I had no idea Ray Comfort was running an Agony Aunt column, but here you go. He got a rather snarky question:
There've been several hundred gay marriages enacted in California in the past few days. Maybe a couple of thousand by now, I haven't checked the numbers. And in the non-gay-marrying Midwest, they're fighting floods, while in California it's fair and dry. How is The Golden State managing to escape the wrath of your imaginary friend, I wonder?
Weemaryanne
And then he answered it. Seriously. Isn't it nice how God has arranged that there is pain and suffering in every part of the world, just so His preachers have something to point to and say "Sinners!"?
Maryanne. At present there are 840 wild-fires that are burning at once in California, destroying many homes. The fires were started by lightning strikes. Guess who's in charge of the electrical department? These are from thunder storms that have no rain. Guess who gives the rain? You said "while in California it's fair and dry." We are having the worst drought in our recorded history. Last year 1,155 homes were destroyed.
It's always nice to see these kooks get explicit and credit rain to the actions of a god rather than natural meteorological processes. It's so primitive.
Ah, if only we had stoned those gay people, fire insurance rates in California would be so much lower.
But wait! There's more! Quick, remove those irony meters from the circuit, because Comfort's closing will definitely cause them to blow!
You live in an imaginary world. I suggest you get out more.
Right now, my yard is littered with a couple of tons of twisted, smoking scrap irony.
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Ok, I LOVE the term 'scrap irony'. That is all.
...In Ray's world, the banana is God's "punishment" for those who have misplaced their dildos?
Why give that idiot a platform?
C.
"Guess who's in charge of the electrical department?"
I dunno, Enron? I give up. And I'm dying to know what exactly the Midwest did to deserve their punishing flood. God promised in the Bible not to flood the Earth anymore after Noah, so it must have been ba-a-ad.
yes... well... he thinks light is invisible too
http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2008/06/thank-god-for-science.html
all of it.
Shorter Ray Comfort post:
"Your God doesn't hate gays so much." - Weemaryanne
"OH YES HE DOES!" - Ray Comfort
Bugger it. I'm at work right now and have stuff to do ...
Someone please find out how we pose questions to this charlatan and post the solution here. Then we can inundate him. Let's make Noah's flood seem like a mere tear drop in the ocean.
I have Ray on my Feedburner. Just when you think he can't say something stupider than his previous post, he comes through with something like the above.
It's like a nice little present of "teh dumb" every morning on my feed stream.
And don't get me started on his commenters.
What a little ray of comfort. NOT!
Hardly on topic, but: Did you see those Einstein and Hawking quotes in the heading of RC's blog? Is that fabricated or what. Does not seem to be reconcilable with what I read about those two. Newton might be a different story.
What an idiot, by the way. (I mean Comfort, not Newton).
Wow, for a moment there, I thought it was a former neighbor of mine, a different Ray Comfort. Mine was agin' All Hallow's Eve, since it is clearly a Satanic ritual.
god-botherers always have the same answer for conundra - the mind of god is unknowable/moves in mysterious ways (well, except for teh Gays R Evil, teh abortion is genocide, atheists have no moralsw, yadda yadda yadda, all perfectly clear).
Wallace, he allows comments but he has rules.
You can not curse (ok fine)
You can not bring up the banana (well not a stated rule but none of my comments on that every get through)
You MUST capitalize god and jesus.
We really need to have a "Golden Banana" award for most insipid statement by a Christian evangelist.
I didn't believe he could be that stupid, toomanytribbles (#4), so I checked out that link. But you're right, he does say light can't be seen at all! WTF?! It's like he has no concept of what light is. I give up, these guys are just too far gone into looney land to ever hope that they'd see reason (or even light).
every = ever
Preview for the win
Hehehe,
What a fucktard. I got a good giggle from that.
Someone ask Ray "Why are Provincetown and San Francisco still standing?"
If god is full of wrath, then he's pretty lazy about it.
Seems that God is impatient. He could just wait a few short moments in god time for people to buy the farm, and then send them to hell. It also seems he's being greedy with this sadism. Why the need to torture here on earth AND in then in hell.
After reading the linked post about god burning down California, I clicked on the "Thank god for Science" post. Seeing the graphic on that one immediately after reading the anti-gay post was quite amusing.
Yes Mr. Squid, after seeing the graphic on that post it is blatantly obvious to me that God is gay.
I lived in CA for about 18 years... through drought, floods and earthquakes. in 18 years living in the Bay Area (aka the Gay Area) I heard or saw lightning perhaps 10 times in total. The Gay areas of the state are primarily SF-Bay Area and Los Angeles. While they do get fires in those areas it is nothing like the more "biblically" oriented Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, which is where the 840+ lightning fires started.
If Comfort's god is in charge of the electrical department its aim is way off.
-DU-
Simple.
Iowa is halfway between Massachusetts and California.
God started another worldwide flood, set up to hit both MA and CA as quickly as possible, saw a rainbow, remembered his promise to Noah, and called it off.
Or flooding is caused by natural processes (and probably helped along by human activity in the area), but who wants a rational explanation when we could posit an omnipotent being with an extensive interest in the legal status of homosexuals?
The "Thank God for Science post ('We can't see light')" is priceless. He gives everyone a chance to make fun of his stupidity. Very decent of him. But then again, I guess he likes being a martyr.
If god controls the lightning then why go to the trouble of 1) causing a drought 2) spark up some fires 3) destroying homes of people who aren't doing the sinning? Wouldn't the best and most logical course of action be to send the bolts in the correct place?
