Spotting Fallacies Of Composition

[Michael37]

Fallacies of Composition are commonplace. Here are a few examples.

• Some police officers are crooked, therefore all police officers are crooked.
• Some doctors are unethical, therefore all doctors are unethical.
• Some accountants are embezzlers, therefore all accountants are embezzlers.

Of course the fallacy of composition that some atheists fixate on and use to bludgeon their opponents with is the claim that all Christians are cheats and fraudsters, based on the fact that occasionally some professing Christians are exposed as cheats and fraudsters.

Fresh from pondering one such fallacious claim, these verses in the Bible stood out because of the word unfeigned:

 1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in you also.

Now the study of things feigned and unfeigned gets very interesting as it progresses.

From Vines Expository Dictionary Of NT Words

Feign, Feigned
A. Verb.
hupokrinomai (G5271) primarily denotes "to answer"; then, "to answer on the stage, play a part," and so, metaphorically, "to feign, pretend," Luk_20:20. Cf. hupokrites, "a hypocrite," and hupokrisis, "hypocrisy."
B. Adjective.
plastos (G4112) primarily denotes "formed, molded" (from plasso, to mold; Eng., "plastic"); then, metaphorically, "made up, fabricated, feigned," 2Pe_2:3. Cf. plasma, "that which is molded," Rom_9:20.

Dissimulation, Dissemble
A. Noun.
hupokrisis (G5272), primarily, "a reply," came to mean "the acting of a stageplayer," because such answered one another in dialogue; hence the meaning "dissembling or pretense." It is translated "dissimulation" in Gal_2:13 (see B). See HYPOCRISY.
B. Verb.
sunupokrinomai (G4942), sun, "with," hupokrinomai, akin to A, "to join in acting the hypocrite," in pretending to act from one motive, whereas another motive really inspires the act. So in Gal_2:13, Peter with other believing Jews, in separating from believing Gentiles at Antioch, pretended that the motive was loyalty to the Law of Moses, whereas really it was fear of the Judaizers.
C. Adjective.
anupokritos (G505), from a, negative, n, euphonic, and an adjectival form corresponding to A, signifies "unfeigned"; it is said of love, 2Co_6:6; 1Pe_1:22; Rom_12:9, KJV, "without dissimulation," RV, "without hypocrisy"; of faith, 1Ti_1:5; 2Ti_1:5, "unfeigned"; of the wisdom that is from above, Jas_3:17, "without hypocrisy." see HYPOCRISY.

Verses with feign, feigned, and unfeigned in them:

Luk 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

1Pe 1:22  Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently:

 

I'm speaking to myself as much as any other interested party when I say Christians do well to remind themselves of these verses and to avoid giving our detractors fodder for their fallacies of composition where they erroneously conclude that because of lapses Christians are always hypocritical, and Christianity is always a cover for dark deeds.

 

 

[NotAllThere]

I like the one "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof". So - you claim that life began spontaneously from a chemical soup some 3-4 billion years ago. That's an extraordinary claim, since no mechanism has ever been discovered that would allow this. Where oh where is the proof?

Or how about "you only believe that because you were taught it". So - how exactly did you end up with your beliefs? Spontaneous creation?

Or they produce theories about the "real" history of Christianity, which on examination don't hold any water. 

Anyway - most people don't really want to engage. They don't want a discussion. They don't want to rigourously examine evidence. They want to "win" the debate.

[enoob57]

To hold truth as foundation in the heart is the mark of winning....

[missmuffet]

7 hours ago, Michael37 said:

Fallacies of Composition are commonplace. Here are a few examples.

• Some police officers are crooked, therefore all police officers are crooked.
• Some doctors are unethical, therefore all doctors are unethical.
• Some accountants are embezzlers, therefore all accountants are embezzlers.

Of course the fallacy of composition that some atheists fixate on and use to bludgeon their opponents with is the claim that all Christians are cheats and fraudsters, based on the fact that occasionally some professing Christians are exposed as cheats and fraudsters.

Fresh from pondering one such fallacious claim, these verses in the Bible stood out because of the word unfeigned:

 1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in you also.

Now the study of things feigned and unfeigned gets very interesting as it progresses.

