Foundations Home Meaning Bible Dictionary History Quotations

Confusing an Explanation with Proof


Logical Fallacy of Confusing an Explanation with Proof

The logical fallacy of confusing an explanation with proof occurs when one person offers an explanation for a conclusion or event and the other person interprets the explanation as a premise for a conclusion. This confusion usually results from one person asking for proof or evidence and the other person explaining something instead of providing proof. This is more of a misunderstanding, but it can get in the way of communication, so it is offered here.

Example of Logical Fallacy of Confusing an Explanation with Proof

Sandy: "You said that God leads His people even today. Please explain." (He means that he wants proof, but he wasn’t explicit.)

Rocky: "Whenever someone reads the Bible or hears it read or quoted, they may not acknowledge it, but they are hearing God speak. It is His logos/rhema, which literally means, His utterance."

Sandy: "That proves nothing."

Rocky: "Oh, you want proof. That is different. Everyone who persistently seeks God through Jesus Christ, realizing their unworthiness and need for release from the tendency to sin will find Him, but they must come sincerely, in humility and in submission. Just as any experiment in a laboratory only works if all the ingredients are there, so it is in this case. If I want to prove to you that a hypodermic needle is painful but bearable, words won’t prove that. You have to experience it. You have to have enough trust to do that. The same is true with God, except that there is no pain. Words don’t really prove anything. You have to have enough trust to try, to experience, and then the proof is there."

Sandy and Rocky were not communicating. Some may think this isn't a fallacy, but fallacy includes misunderstanding.


Real Reality Books - FREE Books
The complexity of God’s Way understood in a single diagram Obey your flesh and descend into darkness

How can we know anything about anything? That’s the real question
click here to learn more about being redeemed from sin and set free to serve God in spirit and in truth. click here to learn more about holiness click here to learn more about being changed into the same image click here to learn more about sowing and reaping click here to learn more about the free gift of righteousness. click here to learn more about how faith gives us access to grace and grace does the works. click here to learn more about faith and how it comes. click here to learn more about acknowledging Jesus click here to learn more about how God speaks Who will you listen to?  Click here to learn more. click here to learn more about the pattern of God. click here to learn more about the pattern of God for individuals, marriage, and family. click here to learn more about the pattern of God for the local church click here to learn more about the Church universal