I mean, here's an example of an activity ascribed to god which, from a materialist standpoint, looks exactly like materialistic processes with no measurable outside intervention. I'm just gobsmacked that they can be so disconnected from their OWN invented reality.
I meant to add to the previous post: If only they could apply this non-circumvention of natural processes to evolution, they'd be on to something.
... and that traffic accident yesterday afternoon that made you late for dinner? Divine retribution. Who's in charge of the steering department, eh?
Remember that poker game last Friday night? Your buddy hits his full house on the river whilst you thought your flush had the nuts? Don't mess with the dealer in sky, guy. Who's in charge of the shuffling department?
"Golden Banana Award" OMG that's the fruitcake that thinks God's special work is the 'designed' banana!!?? HAHAHAHEHEHEHE Ow! My side hurt. Yeah this reminds me when I was debating with this one girl about god. I was being lenient that religion might be beneficial 'referring to social gatherings' and she was like "OH YEAH, LIKE when God makes the RAIN FALL DOWN, everybody benefits!" I couldn't reply either because I was in shock on how stupid that was.
Great post, Ray. Awesome post. Let the atheits stew on that one for a while! [/sarcasm]
Ray likes to say that God is an angry fella.
Ray also likes to say that the Bible teaches anger is murder, and that it is one of the commandments.
Well, Ray proves God isn't above his commandments, just above the punishment. When God gets angry and commits murder, he's eternally good for his
Sigh.
I wonder why any of us go back there. Comfort will never, ever change his mind.
[sarcasm]
Hey BigDumbChimp = have YOU watched Hells Best Kept Secret today? Terry links to it on his blog, and it will show you how INTELLIGENCE is really SATAN wearing a dress![/sarcasm]
Ray would like to buy the world a Coke.
BigDumbChimp,
I've brought up the banana and not had my posts removed. Even in the context of "this is just as stupid as your banana argument"... So, perhaps he just doesn't like you ?
And to everyone else, yes, he says stuff just as dumb as this every day of the week. He even keeps saying stuff about science, even when it's pointed out to him every single time just how wrong and wilfully ignorant he is on pretty much every single scientific statement he's ever made.
I'm ashamed he was born in a country neighbouring my own.
What a glorious a majestic being this God must be to destroy the lives of millions of innocent people to punish the actions of a few. Even better, he leaves those guilty safe and unaffected so that they may see what they have wrought.
I've always said we should run a GODLY justice system. When a murderer is caught, instead of sending him to prison we should murder some bystanders and give him a pension and a new house.
What do you mean? Ray loves EVERYONE.
I've been purposefully avoiding terri's blog. If it is possible, and I'm not sure it is, he's even more annoying, wrong and stupid than Ray.
The Hawking quote is taken out of context. The Einstein quote, I believe is at least slightly accurate, though it looks like an odd mishmash of two different Einstein quotes. The first sentence of it makes no sense, the clauses don't match.
The fires were started by lightning strikes. Guess who's in charge of the electrical department?
Mythologically, doesn't that suggest that the god he's worshipping is actually Zeus or Thor? They're both thunder (lightning) gods. Yahweh, as far as I know, is not particularly. But if lightening is god's wrath (whichever god), what are we to think of the filming of the Passion of Christ in which the actor playing Jesus got struck by lightning not once but twice? Definitely a sign.
Guess who gives the rain?
Now he seems to have switched to the Hopi mythos. I'm pretty sure one of the Hopi deities gives rain when asked nicely.
Apparently Thor has lots of jotuls to kill around California.
Same. He swoops in and spews preachy ignorance with even more ignorance than Ray does. One day I'll feel crazy enough to go check his blog, I'm sure it's an insane read.
holy early morning repetition, Batman. I need to sleep more.
Some of the Hawking quote, from http://www.holysmoke.org/cre014.htm:
So long as the universe had a beginning, we could suppose it had a creator. But if the universe is really completely self-contained, having no boundary or edge, it would have neither beginning nor end: it would simply be. What place, then, for a creator?
He actually came to my blog once and left a very polite message about looking forward to debating various points.
He hasn't been back, which is good, because I've seen what he means by debate. Spewing scripture is not debate.
I had occasion to read/review Ray's recent book Evolution - A Fairy Tale for Grownups. The man actually acknowledges that he's quotemining, defends the practice, and starts digging, using a Question/Answer/Analysis format.
The bulk of the book appears to be either plagiarism (Question #74, plagiarized directly from christiancourier.com) or previously debunked quotemines (Question # 71, where he misquotes a misquote from George Wald from 1954).
Naturally, the degree of "science" in his book is vanishingly small, and by the end he's making his typical "Jesus died for you" pitch.
Why anyone pays attention to this guy is beyond me.
Building in areas that have natural fires is a precise analogue to building one's house on the sand, which Jesus condemned. Not just the structural properties of sand, but that sand is usually in a flood plain. So why hasn't Comfort condemned building one's house in the hills covered with dry brush? There were fires there before people even lived there. So far as building security is concerned, it's much worse than being gay.
And, we only need to point to the Netherlands. Lots of gays, with full protection of law, in a country that lives below sea level protected by (wait for it) dykes! Uh, I meant dikes. And they're doing fine.
I have some strange masochistic desire to read it. I 'm not sure why, probably for the yucks or the ammo.
Maybe I should smash my hand with a hammer instead.
Wow, in my country of origin they've been marrying gays for years even though it takes little "divine" intervention to inundate the economic center of our country.
I guess that silly god is just taking his time so it will be impossible to know whether the next flood is just nature or Ray's god finally getting down to business. I wonder if Ray also believes psychics are actually the real thing and fears them for their dark powers?
