Proof-Texting Isn't Just Quoting Bible Verses Anymore [View all]

Proof-texting is typically the use of Biblical quotations out of context to attempt to make some point. These days, the power of Google can lead you to quotations from all sorts of people. You can take those out of context, too, to reinforce a point. It's easy to find something a prominent person said about almost anything. Usually, you can find something that agrees with you in just seconds.

That's the beauty of "proof-texting." Whatever it is you're trying to say, you can find a Bible verse or a quotation from someone everyone recognizes to suit your purpose. It doesn't matter that what you quote is out of context, see. You're using an authoritative source of some kind to bolster your weak argument.

Proof-texting is very popular among people who are trying to promote a questionable or patently false premise. They know that most people won't go look at what was quoted to see if the context surrounding it supports the fragment. So, they post their quotation or Bible verse and believe they have proved their point.

My recommendation when you encounter such proof-texting is to use Google to discover the actual context of the quote or more from the quoted source. If proof-texters can use Google, so can we all. It's enlightening to explore and discover just how wrong someone can be in attempts to sell us all some sort of nonsense.