Adam Janke is a senior catechetics and theology student at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is also the president of the St. John Bosco Society for Catechetics, and has been accepted to the accelerated masters program in theology for his exceptional work in school. He lives with his wife Teresa in Steubenville and they are expecting their second child. This material is subject to copyright.

Please see our section entitled "Internet Evangelization" for more information.

The following website will help you avoid common fallacies in your arguments that could lead you to being backed into a corner while debating. Avoid them, especially the most common, red herrings, ad hominems, and circular arguments. Back yourself up with sources, especially scriptural sources, all the time. Don't copy and paste, but link and use citations. Use spell check. The fastest way to ruin your credibility is to have horrible spelling.

Talk about what you know, not what you don't know about. Especially if you are new to a website. Know your strengths and weaknesses! If you can't follow through on a debate and addresses all of the common concerns and questions, don't debate it. If you don't know anything about the 16th century reformation and Counter Reformation and aren't going to take time to learn, don't throw your opinion into the ring, and especially don't flaunt your opinion as if it were a fact. You may know for a fact that Martin Luther was wrong in his split with the Church, but if you can't address evidence stating the contrary with credible evidence of your own, your best bet is not to say anything. They cannot pin you to the wall for an issue you have not addressed. As my father said "It is better to be silent and be thought of as a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

Logical Fallacies