Isn't Gay marriage also legal here in MA.? I am not seeing floods or fires here....though my girlfriend will not stop playing Winter Nights.
Is God in charge of video games?
Kinda like seeing Expelled. The more I think about it, the less I want to go. But yet, I kind HAVE to on principle (meaning: buying tickets for Get Smart and sneaking in)
Yeah, and god has been trying to drown the Dutch for centuries.
Rev. BDC -
Skip the book. Go for the hammer.
PZ: you're just jealous because Ray gets to pick and choose his data. Just think how much easier your life would be if you just ignored the information that didn't match your hypothesis.
Love the blog here PZ.
I'm never surprised by this type of tripe.
What does baffle me though, is why don't these people ever claim that thier sky daddy is punishing the nation due to people breaking any or all of thier 10 commandments? Aren't those supposed to be the ultimate rules to live by? Aren't those rules broken more times, by more people in a day then there are gays in the entire world?
I don't think I have ever heard a modern day wackaloon claim that natural disasters are punishment for coveting my hot neighbor.
None of the scientists quoted by Comfort were or are Christian (at least in Comfort's view). Newton was a "small-u" unitarian. Einstein was Jewish and did not believe in a personal god or an afterlife. Hawking is an atheist, as far as I know. His quote is taken out of context, as mentioned by Citizen Z.
Since all three would be non-believers in Comfort's view, I don't know what the point of the quotations is, except to make Ray himself look brilliant by association.
Je maintiendrai!
@ No 20 :
//Iowa is halfway between Massachusetts and California.
God started another worldwide flood, set up to hit both MA and CA as quickly as possible, saw a rainbow, remembered his promise to Noah, and called it off.//
I know that was meant ironically,but I just cant get myself to not point out that this is one truly american god isnt she,doesnt care about the rest of the world,the world is the US...Not even interested in Queensland,although it has been likened to Texas,nope,its the special god of the middle-Americans.
LOL
@ DutchDelight: see above
That "you live in an imaginary world" line makes me hope I'll some day meet Mr. Comfort so I can laugh uproariously in his face until he becomes confused and frightened enough to back away.
@ #17
I read the post "thank god for Science" and had to chuckle as well. Definitely says god is gay. I made a post about it on my blog. It's the link in my sig if anyone is interested.
Which in and of its self is hysterical in its impossibility.
Hmm... a game of god-botherers' Monopoly with the water company being represented by rain from a cloud plus a rainbow and the electric company being represented by a black thundercloud plus lightning. The 4 train stations might be the mythological winds or the archangels if the policeman is to be the bad/fallen angel/devil and jail/gaol a representation of hell. The "properties" could be groups of related gods and goddesses from various mythologies or saints (arranged by days of the year) or linked countries or ...
The chance cards could all be natural disasters or benefits while the community ones are community things like homosexual marriages or abortion being legalised or banned, or prayer sessions or curses or relic discoveries which then have monetary or brownie-points-for-heaven effects. The taxes would have to be tithes. Free parking could be heaven / nirvana / paradise or a meditation retreat. Go would have to be birth and for born-again or reincarnation events from the cards.
Oh shit! I really thought I'd disconnected all the irony processing bits, but I must of missed one. I started breathing again after only a couple seconds though.
Oh, and I hear the weather in Boston Mass. today is supposed to be 84 and sunny. Guess god's just angry at western gay married folk. Easterners are OK.
It seems harsh, this patch of land was inhabited by heathens and "converted" by some warlord and religious bigot of a pope from Rome, and Rays god still tries to drown us. What a bastard, there's no way to make this guy happy is there?
Interesting, isn't it?
The Central Valley of California avoids earthquakes, but we get the fires, the drought, the air pollution (2nd worst in the nation) and the poverty (worst in the nation), while the San Francisco Bay area is one of the nicest places on the planet.
I would love for Mr. Comfort to explain why one of the least religious/most liberal areas on the planet is treated so much better than one of the most religious/conservative areas on the planet.
Canada has had same-sex marriage for three years now or so, and the only natural disaster hereabouts is the federal government...for a definition of "natural" that includes things like Stephen Harper, of course.
Yeah, and god has been trying to drown the Dutch for centuries.
And has failed, failed, FAILED to do so. Are we really supposed to believe in an omnipotent being who can't beat up the Dutch? Come on, even the Russians managed to do it. (EM reference, Americans.)
Silly me, I thought that there were more large fires now then in the past. That is because humans prevent numerous small fires, allowing potential burning material to build up for the big burns.
Wait, this is proof of the big sky daddy's foresight. BSD knew it would be angry about gay marriage, thus making sure humans would prevent small fire and creating the conditions for large fires. Have to respect a deity that prepares for it's outrage.
Well, Ray's got something to say about that topic in a new posting.
He denies that he's saying that god is punishing people that way:
You have a perception that your infuriated colleges seem to lack. Of course I would never say that fires are punishment for gay marriage, or that floods were a punishment for poor folks in the Midwest. How would I know what, where, and how God deals out His judgments in the earth?
If God dealt with us according to our sins, He would have killed me in my youth. And so we have porn pushers, rapists, perverts, pedophiles, Satanists, adulterers, fornicators, and homosexuals happily living in California. They have been for years, so why should a meaningless marriage-ceremony change anything?
BDC is right about the xian commentators there. No matter how stupid Ray is and how completely and detailed things are explained to him, they'll always take his side.
One of the dumbest/weirdest guys over there is a character named Sye TenB. I'll let BDC tell you about him.
