Fallacies are roughly defined as errors of cognition. As such, it is a kind of defect in an argument. No system of atheology would be complete without a ready reference to some of the more commonly encountered informal fallacies on which religious arguments often rely. Below are descriptions of what I consider to be the more prominent fallacies that you might have run into yourself when dealing with religionists in the past, but didn't quite know how to handle them. However, this list is by no means meant to be a complete survey of the many fallacies one may encounter. Below I give two links to other sites that offer a more complete inventory of informal fallacies. It is recommended that one pursue his research into the various informal fallacies beginning with these links.

Below I have divided these fallacies into two broad groupings: Fallacies of reasoning, or logical fallacies, involve some faulty form of reasoning (weak induction, presumption, ambiguity, etc.) upon which general conclusions are often established. Fallacies of strategy, or dialogic fallacies, in which the relevance between an argument's premises and conclusion are suspiciously questionable at best, are primarily debating devices - used either verbally or in writing, but typically in some kind of dialogue - committed by arguers in an effort to attack, deceive or undermine their opponents or their opponents' position. Each fallacy is defined and presented with examples pertinent to submitting god-belief claims to atheological review. It is important to note that these fallacies are by no way restricted to those defending theistic claims; non-theists often commit these same fallacies, too. However, for purposes of offering non-believers an intellectual defense against such claims, this survey is presented here.

Fallacies of Reasoning: (Logical Fallacies)

1. Stolen Concept
2. Circularities
3. Package Deal
4. Frozen Abstraction
5. Context-Dropping
6. False Dichotomy
7. False Cause
8. Non Sequitur
9. Weak Analogy
10. Equivocation

A list of fallacies of strategy follows after a discussion of the fallacies of reasoning.

1. Stolen Concept: First identified by Ayn Rand, a concept is 'stolen' when one asserts a concept while denying or ignoring its epistemological or genetic roots.

The most common instances of this fallacy that one will encounter in debates with religious apologists usually entail a denial - almost always implicit - of the fact of existence. For example, in constructing arguments of a cosmological nature, the apologist will attempt to posit either causality or consciousness as if they were not dependent on existence – as if they could ‘exist’ prior to - and therefore without - existence. This is the primary fallacy exposed by the Argument from Existence.

This fallacy can be graphically compared to one trying to lift the stool he's sitting on - it can't happen and it won't happen. Similarly, how can one posit a concept while denying its prior roots? The religionist, of course, will not admit to committing this fallacy for he usually does not see the breach; after all, he might not say outright that existence does not exist. However, this is exactly what he does say when he argues that he requires an explanation for existence (cf. "Why does anything exist?" or "How does the non-believer 'account for' existence?") or that the universe itself had a beginning. Fundamentally - if the religionist were consistent in his principles - the only appeal that could satisfy such arbitrary questions would be to non-existence, which cannot account for anything.

Identification of this fallacy is one of the most critical steps in dealing with the fundamental errors of god-belief. A firm grasp of this fallacy, what it means and how to correct it are essential in understanding the Argument from Existence. For a more detailed study of this fallacy, how it is necessarily entailed in the construction of any god-belief assertion and why the commission of this fallacy at the root level (axioms) of a philosophic code commits one to a whole series of further errors throughout consequent philosophic doctrines, see the section on the Argument from Existence.

This fallacy was first identified by Ayn Rand. See Atlas Shrugged - particularly John Galt's Speech, Philosophy: Who Needs It, specifically chapter 2, "Philosophical Detection", and Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, specifically the chapter titled "Axiomatic Concepts".

See also: The Stolen Concept by Nathaniel Branden, and Floating Abstractions and Stolen Concepts by J. William Pierce.

 

2. Circularities: A circularity (often called ‘begging the question’ or ‘petitio principii’) occurs when an arguer uses some form of terminology or phraseology that is intended to conceal the questionably true character of a key premise. The argument itself is normally valid in construction, however the fallacy itself occurs when truth of a key premise is asserted even though it is questionable at best. The most common instance of such an argument is one in which the premises assume the truth of the conclusion. For instance, I encountered the following argument in an exchange with one apologist:
Apologist: "God exists."
Skeptic: "Okay, prove it."
Apologist: "Creation proves it."
Skeptic: "How do you know existence is a ‘creation?’"
Apologist: "Because God created it."
Premise 1: Creation requires a God.
Premise 2: The world is a Creation.
(Premise 3: The world exists.)
Conclusion: Therefore, God exists.

