Vlad,
(Hushed voice) “And welcome back everybody to this year’s Fallacy Championships. It’s been a while now since Vladdo retired hurt to lick his wounds under his bridge after Alan “Any Faith Statement in Bold Must Be a Fact” Burns took the gold medal last time out, but the rumours coming out of Vlad's training camp are that he’s firing on all false reasoning cylinders this time so let’s see shall we…?”
You need to study the bible to dismiss it all as a work of fiction.
“Ooh, and he opens with a straw man – no-one says that
all of the Bible is a work of fiction of course – not very imaginative, but a solid fallacy to open with nonetheless. Let’s see where he’ll go next shall we?”
Any way the Courtier's reply fallacy as created by Myers to defend Dawkins right to talk bollocks about details on.....well anything, on the grounds of it being a fairy tale is based on…..er….the details of a fairy tale.
“Oh my word, what’s happened here? He’s abandoned even the pretence of an argument and instead just attacked the motive of the person who devised the Courtier’s reply and thrown in an
ad hom to boot! IT’S THE OLD ONE-TWO! DIVERT AND INSULT! We can really see his hard work at fallacy training camp paying off here folks! Let’s see shall we whether anyone notices that he’s done it to escape having to engage with the argument itself?
OK, we're in to the final round now – let’s see where he goes next…”
How is Dawkins…
“Ooh, he’s sticking with the diversionary tactic for now – Richard Dawkins is nothing to do with the Courtier’s reply argument of course. Maybe he’s softening us up for a big fallacy finish though?”
… not in the same position as the fundamentalist preacher who states that because Darwinian evolution is obvious rubbish he doesn't need to study it properly to talk about it?
“Oh my gosh, he’s done it! He’s only gone for the big knock out fallacy – THE FALSE EQUIVALENCE! My word, there’s pandemonium here! Will anyone notice that evolutionary theory relies on reason and argument and evidence so can be investigated, but the Bible miracle stories are just fantastical claims with no means of investigation no matter how many of them you read? There’s a stunned silence here – the judges are conferring – the results are in. NO-ONE’S NOTICED! HE’S DONE IT! HE’S ONLY REGAINED HIS FALLACY CROWN! HE’S BEING MOBBED NOW - I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!
And there we have it - another Fallacy Championship knock out final over. OK folks, don’t forget to tune in next year. I can’t see old AB taking this BS lying down, so we could be in for an epic re-run I reckon...
This is Bob Rationalist, your friendly ringside commentator wishing you well and saying “over and out!”