T. Bruce McNeely,
After reading A Briefer History of Time I would guess that Stephen Hawking is at least a deist of the Einstein/Spinoza variety. I don't have it with me to quote accurately, but near the beginning of the book he states a few times that God(he capitalizes it) created the universe. He also has cited the Anthropic Principle in the book and in several talks at universities.
The universe is only 6000 years old. Have electrons been invented yet?
This whole "God sends natural disasters to punish sin" idea is really just another version of "God always answers prayers -- though not necessarily the way you expect." It's a natural extension of the faith commitment to spin all results to fit a conclusion. Whatever happens, cherry-pick and use your imagination to figure out a way that makes it a GOOD event, one in line with what you would expect of God.
So there's also irony when the liberal, progressive, moderate Christians condemn this sort of thing (and being nice, reasonable people, they usually do.) God would never harm innocent people to punish gay marriage. Oh, no -- Comfort's really stretching on that one. But that time you prayed that God would cure your mother's cancer and she died anyway? That was God knowing that everyone needed to learn patience, humility, and acceptance. When you look at it after the fact, you see the wisdom, and God behind it all.
So Roy is always going to be able to spin-doctor any result to fit his preconception. It's God's gift to those who rely on God. Faith is always rewarded -- because guess who's really doing the rewarding?
Yup, same sex marriage is working fine up here. God is however punishing us by giving us the strongest dollar we've had in 30 years or so. Bastard!
Clearly his (brilliant, omniscient) plan is to cause economic hardship in the USA, resulting in a plummeting tourism industry in Canada, since between our stronger dollar and the worsening American economy, nobody is buying our maple sugar candies and stuffed moose in mountie costumes.
Blame Canada!
Ray is also a Liar.
His recent post.
And his post from 4/7/2008
Fucking liar for Christ.
One more example of the working of "God": Africa, at least the part I am from, is heavily religious (mostly Christian) going to church daily if not 2-3 times a day (I am not kidding). That part of the world is, unfortunately, very behind and very miserable to live in.
Additional point: the fact that the people are religious doesn't have any connections with morals (sorry but it is true) you hear of stories of theft and taking advantage of others (even killing others as you would kill a fly here) ... then make a trip to the church, of course.
Good catch, Rev.
Why isn't this guy holding court on a street corner near the Port Authority bus terminal? Comfort is a complete idiot, and should be ignored. If only we could.
Wait. He does not answer the question. All he says is "YEA?! WELL CALIFORNIA HAS FIRES!!!11"
Then what did the midwest do to piss off God?
The midwest is STILL being owned right now... Even though gays aren't people for their governments. Frankly, the level of atrocities seems higher in the midwest. I mean, floods sucks. Seriously. I think God made a point of that in the bible. At least California's disaster has marshmellow roasting properties. (I'm sure some suicidal guy tried, folks.)
I'm just curious why anyone (least of all God) needs Ray Comfort's help. I don't think he's smart enough to Poe, but that requires the question "What good does he think he behavior does for the things he believes?", and I can't really see any reasonable answer. Given his disconnect from any sort of logic or sensibility, why does anyone actually think he knows anything of any deity, human, animal, plant, or mineral?
Delusion, he knows. Illogic, he knows. (Maybe he can explain W to us, then). Why things happen...not so much.
Seriously now... have you ever seen the banana clip on youtube? I'm quite sure that Ray is himself another christian evangelic closeted gay men.
"Daaaaad!! Ray Comfort won't come out of closet!!"
"Midwest, they're fighting floods, while in California it's fair and dry"
Well Cali isn't so well off as you think. Mendocino county had 134 wildfires that started this weekend, and here in Santa Cruz we've had 4 in the past two weeks, dry yes, actually way too dry (fire season hasn't even started yet, thats in August)
Since Mr. Comfort pleads cause and effect between Sin and Bad Weather Happening, it should be a snap to correlate personal disasters with personal religious beliefs. There ought to be any number of approaches which would yield statistically significant results.
Pennies From Heaven: find a bunch of people who have been struck by lighting (N > 200 or so) and a matched cohort of unstruck people. Administer a quiz and have a skilled holiness evaluation team picked by Comfort, question each of them about their religious practices and beliefs, double blind with the subjects and the evaluators not knowing what the point of the study is. Compare cohorts.
The Fire This Time: collect a large sample of churches which have burned down (eliminating cases of arson) and match them with a cohort of unburnt churches by neighbourhood type, construction method, age, etc. Chart burnt churches versus denominations in a scatter plot, with the denominations rated by the above holiness evaluation team.
You're welcome -- no trouble at all.
Noni
Check out the disclaimer on Ray's blog:
"... comments that use cuss words (even "mild" words and abbreviations for cuss words), blasphemy, a lack of civility, or those that fail to give the name "God" or "Jesus" capitals, will be automatically deleted."
Seriously? Deleted for not capitalizing "God"? This is too much like the whole Muhammad cartoon controversy, with fanatical religious types imposing their own rules on others, isn't it? It's your god Ray, not everybody's!
Oh, Kseniya that's his forte. Do a search for him on YouTube. He loves that format. He even brings a box to stand on so he can scream at you from eye level.
"The Gay areas of the state are primarily SF-Bay Area and Los Angeles"
Thats quite an over simplification. I've lived all over the state, and found that gay's don't tend to be anywhere in preticular. Granted in areas like Fresno and Modesto you'll get heckled to shit for being gay, but believe me, they are there.
And "At least California's disaster has marshmellow roasting properties",
I've lived in the Fire areas my entire life (norther and southern CA), and lets not make light of these, I've been evacuated from my home, and seen friends and co-workers house burn down. And when your stuck in your city (like earlier this week when here in Santa Cruz, the only two routes out where closed due to fires) it can be quite a scary situation. 134 fires in Mendocino county alone. If you've ever been close to a large out of control wild fire, then you know how intense that can be.