From Vines Expository Dictionary Of NT Words

Feign, Feigned
A. Verb.
hupokrinomai (G5271) primarily denotes "to answer"; then, "to answer on the stage, play a part," and so, metaphorically, "to feign, pretend," Luk_20:20. Cf. hupokrites, "a hypocrite," and hupokrisis, "hypocrisy."
B. Adjective.
plastos (G4112) primarily denotes "formed, molded" (from plasso, to mold; Eng., "plastic"); then, metaphorically, "made up, fabricated, feigned," 2Pe_2:3. Cf. plasma, "that which is molded," Rom_9:20.

Dissimulation, Dissemble
A. Noun.
hupokrisis (G5272), primarily, "a reply," came to mean "the acting of a stageplayer," because such answered one another in dialogue; hence the meaning "dissembling or pretense." It is translated "dissimulation" in Gal_2:13 (see B). See HYPOCRISY.
B. Verb.
sunupokrinomai (G4942), sun, "with," hupokrinomai, akin to A, "to join in acting the hypocrite," in pretending to act from one motive, whereas another motive really inspires the act. So in Gal_2:13, Peter with other believing Jews, in separating from believing Gentiles at Antioch, pretended that the motive was loyalty to the Law of Moses, whereas really it was fear of the Judaizers.
C. Adjective.
anupokritos (G505), from a, negative, n, euphonic, and an adjectival form corresponding to A, signifies "unfeigned"; it is said of love, 2Co_6:6; 1Pe_1:22; Rom_12:9, KJV, "without dissimulation," RV, "without hypocrisy"; of faith, 1Ti_1:5; 2Ti_1:5, "unfeigned"; of the wisdom that is from above, Jas_3:17, "without hypocrisy." see HYPOCRISY.

Verses with feign, feigned, and unfeigned in them:

Luk 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

1Pe 1:22  Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently:

 

I'm speaking to myself as much as any other interested party when I say Christians do well to remind themselves of these verses and to avoid giving our detractors fodder for their fallacies of composition where they erroneously conclude that because of lapses Christians are always hypocritical, and Christianity is always a cover for dark deeds.

 

 

Hypocrites? There are plenty of those in our world. Just like the Pharisees. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by missmuffet

[NotAllThere]

I do like to wind up atheists that I'm glad to know a hypocrisy isn't limited to the religious. Currently someone has tried the "Great Pumpkin" challenge (taken down by Epistemology). When I rebutted that, he came back with the "Zeus" challenge. I took that down by explaining that I know this sequence, I studied Philosophy at university and did rather well in it, and I know what comes next.

Very few unbelievers have any arguments that are not regurgitations of what they've learned elsewhere. Our testimonies are based on personal experience. We've met Him!

Edited November 27, 2020 by NotAllThere

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Michael37 said:

Fallacies of Composition are commonplace. Here are a few examples.

• Some police officers are crooked, therefore all police officers are crooked.
• Some doctors are unethical, therefore all doctors are unethical.
• Some accountants are embezzlers, therefore all accountants are embezzlers.

Of course the fallacy of composition that some atheists fixate on and use to bludgeon their opponents with is the claim that all Christians are cheats and fraudsters, based on the fact that occasionally some professing Christians are exposed as cheats and fraudsters.

Fresh from pondering one such fallacious claim, these verses in the Bible stood out because of the word unfeigned:

 1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in you also.

Now the study of things feigned and unfeigned gets very interesting as it progresses.

From Vines Expository Dictionary Of NT Words

Feign, Feigned
A. Verb.
hupokrinomai (G5271) primarily denotes "to answer"; then, "to answer on the stage, play a part," and so, metaphorically, "to feign, pretend," Luk_20:20. Cf. hupokrites, "a hypocrite," and hupokrisis, "hypocrisy."
B. Adjective.
plastos (G4112) primarily denotes "formed, molded" (from plasso, to mold; Eng., "plastic"); then, metaphorically, "made up, fabricated, feigned," 2Pe_2:3. Cf. plasma, "that which is molded," Rom_9:20.

