Pesharim

Alright, so I know I’ve pretty much written off Ray Comfort in recent posts. Let this be the grand finale. Actually, let this be something more than that, let’s make this an open letter to Ray Comfort, himself. Ambitious? Yes, of course, but mostly I’m just tiring of such nonsense as this. Yet, here we go again.

As you may know, I’m fairly new to the blogosphere, so forgive me if this is old news. Anyhow, about a year ago Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron were broadcast on ABC Nightline in a debate against two members of the Rational Response Squad. The video series of the debate can be seen in fifteen parts via youtube. Watch he first part of the debate here.

Kirk Cameron opened by saying:

“Hi, I’m Kirk Cameron and my partner and I, Ray Comfort, come to you tonight not as molecular biologists or rocket scientists, but simply as an author and an actor, and we want to do two things that fly in the face of convention. One, we’d like to show you that the existence of God can be proven, 100 percent, absolutely, without the use of faith. And secondly, as a former atheist myself — an evolutionist — I want to pull back the curtain and show that the number one reason that people don’t believe in God is not a lack in evidence, but because of a theory that many scientists today believe to be a fairytale for grownups.”

Keep reading and you’ll see why I object to this. At merely a cursory glance, I was astounded by some of the things Ray Comfort said in this debate. “I am amazed at how many people think that God’s existence is a matter of faith. It’s not, and I will prove it at the debate – once and for all.” Not a matter of faith? Just how is it not, pray tell? “Faith” is used 402 times in the Bible — four hundred times in the New Testament alone. To the Ephesians, Paul states, “For by grace we have been saved through faith…” (Eph. 2:8 NKJV). There is simply no way you can exclude faith from a discussion of the supernatural, absolutely none.

And if Ray doesn’t believe in God through faith, how would he prove, as it were, God’s existence? Cameron notes, “Proving the existence of God is actually a lot easier than you think.” Quaint. I certainly don’t think that to “prove” God’s existence would be so very easy, not to mention that his methods are purely antithetical to his goals. Science by itself cannot prove anything. Significantly, to remark on the existence of God is entirely outside the inquiry of science (as discussed in more breadth here). Stephen Jay Gould wrote (pg. 265 The Language of God, Francis Collins) ” To say it for all my colleagues and for the umpteenth millionth time: science simply cannot by its legitimate methods adjudicate the issue of God’s possible superintendence of nature. We neither affirm or deny it; we simply cannot comment on it as scientists.” One of Ray’s favorite quips is that atheism, by science, is an irrational worldview (see his book God Doesn’t believe in Atheists). And to say that science negates the possibility of a God is, indeed, irrational. Likewise is this, that neither can science prove the existence of God, by any natural estimable, methods. Therefore, taking faith from a biblical worldview inherently crumbles a belief in God.

So where is Ray’s “undeniable, scientific proof that God exists”? I have no idea. Watch the videos for yourself, tell me if you find any proof. I have watched the series, and I have not found any proof in them to justify, undeniable, the existence of God.

Where does that leave me as a Christain, you ask? In faith. Faith, not through any natural means of understanding, as if resorting to “proof” of the supernatural would mean anything at all. Faith, and grace, through Christ, is the only way to God. So I’m not trying to justify belief in God through science. I won’t bother telling you God exists because of some natural law or other. I believe in God because I chose to believe in God, and that is faith. The author of Hebrews writes “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” (Heb, 11:1 NKJV). Hear me out, please don’t misunderstand me on this: science, indeed, gives credence to belief God, but only through the Bible, and never without faith.

As I mentioned before, let’s make this an open letter to Ray Comfort. Pass it on, discuss it it the comments. Whatever it takes. I’ll be contacting Ray about this but that doesn’t mean you can’t too. Read his blog here, so please you. Other posts my myself addressing issues with his ministry include “Gagging on Comfort Food” and “Summa Contra Banana”.