The questionable term, of course, in this argument is the term ‘creation’ which naturally requires the asserter to posit a ‘creator’ in order to justify its use. The arguer in this case did not make any attempt to show how premise 2 could be correct; it is simply assumed to be true without validation.

Another example of a circularity, this time at the axiomatic level of cognition, will be supplied by John Frame. John Frame is a spokesperson for what is called the Transcendental Argument for the existence of God (often referred to as ‘TAG’), which achieves nothing but to argue from the presumption of God's existence, not for God's existence (hence the associated nomenclature "presuppositionalist apologetics"). In one exchange in a debate with Michael Martin, representing an atheistic point of criticism of TAG, Mr. Frame stated that "Logic presupposes God and God presupposes logic." This is a blatant and interminable circularity – like a dog chasing its own tail. In the very same exchange, Mr. Frame seemed to recognize the error of asserting circularities in axiomatic concepts when he stated that "the chain of justification [i.e., of axiomatic reduction], of course, must end somewhere," but he failed to apply this principle to his own system. If axiomatic reduction must resolve in a terminus establishing an irreducible primary, then it cannot be true that "logic presupposes God and God presupposes logic."

The late theologian Cornelius Van Til (CVT), the supposed 'father' of "presuppositionalist apologetics", openly declared his embrace of employing circularities in his arguments. Click here for my response to an excerpted paragraph from one of CVT's books which one individual sent to me.

 

3. Package Deal: An improper and suspicious equation of essentially distinct terms or concepts. A package-deal is "the fallacy of failing to discriminate crucial differences. It consists of treating together, as parts of a single conceptual whole or ‘package,’ elements which differ essentially in nature, truth-status, importance or value." (Leornard Peikoff, editor’s note to Ayn Rand’s "The Metaphysical Versus the Man-Made," Philosophy: Who Needs It, 24.) A package-deal uses "the shabby old gimmick of equating opposites by substituting non-essentials for their essential characteristics, obliterating the differences." ("How to Read (and Not to Write)," The Ayn Rand Letter, I, 26, 3.)

This fallacy is more often encountered than is usually detected, and detecting its occurrence sometimes requires great acuity. Since the fallacy is not restricted to any one particular level of conception, package-deals can be discovered between particulars as well as between broad abstractions, or even entire doctrines.

Common instances in today's culture is the equation of the vague, over-used bromide "family values" with the concept morality, often asserted when the speaker probably means virtue, which is the means of achieving values. Another instance is the equation of the "common good" with the concept just policy. Yet another instance would be the equation of economic power with political power. Each of these package-deals has been repeated and emphasized with the endorsement of high-standing politicians and media spokespersons so frequently that to question them seems socially blasphemous.

In more sophisticated religious apologetics, a frequently met package-deal is the equation of concepts with their referents. This package-deal finds its roots in Platonic intrinsicism in that it is an attempt to erase the distinction between an object and the concept identifying it. The catchphrases to watch out for might be terms like 'immaterial entities', 'conceptual entities', or 'abstract universal entities' (cf. Plato's non-material 'Forms'). Such package-dealing results from the attempt to treat concepts as if they were concretes existing externally, rather than abstractions or mental integrations. Acceptance of this distortion of reality allows the religionist to posit knowledge independent of man's consciousness, knowledge whose source does not belong to this world, but to another, supernatural point of origin. The famed Christian apologist Greg Bahnsen is well noted for his heavy dependence on this particular fallacy in his debates with non-Christians, calling the Laws of Logic examples of 'immaterial entities'. The root of this error is a package-deal.

 

4. Frozen Abstraction: This fallacy occurs when one attempts to substitute a particular concrete or concept for the wider abstract class to which it belongs. One of Ayn Rand's prime examples of this fallacy is the substitution of a specific doctrine of ethics, such as altruism, for the wider abstraction 'ethics' itself, as if the two were interchangeable, conceptual equals. Religionists commit this very error when they argue that all ethical norms must be pious in nature, usually entailing the advocacy of sacrifice at its root (just as altruism does).

Examples of frozen abstraction fallacies abound in conversations with religionists. The tendency of religionists to treat all moral virtues, for instance, such as justice or righteousness, as necessarily god-centered (belonging to not just any god-belief, but to their version of god-belief specifically to boot) is a prime example. Another example would be when sectarian Christians argue that their version of Christianity constitutes all of Christianity proper, while in fact there are so many versions of the same religion, each claiming to be Bible-based, that it's virtually impossible to keep track of all the variations on this theme. To put it into terms of concretes: While all apples are fruit, not all fruits are apples. The frozen abstraction fallacy abnegates this fact.