Dissimulation, Dissemble
A. Noun.
hupokrisis (G5272), primarily, "a reply," came to mean "the acting of a stageplayer," because such answered one another in dialogue; hence the meaning "dissembling or pretense." It is translated "dissimulation" in Gal_2:13 (see B). See HYPOCRISY.
B. Verb.
sunupokrinomai (G4942), sun, "with," hupokrinomai, akin to A, "to join in acting the hypocrite," in pretending to act from one motive, whereas another motive really inspires the act. So in Gal_2:13, Peter with other believing Jews, in separating from believing Gentiles at Antioch, pretended that the motive was loyalty to the Law of Moses, whereas really it was fear of the Judaizers.
C. Adjective.
anupokritos (G505), from a, negative, n, euphonic, and an adjectival form corresponding to A, signifies "unfeigned"; it is said of love, 2Co_6:6; 1Pe_1:22; Rom_12:9, KJV, "without dissimulation," RV, "without hypocrisy"; of faith, 1Ti_1:5; 2Ti_1:5, "unfeigned"; of the wisdom that is from above, Jas_3:17, "without hypocrisy." see HYPOCRISY.

Verses with feign, feigned, and unfeigned in them:

Luk 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

1Pe 1:22  Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently:

I'm speaking to myself as much as any other interested party when I say Christians do well to remind themselves of these verses and to avoid giving our detractors fodder for their fallacies of composition where they erroneously conclude that because of lapses Christians are always hypocritical, and Christianity is always a cover for dark deeds.

Although once a Charismatic Christian, this is why I'm careful when speaking about Charismatics, speaking in tongues, etc.  I don't now speak in tongues but I'm not going to condemn those that do.  Who am I to claim superior wisdom on this matter?  I do not believe the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit have stopped, because we all have gifts, not necessarily the same gifts.  God bless you Michael37.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, NotAllThere said:

I like the one "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof". So - you claim that life began spontaneously from a chemical soup some 3-4 billion years ago. That's an extraordinary claim, since no mechanism has ever been discovered that would allow this. Where oh where is the proof?

Or how about "you only believe that because you were taught it". So - how exactly did you end up with your beliefs? Spontaneous creation?

Or they produce theories about the "real" history of Christianity, which on examination don't hold any water. 

Anyway - most people don't really want to engage. They don't want a discussion. They don't want to rigourously examine evidence. They want to "win" the debate.

That's it.  It's all about winning the argument, not uncovering truth.

[Michael37]

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Hypocrites? There are plenty of those in our world. Just like the Pharisees. 

Originally the Pharisees were the good guys. They stood their ground against their fellow Jews who were embracing Greek philosophy and practices and incorporating them into Judaism. By Jesus time however, the majority of Pharisees had become altogether too pious and legalistic to accept Him and His teachings. There were divisions among their own party. These were mainly between the more tolerant House of Hillel and the less tolerant House of Shammai. Link: [Wkpd: Houses Of Hillel & Shammai] 

There were also different types of Pharisee, as listed below. Gamaliel, the Pharisee who taught Paul seems likely to have been at number 7. 

Quote from Christ In You Ministries article on Pharisaism [Link]

 Even the Jews themselves recognized the hypocrisy and false piety of the Pharisees. In the Talmud there was a list of seven kinds of Pharisees. (1) the "shoulder" Pharisee who wore his good deeds on his shoulder so everyone could see them. (2) the "wait a little" Pharisee who was always procrastinating and finding an excuse for putting off a good deed. (3) the "bruised" Pharisee who closed his eyes to avoid looking at a woman and ran into a wall and bruised himself. (4) the "hump-backed" Pharisee who always walked bent over in false humility. (5) the "ever-reckoning" Pharisee who was always counting up the number of his good deeds. (6) the "fearful" Pharisee who was terribly afraid of the wrath of God. (7) the God-loving Pharisee who was like Abraham.4

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

That's it.  It's all about winning the argument, not uncovering truth.

Unbelievers at Worthy have variously tried to win their case by requiring Christians prove their belief to be rational and valid without reference to the Bible or faith.

This is like requiring that a pile of firewood be chopped with an axe, but the axe must have neither head nor handle.  

[NotAllThere]

And the firewood must be made of rock. Really really dense rock...