Weekly Trivia: Another Fallacy

As I said last time, secular knowledge, such as proper speech and debate technique, is not as good as knowing your Bible.  Such teaching isn't a guide for righteous living, but it can be a useful tool in understanding the world we live in and catching onto all the lies.

Non Sequitur (It Does Not Follow)

The Non Sequitur argument appears to be a traditional inductive argument (principles A, B, and C all support conclusion D), but the conclusion cannot be derived from the supporting points.  This is frequently an extremely subtle error in reasoning, and often slips past unnoticed.  Because of this, it is also extremely dangerous.

Example: Read 1 Samuel 10:17-27. Here you see the nation of Israel falling for two Non Sequitur arguments, although neither is overtly stated in the passage.

1. The neighboring nations all are lead by kings.  The neighboring nations seem great and prosperous. Israel doesn't have a king. Therefore, in order for Israel to be as great and prosperous as their neighbors, they need a king and not God to lead them. (verses 17-19).
   
2. Saul is taller than all the rest of the men in Israel, therefore he would make a great king. (verses 23-24).
   

In verse 27, we read of a few people who didn't fall for the Non Sequitur argument everyone else believed.  Saul didn't do anything about them at the time, but I would imagine their protests were silenced eventually.