al-amiyr 50 18370 April 1, 2025 at 1:41 pm
Last Post: Nay_Sayer
  Christianity; The World's most vile religion The Valkyrie 76 21485 December 20, 2024 at 7:06 pm
Last Post: Sheldon
  Christianity; the World's Most Violently Persecuted Religion TheWhiteMarten 477 113132 December 18, 2024 at 6:31 pm
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  Are Catholics The Most Criminal? Asmodeus 17 5628 December 6, 2024 at 7:28 pm
Last Post: Simon Moon
  The most disturbing image I saw in my life WinterHold 86 25708 April 16, 2023 at 8:01 pm
Last Post: Gawdzilla Sama
  Why people remain in cultlike religious communities Won2blv 6 2516 April 1, 2022 at 7:59 pm
Last Post: Rev. Rye
  What book has the most history? georgecarlin 43 12734 May 13, 2019 at 8:29 am
Last Post: Gawdzilla Sama



Users browsing this thread: 3 Guest(s)