The Burden of Logic

One of the things that frustrates me is the lack of logical arguments people have. I understand that people have their own opinions, and I encourage that, but have a REASON for your opinions. Too often I am confronted with people that have beliefs, and when confronted with facts that disprove those beliefs, shrug it off saying, “everyone has the right to their own opinions.” I quote the great Scott Adams, “When did ignorance become a point of view?” Just because you want to believe something, doesn’t make it true.

Logic is defined as “the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference”. That means that if you state something that is not correct or not reliable, it is illogical. In a sense, it is wrong or inaccurate. Intelligent people, when confronted with the realization that they are wrong, will modify their beliefs to fit the facts. Kind of like the scientific theory.

The basis of logic is the syllogism. This structure follows two premises, and a conclusion. If A is true, and B is True, C must be True. In fact, one of the definitions of Syllogism is “deductive reasoning”. Circular logic, however, uses the premise to prove another premise. If A says B is True, and B says A is True, C must be True. Put another way, “Only an untrustworthy person would run for office. The fact that politicians are untrustworthy is proof of this.” The problem with circular logic is that it uses itself to prove itself. You need an outside source to validate your premise. Claiming you are tall doesn’t make you tall.

I bring this up because of this circular logic that I see often. “God exists and inspired the Bible. I know this because the Bible said so. Therefore, God exists and the Bible is the word of God.”  This is an illogical argument. Paradoxical, if you will. It assumes that God exists and inspired the Bible. When I point out that there is no proof that God exists or that he inspired the Bible, people say “but the Bible says so”. When I say that the Bible was written by man, they retort that “the Bible was inspired by God.” Thus the debate never goes anywhere. This is why arguing with religious people is pointless.

Now I’m not saying that there is no God or that the Bible is a lie. I think so, but it can’t be proven. That’s the whole point. People act like these two premises are fact, when, in fact, they are simply theories. Just like Atheism; it is a theory. The difference, is that my theories are based on OUTSIDE SOURCES. I don’t use my own beliefs to prove my own beliefs.

I claim that God either does not exist or does not deserve the title of God. Assuming that God exists, then he must be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnibenevolent (all loving). These three traits make up the definition of “god” in most religions. If he has these traits, he wouldn’t allow his creation to destroy themselves. He wouldn’t let children die or cancer to take the elderly. If he does, then he must not be either all good, or all powerful, or all knowing. If he does not have one of those traits, he must not be “God”. Now nowhere in that theory did I quote Atheism. I stated my logical theory based on OUTSIDE SOURCES, in this case, my opponent’s (religion) own beliefs.

The next problem I have is the Faith Argument. This is basically a fallback option. When all logic fails, people resort to this. It states that believing in God or the Bible requires “faith”. Faith, like emotion, goes against reason. In a way, it is the exact opposite of reason. The point is that if people had proof for their beliefs they wouldn’t NEED faith. They would have evidence. The whole reason they use faith is because they have no proof.

So please, everyone, if you are going believe something, back it up. If you don’t, expect people like me to call you on it. I implore all smart people to stop putting up with this idiocy. If someone is wrong, they are wrong. Sure they might not listen to you, but at least you can try to prove it to them. Don’t let them pull the “well everyone is entitled to their own opinions” card. I could say that the sky is brown. That wouldn’t make it true. Sure it would be my opinion, but it would be WRONG. I’m tired of placating stupidity. We should be ashamed of stupid people.  We shouldn’t tolerate being wrong. Plus, they aren’t just wrong, they are proud of being wrong and they spread their wrongness. This is holding society back. This is blocking evolution (because they don’t want to believe in it).