Ray Comfort's Blog, page 54

The Atheist Experience

Matt Dillahunty of "The Atheist Experience" contacted me, and has kindly invited me to be a guest on his show this Sunday.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Should Atheists be Stoning Homosexuals?

Atheists often ask why Christians aren't stoning homosexuals to death "because the Bible tells you to do that!" They are normally adamant that the Scriptures have translation errors, but with certain convenient verses they don't doubt that these are the original unchanged texts.

Most atheists are quick to tell you that Thomas Jefferson was a theist, and not a Christian. But they aren't so quick to tell you that in 1778 Jefferson penned a law that prescribed castration for those that were then called "sodomites." [1].

Jefferson wanted mere castration, but the Virginia Legislature ignored him. They so saw sodomy as such a filthy practice, they continued to prescribe the death penalty. Before 1962, the crime of sodomy was a felony in every state in the U.S., punishable by a long term in prison often with hard labor. [2].

Should we then make the assumption that an atheist from Virginia should therefore push for the death penalty for homosexuals; and that if he's from any other State at least encourage long terms in prison with hard labor, simply because his forefathers did?

However, atheists go one further with their senselessness argument. They expect Christians to instigate the 3,000 year-old civil law of another nation. They do this to try and justify their own sinful lifestyle. These and other senseless arguments are thin bushes, behind which they try and hide from God.

Btw. I love homosexuals and pray that they find everlasting life that is alone offered through the new birth of John chapter 3.

NOTES:
1. Thomas Jefferson, A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments 1778 Papers 2:492--504 http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founde...
2. The Nation: Margot Canaday, "We Colonials: Sodomy Laws in America ," September 3, 2008 http://www.thenation.com/article/we-c... Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Atheist Earrings, etc.,--for the Diehard Fundamentalist Atheist

"I suspect that a lot of parole boards look favorably upon 'getting religion.' This of course provides an incentive for prisoners to profess some religion. And I doubt that atheist groups are nearly as busy proselytizing in prisons as religious sects are." Steven J.

Atheists are some of the most agressive proselytizers I know. I'm not sure as to why they don't visit prisons. I have spoken in a number, and can say that there is some personal risk, and of course, there is no financial return. That may be the reason.

The many atheists I know are religious zealots, and Richard Dawkins is their number one evangelist. He's spreading the word worldwide--with his fund-producing books, Atheist T-shirts, crocoduck ties, patches, hoodies, bags, buttons, atheist earrings, DVD's, and even evolution necklaces. He does TV interviews, radio interviews, speaks at universities and special dinners, and pushes his message on billboards and on bus signs. He's very busy proselytizing (unless you think he's just in it for the money). I may be wrong, but I don't think he goes into prisons.

Having said that, I believe that it is legitimate to spread the message in which you believe, and to give people tools to do the same. Professor Dawkins wants people to "Come out." I want them to "Come in." The comparison stops there. I don't have his eloquence or persuasive ability.

I like the professor. May God keep him in health so that he continues to courageously speak out against religious hypocrisy. It sure is needed. He is almost as offended by it as I am.


Pic. A Richard Dawkin's necklance, available at http://store.richarddawkins.net/colle... Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

The Religion of Atheism

"Ray, I know you have heard this before, you fail to understand. Atheism is the antithesis of religion. Perhaps this will help: antithesis | anˈtiθəsis | noun ( pl. -ses |-ˌsēz|) a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else : love is the antithesis of selfishness. By calling atheists religious, you are again lying."

You will also find in the dictionary that one meaning of the word religious is "scrupulously faithful." This is where I believe that atheists are religious. Although most are adamant that they have no beliefs, the opposite is true. Atheists have great faith.

In the face of an incredibly intricate and ordered Nature, they believe that there is no evidence of intelligent design. That takes amazing faith.

They believe the idea of evolution. They believe that there is evidence that proves the theory to be a scientific fact. They also believe the earth is billions of years old, and scoff at anyone who doesn't believe as they do.

Look at Talkorigin's take on the age of the earth:

"The generally accepted age for the Earth and the rest of the solar system is about 4.55 billion years (plus or minus about 1%). This value is derived from several different lines of evidence."

So you can confidently believe that the earth is about 4.55 billion years old, if you have faith in radiometric dating methods.

Let's look briefly at the track record of beliefs about the earth's age. In the late 1700's the earth was believed to be about 75,000 years old.

In 1862, calculations changed that belief to between 20 million and 400 million years. Then it was changed to 56 million years old. In 1897 it went back to 40 million, then later to 80 to 100 million years.

When radiometric dating was invented that changed the belief to between 250 million to 1.3 billion years. In 1927 that was changed again to 1.6 to 3.0 billion years.

However, "modern" dating methods changed the belief once again to around 4.53 to 4.58 billion years. Modern folks tend to forget that all past dating methods were thought around the time they were done, to be "modern."

It time, future "modern" dating methods will no doubt change the date once again, and when that happens, the faithful will believe they have the truth. This is because they have unquestioning faith in what they are told. That's because they are "Faitheists" —the scrupulously faithful followers of the religion of atheism.

