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Jehovah's Witnesses. What is the name of this logical fallacy?
Say a person asks a question about how the Governing Body could be the "faithful and discreet slave" appointed by Jesus in 1919.
You respond by labeling the asker as an apostate, or an opposer.
What is the name of this logical fallacy?
"FALLACY NUMBER 1
Attacking the Person
This type of fallacy attempts to disprove or discredit a perfectly valid argument or statement by making an irrelevant attack on the person presenting it.
Consider an example from the Bible. Jesus Christ once endeavored to enlighten others regarding his coming death and resurrection. These were new and difficult concepts for his listeners. But rather than weigh the merits of Jesus’ teachings, some attacked Jesus himself, saying: “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to him?”—John 10:20; compare Acts 26:24, 25.
How easy it is to label someone “stupid,” “crazy,” or “uninformed” when he or she says something we don’t want to hear. A similar tactic is to attack the person with a subtle dose of innuendo. Typical examples of this are: “If you really understood the matter, you wouldn’t have that point of view” or, “You only believe that because you’re told to believe it.”
But while personal attacks, subtle and not so subtle, may intimidate and persuade, never do they disprove what has been said. So be alert to this fallacy!"
Awake! 1990
5 Answers
- Anonymous2 years ago
A lot of talk to mean absolutely nothing Jehovah's Witnesses worship Jehovah and Obey Jesus Christ. Nothing Else matters. End of story
- ΤιμοθέῳLv 52 years ago
Some of the Jehovah's Witnesses use this tactic, and their motives are quite clear! Attack the questioner and get him very angry hoping he will violate the Community Guidelines, then get it reported and deleted just for the sake of getting it off the internet! They don't like any eyesores, they won't allow it, so I call it their logical eyesore fallacy!
- ?Lv 62 years ago
Cults love to use this fallacy to dismiss difficult questions and facts that expose critical flaws in their teachings and practices.
A common implementation of this fallacy is to label someone highlighting a flaw as lacking in sincerity or lacking in humility. This false charge is then used as an excuse to not provide an answer or response to the valid criticism.
Another common implementation is to question the motive of the critic or the source of his facts. In their warped minds, they somehow think that the motive of someone presenting information has some bearing on the validity of the information. But 2 + 2 will always be equal to 4 regardless of the motives of those sharing this fact.
When you get down to it, the use of such fallacies is nothing but a disingenuous tactic to evade having to address a serious problem with their belief system that they are unable to address honestly without admitting fault on the part of their belief system.
- Kilroy JLv 52 years ago
Matt 7:17 Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit.
Heb 13:15 Through him let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that make public declaration to his name.
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- ?Lv 72 years ago
Perhaps a better choice leads us to first century Jerusalem instead of 20th century Brooklyn, NY?
