RCA: Mr. Walter Thomas Franklin, my friendly neighbour, agrees. As does his Father..
Fifty million cannot be wrong?
Saturday, June 24, 2017 article, edited and revised for an entry on academia.edu.
PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
A previous entry with a connected fallacy
Ad populam May 12 2016
Logically fallacious
Cited
'Appeal to Popularity argumentum ad numeram (also see: appeal to common belief)
Description: Using the popularity of a premise or proposition as evidence for its truthfulness. This is a fallacy which is very difficult to spot because our “common sense” tells us that if something is popular, it must be good/true/valid, but this is not so, especially in a society where clever marketing, social and political weight, and money can buy popularity.'
This fallacy is related
Numeram, argumentum ad
This is a truth in numbers, fallacy.
This fallacy assumes greater numbers supporting premises and conclusions make arguments true. (154).
Supposedly, greater popularity via greater numbers equals truth.
'Fifty million Frenchman can't be wrong! (154).
Pirie from England, kindly points out that often in history, the French have been in error. (154).
The rightness or wrongness of a contention is not assisted or hindered by the numbers in support. (155). Received wisdom is not to be confused with factual knowledge. (155). In other words, perceived cultural and societal wisdom and common sense is not to be confused with actual, factual, knowledge.
This fallacy can be used by the 'mob orator'. (156). A promoter could state:
'50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong'.
The popularity of Elvis at that time simply meant he was popular. As Pirie noted the rightness and wrongness of a contention, would not assist this assertion. Truth is a product of correctly reasoned out premises and conclusions to form sound arguments.
Within my Reformed, Christian, worldview, theologically, as there is universal sinful human nature and sinful choices (John 1-3, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, 1 John) this leads to ultimate human judgement for that sin.
Revelation 20:15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 And if [a]anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Footnotes:
Revelation 20:15 Lit anyone was
Many within scholarship view this a 'figurative literal' as opposed to a 'plain literal' fire. It is likely, symbolic fire. From Mounce: This may symbolize the effects of sin and wickedness in humanity. (367). But regardless, Revelation is describing literal and true, eschatological (last things), everlasting punishment. for universal humanity that in nature and choice, embraces, in great numbers, a rejection of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I take no pleasure in this as in Christ, I too am guilty, but am saved by grace through faith for good works, not by good works (Ephesians 1-2).
A hell concept is often offensive to the non-Christian and the secular mind. For clarity, this has nothing to do with a dislike of non-Christians. It has nothing to do with bigotry. This hell theology is an attempt at an accurate, contextual report of historical, biblical, scripture. Consider from a non-Christian perspective, if the sin concept is rejected. that certainly humanity is imperfect.
God is infinite, eternal and perfectly holy, and finite imperfection is not acceptable for the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation). I reason that a deistic, theistic, non-biblical God would also be infinitely good; in contrast, evil being the finite privation of good which God willingly would allow in creation.
Humanity would not be acceptable to such a God. The human being as is, is not acceptable to the biblical God for everlasting life, and must be changed to finite perfection. (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation). This through the atonement and resurrection of Christ being applied to believers.
With either biblical Christianity or a deism/theism, fatal signs are that God, typically and universally does not directly communicate (people can pray, but God does not talk with humanity, 'face to face') with humanity and that we exist in a reality leading to death.
This reasonably kills speculative, sentimental theology.
In the western world, the biblical God is not very popular at present. More in numbers do not claim a distinct and decisive Christian faith and philosophy. The popularity of the biblical God is irrelevant, rather the biblical God is established through reasoned argumentation, or is not. Frankly, and not to be an intellectual snob, we all have our intellectual weaknesses; but the majority of the population in the western world has so little training and experience in theology and philosophy, that it is far too tempting for most to rely on popular thinking than to prayerfully research and reason these issues out.
---
PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
This fallacy is related
Numeram, argumentum ad
This is a truth in numbers, fallacy.
This fallacy assumes greater numbers supporting premises and conclusions make arguments true. (154).
Supposedly, greater popularity via greater numbers equals truth.
'Fifty million Frenchman can't be wrong! (154).
Pirie from England, kindly points out that often in history, the French have been in error. (154).
The rightness or wrongness of a contention is not assisted or hindered by the numbers in support. (155). Received wisdom is not to be confused with factual knowledge. (155). In other words, perceived cultural and societal wisdom and common sense is not to be confused with actual, factual, knowledge.
