'Different is not Deficient:' Logical Fallacies at Work

Anyone who saw Jeremiah Wright's NAACP speech tonite heard his message that "different is not deficient." Now I don't think that anyone reasonable person would disagree with that. He used many examples to make his point: worship styles, right brain/left brain, musical time signatures, musical scales - I felt like I was in a music theory class again! Even in all white churches, we experience many differences that don't speak to theological deficiency.

But it is a logical fallacy to suggest that the content of a sermon qualifies as a superficial difference in style. His words in this speech are an attempt to make it impossible to disagree on issues. The quotes that are attributed to Jeremiah Wright's past sermons are not in dispute because they were stated in a passionate style or because he might have been jumping up and down or because he was loud. They are in dispute because of the message they bear.

Does it ultimately matter? As different parts of the evangelical community embrace postmodernism such that the content of belief has no bearing on the nature of faith, we will continue down the path of an exclusively social gospel. We are going to see more and more of this as Jeremiah Wright gains more credibility based upon his commitment to logical fallacies.