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The Appeal to Augustine Fallacy?

The article featured below makes a couple of points, both of which are important to Christians. Apologists and those who value rational thinking should take note of them. One is a common error in logic called appeal to authority.

The other important point extends from the first: old Earth compromisers claim that Augustine and other church fathers were "on their side", and people just assume that they are being truthful. People who want the facts can check things out nowadays.

Certain believers in an old Earth claim that Augustine and other church fathers supported their views. This is false, and an appeal to authority.
Original image: St Augustine in his Study, Sandro Botticelli, 1490
Don't be disunderstanding me here, citing authorities in their areas is necessary. It becomes fallacious when there's an emotional component that is manipulative. Also, getting an opinion from someone who is unskilled in an area is a fallacy, such as quoting Clinton Richard Dawkins, an angry atheist, on matters of theology. Referring to him on zoology or animal behavior might be more accurate.

Matt Slick of CARM says, "My church father can beat up your church father." That is, when referring to experts, people can generally find someone to back up a claim and confirm a bias, then someone else has another for their side. Church fathers were not divinely inspired and did not compose holy writ. They developed theology in many cases, however, but many were not uniform in their beliefs across the board.

Some old Earth owlhoots have appealed to Augustine and other church fathers, saying that young earth creation is the new kid on the block and that the church fathers believed Earth was very old. Tinhorns like Hugh Ross of (No) Reason to Believe has listed several. It did not go well. They actually believed in recent creation.

Spurious authorities riding for the old Earth, theistic evolution, and other brands seem like authorities themselves, and if Augustine believed in an old Earth, yee haw boy howdy, we'd better believe it too! Except that if people get a bit of ambition, they can see for their ownselves that Ross and others are doing some theological gaslighting.

I'd be very much obliged if you would read this extremely interesting and helpful article: "St. Augustine Was a Young-Earth Creationist — Theological fact checking". Look for where I learned the term theological gaslighting. Also of interest is "Augustine Did Not Support Old-Earth Views".