Another favorite frozen abstraction used by many religionists is the notion that atheism can only be defined as "the rejection of God". It is true that the concept 'atheism' includes the rejection of gods and god-belief, however this condition does not exhaust the essence of the concept. Atheism is defined as absence of god-belief. This includes outright rejection as well as lack of belief due to ignorance of god-belief claims (such as a newborn, who cannot possibly have a god-belief, or someone raised in an insulated society wherein no god-beliefs have developed and survived). Rejection of god-belief presumes both the familiarity with god-belief notions and god-belief claims as well as a decision not to accept those claims. If the concept 'atheism' applied only to those who had familiarity with god-belief notions and claims but chose to reject them, what concept would cover those who had no god-belief because of their non-familiarity with god-belief claims, such as newborns and individuals who have never heard of gods or god-belief notions? Certainly the concept 'agnosticism' could not apply here, for agnosticism entails this familiarity but a failure to decide one way or another instead of a decision to reject god-belief. Beware of this frozen abstraction; many atheists commit themselves to it, too, having bought the lie from the influence of religion.

 

5. Context-Dropping: The fallacy that occurs when an arguer omits the context or portion of the context surrounding the issue of his concern in order to draw a desired conclusion that the context does not support when held intact.
Whenever you tear an idea from its context and treat it as though it were a self-sufficient, independent item, you invalidate the thought process involved. If you omit the context, or even a crucial aspect of it, then no matter what you say it will not be valid.
A context-dropper forgets or evades any wider context. He stares at only one element, and he thinks, 'I can change just this point, and everything else will remain the same.' In fact, everything is interconnected. That one element involves a whole context, and to assess a change in one element, you must see what it means in the whole context." (Leonard Peikoff, "The Philosophy of Objectivism" lecture series (1976), Lecture 5.)

Ascribing many of the Old Testament prophecies to foretelling the birth and ministry of Jesus, for example, are shown under examination to be instances of dropping the context of the Old Testament passages from which they were extracted. A brilliant, easy-to-understand exposé of this clumsiness among Christian apologists can be found in Tim Callahan's book Bible Prophecy: Failure or Fulfillment? (Millennium Press, 1997).

Context-dropping may be difficult to detect since it is possible for an arguer to hide or suppress some aspects of the context involved in order to argue his point. Therefore, extreme caution and scrutiny are recommended to those assessing god-belief claims so that proper recognition of any deceptive or evasive measures on the part of an opponent may be exposed.

There is virtually no limit to the scope and breadth that some religious defenders will go to in order to protect their god-beliefs from rational scrutiny. Consider the following example of a grotesque commission of context-dropping, which is quite involved. In my correspondence I have encountered Christian apologists who have persuaded themselves to believe their system of theology is sufficiently equipped to deal with the philosophy of Objectivism, particularly the Objectivist arguments against supernaturalism, god-belief and the like. While trying to wrestle with the significance of the fallacy of the stolen concept, first identified by Ayn Rand, one such apologist - in his glaring misunderstanding of what Rand meant by "stolen concept" - argued that any non-Christian philosophy employing rational means in its epistemology is guilty of 'stealing' from Christianity proper (as if Christianity were both built on reason and advocated reason, as well has held a philosophical monopoly on all legitimate appeal to reason).

When it was pointed out to this person that god-belief claims, such as those belonging to Christian philosophy, commit the fallacy of the stolen concept (as Rand identified it), this person replied, "They'll accuse us of engaging in "stealing concepts". Kind of strange, given that Christianity predates Plato and Aristotle, much less Ayn Rand…" When asked by another Christian (!) to defend this statement (who cited the facts of history, that both Plato and Aristotle predate Christ!), this apologist offered the following time line, calling it the "covenantal approach": 

Plato: (427 BC - 347BC)
Aristotle: (384 BC - 322BC)
Jesus: (6,000 BC)

How well do the facts of history confirm this hopeful confabulation? By what sound method of reasoning - reasoning that does not commit itself to intentional carelessness in terms of its consideration of the context of relevant facts - can arrive at such a conclusion? Only by indulging in a blatant disregard for reality and context can one hope to arrive at such absurdities as this, and it is exactly this kind of 'reasoning' that non-believers are up against in defending their minds from the fierce dogmatism of religious distortion.

