Red Herring

A red herring fallacy happens when someone introduces an unrelated issue to distract from the argument being discussed.

Instead of answering the point you made, they steer the conversation somewhere else. Sometimes this is intentional. Other times people don't even realize they're doing it. Either way, the original argument never gets addressed.

Imagine asking someone whether a bridge is safe to drive across, and instead of answering, they start telling you how beautiful the paint is. Even if everything they say is true, it doesn't answer the question.

The same thing happens in discussions about Christianity.

Example

Christian: "What evidence do you have that Jesus' disciples knowingly lied about the resurrection?"

Atheist: "What about all the people Christians have killed throughout history?"

Notice what happened.

Whether Christians have committed terrible acts throughout history is an entirely separate discussion. Even if every accusation were true, it wouldn't answer the question about the evidence for the disciples lying.

The conversation has been redirected away from the original issue.

This happens on both sides.

Atheist: "Why does God allow evil and suffering?"

Christian: "Well, atheists can't explain objective morality."

That may be an important discussion, but it doesn't answer the question that was asked. The Christian has changed the subject instead of addressing the problem of evil.

That is a red herring.

How to Respond

Don't chase the new topic.

Instead, politely bring the conversation back to the original question.

You could say something like:

"That's a separate discussion, and I'm happy to talk about it afterward. But first, let's finish the question we were already discussing."

If the conversation constantly jumps from one topic to another, you'll never reach a conclusion on any of them.

Practice

The next time you're reading comments online, ask yourself:

"Did they actually answer the question, or did they change the subject?"

Once you start recognizing red herrings, you'll notice how often discussions get derailed. Staying focused on one issue at a time leads to clearer thinking and far more productive conversations.