This fallacy can be used by the 'mob orator'. (156). A promoter could state:
'50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong'.
The popularity of Elvis at that time simply meant he was popular. As Pirie noted the rightness and wrongness of a contention, would not assist this assertion. Truth is a product of correctly reasoned out premises and conclusions to form sound arguments.
Within my Reformed, Christian, worldview, theologically, as there is universal sinful human nature and sinful choices (John 1-3, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, 1 John) this leads to ultimate human judgement for that sin.
Revelation 20:15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 And if [a]anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Footnotes:
Revelation 20:15 Lit anyone was
Many within scholarship view this a 'figurative literal' as opposed to a 'plain literal' fire. It is likely, symbolic fire. From Mounce: This may symbolize the effects of sin and wickedness in humanity. (367). But regardless, Revelation is describing literal and true, eschatological (last things), everlasting punishment. for universal humanity that in nature and choice, embraces, in great numbers, a rejection of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I take no pleasure in this as in Christ, I too am guilty, but am saved by grace through faith for good works, not by good works (Ephesians 1-2).
A hell concept is often offensive to the non-Christian and the secular mind. For clarity, this has nothing to do with a dislike of non-Christians. It has nothing to do with bigotry. This hell theology is an attempt at an accurate, contextual report of historical, biblical, scripture. Consider from a non-Christian perspective, if the sin concept is rejected. that certainly humanity is imperfect.
God is infinite, eternal and perfectly holy, and finite imperfection is not acceptable for the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation). I reason that a deistic, theistic, non-biblical God would also be infinitely good; in contrast, evil being the finite privation of good which God willingly would allow in creation.
Humanity would not be acceptable to such a God. The human being as is, is not acceptable to the biblical God for everlasting life, and must be changed to finite perfection. (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation). This through the atonement and resurrection of Christ being applied to believers.
With either biblical Christianity or a deism/theism, fatal signs are that God, typically and universally does not directly communicate (people can pray, but God does not talk with humanity, 'face to face') with humanity and that we exist in a reality leading to death.
This reasonably kills speculative, sentimental theology.
In the western world, the biblical God is not very popular at present. More in numbers do not claim a distinct and decisive Christian faith and philosophy. The popularity of the biblical God is irrelevant, rather the biblical God is established through reasoned argumentation, or is not. Frankly, and not to be an intellectual snob, we all have our intellectual weaknesses; but the majority of the population in the western world has so little training and experience in theology and philosophy, that it is far too tempting for most to rely on popular thinking than to prayerfully research and reason these issues out.
---
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CAIRD, GEORGE B. (1977) Paul's Letters from Prison Paperback, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
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COURSON, JON (2005) Application Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.
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DUNN, JAMES D.G. (1988) Romans, Dallas, Word Books.
DUNNETT, WALTER M. (2001) Exploring The New Testament, Wheaton, Crossway Books.
ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.
ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.
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FOULKES, FRANCIS (1989) Ephesians, Grand Rapids, Inter-Varsity Press.
GREER, ROWAN A. (1996) ‘Augustine’s Transformation of The Free Will Defence’, Faith and Philosophy, Volume 13, Number 4, October, pp. 471-486. Wilmore, Kentucky, Asbury College.
GUNDRY, ROBERT (1981) A Survey of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
HICK, JOHN (1970) Evil and The God of Love, London, The Fontana Library.
HOCKING, DAVID (2014) The Book of Revelation, Tustin, California, HFT Publications.
HUGHES, PHILIP, EDGCUMBE (1990) A Commentary On The Epistle To The Hebrews, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
LANGER, SUSANNE K (1953)(1967) An Introduction to Symbolic Logic, Dover Publications, New York. (Philosophy).
LIGHTFOOT, JOHN B. (1993) The Destination of the Epistle to the Ephesians in Biblical Essays, New York, Macmillan.
MARSH, PAUL, W. (1986) ‘1 Corinthians’, in F.F. Bruce, (ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/Zondervan.
MOUNCE, ROBERT H. (1990) The Book of Revelation, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
MOUNCE, ROBERT H. (1995) The New American Commentary: Romans, Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers.
PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.
WRIGHT, N.T., Colossians and Philemon (1986)(1989), IVP, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids.
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