 

6. False Dichotomy: (Also called bifurcation, false dilemma or false alternative.) False dichotomy is committed "when one premise of an argument is an 'either… or' (disjunctive) statement that presents two alternatives as if they were jointly exhaustive (i.e., as if no third alternative were possible). One of these alternatives is usually preferred by the arguer." (Patrick J. Hurley, , Introduction to Logic, Wadsworth Publishing, 1988, p. 141.)

A classic example of a false dichotomy statement occurs in Matthew 12:30, which attributes the following words to Jesus: "He that is not with me is against me" (KJV). This statement, attributed to the messianic figure of Christianity by one of his followers (the gospel author), presents as jointly exhaustive two fundamental positions - total allegiance or total enmity - when in fact other positions are possible. In addition to these two positions presented by the gospel writer, one may: a) not even know of Jesus; b) have heard of him but has no idea who he was and what he was talking about; c) have a limited understanding of who Jesus was and his message, but not care enough to have a definite position; d) know who Jesus was as well as his message, yet view him and his message with an objective understanding of the historical context of the times in which Jesus lived, etc. Total allegiance and total enmity do not describe either of these possible positions, so the alternatives Jesus gave are not jointly exhaustive. Classic bifurcation.

Many theistic arguments regarding metaphysics are built on the false dichotomy entailed in the typical religious view of causality. Causality, argue many religionists, consists either of chance or design. This dichotomy boils down to two extremes: causeless or random action vs. supernatural intent. It is through the construction of such illegitimate alternatives that the religionist opens the door to posit the existence of the ruling consciousness which his particular religious code endorses. This bifurcation can be quite effective against skeptics who accept its unspoken premises and fail to prepare themselves with a rational answer in response. Should a skeptic accept this false alternative, he puts himself in the vulnerable position of defending an accidental universe riddled with random, causeless action, action whose causes cannot be identified or evaluated, action that can occur spontaneously without regard to the identity of the entities involved. Thus, acceptance of this common fallacy results in the skeptic's epistemological surrender.

The proper answer to this distortion is to recognize that causality is identity applied to action. No action can occur which is contradictory to the nature of the entities involved in the action. All action has identity (i.e., is not causeless), however not all action depends on the design, intention or will of a consciousness. Only when one speaks of man does these concepts become a legitimate issue.

The chance vs. design dichotomy can be seen to consist of two prior fallacies entailed in the word 'design'. The first fallacy is an equivocation on the term 'design' to equal 'supernatural will' (i.e., abnegating the fact that 'design' as a product of volition and intellect is only appropriate in discussions concerning man). The second fallacy is a frozen abstraction fallacy (see above) substituting 'design' for the broader concept 'causality' as if all legitimate causality necessarily involves a form of conscious intent (for this is the religionist's intended conclusion). Thus, the planets could not revolve around the sun because of their individual identities and their relationship to one another. Instead, there must be some intelligent influence at work which makes it all happen. Hence, argues the theist, a supernatural ruling consciousness (i.e., 'god') is responsible for these phenomena, and these phenomena serve as witness to its existence. The entire line of argumentation incorporating this particular use of bifurcation thus amounts to one large question-begging invention (see fallacy 2) Circularities above).

In a more broadly reaching example of bifurcation, it should be noted that many Christians are of the persuasion that there exist only two worldviews: the Christian and the non-Christian, or, the Christian and the materialist. This position carelessly overlooks numerous facts. For instance, this view fails to take into account that outside Christianity there are a plethora of different philosophies and schools of thought open to man. The term 'non-Christian' does not specify any one of these any more than it may serve to contrast it from Christianity proper. However, even this distinction is far from adequate in identifying the differences between, for instance, Platonism and Aristotelianism, both of which are not specifically Christian, yet are quite diverse between themselves. Quite simply, there is no particular "non-Christian worldview"; such a designation could only constitute a class of particulars, in this case a number of worldviews that are not Christian.

Furthermore, acceptance of this false dichotomy, Christian vs. non-Christian, (or Christian vs. materialist, etc.) inasmuch as it is taken as a jointly exhaustive categorization of possible viewpoints, also fails to take into consideration that vast amount of fragmentation and splintering within Christianity itself. There are tremendous disagreements, schisms, polemic and division among Christians, resulting in hundreds of distinct sects and denominations, each claiming to be the 'true' form of Christianity. Acceptance of this false dichotomy indicates the ready acceptance of a frozen abstraction (which see) of a particular strain of Christian theism.

