A Conversation with Jason Petersen, Part 8

The following is a table which describes many of the fallacies which riddle presuppositional apologetics; in this case, the "Clarkian" apologetic as used by Jason Petersen.  Although most of it applies to "VanTilian" presuppositional apologetics as well.

Fallacy	Fallacy Description	Evidence in  Clarkian PA
Appeal to Authority	Something is true because it's from an authority	The Bible (Biblical verses of God as "ultimate authority")solves the problem of skepticism.  The Bible (Biblical verses) reveal that "all other worldviews are false."
Argument from Omniscience	An arguer would need omniscience to know about everyone's beliefs or disbeliefs or about their knowledge	Best expressed in the Romans 1:18-21 verses that anyone who disbelieves knows (the Christian) god exists, but they suppress the truth.  Using Bible as "omniscient" source, omnisciently revealed, with the revelations omnisciently verified to be true.
Appeal to Ignorance	Opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion Is proof of its validity.	"We know all other worldviews are false...and since we know all others are false, that makes the Christian worldview true."
Ipse Dixit	A dogmatic statement which the opponent is expected to accept as valid.	"The First Principle" that the Bible is the Word of God.  "The most basic way to distort an issue is to deny that it exists."  Believers deny recognizing that "The First Principle" is not an axiom because it is not self-evident as it is premised on the unproven supernatural.
False dilemma	Only 2 outcomes are inevitable	(1) Non-believers must accept the Christian worldview because  (2) the Bible says all other worldviews are false (and therefore irrational).
Ad hominem/ Poisoning the Well	Damning /discrediting the source.	Condemning Biblical study sources; condemning other philosophies; saying that non-believers "suppress the truth" as if they are lying, and claiming non-believers are "fools."
Tautology	Qualifying argument in such a way that it makes it impossible to disprove.	The Bible is the word of God. We know this because the Bible itself tells us so.  (Notice that impossible to disprove supports unfalsifiability)
Shifting the Burden	Burden of proof is shifted to the side which is not making the positive claim	Asking non-believer for solution to problem of skepticism, or asking them to account for "reality" or how their reasoning is valid (when the believer cannot account for their god.)
Special Pleading	Someone or something is exempt from standards for no good reason	In the above example, the believer will say their god does not have to be accounted for, as it is exempt from any accounting. Claiming the same circular reasoning used by Christians is exempt from circularity because it is labeled "virtuous."
Reification	Creating a concrete "thing" out of an idea	Logical absolutes are termed "laws" which were "created by" or "part of " the Christian god.
Equivocation	Using terms in two ways in the same sentence	Claiming the "laws of logic" are "followed" as if they were "laws" when it really means "no exception (known) to the concept" (used at the same time as the conceptual usage)
Proof by Assertion	Proposition repeatedly stated regardless of its contradiction	"The First Principle" that "The Bible is the Word of God, because the Bible itself reveals that it is" already indicated to be a tautology.