Alice: All Scotsmen enjoy haggis.
Bob: My uncle was born in Scotland, and he doesn’t like haggis!
Alice: Well, all true Scotsmen like haggis.
The fallacy of the “No true Scotsman” is a plague on our nation and our discourse. People say that Ron Paul isn’t a true republican because he is too anti-war. People said Regan wasn’t a True Republican because he was too moderate. Obama is no True Democrat because he’s too socialist. Repeat ad nauseum.
So what exactly is happening here? Basically, the No True Scottsman fallacy is an attempt to redefine the requirements of any group in order to distance a particular affiliate from the group. It often involves adding special or extraneous requirements to a definition; it often comes down to semantics, and people being honest with semantics. Rather than admit that many members of a group in fact have undesirable qualities, the members seek to redefine the group. These desirable qualities then become new requirements of the group.
No True Christian
One of the most common applications of this fallacy is to the definition of a Christian. Denominations are simply the repeated application and redefinition of what a true Christian is, in which doctrine (rather than belief) is necessary to inclusion or exclusion. Reformed, Pentacostal, Liberal, Catholic, Mormon, Lutheran, Baptist… Did you know there are over 30 different sub-denominations of baptists in the US alone? Each of these denominations believe that their definition of what it means to be a Christian, is the most correct, and that all the others are wrong.
That all the others are not “True” Christians. When I was a Baptist, I heard that the Catholics weren’t true Christians because they worshiped Mary instead of Jesus. Pentacostals believe that True Christians can speak in tongues, with some denominations that take the end of Matthew literally, believing you can take up deadly snakes and withstand poison, or you’re not a True Christian. Calvinists believe that if you don’t understand the concepts of the Five Solas and believe them, you’re not a true Christian. Some Christians think that if you’re not a Republican, you’re not a True Christian. Meanwhile I’m in a discussion with someone on Reddit that thinks any Christian who hates gays is not a True Christian.
What is a Christian?
So what gives? What is a Christian? It’s simple. Anyone who believes Christ’s divinity and follows his teachings. Anyone. Of course, which of his teachings are somewhat muddled, but according to Paul, who wrote Romans about 20 years before the gospels came out, belief is all that is necessary.
“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
Nothing more. Which means being kind to a group of people isn’t a requirement. Which means doing the right things or saying the right things isn’t a requirement. Which means spending enough time in prayer isn’t a requirement.
Many Christians boast about the fact that there are no actions that accompany salvation. This is a blessing and a curse: Murderers can be saved. Bad people can be saved. Assholes can be saved. You think that Fred Phelps, the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, believes the requirements from Romans 10? Yes? Well then he’s a Christian. Period. And if anyone wants to wriggle out of it, tough. That’s not for you to decide. That’s the point. Assholes get heaven. Nice people get Hell. Based on belief, not on action.
Application!
This video has been making rounds, and I did a blog post about it a few days ago, but I didn’t really highlight the No True Scotsman aspects. Watch it again, just for fun. His first sentence is a false dichotomy which sets the stage for him trying to engage in his no true Scotsman to distance himself from other Christians (which he refers to as “religion”)
What if I told you, ‘Jesus came to abolish religion’?
Translation: Christians that follow religion are not True Christians. True Christians follow Jesus.
Other Christians have picked up on this innaity. He continues: “If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?” Alluding to the notion that things like the Crusades, the Thirty Years War, or the may other Christian-initiated conflicts and murders throughout history. All those folks believed in Jesus. They just saw heretics, and they wanted to stop them from spreading their message. Just like the Jews (Paul) had tried to kill the Christians for spreading a “false message”
“Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?” The Vatican, the Cistine Chapel, some of the greatest works of art of all time, and nearly the entirety of music composed from the end of the dark ages until the 20th century was commissioned by the church to give glory to Jesus and God. It was commissioned by people who believed that architecture, art, and music should reflect God’s glory. They were believers. Furthermore, getting angry at big churches contradict’s Jesus rebuke of Judas when the woman gave him expensive perfume.
So in closing, it really doesn’t matter what requirements you think deserve to get tacked onto Christianity. It’s still a religion, and warmongering, opulence, homophobia, Republicanism, and ignorance don’t suddenly nullify one’s claims about Jesus. If being ignorant of what the bible actually teaches makes you not a true Christian, even he’s doomed.