By the way; the Federal Bureau of Prisons lists "Atheism" under "Religious Categories." So for those atheists who are brave enough to fess up to their non-beliefs when the law catches up with them, they won't feel alone.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Atheism and the Age of the Earth

"The age of the Earth has been within the same range (two to five billion years) for roughly your entire lifetime. Prior to radiometric dating, of course, no one really knew how old the Earth was (Kelvin's attempt, back in Darwin's day, to argue that it could not be more than 20 million years old was overturned by the discovery of radioactivity). Since then, the range has been narrowed repeatedly, and the margin of uncertainty reduced, from 2 to 5 billion years to 4.5 to 4.6 billion years." Steven J.

Do you have any idea of the time-length of a million years, or of a thousand million years? You speak of billions as though they were a few minutes, tossing them around like a fishmonger tosses fish at a fish market. And then you admit that scientists have changed from two billion to five billion, just in my little lifetime, and expect me to believe that they now have it right.

I don't accuse you of lying when you say that you believe all this stuff, because it's your God-given right to believe anything you wish. But you (in another comment) accuse me of lying when I say that I have no idea of the age of the earth. But I truly don't. Why should I trust what you say or trust the scientists in whom you have so much faith, when they have changed their minds by an incredible variable of 3,000,000,000 years?

Your desire to get far from any thoughts of God (and moral responsibility towards Him), have sent you into a world of blind faith in untrustworthy ever-changing data, and in very fallible man.

In another of your comments you say that I should "correct" misunderstandings of evolution of the average street person. In other words, you want me to join your evolutionary evangelistic team and then spend my time teaching people about the theory. But I don't see these as "misunderstandings." They are ridiculous and unscientific beliefs that turn people from God to a childish and unthinking fable.

I will do no such thing. Instead I will continue to challenge anyone and everyone as to what they believe, and present the truth of Holy Scripture—that God created the world, made male and female--with the amazing ability to reproduce after their own kind. And I will be sure to add that He (in His loving mercy) provided a Savior who defeated death, and that He offers everlasting life to all those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ. That's a fact, not a fable.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

A Song Written by Atheists, for Atheists

Atheists now have something to sing, and I like both the tune and the sentiment behind the revealing lyrics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orqBWCOZOGo

I couldn't help but notice that the words don't deny the existence of God. Instead they reveal that atheists are deeply offended by two things. The first is religious hypocrisy; and so they should be. We should all be sickened by those who spill blood as they say "God is great!"

The second offence is God, as revealed in the Bible. The Scriptures tell us that He requires moral accountability, and that rubs the fur the wrong way.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Bible spoke of this. It said, "[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot" (Romans 8:7, Amplified Bible).

So kudos (praise) to whoever created this excellent song (if you think the song created itself, give the song itself the praise).

Look at how the Bible describes atheists in general. It says that they,

1. Ignore creation—proof of a Creator—leaving them "without excuse."
2. They refuse to thank God for the gift of life.
3. Their thoughts become futile (e.g. the imagination of evolution).
4. They become fools who believe they are intelligent (they profess to represent science).
5. They imagine God as being an unprincipled little old man.

Nailed, by a 2,000 year old book:

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things" (Romans 1:20-23, NKJV).

One other thought. To say that God is "great" is the understatement of eternity. Great just means "large in size or in power." The Hoover Dam is great. But there are no words to describe God because there is nothing by which we might compare Him. The sun is a tiny part of His infinite creation; and looking at its magnificence for just ten seconds will blind you for life.

Compared to its Creator, it is nothing but a snuffed out candle on a very dark night. Yet the atheist compares Him to a nasty little old man. The god that atheists don't believe in, doesn't exist.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

An Atheist Interviews Richard Gunther

http://madartlab.com/2011/03/02/ray-comforts-personal-cartoonist/

FYI: The interviewer (nice guy) does ask why Richard isn't acknowledged on "Atheist Central." However, his name is at the top of the blog (has been for years), as well as a link to his own site (at the bottom), and now and then I have Richard as a guest-blogger.

Some of you keep asking why I won't go on "The Atheist Experience" (Matt Dillahunty seems like a nice guy). I would love to go on, but the invite would have to come from them. I often do interviews with atheists, and I enjoy doing them--they have always been polite and respectful.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

The Know-it-all Atheist

"But wisdom is justified of all her children." (Luke 7:35).

You can see the fruit of wisdom by the lives of those who follow it. This godless world is like a know-it-all teenager. He gets a buzz from dope, enjoys sex with his gorgeous girlfriend, loves driving fast cars, and going to wild parties. He lives on the edge, ignoring the wisdom of his parents.

Zoom forward 15 years at his memorial service. He became addicted to coke, got his girlfriend pregnant, had a failed marriage, and ended up killing himself through driving drunk. It happens all the time. You can't tell anything to a hedonist teenager, who thinks he knows best.