I'm glad you asked, because I just recently figured this out. The two states hit hardest by flooding are Wisconsin and Iowa. Wisconsin law allows liquor stores to be open and sell alcohol on Sundays. Iowa allows supermarkets to sell liquor. Minnesota, which bans alcohol sales on Sundays and only allows alcohol stronger than 3.2 beer to be sold in liquor stores has been spared most of the flooding. Clearly, God disapproves of weakened blue laws.
These floods are a message to sinners and faithful alike, and also to the Minnesota state legislature which has been considering a proposal to allow supermarkets to sell wine.
disclaimer: the above is a joke about Midwestern politics. There's nothing funny about people losing their homes.
Someone please find out how we pose questions to this charlatan and post the solution here. Then we can inundate him.
I do it often. If you have a Google or Blogger account, just go to the site, pick a thread, and use the post a comment feature. The blog is moderated, so no profanity, etc., but most dissenting opinions get through.
See, God potentiated California to have wildfires (with O2, among other things), because he could foresee gay marriages there in 2008.
It's really a good thing, though, because we need the oxygen to breathe. If God hadn't decided to put oxygen in our air to make fires in response to gay marriage, we'd have suffocated long ago.
Same God who makes everything look evolved, you know. So busy being angry at sexual issues that he can't think straight.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Wow. Comfort took the bait and then some. His wingbattery does not disappoint.
Why is Ray's god such an incompetent? Any god worth the title would not need to come by and tweak the system, i.e. smite folks and such, pre-hellification. But that's only one of a gazillion refutations...
Yes, we all know that Ray Comfort is a scientifically illiterate putz.
It's fun to make fun of him, and other clowns like Ken Ham and Kent "don't pick up that soap" Hovind.
Could part of this put down phenomenon on Pharyngula be due to the schoolyard embarrasments we dweebs and nerds had to endure in our youth? Or is it just me?
Be that as it may, the question is -
What is it that causes millions of people to buy into their religious bullshit?
And -what can best be done about it?
How about as a start we ask each of our elected representatives exactly how old they think the Earth is, and start a national database?
Just as the religious right makes abortion and gay marriage a litmus test for candidacy, why can't we make rationality a litmus test?
I doubt if the Republicans would go for it, but maybe it could be a plank in the Democratic party platform. And if they don't go for it, maybe it's time for a Rational Party.
Aren't we supposed to be the smart ones?
Ugh. Ray Comfort bores me to tears.
Nice article in today's Grauniad on Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,,2287255,00.html
I'm always mystified by religionists who claim atheists "live in an imaginary world". Do these fools not see the breathtaking absurdity of this claim? Do they not understand such statements destroy whatever shred of credibility they might possess, that it reduces their argument to an infantile joke?
It's similar to when they condemn atheists to hell, never realizing that for a threat to be effective, the person at whom the threat is directed must believe the threat is real. Otherwise it becomes no different than a child threatening a parent that a monster in the closet is gonna get them.
Once these tactics are used, there is no point in further engagement with the religionist, because he or she truly does suffer from an intellectual impairment so profound it rules out any meaningful dialog.
"Guess who's in charge of the electrical department?"
Zeus. Am I right? What do I win?
Last year 1,155 homes were destroyed.
And astonishingly, every single one belonged to a homosexual.
I've been waiting for some Bibble-thumpin' preacher to say Iowa was hit by floods for its brief time allowing gay marriage when Judge Hanson struck down the ban - one couple got married - and for the liklihood that Iowa may be the third state in the union to allow gay marriage. Our supreme court just might uphold Hanson's ruling, especially since Cali has had the balls to do so.
And always as if California was the first to pass Gay marriage in the world !
We've had Gay marriage in Spain for more than 4 years now. Haven't noticed any change in the frequency of natural disasters, reduction in life expectancy, increase in violence, or anything like that.
Does this guy even know that anything exists outside of the United States ?
Geebus, just a look at his stupid smily face on his blog and I just get the perfect picture of proud-american-ignorant-idiotic-self-centered-wingnut that I dispise so much.
Clearly, the flooding in the midwest is the wrath of Thor on the bible belt. Thor never promised not to end the world in floods. And think about it, lots of the people in the midwest are Thor's chosen people, turned from his worship to some bizarre desert god...
Yes but you fail to mention all of the traditional marriages that have been destroyed.
These floods are my fault, people. I turned 40 on June 6th --the rains started later than evening.
The thing is, I'm also the sixth son in my family (Yeah. I come from a family of seven boys. We're more of a mob than a family, actually). So, if you do the math, I'm the sixth son who was born on the sixth day of the sixth month.
Do you think Ray would invite me over for tea?
oh man- hot tea all over!
the childishness of these people can never be underestimated.
Comfort, as with all delusionals, was quote mining out of context to support his own twisted views.
Einstein; "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views." Einstein clarified his religious views in a letter he wrote in response to those who claimed that he worshipped a Judeo-Christian god: "It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal god and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."
Furthermore, he wrote about atheists;
"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being."
and what he did believe in;
"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."
Right now, my yard is littered with a couple of tons of twisted, smoking scrap irony.
Oh yeah? Well, if a tornado came through your yard, would it turn the scrap irony into a Boeing 747? Huh? Would it?
