The "No True Scotsman" Fallacy
When Faith Becomes a Moving Target
No True Scotsman
There’s a reason deconstruction is so disorienting.
It’s not just the questions.
It’s how the people around you respond to them.
You finally get the courage to say out loud what’s been gnawing at you for years:
“I don’t know if I believe the Bible is inerrant anymore.”
“I’m not sure hell makes sense.”
“I think LGBTQ+ people should be fully affirmed in church.”
And just like that—
Someone says the words:
“Well… no true Christian would believe that.”
Or worse:
“Then you were never a real Christian in the first place.”
Where the Phrase Comes From
The name comes from British philosopher Antony Flew, who coined it in the 1970s to describe a certain kind of mental gymnastics—when someone tries to protect their belief by changing the definition mid-conversation.
Here’s his classic example:
Person A: “No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.”
Person B: “My uncle Angus is Scottish, and he puts sugar on his porridge.”
Person A: “Well, no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.”
It’s a trick.
Instead of admitting that their claim doesn’t hold up, they just redefine the terms.
They move the goalpost.
That’s what’s happening when someone says you’re “not really a Christian” because you’ve changed your mind.
And when they say you never were?
That’s not just a fallacy.
It’s erasure.
“You Were Never a Christian”
I posted this short TikTok recently. It resulted in more negative comments than anything I’ve ever posted there. Which is fascinating considering I said very little at all.
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Within hours, there were dozens of people flooding the comments with the same sentence:
“You were never a real Christian.”
Not that I lost my way.
Not that I misunderstood Jesus.
Not even that I’m going to hell. (Though there are always a few of those.)
Just: You never were one of us to begin with.
That’s the fallback move for people who can’t explain why you no longer fit in their system—so instead, they pretend you never did.
But I did.
And so did you.
You were sincere.
You believed deeply.
You prayed. You served. You gave. You sang. You wept. You hoped.
Even if you don’t believe the same things now—
You did then.
That chapter was real.
That version of you was real.
That story still matters—even if it no longer ends the way others want it to.
Faith Shouldn’t Be a Moving Target
This is what makes the No True Scotsman fallacy so damaging in religious spaces.
Because it isn’t just a bad argument.
It’s a tool of exclusion.
It allows people to feel superior without wrestling with the reality that faith evolves.
It erases your past to discredit your present.
It protects fragile certainty by demonizing change.
And worst of all—it disconnects belief from belonging.
You’re not just wrong.
You were never real.
That’s the message.
But it’s a lie.
What’s True
You don’t stop being a person of faith just because your faith changes—unless you choose that path on purpose.
You don’t lose your worth because you stopped believing what someone else says is a mandatory belief to be included in their narrowly defined version of any faith tradition.
You’re not a fraud.
You’re not a heretic.
You’re not a cautionary tale.
You are someone being honest.
Even when it costs you everything.
And that might be the most faithful thing you’ve ever done—even if some people will never accept it.
Thanks.
There’s a lot of grief involved in letting go of once deeply held beliefs, and belongings… and there is a lot of unresolved grief involved in Churches, too, as they watch people leave, and the structures that help make sense of their faith be questioned. I think it’s their own painful grief, anger and uncertainty that they are distancing from, and acting out of, when they make such hurtful comments. Go well.❤️
Your thoughts/posts seem to come directly from my mind. I appreciate the posts and time/effort you put it to get here. It is beneficial to me, which means there are many others who feel the same. Thank you!!