False Dichotomies

[Gamera]

More and more, I see that many arguments against Catholicism rest upon false dichotomies. It seems to be the format of virtually every complaint we hear:

“Why do you pray to Jesus instead of Mary?” (we pray to both).

“We’re saved by Jesus, not by the Church.” (we’re saved by Jesus through the Church).

“Sin is washed away by Jesus’ blood, not by baptismal water.” (Sin is washed away by Jesus’ blood through baptismal water).

“Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, He came to save us.” (He came to save us through the religion He founded).

“You think Mary was sinless, but the Bible says Mary needed a savior.” (Mary was sinless because her Savior saved her at conception).

“Which will you trust, Jesus, or the Catholic Church?” (we trust Jesus and therefore we trust His Church).

Whenever we hear the buzzwords such as “instead of,” or “which one is it?” our spider-sense should activate – it’s probably a false dichotomy, to which the Catholic answer is “both/and,” rather than “either/or.”

 

[montanaman]

Amen. 99% of apologetics, at least for us, is clearing away the dead wood of minsconceptions and these infuriating false dichotomies. But what’s REALLY infuriating is so many Protestants’ refusal to even entertain the idea that they’re mis-stating Catholic theology.

 

[Fidelis]

Amen. 99% of apologetics, at least for us, is clearing away the dead wood of minsconceptions and these infuriating false dichotomies. But what’s REALLY infuriating is so many Protestants’ refusal to even entertain the idea that they’re mis-stating Catholic theology.

You know, I’ve never heard Protestants admit to doing this, let alone defending or justifying the practice. Whenever I’ve seen these false dichotomies pointed out by Catholics (in these forums, for example), the anti-Catholic interlocutor either fails to address it and changes the subject, or simply disappears.

To me, this indicates a cognitive disonance condition in some Protestants to be able to recognize that they are commiting this logical fallacy. I don’t think this is always dishonesty; it is simply one among many flaws in the Protestant worldview that is necessary to maintain it. If they were to go too far in recognizing this (just like if they were ever to look too closely at the Sola Scriptura house of cards), this worldview would crack and collapse, forcing them to seriously consider Catholicism.

 

[Axion]

Promoting false dichotomies is something they love to try on with bible verses too. They quote a bible verse that indicates a POSITIVE, then they imply that it prohibits everything else

• Jesus told us to pray to God when He gave us the Lord’s prayer (therefore you can’t pray to or through Mary or the Saints.[presumably you can ONLY pray the Lords prayer too?])
• Jesus is our intercessor (therefore nobody else can be)
• The Bible is useful for teaching doctrine (Therefore ONLY the bible can teach doctrine - the church is not allowed to!)
• Jerusalem is our mother. (Therefore Mary can’t be)
• God said honour Me (therefore you can’t honour anyone else [except presumably secular figures])

There are loads of other examples, but I can’t think of them right now.

 

[Axion]

There’s a typically dishonest FD on a thread in this forum

Poll Options
HOW DO YOU GET TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE?
BY TRUSTING JESUS CHRIST ALONE AS LORD AND SAVIOR
BY TRUSTING IN “THE CHURCH”
BY PRAYING TO MARY
BY BEING GOOD
OTHER

 

[rwoehmke]

I copied both posts of false dichotomies on teachings and scripture and pasted them into a word document for my RCIA teaching files. Thank you for the astute observation.

 

[Gamera]

Oh, DUH … I’m the one who started this thread and yet I left out my biggest peeve … the #1 most aggravating false dichotomy:

“Why confess your sins to a priest instead of to Jesus?” (We confess to Jesus through a priest).

 

[Teflon93]

Oh, DUH … I’m the one who started this thread and yet I left out my biggest peeve … the #1 most aggravating false dichotomy:

“Why confess your sins to a priest instead of to Jesus?” (We confess to Jesus through a priest).

This is a good one.

How Protestants fail to understand that throughout Scripture God clearly prefers to deal with humanity not directly, but through intermediaries is beyond me. You simply cannot read the Bible and miss this.

God did not speak to all, but to Abraham.

God did not speak to all, but to Noah.

God did not speak to all, but to Moses.

God did not speak to all, but to the High Priest in the Temple.

Time and time again, God employs human intermediaries to get His word to His people.

Why then should he not use the Pope to speak to us?

Every hair-helmeted televangelist claims to have God on speed dial, and this is somehow believable, while the notion that Christ’s Vicar on Earth, Peter’s successor, speaking for 1 billion Catholics, is somehow a mere bureaucrat whose claims of speaking on Christ’s behalf are ridiculous.

 

[Mannyfit75]

There’s a typically dishonest FD on a thread in this forum

That thread is so wrong and it’s chooses lack the proper answers. I voted “Other” in that forum.

I keep saying that an individual Christian cannot separate the Church and Jesus Christ. The OP denies this as fact and put himself in false dichotomies.

 

[MarcoPolo]

More and more, I see that many arguments against Catholicism rest upon false dichotomies. It seems to be the format of virtually every complaint we hear:

All great examples you listed Gamera…I have noticed your same observation for a long time…

 

[st_julie]

Then there are temporal dichotomies
Sunday was named for a Sun God therefore The Church is pagan in practice

( i have often wondered how this argument works in France or Spain)

 

[Teflon93]

Then there are temporal dichotomies
Sunday was named for a Sun God therefore The Church is pagan in practice

( i have often wondered how this argument works in France or Spain)

And Muslims invented algebra so Algebra teachers are Muslims.