“But the church’s best days are when we are no longer chasing or imitating culture, but actually shaping it!” – Scott Hodge

This insightful statement is the conclusion of a blog post about how a person can keep a pulse on culture written in response to a reader’s question about maintaining relevance. The hope is that effective ministry will not be sacrificed at the expense of conformity. What I like about Hodge’s response is he does not suggest that. In fact, he points out “MOST churches are CHASING culture (because MOST are years BEHIND it)” and follows with the thought that the Church should be leading changes rather than changing in response to shifts in culture.

I would add one thought: As the Church, how do you shape culture? By reaching individuals within the culture; one person at a time. That’s the job of every one of us. What are you doing today to accomplish that mission?

This is the first part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

Appeal to Majority

The majority of people (in this case, academic scientists) believe something to be true, therefore it is true. This fallacy is committed when the rhetoric turns to comments such as “everyone knows” or “any true scientist will tell you”, etc.

Wherein the appeal is to consider how many ascribe to the position instead of calmly using the merits of the position itself. This is very common among evolutionists.

Argumentum Ad Populum

An appeal to emotion occurs when rhetoric replaces logic and the intent is to make an audience act on emotion instead of rational judgment.

It is ultimately an attempt to steer the thinker toward subjectivism—a position based on the desire to believe something rather than a logical conclusion based on fact.

A Thin Smokescreen at Best

In the neo-Darwinist strategy, there is a continuous tension to ensure our children are educated in line with the rest of the world. It appeals to the emotions of parents who might somehow be concerned that we are robbing our kids of a decent “science” education by considering, for example, intelligent design. It’s funny that even though evolution has not been proven as fact, the argumentum ad populum and appeal to majority are played as smokescreens to strongly imply that it has been proven and accepted by true scientists all over the world, and therefore should not be questioned. Otherwise, we Americans might be ridiculed by the international community and left behind as other cultures embrace the implications that evolution gives society the freedom to pursue. This entire strategy is heavily rooted in these two logical fallacies.

For example: Read the rest of this entry »

In working on the Redeeming Darwin project with EvanTell and Probe Ministries, I started doing a little research into the world of the Neo-Darwinist, Evolutionist and Atheistic movements. With the release of Expelled I had the opportunity to learn even more. I was surprised to find very strong emotional content and very weak intellectual discourse; at least in what they publish online. I am amazed at how scornfully vitriolic and malicious the disposition is toward anyone who does not accept their philosophical (not scientific—those are still ‘theories’) conclusions. Individuals whose self-confessed missions in life are to the inquiry and discovery of science are not open to any new ideas that were threatening—not to science—but to their worldview.

Scientific expertise aside, if Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists and Atheists claim to be such rational thinkers, wouldn’t their own dialogue be calm and logical rather than histrionic and passionate? If we Christians are truly “lunatics and liars” wouldn’t ours be the irrational, fanatical discussions? This is not the case. I found most of their writings to be laced with expletives I would not re-print, name-calling I would never think of, and arguments so full of logical fallacies it really made me take a closer look at how they defend their positions. It’s as if they are on a school ball field taunting the other kids and resorting to fighting; breaking all the rules because they just can’t seal the victory no matter how ‘good’ their players are or how hard they try. They are angry and very defensive. On the other side, you have the Intelligent Design folks (and even creationists—the two are not synonymous) who are calm and rational—simply requesting the opportunity to join the discussion. Hmmm—typically when one side has the truth, they are cool, calm and collected—when another is standing on a weak and flawed position, they tend to resort to defensiveness, name calling, and irrational arguments. Interesting and revealing.

Therefore, I thought “how could I shed a small amount of light within this dark discussion?” I don’t have the time or desire to go search through the endless blogs (really bogs) of their rants and tirades. So, I will leave that to you. However, I do want to equip the reader (that’s you) with a few definitions and explanations of common logical fallacies you will find in their articles and posts. Read the rest of this entry »

In the latest issue of Christianity Today, there is a very interesting article I would recommend to anyone who is caught up in the debate over cultural relevance vs. church tradition. Some of you may be scratching your heads and asking “what debate”? Others may be ready to go up in arms over the issue. Either way, you’ll find this adapted excerpt from the book Beyond Bells and Smells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy by Mark Galli thought-provoking.

Now, I have not read the book so I can’t fully recommend it— although this article has intrigued me enough to add it to my reading list. Nevertheless, there are some great points to consider about liturgical worship. To avoid confusion over terminology, the author provides his definition for those not familiar with traditional orthodox liturgy:

“By “the liturgy,” I mean the prayers, responses, and shape of worship one finds in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox services, and to a lesser degree, in Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, and other mainline churches.”

“It is precisely the point of the liturgy to take people out of their worlds and usher them into a strange, new world—to show them that, despite appearances, the last thing in the world they need is more of the world out of which they’ve come.”

In addition, there is a strong explanation for the role of cultural relevance and traditional liturgy in the church today. Mr. Galli does a good job of articulating the strength of liturgical worship without denigrating the importance of cultural relevance; particularly in the area of outreach.

“The liturgy does not target any age or cultural subgroup. It does not even target this century. ..Instead, the liturgy draws us into worship that transcends our time and place…
We are in the habit of thinking that our culture—the reality we strive to be relevant to—is the measure of meaning. …there is no question that we have to be culturally sensitive in our outreach. But the liturgy wants to show us a deeper logic and relevance…
The history of liturgy has been in part about finding words and ritual that help people in a given culture express their thoughts and feelings to God in ways that make cultural sense. ..Liturgical churches know that as profound a reality as is the surrounding culture, there is an even more profound reality waiting to be discovered.”

I think this emphasizes a point we often overlook—evangelism and outreach should not be limited by orthodox tradition and boundaries, and orthodox tradition in worship should not be limited by cultural sensitivities.

Check out the article at ChrtistianityToday.com—let me know what you thought…

“The liturgy, from beginning to end, is not about meeting our needs. The liturgy is about God.”

Read State Legislators Seek Bills to Allow Questioning of Evolution Theory in Schools.

Well, I am sure the debate concerning the harassing nature of neo-Darwinists and evolutionary scientists will begin to heat up. I don’t know if Expelled: The Movie had anything to do with raising awareness of the real issue—freedom of academic inquiry—but it is exciting to see this boil up in the public sector.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to this site. Over the next few weeks I will be posting some guidelines to help identify common logical fallacies used not in the arguments for or against evolution, but in the way neo-Darwinists and evolutionists attack anyone that doesn’t agree with them. It is very interesting to see how people who claim to be rational thinkers turn so irrational in their reasoning when the position they hold so closely (like a religion?) is threatened. You will not want to miss it.