Logical Fallacy of Tu Quoque / You Too / Appeal to Hypocrisy / Personal Inconsistency (a form of ad hominem)

The logical fallacy of tu quoque / You Too / appeal to hypocrisy / personal inconsistency occurs when someone tries to turn an accusation back on the accuser rather than addressing the issue. Turning back the accusation, even if it’s true, never answers the accusation.

Examples of the Logical Fallacy of Tu Quoque/You Too/Appeal to Hypocrisy/Personal Inconsistency:

Rocky: "Every so-called evidence for evolution or billions of years, and every evidence against the Bible or Jesus Christ is based on some combination of arbitrary assumptions, made-up stories, irrationality, or outright lies."

Sandy: "Oh yeah? Well, every so-called evidence against evolution or billions of years, and every evidence for the Bible or Jesus Christ is based on some combination of arbitrary assumptions, made-up stories, irrationality, or outright lies."

Sandy’s comment would be very difficult to refute, but it might be better for Rocky to at least try or else admit that there is no evidence that is not based on one of the four things mentioned. Rocky’s logical fallacy of tu quoqu/you too would be bad enough, but the logic isn’t reversible in this case. The evidence against billions of years and for the inerrancy of the Bible is direct revelation from God. While it may not be possible for a Christ-follower to present this evidence other than by personal testimony of themselves and millions of other Christ-followers, it is also not possible to present most scientific evidence by any other means than the scientist’s personal testimonies. And most scientific evidence cannot be checked by a person who doesn’t have access and special knowledge to do so; it must be taken on faith. However, Christ can be verified. Whoever keeps on seeking Him in sincerity, respect, obedience, submission, and a will to do His will is going to find Him. There are no exceptions to this.

Rocky: "Can you think of any evidence for evolution or billions of years, and every evidence against the Bible or Jesus Christ is based on some combination of arbitrary assumptions, made-up stories, irrationality, or outright lies?"

Sandy: "Oh yeah? Well, can you think of any evidence against evolution or billions of years, and every evidence for  the Bible or Jesus Christ is based on some combination of arbitrary assumptions, made-up stories, irrationality, or outright lies?"

Rocky: "As a matter of fact, yes; all of the evidence that I have is based on revelation from God who cannot lie."

Tip:

For those who follow Christ, there is always the admission that we are sinners, yet we speak against sin and we know that Jesus came to deliver us from it. There is always the admission that we don’t hear God’s Voice as we ought, but we are learning to hear Him more clearly and, more importantly, to obey His leading and yield to His Spirit as He does His works through us. We also know that we don’t know much in comparison to what God wants to reveal to us. So, the logical fallacy of you too should not have much impact on us. We also ought not to use this logical fallacy on others. If you catch yourself using it, apologize and start over. If you are wrong, admit it. If your evidence is weak, admit it, and then go on. On the other hand, your evidence will not be weak if you are always open about your relationship with Jesus and never boast of anything that you are not experiencing with Christ or have personal knowledge of someone else experiencing with Christ.