Refraction (Bent Thinking) of the Day #27

False Appeal to Authority:  Claiming something is true by appealing to a statement from someone who is either 1) not a bona fide authority, or 2) not an authority in the area under discussion. Refutation: People who are recognized authorities in the field under discussion should be cited if you want others to be convinced by their statements. Examples: 1) The Bible needs to be rewritten because Piers Morgan said it is out of date and full of errors. Piers Morgan is not a Biblical scholar, nor any kind of scholar for that matter, 2) The Bible needs to be rewritten because it is full of errors as noted by Stephen W. Hawking. While Hawking is a bona fide authority in the field of theoretical physics and pretty darned smart, he is not an authority in Biblical Studies. Side Note: For a person to be a bona fide authority in a field, they must be recognized by their peers as having special knowledge, training, and/or experience in that field. The best way to demonstrate this is by having written articles in that field’s professional (peer reviewed) journals. The second best way is by having written books on the subject matter in their field and these books have been quoted by peers.