Question

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Sally

Is this a fallacy, and if so what kind of fallacy?

Someone mentions the Bible, giving an account of a story told by one of the apostles. The listener interjects by
saying that the story is not true because the real authors of the different books of the bible are not known.
asked on Monday, Jan 22, 2018 01:58:01 PM by Sally

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Jai
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I'm far from being an expert on this stuff, but I'll put something down here and if I'm wrong we both might learn something.

I think this might depend on what the second person is claiming 'is not true' based on this argument.

If the first person is using a story from the bible as proof of actual historical fact, the second person's reasoning might be a little black & white – but not necessarily 'wrong'.

I guess it could even be a 'fallacy fallacy' perhaps, because while the evidence for the story being 'true' might be weak, that's not necessarily evidence that it is untrue either.
answered on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2018 12:43:35 AM by Jai

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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I see two problems here. First, the listener is presenting a argument. The person mentioning the Bible is referencing a story told by a known author. The claim that the author is really known could be up for debate, but the listener isn't debating that. Instead, the listener is responding to a claim not made... that the story they are referring to is true even though the author is unknown.

Next, we have a Non Sequitur . The listener's conclusion, that "the story is not true" does not follow—assuming that the story was told by an anonymous author. The reason given, "the real authors of the different books of the bible are not known" assuming true, would not mean the story is false. The assumption here is that anonymous authors can only tell false stories, which is clearly fallacious. Anonymity of authorship does cast doubt on the alleged facts presented in the story, but in no way can one conclude that the story must be false.
answered on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2018 04:47:34 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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Dr. Mel Blumberg
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if Einstein had published his theory of relativity anonymously, would it be untrue? All it would mean is that the author is unknown. The validity of the content of the different books of the Bible is (almost) independent of the author. A known author having great credibility as a trusted commentator would help with the validation of the book's contents, but it is neither necessary or sufficient.

I would call this a non-sequitur
answered on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018 02:10:15 AM by Dr. Mel Blumberg

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mike
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Is this a variation on the "ad hominem" fallacy?
answered on Friday, Jan 26, 2018 05:20:30 PM by mike

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