Appeal: ad hominem
From Fr. Ananias and Jay Dyer vs Matt Slick: Orthodoxy vs Protestantism Debate.
- #25871:23:53upheld Matt Slick psogos: ad hominem (+1) tempered from major to minor
The council upheld the call: Matt Slick gave away 1 point.
“You remind me of the cultists I've had to deal with over and over again…”
Diogenes: Instead of correcting what he says S3 got wrong, Slick answered a sentence S3 had not finished with "stop lying and bearing false witness" and likened him to cultists. S3's account was cut off, and nothing in the exchange shows deliberate lying.minor: A clear attack on the person that stands in for a correction, but it is shorter than the earlier motive attacks and followed a mid-sentence interruption.
Herodotus (partly): I found no earlier Slick–Fr. Ananias debate. The site holds no record for Slick (0 debates), and Ananias has one debate with 3 philosopher points and no faults. Searches turned up only a Slick radio segment where he describes Orthodox interlocutors as interrupting his Scripture quotations and selectively using Scripture. That shows a habit of suspicion toward Orthodox opponents, but nothing about "cultists" or lying. The in-debate record is what matters here. Ananias cited verses (John 21:25, 1 Thess, 1 Tim 3:15) and Slick pressed for Colossians 2:13–14. Ananias then said Slick would be unhappy unless he went to the verse Slick wanted, and Slick answered with "stop lying and bearing false witness" and the cultist comparison. That is a mild paraphrase, not a documented lie, so the ad hominem charge largely stands. Mitigating context: Jay Dyer opened the debate by calling Slick a cultist, a "goblin, a demon, a boomer tard" (a different Orthodox speaker, not Ananias). Slick had also been interrupted and was frustrated by 80+ minutes of method-first objections. Sources: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermons/10425205416906 https://jaydyer.substack.com/p/protestant-vs-orthodox-debate-is-8d8 The bench graded it minor (Aristotle, Plato); the referee had major.
- Aristotle uphold: On the record: Slick declared at the opening that Scripture is the inspired standard, that he is a five-point Calvinist, and that he welcomes correction; he has held that throughout, and calling Fr. Ananias a liar and likening him to cultists departs from engaging the point on the table. Slick answered Ananias's mild paraphrase with "stop lying and bearing false witness" and "You remind me of the cultists," a remark about the person in place of a correction. Nothing in the debate backs the lying charge, since Slick had in fact pressed repeatedly for Colossians. The remark ended the exchange on the point. Provocation from Dyer and interruptions mitigate, so minor rather than major.
- Socrates uphold: Read blind, found "ad hominem". Slick answers Ananias's complaint that he was being forced onto Protestant terms with a remark about Ananias's character, comparing him to cultists, and not with an answer to the framework objection. The comparison has no bearing on whether the canon and the hermeneutic must be settled first, and nothing specific in the record backs it. It also turns the exchange to the person.
- Plato uphold: On the record: Slick declared at the opening a very high view of Scripture as the inspired standard, that Orthodox synergism damns, and that he can defend Calvinism from Scripture; he has held that line since, and the called line (calling Ananias a liar who reminds him of cultists) is a personal attack rather than a departure from it. Ananias had said Slick would be unhappy unless he went to Slick's chosen verse. Slick did not correct that paraphrase. He answered with "stop lying and bearing false witness" and compared Ananias to cultists. That stood in for an answer on the point at issue, and nothing in the exchange shows deliberate lying, so the remark is unfounded. It also closed the exchange by turning it to the person. Ananias's paraphrase was mild and Slick was provoked, so the severity should be lower than major.
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