The Genetic Fallacy

Perhaps you’ve heard a skeptic say, “Religious belief is largely influenced by geography. If you were born in the Middle-East, you’d probably be a muslim. Or, if you were born in India, you’d probably be a hindu. Truth should be based on evidence and facts, not on where you were born.” Most who put forth this challenge are unaware that they have committed the Genetic Fallacy. What is the genetic fallacy? This article will tell you just that, and how to answer someone who commits it.

William Lane Craig defines the genetic fallacy in an interview with Bobby Conway as, “Trying to invalidate a position by showing how a person came to hold it,” and he goes on to say, “and that’s obviously an invalid way of reasoning. A person might come to hold a belief for any number of reasons; some of them inadequate, but that doesn’t show that the belief itself is false.”

Consider the example Craig uses to demonstrate how faulty the logic in genetic fallacy truly is:

If you were born in ancient Greece, you would likely believe that the Earth is flat and the sun moves around it. Does that in any way invalidate your belief that the Earth is round or that the Earth revolves around the sun? Of course not! Upon surveying and researching the evidence for a position, you can see whether it is true regardless of the means by which one came to believe it.

Think about it this way: A teacher asks his or her 4th grade class where rain comes from, and one student raises their hand and recites flawlessly a detailed description of the water cycle. Astounded, the teacher asks the student where they learned about the water cycle. The student replies, “A leprechaun came to me in a dream and explained it to me.” Now, do we throw out the water cycle and dismiss it as invalid simply because of how the student came to hold such a belief? We can see from the evidence that the student is exactly correct about the water cycle, even if his reason for believing it is highly unreliable. Similarly, people may adopt the religion of their family and culture, but when we examine the evidence for these beliefs, Christianity is the only one that stands firm.

So when the skeptic comes to you claiming that you would likely be a muslim if you were born in Iran, you can explain to them the irrelevance of their statement. Then, perhaps, they will be open to hearing the evidence that supports your faith: fulfilled prophecy, resurrection evidence, philosophical arguments for God’s existence, and so on. Of course, it is incredibly helpful to know at least some of the strongest pieces of evidence for Christianity, of which there is a wealth of free resources online to help you learn. I have included some reliable ministries below to help get you started!

Biblical TheologyDevin NicelyDecember 17, 2020genetic fallacy, william lane craig, bobby conwayComment

The Genetic Fallacy

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