That moron Comfort is a natural disaster and is not caused by his imaginary god. And to think that all those intelligently designed tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and others of nature's wrath has the signature of his freaking god on them to smash the insane along with the sane. And it doesn't discriminate when it causes a bus with all it's worshippers to go over a cliff after attending a prayer meeting to keep them safe, with perhaps one surviving to attest to divine intervention. And the cosmetic ritual of putting lightning rods on churches to dare that god to burn it to the ground! And the bullets that pierced that head retard's body in Rome instead of going around or disintegrating inches before it reached the sheepherder! There would even be double protection if that clown would ride around in the popemobile with a lightning rod attached to the roof! Wow, nothing will desecrate the sanctity of that mobile shithouse and insane crypt! That retard Comfort is admonishing others of living in an imaginary world! I just wish he had the imaginary guts to blog on Pharyngula and give vent to his insane puke! He will most assuredly be subjected to the most powerful shit he will ever imagine in his insane existence! You want an imaginary world, you puking asshole, come visit us! You may well imagine that you are living a real nightmare!
Rev,
What gay marriage has destroyed many traditional marriages in Spain ? Not that I know.
Do you have any evidence ?
If it were true, I guess by now, it would be an issue of much debate. Strangely, the Gay marriage issue has completely dissappeared form the political debate.
Ray Comfort is mostly irrelevant. I've torn into him for my own satisfaction, but it really isn't useful anymore.
He carries no water with the more dangerous fundamentalist poltical preachers - like James Dobson, and he only wishes he had the respect and authority of Dave Barton.
It's not just secular people who sees Comfort as a buffoon - the people he would most love to impress also see him as a meaningless toady. As an analogy, he doesn't even rate the status of "Igor" to the religious "Dr. Frankenstein". At best, he could play Igor's part-time housekeeper.
Comfort has a poisonous following of irrelevant followers who he milks for his living, so he really isn't concerned (no matter what he says) in converting a nonbeliever. His main concern is to stroke his followers so that they'll buy the next volume of "The Way of the Master".
Anything else he does is mere posturing for effect - just to pay the bills.
/blockquote
sigh
OOOOOH OOOOH I know this one! John David Jackson, right?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/24/asa.advertising
a perfectly harmless (and mildly entertaining) Heinz ad is pulled because it committed the heinous sin of portraying a perfectly happy and normal family home where the parents are gay. Gah.
Dylan - actually, that ad doesn't even portray a family with gay parents. The intent appears to be a joke that mom turns into a NY Deli guy when using the awesomely amazing deli-style mayo. So, double fail for the opposers.
Well, it has rained pretty hard the last two nights and delayed the Red Sox games by 30 minutes or so each time. Of course, I know some people who would consider that a blessing rather than a judgment, and the longer the delay the better.
I'm doing my part to bring America to its knees one man at a time. Join me queer brothers and sisters!
Well, it has rained pretty hard the last two nights and delayed the Red Sox games by 30 minutes or so each time.
It flooded my window box, pretty much killing my rosemary, thyme, and parsley. The basil and grape tomatoes appear to have survived though.
AH hA! So it's god who has something against my herbs. He controlled my Huskey to use the dill plant as a toilet.
Bastard.
AH hA! So it's god who has something against my herbs. He controlled my Huskey to use the dill plant as a toilet.
And said Huskey is still alive? tsk tsk.
My link got killed, let's try it with a non-amazon one:
Clearly, Jackson is in charge of the electrical department...
God's in charge of the electricity? Then why the hell am I paying ComEd every month!?! Wait, I got it, God is the head of ComEd. Glad that mystery is solved.
Hey, I made it through with this:
Glen Davidson:
That doesn't make any sense at all. If god hates same-sex marriage, why does he allow diatomic oxygen?
So, where are the fires in floods in Albania? There, for 500 years, women have been pretending to be men. [Link requires NY Times subscription.] But now this venerable tradition is dying out due to feminism. My God! God's been sleeping on the job!
Ray Comfort should get out more. It's a big, big, scary world out there, Ray.
I must have forgotten to cap Jesus or called Ray a flaming shitbag of stupidity at the same time I brought up the banana... :)
He actually lets most comments through which is more than can be said of other blogs of his ilk.
He's also the master of the drive by comment / post. He's the equivalent of walking in taking a shit on the table. Claiming his 100% superiority, correct placement and olfactory pleasentness of said shit. Then walking out ignoring 95% of all follow up comments addressing his turd.
"The most practical and dramatic victory of science over religion occurred in the 17th Century, when churches began to put up lightning conductors." - Isaac Asimov
It seems that some churches are concerned about their god's aim, and have been for 400 years. How does Ray Comfort explain that away?
So why was God punishing California with wildfires before gay marriage was legal?
So why was God punishing California with wildfires before gay marriage was legal?
Britney.
@ #114:
I don't find that unique to RC at all. I find it part and parcel to right wing stupidity, and to their world view. Whether they drive by or stay and troll, it's the same thing, one is just more responsive than the other to propagating big comment threads.
Maybe god just sucks at geography.
If you think that Ray Comfort is utterly ridiculous and clueless, check out this woman. She probably votes, but conveniently ignores anything that doesn't reinforce her crazy beliefs.
Asimov once did a hilarious history of the lightning rod. As I recall, after Franklin started disseminating the idea in the American colonies, the preachers began attacking the rod as an affront to God.
Well, most colonists were of the pragmatic sort, so they went ahead and put up their lightning rods --- which left the churches the only unprotected buildings. Hilarity ensued...
ROFLMAO...
Are you sure he's not a plant from Objective Ministries?
Are we sure that Ray isn't a Poe? Seriously, someone this mentally deficient would have difficulty dressing and feeding himself. Or is he in an adult care facility that let's him have access to the internet?