 

7. False Cause: A false cause fallacy is essentially a misidentification of the cause for an observed effect, and occurs:
whenever the link between premises and conclusion depends on some imagined causal connection that probably does not exist. Whenever an argument is suspected of committing the false cause fallacy, the reader or listener should be able to say that the conclusion depends on the supposition that X causes Y, whereas X probably does not cause Y at all. (Hurley, p. 127.)

There are two basic varieties to the false cause fallacy, both known by their Latin designation. The first is called post hoc ergo propter hoc (lit. "after this, therefore on account of this"). The post hoc false cause fallacy is committed when something is said to be a cause of something else simply because the first thing (said to be the cause) happens before the second thing (said to be its effect).

For instance, one may say, "The weather has gone crazy since man was on the moon." While it may or may not be the case that an increase of certain troublesome weather conditions has been noted since the late 1960's, to attribute such a phenomenon to man's landing on the moon is arbitrary and deceptive. However, since there is a temporal relationship between man's landing on the moon and the drastic changes in weather conditions on earth, a causal relationship is concluded, however erroneously.

Or, let's say the mailman rang the doorbell an instant after I switched on a desk lamp and I concluded that turning on the lamp caused the mailman to ring the doorbell. Similarly, when a believer sends a contribution of $25 to his favorite televangelist and gets a promotion at his job the next week, concluding that God is rewarding him for his generosity, this too would qualify as an instance of a false cause fallacy.

The second variety of the false cause fallacy is known as non causa pro causa ("not the cause for the cause") is committed when something is erroneously posited to be the cause of something else, but in this variety the conclusion is not dependent on the observed temporal relationship between the imagined cause and its effect (as is the case in post hoc).

For example, attributing the eruptive activity of a volcano to the anger of the sun god constitutes a misidentification of the nature of the cause and effect chain in question. Geothermal and tectonic activity of the earth are not the result of a grumpy god. However, early primitives, operating on a primacy of consciousness view of reality, mistook the effect (volcanic eruptions and earthquakes) as arising from some intelligent, 'intentionalizing' source.

Before the Age of Enlightenment, when western civilization began to open its eyes to Reason and its benefits for man, it was common to attribute mental disorders and physical impairments such as blindness and deafness to the work of demons or angered gods. Without the benefit of understanding the biological functions and needs of the human organism, pre-Enlightenment man felt completely justified in calling persons afflicted with abnormal behavior 'witches', 'possessed' or 'of the devil'. With the application of reason to the problems associated with man's existence on earth (a topic with which some parts of the Bible seem all too unconcerned), modern scientists and doctors have been able to determine the real causes of many illnesses and afflictions, and have even been successful in eradicating their threat to men in some cases. Religion and faith did not make this success possible.

The notion 'prayer' - insomuch as it is accepted and argued to be a means of communicating with the divine in order to persuade benevolent and enriching answers or favors in return - essentially entails a hope in the realization of a false cause fallacy. Prayer is basically a believer's begging plea to the supposed ruling consciousness either to change the facts of reality or even the laws of nature just for him. Again, such false cause notions stem from a primacy of consciousness view of reality, the idea that reality is contingent on some form of consciousness.

In at least one way, god-belief in general can be seen as one entire false cause argument, positing the universe as the effect or 'creation' of an 'eternal deity' hiding in a supernatural realm, that all existence was somehow 'created' (i.e., caused) by a 'ruling consciousness'. Such positions may be very enticing for some individuals who are easily seduced by the primacy of consciousness view of reality, for such a view preconditions an individual for accepting the notion of a ruling consciousness to the extent that he accepts it and confirms it in his conscious relationship to reality, often regardless of the resulting costs.

 

8. Non Sequitur: A non sequitur is committed when an arguer attempts to draw a conclusion from premises which do not logically connect to it and therefore do not logically justify its assertion. This fallacy is rampant throughout apologetic literature and rhetoric.

For instance, it may be argued that God exists because man is capable of moral judgment. While some theistic arguments virtually take this form, it is quite evident that the conclusion "God exists" does not follow from the fact that man is capable of moral judgment. A similar variation on this model would be any argument that attempts to establish the existence of God or gods on other facts of reality. For instance, it is argued by some that man can be certain that God exists (in one variety or another) because of the fact that man is capable of reason and science. This type of argument and its converse notion that reason and science are only possible because a god exists also commit the non sequitur fallacy, since the conclusion in either variant does not follow from its prior proposition. Some non sequiturs such as these have been developed to such a degree as to rely more so on overwhelming an opponent with confusion and sophistry than on any attempted logical connection between the argument's premises and its conclusion, thus appearing to seem true, while in essence it is merely a disguised fallacy or series of fallacies.

