You’re in a conversation and someone goes off on a rant,
“Christians are so dumb. They just blindly follow a god with zero evidence. And they only believe that because they were raised in a Christian home.”
It’s said with such confidence. And confidence can sound persuasive.
But when you slow down and examine those claims, something feels off. The reasoning doesn’t quite work. That’s because each statement contains a logical error.
What would you say?
Hi. I’m Tim Barnett of Red Pen Logic with Mr. B.
When discussing a challenging topic, it’s helpful to pause and THINK through these five steps:
T. Test the Claim
H. Hold it up to Scripture
I. Identify assumption
N. Name the fallacies
K. Know what you’re talking about.
This episode covers N: Name the Fallacies.
A fallacy is simply a mistake in reasoning—an argument that sounds convincing but doesn’t actually support the conclusion. There are many types of fallacies, but three show up again and again in conversations about Christianity.
So, the next time someone says something that challenges what you believe and you aren’t sure how to respond, here are three things to remember.
First, watch out for the straw man.
Before you can refute an idea, you have to understand the idea. Otherwise, you end up defeating a defenseless imitation of the view instead of the real thing.
If you’ve ever read a post or watched a video and thought, “That’s not our view” or “Christians don’t actually believe that,” then you’ve probably encountered a straw man.
A straw man fallacy happens when someone misrepresents a view so it can be easily knocked down.
For example, someone might say, “Faith means believing something with no evidence.”
But that’s not what Christians mean by faith at all. Biblical faith is trust based on good reasons.
To help identify if your view is being strawmanned, it’s helpful to ask: “Is my view being accurately represented?” If it’s not, you may be dealing with a straw man.
Our goal should be clarity, and that starts with representing views fairly.
This leads to the second common fallacy.
Second, watch out for the ad hominem.
Another common logical fallacy divert attention away from the argument and toward the arguer. It’s called an ad hominem, which in Latin, means “against the person.” So, the ad hominem fallacy is when someone attacks the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.
“Christians are homophobic.”
“Only ignorant people believe the Bible.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re religious.”
Notice what’s happening. All of these statements focus on the person, not the argument.
If you suspect an ad hominem is being committed, then ask, “Are they responding to the argument, or attacking the person?” If the focus shifts from the ideas to the individual, you’re likely hearing an ad hominem.
If this happens, please do not respond in kind. Instead, gently steer the conversation back by saying something like, “Let’s focus on the argument itself.”
This leads to the third common fallacy.
Third, watch out for the genetic fallacy.
The genetic fallacy happens when someone dismisses a belief because of where it came from rather than evaluating whether it’s true or false.
A common example Christians hear is: “You only believe in Christianity because your parents are Christians. If you had Muslim parents, then you would believe Islam.”
But even if that were true, it doesn’t tell us whether Christianity is true or false.
So, ask yourself, “Are they evaluating the claim, or just explaining where the belief came from?” If someone is using the source of a belief to dismiss it, without addressing the truth of the claim, they are committing the genetic fallacy.
The real question isn’t where the belief came from, but whether the belief is true.
While there are many more fallacies out there, these three are among the most popular. And the better you get at spotting them, the better you’ll be at thinking clearly.
So, the next time someone argues something that challenges what you believe, remember:
First, watch out for the straw man.
Second, watch out for the ad hominem.
Third, watch out for the genetic fallacy.
Colson Center
Colson Center : Apr 23, 2026 3:30:12 PM