"Ok, Mr. Comfort. Put down the mouse, it's time to take your meds."
Brain Hertz, please tell me you've seen this.
Isn't this the crock-a-duck guy? I thought he was just a poor comic.
In honor of Mr Comfort's outstanding service to Intelligent Design by ways of the banana,I was going to post another great example of the magic workings of the Creator :
The Argument for Intelligent Design with Magic Shell
however its proponentsist has removed the vid from youtube,to my immense disappointment.
Adnara is one of us,and used to make a great effort to debate and refute the deluded on the intertubes.Past tense....
"It's so primitive."
Doesn't even reach those exalted heights.
I would venture to day, Ray Comforts boyfriend is shutting him off tonight.
"he doth protest too much..." ...Just saying...
Well, to Ray's credit, my comment appeared.
I still read Ray Comfort's blog, mostly for laughs. I rarely comment anymore, but it's a struggle not to. I don't like giving him or his fellow believers the attention. I'd like to see the non-believers who regularly post there go about a month without posting, just to see what kind of posts Comfort writes and what kind of replies his followers post. And someday I'll have my library get his recent evolution "book" on inter library loan so I can see just how egregious it is. That'll probably get me posting again.
God is smiting me today, here in Alabama, by making my impatiens wilt during this historic severe drought while greening my neighbor's lawn. He gave them, they who put "God Loves You" country-design plaques on their front door, hoses and sprinklers to drench the streets and quench the thirst of the feral kitties in the storm drains, leaving my unholy flowers to wither and drop blooms. The Southern god goes door to door in his smiting. I'm sure he won't smite my neighbors with a massive water bill.
Awww....and just as I posted that, The Southern God decided to show mercy on my impatiens with a thunderstorm. Did I accidentally pray?
MAJeff re your #105 - I really should charge you for a new keyboard. (grin) Love ya.
Ciao
Why anyone pays attention to this guy is beyond me.
Posted by: Jay | June 25, 2008 9:49 AM
2/3 Morbid curiosity, 1/3 pure unadulterated fun. It's funny as hell to watch them spew nonsense when confronted with science. We regularly place bets at work when a certain bogus defence will be used again.
Dover, PA, disaster free since ought-five.
[ *facepalm* ]
Massachusetts, disaster-free since 2004.05.17.
I wonder why god just doesnt zap gay mens assholes into a cauterized no go area? now that would make me ponder the god hates gay thing somewhat.
Maybe ray could give a good answer to that too. I mean, when you use an invisible, unknowable, omniscient etc entity as the basis for you answers you can say just what the hell you want, thats just great isnt it, just great when you have a brain which didnt change much from its third year of development.
come on ray, just why doesnt god zap gay mens assholes instead of zapping random patches of dry countryside?
A kook in my local paper today in a letter to the editor attributed the flooding to efforts to get prayer out of school and God off the currency and out of the Pledge. So who is correct? Maybe they need to connect and get the smiting straightened out.
I assume disaster is defined "a calamitous event"
Chicago, disaster free since the Great Fire of 1871!
Of course it's God. He just has bad aim. How else to you explain Gomorrah! It looks like is aim is worsening.
And as a gay male, you must remember we are called flamers!
I wonder why god just doesnt zap gay mens assholes into a cauterized no go area? now that would make me ponder the god hates gay thing somewhat. - extatyzoma
As a much lamented gay (and atheist) friend of mine used to say:
"If God hadn't meant men to be buggered, he would've put the prostate somewhere else."
Oh, I guess you knew that hehe
As a much lamented gay (and atheist) friend of mine used to say: "If God hadn't meant men to be buggered, he would've put the prostate somewhere else."
Posted by: Nick Gotts
Mr. Gotts, I'm not blaming you for my own stupidity--I should know better than to drink while reading comments here--but I hated having to clean the Dr. Pepper that I sprayed on my monitor when I read that. I'm sorry to hear your gay friend is no longer with us, but thanks to both of you for giving me a bona fide spit take and a genuinely big laugh.
Isn't it nice that God loves us sooooooooooo much that he is willing to kill innocent people to spite those who disobey him. The wife-beating analogy doesn't even work here, it's like a man who is angry at his wife going around beating other women at random to teach his wife a lesson.
So people who have lost their homes in natural disasters ,not christians or not christian enough?
'quote As a much lamented gay (and atheist) friend of mine used to say: "If God hadn't meant men to be buggered, he would've put the prostate somewhere else." endquote
nick. well he (god) could have popped it somewhere around the epiglotis too, that would have been rather convenient, im not sure anywhere else would have been a good idea!
Thor! With the hammer that causes the thunder, you know? I mean, it's not like the "electrical department" could be run by mindless meteorological events, like low pressure systems or cold fronts, right? Exactly! It's Thor's will.
I've only heard of this assclown since coming to Pharyngula - a few glances at his blog told me all I needed to know. The banana as evidence of god's design - good grief. Has he never encountered a coconut?
Seriously, I have to keep myself from trying to perform the sort of mental gymnastics required to understand how god works if he's meant to be just, loving and all-powferful -it's just impossible.
'Mysterious ways' just doesn't cut it. 'Batshit incomprehensible' seems more fitting.
Punchline:
"Woman, I am Thor!"
"You're Thor? I can't even thit!"
My apologies. That juvenile punchline occurs to me every single time I hear a reference to the God of Thunder. Just thought I'd inflict the meme on everyone else.
I remember once flicking onto the Christian Channel on pay TV and there Ray Comfort was (though I didn't know it at the time) telling everyone how the earth is a prison and we are all prisoners. Made for some good laughs because every time I see a child safety fence I think that it's there to prepare children for later in life.
