Logical Fallacies: APPEAL TO EMOTION

 “Argue your case. Get together and decide what to say... For there is no other God but me, a Righteous God and Saviour” – Is 45:21 (NLTse)

An “Appeal to Emotion” fallacy occurs when the speaker is Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.

Appeals-to-Emotion include appeals to fear, envy, pity, guilt, etc. However, a valid and reasoned argument may sometimes have an emotional aspect. The fallacy only occurs when emotion is used to obscure or replace REASON.

A good example of this is the Doctrine of Hell.

The core of our evangelism message is an emotional appeal to sinners warning them of  Hell. Yet, there are several ‘Christian’ organisations today that either preach that Hell does not exist, or that Hell is not everlasting. When stripped to its bare essentials, their argument can be reduced to one premise: “How can a loving God punish His creation for eternity?”

While this is nice emotional logic, it ignores the REALITY, both of Man’s wilful rebellion and the deliverance from that Hell provided for in the Cross.

It also ignores the implication of a Sin-infested Universe and presumes to wish away Divine Justice by pulling at God’s ‘heartstrings’. However, reality tells us that any society that bases its justice system on Emotion will collapse.

The Appeal-to-Emotion argument against Hell is nothing more than the world’s effort to stay in sin and snub God’s continued outstretched arm to it.

We, on the other hand, use emotion rightly, by basing it on FACT: ALL have sinned; God took the just punishment of our sins on Himself at the Cross; those who still reject this solution have nothing left but eternal separation from Him.

 “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;” (2Co 5:11).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN