New Interview Book: Francis Sells Straw Man
In the interview-book “Without Him We Can Do Nothing” (November 5) Francis attacks groups which “discriminate” against other cultures and view them as “unworthy” of receiving the Gospel.
According to Francis, there are proclaimers of the Gospel that present themselves as enlightened, and divide the world between “civilised” and “barbaric.”
“They consider a large part of the human family as a lower-class entity, unable to achieve decent levels in spiritual and intellectual life.”
Thus, “contempt can develop for people considered to be second rate,” he warned, “All this also emerged during the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.”
Talking to ReligionNews.com (November 5), Gianni Valente, a Francis’ court journalists who produced the interview, called the book polemically “an answer to all the closed- and narrow-minded points of view that we witnessed” during the Synod.
However, under a logical point of view, Francis’ allegations constitute a fallacy called "straw man."
It gives the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while it refutes an argument that was never presented. Such a trick is used when defeating an "enemy" is valued higher than understanding of an argument.
Picture: © Mazur, CC BY-SA, #newsPczrnjsgzo
According to Francis, there are proclaimers of the Gospel that present themselves as enlightened, and divide the world between “civilised” and “barbaric.”
“They consider a large part of the human family as a lower-class entity, unable to achieve decent levels in spiritual and intellectual life.”
Thus, “contempt can develop for people considered to be second rate,” he warned, “All this also emerged during the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.”
Talking to ReligionNews.com (November 5), Gianni Valente, a Francis’ court journalists who produced the interview, called the book polemically “an answer to all the closed- and narrow-minded points of view that we witnessed” during the Synod.
However, under a logical point of view, Francis’ allegations constitute a fallacy called "straw man."
It gives the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while it refutes an argument that was never presented. Such a trick is used when defeating an "enemy" is valued higher than understanding of an argument.
Picture: © Mazur, CC BY-SA, #newsPczrnjsgzo