So it is with this world who thinks it knows best. To them, God is the ultimate party-pooper. But look at the trail of godless destruction—suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, STD's, wars, hatred, greed, corruption, fear, hunger, radiation poisoning, an impending international financial collapse, uncontrollable pollution, sky-rocketing gas prices, and a mass of other consequences of refusing the counsel of God.

The Bible personifies "Wisdom" at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs, and speaks to rebellious humanity:

"Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But you have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices" (Proverbs 1:24—31).

God forbid that this should happen to this wise-in-its-own-eyes generation. May it wake up and seek God before it does.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Protestant Atheists

The mass of protest against me for saying that nature "improved" this earth, proves my point. Nature cannot improve anything. However, we know that after the big bang, the earth slowly became multifarious--with seasons, clean air, tall trees, and diverse foods, etc., until the planet could sustain life.

As Steven J. rightly said, "Nature isn't trying to make things better (and so can neither succeed nor fail in doing so). Earthquakes and other natural disasters can neither advance nor hinder the goals that nature, evolution, and natural selection do not have. Nothing is an 'improvement' by the standards of impersonal forces of nature."

He is absolutely right. The improvements and diversity of life had nothing to do with nature. Another atheist said, "Ray using the word improvements is wrong; it is subjective. The only constant in nature is that it's changing. Not good, not bad, that is all relative to the individual."

However, as human beings, we aren't like inanimate nature. We have the ability to recognize that a beautiful snow-capped mountain and rich and fertile soil is a vast improvement over lifeless lava. We also know that a cascading waterfall and rolling green grass is a visual improvement on black volcanic upchuck. We know that oxygen-impregnated air is an upgrade on no air at all, and gravity is a hefty improvement on a gravity-less earth. To say that there have been no improvements in nature (from the beginning) would be disingenuous.

Of course it wasn't nature that gave us these amazing enhancements so that we would breathe, have our feet firmly planted on this earth, enjoy the seasons, and eat of the fruits the soil so wonderfully produces. It was God (see Acts 14:17).

Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc., aren't nature doing anything. They are evidences of the Genesis curse. We live in a fallen creation that is also evident by disease, suffering, and death.

And our death will be the damning evidence (the smoking gun) for sinful humanity. It will be the final nail in our coffin. God, the Supreme Judge of the Universe, will have the last word.

Then again, you don't need to wait until death comes to you. Instead of living in atheistic denial, you can have the courage to face it head-on, by trusting in Jesus Christ—"who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Believe it; appropriate it, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

The Atheist's Refrigerator

"Ray, your post, while implicitly admitting that your earlier claim (that atheists in general think that earthquakes are nature making improvements) is false, still claims that some of them think that. Given the diversity of beliefs compatible with 'God does not exist,' you may even be right about that ... but I have never read any such comment by an atheist and think that you should be required to support that assertion." Steven J.

I appreciate that concession. However, it doesn't need "support," because it's axiomatic. My worldview says that we live in a fallen creation, evidenced by earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes, suffering and death.

Your worldview says that nothing caused nature, but your "nothing" (according one of your previous comments) is nothing as in "There's nothing in the refrigerator." Meaning that there is something there, but nothing you desire to eat.

So let's pick it up four billion years ago, not too long after the beginning of what surrounds us. It looks nothing like what we have today; nothing but barren molt and lava.

But in time, plates shift through massive earthquakes that lift the earth changing the volcanic landscape into soil, waterfalls, lakes, flowers, and beautiful fruit-bearing trees. Nature is making things better. It is improving and, in time, will even be able to support life, filled with birds, fish, bugs and butterflies, with rolling green hills and pristine snow-capped mountains.

As more time passes, the sea floor explodes as more volcanic activity violently shakes the earth and forms more land, which will also (in time) become fruitful.

Millions of years pass. One day a massive earthquake lifts the sea floor once again, sending a huge tsunami across the earth, clearing it of trees, creatures, and anything in its path. Again, time passes. Grass once again appears, with even more fruit trees, vegetables, dinosaurs, and all sorts of other strange and wonderful animals. Planet earth is being refined, and beginning to look closer to the life-supporting earth as we know it.

Fast forward to Japan in March, 2011. Another massive earthquake sends a huge wave of water across the landscape, once more clearing it of all in its path. But this time it swallows thousands of apes (this is not my worldview), trees, and other structures.

Nature hasn't finished expanding and making improvements. Only time will reveal the amazing advancements of this indifferent thing so often called "mother nature."

The tragedy in Japan that caused such unspeakable misery and death was (according to Darwinian evolution) simply nature...still improving things. You have no other choice but to accept this distasteful conclusion. It is your view of this planet's history, and today is tomorrow's history. Why should anything change, just because it's abhorrent?

You dare not abandon your worldview and concede that we live in a fallen creation--because of the moral implications. But I can see why you gravitate towards your cold definition of "nothing." There is something in the fridge, but for some reason it turns your stomach to even look at it. I strongly suggest that it's not what you see that turns your stomach, but that something is seriously wrong with your godless appetite.

I speak from experience, and know that in our sinful state we don't "hunger and thirst for righteousness," but rather "drink iniquity like water."For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.