Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical
Authority Ministries, July 7, 2025 (Donate)
My dear Christians, have you ever been in the middle of an argument with a non-Christian when suddenly they start hurling insults and calling you horrible names? Perhaps foul language begins erupting, and they start saying hurtful and harmful things. These can be very stressful situations—and I’ve been in more of them than I can remember!
I recall a
situation involving another leading apologist. A secular blogger attacked him,
called him names, and mocked him simply for believing the Bible is true,
especially concerning God’s work of creation in six
days.
The comments
that followed—from this blogger’s disciples—were ferocious. They were filled
with cursing, swearing, name-calling, and foul language for pages and pages of
commentary.
Looking over
the comments, I summed it up succinctly: “These are just emotive and epithet
fallacies; if this is the best they’ve got, they don’t have anything.”
To understand
this better, an emotive language fallacy is designed to upset or
stress you out. It plays off emotions to manipulate and rile you up. But
there’s nothing logical about it—it’s inherently illogical and easy to identify
by its charged language.
Epithet
fallacies are
similar but can also be abusive, derogatory, or even defamatory (false and
slanderous in a legal sense). They use loaded language—often just
name-calling.
Logic is a
tool to “think God’s thoughts after Him”; Image from Presentation Library.
Don’t Go
Down The Bunny Trail
Sometimes we
get caught following emotional or derogatory comments and sink right into that
quicksand. Consider this hypothetical discussion:
Bob is discussing the age
of the earth with Tom. Bob makes some good points, and Tom responds,
“You’re a dork and as dumb as an idiot.”
Bob replies, “I’m not a dork and I’m not an idiot.”
Tom says, “Clearly you are, because you believe all this
stuff. You’re not intellectual like me—you’re an imbecile.”
Bob responds, “I’m not an imbecile.”
Pause for a
moment. In this instance, Bob followed Tom right down the arbitrary rabbit
trail into a meaningless debate, rather than continuing the logical discussion
over the biblical worldview and confirmational evidence essential to the age
of the earth debate.
By following
this emotional path, Bob became distracted from the original argument. So, when
someone deviates from the discussion—like creation in six days—and starts using
slurs, foul language, or name-calling, remember: they’ve lost the argument,
whether they realize it or not. If they resort to insults, they’re basically
admitting they have no logical response.
We need to
be aware of the anger and hate often hurled at Christians. But don’t get bogged
down in it. Step back, see the big picture, and recognize that name-calling is
a type of emotive and epithet fallacy—specifically a question-begging
epithet fallacy.
This reveals
that they have no argument against the biblical position. Be mindful: when your
opponent resorts to these fallacies, they are simply trying to distract you.
Responding
Correctly
Emotive
language fallacies can be devastating to our heart and soul. But do you realize
how powerful it is to call them out? When you point out their use of emotive
fallacies and ask whether they have any logical arguments, it can be quite
effective.
Imagine if
Bob, in our example above, had responded differently:
Tom says, “You’re a dork and as dumb as an idiot.”
Bob replies, “Those are question-begging epithet and emotive
language fallacies—meaning they are illogical. Do you have any logical
arguments for your position?”
Tom might be
a bit taken aback. But this helps remove emotion from the debate and return it
to the real issue.
The key
point is this: when someone resorts to being mean, aggressive, or insulting,
they’ve already lost the debate.
A Bigger
Point
There’s a
bigger point to make. We all fall short. We’ve all sinned and failed in a
debate at some point. It’s not always about “winning”—it’s about pointing
others to Jesus
Christ. He is always logical and the very standard of correct thinking.
Because of
sin, we can all fall into fallacious thinking. We need to return to God and His
absolute Word, which corrects us and leads us into right thinking—thinking
God’s thoughts after Him. So don’t stand over someone and say, “Ha! I beat
you in this debate!”
Instead, say
with humility, “I’ve been there too—let me help you understand this better.”
Maybe the Holy Spirit will use that to impact the person with the saving
gospel and grant them repentance.
“In humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God
perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth.” (2
Timothy 2:25, NKJV)
So, whenever
we debate or argue over theological, scientific, historical, or moral topics,
let’s keep the goal clear: we want unbelievers to realize the truth of God’s
Word and the truth of the Gospel.
