Correction appended
NEW YORK – A New Zealand-born minister and evangelist is asserting that he can prove the existence of God without using the Bible, and has challenged two atheists to a debate.
Ray Comfort, author of God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, alongside fellow Christian and actor Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) will butt heads with two ardent nonbelievers using only scientific fact in a debate sponsored by ABC. Comfort says that the evidence will “absolutely” confirm that there is a God.
"Most people equate atheism with intellectualism," explained Comfort in a statement, "but it's actually an intellectual embarrassment. 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. This is not a joke. I will present undeniable scientific proof that God exists.”
The debate is in reaction to the “Blasphemy Challenge” that started late in 2006. The two creators of the movement encouraged all people to tape themselves with a short message that will “damn themselves to hell.” Participants must recite the line "I deny the Holy Spirit,” and then upload their video onto YouTube.
Comfort and Cameron felt that these two would be some of the most difficult people to convince that God does indeed exist, and so they contacted them about having a discussion.
ABC has said that they will film the debate, which will take place on May 5 in New York City, and will stream it live on their website as well as use footage for their program Nightline. Martin Bashir, co-anchor of Nightline, will moderate the event.
Cameron will use the event to also speak out against evolution, which he thinks is not credible and a major contributor to the growth in atheism.
"Evolution is unscientific. In reality, it is a blind faith that's preached with religious zeal as the gospel truth. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was once a naïve believer in the theory,” said the former television star in a statement. “Atheism has become very popular in universities – where it's taught that we evolved from animals and that there are no moral absolutes. So we shouldn't be surprised when there are school shootings.”
Comfort felt impelled to hold the debate, because he is worried about the state of Christianity around the world, especially in Europe. According to a Zukerman study, in Sweden as many as 85 percent of the population are non-believers; Japan has 65 percent; France with 54 percent; and 44 percent of British citizens do not believe in God.
The Christian preacher also noted that there is a genuine attack against Christian beliefs, more than other religions.
"[T]here is something more sinister here than a few people not believing in God,” concluded the author. “Why would so many be so bitter against Christianity in particular? Why aren't they making videos that blaspheme Buddha or Mohammed or Ghandi? We made our own video clip and posted it on www.Hollywoodblasphemy.com to expose why."
Comfort has spoken at several atheist events, one in which he was a platform speaker at the 2001 convention for the American Atheists, Inc.
Correction: Tuesday, May 8, 2007:
An article on Sunday, Apr. 29, 2007, about an upcoming debate between evangelists Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron and two atheists incorrectly stated that Comfort would not speak about his faith during the debate sponsored by ABC. While the New Zealand-born evangelist has claimed for years that he can prove God's existence "without mentioning faith or the Bible," he does present the gospel during discussions. Comfort explained to The Christian Post that the main point of his claim is that he “can prove God's existence, absolutely ..., scientifically.” In the future, the evangelist will drop "without mentioning faith or the Bible" from his claims so that there will be no more misunderstandings.
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Look, I am an atheist who is friends with many people who are Christians and who believe in god.
I saw this debate and I have to say that I was embarrassed for Kirk Cameron. He seems like a nice person who means well, but he has absolutely NO CLUE what he is talking about. And I would say that even if I believed in god and believed in god in the same way that he does. Ray Comfort also came off as clueless.
I have to agree with "goDLike": Buddhists and Jews are not sectarian, they are not conceited enough to believe that you MUST believ like them or you are going to hell.
In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring," Case dismissed!"
The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my Client and all other atheists have no such holidays."
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."
The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."
The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."
There is no such thing as evolution. Saying that we originate from apes, is totally ridiculous. The key to all these events is the flood during the time of Noah(do more research if u think this story is no more than a myth). You cant assume that people are more technologically advanced with time, if you cant prove the level of technology before the flood.
Neither the pastor or Kirk are well trained Christian apologists. They looked silly to say the least. Why is it that uneducated Christians take on Atheists who are well educated?
You know there is a Christian who just wrote, "What's so Great about Christianity" and it is fantastic. He is a secular writer, but took atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens to task. He makes the atheists feel like they just brought a knife to a gun fight!
His name is Dinesh D'Souza. He has got to be one of the youngest and brightest minds of the 21st Century. He is amazing! He clearly one the debates with these highly accredited atheists.
If you want to fight like a man and defend your faith, then at least be prepared. Try knowing your Scripture and History.
Ok Please read this. I am atheist and I will tell you why we attack christians the most. Because 90% of Christians don't even read the bible and know the faith themselves. Christians love getting in debates with atheist because they think god is telling them to. Buddhism and Jews never attack an atheist. THATS WHY WE CONCENTRATE ON CHRISTIANS! THINK ABOUT IT ITS THE TRUTH
I saw this debate and neither one did a great job defending the faith. Of course the atheists looked equally bad. Kirk looked absolutely ridiculous trying to prove that evolution didn't happen - he didn't come off as a great defender of faith as much as someone who didn't know a thing about biology.