 

9. Weak Analogy: Patrick Hurley writes that "[t]his fallacy affects inductive arguments from analogy… [A]n argument from analogy is an argument in which the conclusion depends on the existence of an analogy, or similarity, between two things or situation. The fallacy of weak analogy is committed when the analogy is not strong enough to support the conclusion that is drawn." (pp. 129-130.)

Hurley also provides a splendid example of an argument built on a weak analogy in order to establish its conclusion. He writes,

The flow of electricity through a wire is similar to the flow of water through a pip. When water runs downhill through a pipe, the pressure at the bottom of the hill is greater than at it is at the top. Thus, when electricity flows downhill through a wire, we would expect the voltage to be greater at the bottom of the hill than at the top. (Ibid.)

For obvious reasons, the attempt to compare the behavior of electricity to the behavior of water is erroneous, specifically because water, unlike electricity, is strongly affected by its reaction to the gravitational pull of the earth. However, it is just this kind of argument that is often employed by religious apologists in some of their arguments to defend their god-beliefs.

Douglas E. Kreuger, in his book What is Atheism? A Short Introduction (Prometheus Books, 1998), exposes the weak analogy essential to the famous evidentialist argument from design (also called the teleological argument ['teleology' is the doctrine that purpose is inherent in nature]). The teleological argument argues that, since nature exhibits evidence of design, then there must be a designer. The designer said to be established by this argument is said to be God. The argument is usually punctuated by an analogy between a known artifact, such as a pocket watch, and the universe as a whole, in order to show why it (the universe) must be the product of a designer.

Regarding this argument, Kreuger writes [pp. 138-139],

The argument from design is an argument by analogy. The more common the similarities between the analogates (the things compared), the stronger the analogy, and, consequently, the stronger the argument. The fewer similarities, the weaker the argument. Important to the argument from design, then, is the number of similarities between the analogates. In this case, the analogates are human artifacts and the universe. How much do they have in common?
All the artifacts in our experience have been made of preexisting material. If the universe is like an artifact, then, it must have been made of preexisting material. But the theist denies this and claims that god created the universe ex nihilo, out of nothing.
All the artifacts we have seen have been built by beings with physical bodies. Thus, we may conclude that the universe was built by a being with a physical body. But the theist denies that god has a physical body.
Our experience with artifacts shows that they are built by labor, by physically moving material together or apart. Thus, we should conclude, if the universe is like an artifact, that it was built by labor. However, the theist, especially the Christian, denies this and says that the entire universe was created by god uttering magic words (see Genesis, chapter 1).
Large and complex ships, houses, buildings, and other constructions are built by groups of people working together. Thus, the universe, if it is like a large and complex artifact, must have been built by many gods working together. But the theist denies this. Polytheists, perhaps, would not deny this.
If an artifact has flaws, one can conclude either that the designer or builder was ignorant, sloppy, or just did not care about the outcome enough to put more work into it. The universe has stars explode and collide; there are earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and other natural disasters which cause huge loss of life, and which are not in any way caused by human action; there are genetic disorders such as spina bifida which kill humans and cause intense agony; there have been several worldwide extinctions in the past which resulted in the deaths of 90 percent or more of the species existing in the world at that time, and so on. Thus, we may conclude that god was either ignorant, sloppy, or just did not care enough about the outcome to make the universe any better than it is. But the theist denies this.
There are many other disanalogies between the universe and an artifact, but it should now be clear that the theist denies that the universe is like an artifact in many important ways. Thus, the analogy between the universe and an artifact seems to be simply the result of the theist's selection of one aspect of what we know of artifacts - that they are often orderly - and the denial of may other characteristics about artifacts. The theist must admit that the universe and artifacts are more dissimilar than similar. Since the theist makes the analogy only with regard to a single trait, the analogy between an artifact and the universe is incredibly weak, and, as a result, so is the argument as a whole.

In fashion similar to Kreuger's critical scrutiny of the teleological argument, you, too, can learn to detect the fallacies inherent in any theistic argument with the proper know-how.

 

10. Equivocation: The fallacy of equivocation is committed "when the conclusion of an argument depends on the fact that one or more words are used, either explicitly or implicitly, in two different senses in the argument. Either such arguments are invalid or a premise is false and the argument is unsound." (Hurley, p. 144.)