Five Common Thinking Errors



"So, whaduya mean that God doesn't exist?"

"I mean that He hasn't done nothin' for me in my life, I haven't seen any miracles, so God doesn't exist. He's not real."

"God has never done anything for you because you don't believe in Him. It's your own fault that He doesn't love you and these things don't happen to you."

"If it's because I'm such a bad person that these things don't happen to me, then do they ever happen to you?"

"Well, I see everyday life as a series of miracles that show me that God is real."

"Well, how do you know that what you see are miracles?"

"Because they come from God."

"If they come from God, and God exists, then God should do things for me."

"No He shouldn't because you are a horrible, hell-bound person with no purpose in life. It would be a waste of God's time to do things for you because you will not give him anything back."

"Maybe I would if I saw a reason to."

"It's called faith, and you obviously don't have it. So go away and talk to me when you get some."




All of the Five Common Thinking Errors have been illustrated in the dialogue above and are highlighted by the italics.
The first error made is an example of Unclear Premisses. Just because the speaker has not seen any signs of God in his life does not mean that God doesn't exist, but more likely that the speaker has a different outlook on life as to what signs from God are.
The next error made is a Non Sequitur, or a conclusion that doesn't follow. The second speaker states that it is his friend's lack of faith that causes God to not do things for Him. God doesn't do things for people because they believe in Him, but He does things for all people regardless of their beliefs.
The third error is made by the atheist who asks if miracles have ever ahppened to his comrade. This is and example of Red Herring, making a comment that is irrelevant to distract from the real point. Whether or not miracles happen to the other man is not important, this is a discussion about whether or not God exists.
The fourth error, made in the defending of miracles, is that of Begging the Question, using the conclusion either as a premiss or to defend a premiss. After stating that miracles prove God is real, the speaker states that miracles are miracles because they come from God.
The last error made is a very extreme example of Ad Hominem, where the speaker attacks the person not the argument. The reason that the man does not see miracles or God because he is a "horrible hell-bound person" has no relevance to the argument, but is strictly an attack on the speaker himself.

Everyone makes these errors all the time in their everyday lives, but it is our duty to recognize them and attempt to eliminate them. I hope my dialogue and examples helped.









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-from John Denver's song "Country Roads"