Wowbagger , simple reasons for simpletons,baffle them with bullshit.
One more time:
I don't send disasters as punishment.
I send disasters because it's funny.
All those Levitical laws, by the way? I didn't specify them. All I asked for was lots of laws which would end with the perpetrator having rocks thrown at him. I would have been just as happy if Moses had punished nose-picking with death-by-rocks. But for whatever reason, it was male homosexuality and stuff like that that squicked Moses. Note that not a word is said about female homosexuality.
Enh. Ape psychology. Go figure.
RT NZ,
That would seem the obvious response, but there are (otherwise) intelligent Xians out there; apologetics, if nothing else, are well thought out - even if they're little more than sophistry and rhetoric.
Still, I can't imagine that many of Comfort's readers are the more cerebral sort of Xian. Low-hanging fruit is the expression that comes to mind.
Are you (as a Kiwi) as embarrassed by him as I (a former Queenslander) am of Ken Ham?
On behalf of the people of NZ I would like to thank the people of the US for taking bananaman comfort off our hands. Perhaps you could find a better use for him. Soilent green maybe?
Yes Mr. Squid, after seeing the graphic on that post it is blatantly obvious to me that God is gay.
Well, fancy meeting you here, Reverend BigDumbChimp! And in further support of the "God is gay" hypothesis, I would like to cite Romans 9:18: "God hardens those whom he desires." Possibly my favorite Bible verse of all time, even if the naughtiness is purely an artifact of translation.
Here's a new version of the beattitudes, my own comments are in parentheses - submitted for your comments:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Accursed are the spiritual, for the Earth is the only Kingdom they will know)
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
(Accursed are those who rejoice, for they shall weep)
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
(Accursed are the proud, for their portion is nothing)
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
(Accursed are those who embrace the form of righteousness without its substance for they shall forever thirst)
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
(Accursed are the merciless, for they shall be afflicted)
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
(Accursed are the hypocrites, for they shall never see God)
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [1] of God.
(Accursed are the warmongers, for they shall be forgotten by God)
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Accursed are those who persecute, for theirs is the depths of the lake of fire)
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Accursed are you when you seek out persecution and welcome evil deeds done to you, for you have received your reward already).
@ Calladus #149:
I heard that joke years ago, but in my version, the Valkyrie's line was, "You're Thor? I'm tho thor I can hardly pith!"
And, like you, every time I see a reference to the god of thunder I snicker, recalling the joke.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I've been convinced for a long time, based on this posting and many, many others, that the Ray Comfort Food Blog is a satiriblog.
That'd be a double-Poe, correct? I'm convinced it's 100% Poe, but I'm being Poed when I say it's a Poe?
Here's the best evidence I can come up with in 3 minutes:
http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-evolution-book.html
I call Poe.
Ray, Ray, Ray--you're so glib.
And just remember that if Ray ever gets Haggardized by some scandal, Kirk Cameron is ready to step in and take the reins. Our little boy is all grown up now.
And I'm sure VerandDoug added her two cents in support of Ray's inane comments. She's seems to be the Denyse O'Leary of Ray's blog. She is definitely the queen of the true believers.
How does Ray explain the Katrinification of Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Too many gaming casinos among the corn fields?
As in punishment?
As a NZer we are sorry and ashamed for him. As a Ray I am ashamed by bananaman comfort sharing my first name and always endeavour to refer to him as banaman comfort.
Ray Comfort advises:
You live in an imaginary world. I suggest you get out more.
He should be careful with that kind of advice. After all, Charles Darwin decided to "get out more" when he was a young man, and look what happened to him!!!
Aargh! - I just took a quick peak at the "white light" post on un-Comfort-able's site. I blew a mental breaker. We can't see colors until refracted through a prism? So, Ray, can you tell me what color your banana is, without a prism?
The stupid - it burns!
Other comments, if I skimmed right, Thor is the bringer of lightning, although it could also be Zeus - maybe an ex-girlfriend is getting married in Cali and he is PO'd.
I read on here that God is a myth. Can you back up your claim to prove it?
There are millions of people who have died and said that there is a God and an afterlife. Millions of people that are not all false memories or the same effects of drug use. Those are excuses when you can't cope with the truth. There has not been any real scientific evidence that can be tested on this and the answers that have been tried to be thrown out just to provide some kind of scientific answers do not make any logical or rational sense.
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/08/20070824_b_main.asp
It is painfully obvious that you don't respect anyone but yourselves. You call God "Sky daddy" and you call everyone else stupid that you don't agree with.
Is there any wonder why Ken Ham gets to meet people in the Pentagon and Myers gets to meet the "Amazing Randi". I am not a fan of Ken Ham, but it is obvious why Myers brand of crap is getting any attention other than the brainless attention that he puts out himself acting like a child.
Sorry, but Myers a joke and that is why rational people can't take him seriously. Even most in the scientific community do not agree with his religious bashing.
Stop calling yourselves free thinkers. You are not free at all, it is a lie. All it means is free from other religions, it does not mean free of bias or ignorance.
You are lying to yourselves and then trying to rationalize it. I know it hurts, but that is life. You have to move on.
This is not a troll post. It is a post to try to wake you up and have a long look in the mirror and look at your destructive, irrational, and illogical behavior.
Irukandji, and RevBigDumbChimp! Nice to see you guys here. This is where I go to try to reclaim some sanity and some faith in human nature after I've masochistically read Ray's Blog.
I hate to break this to you MikeM at #158, but Ray is no Poe...he's been a street preacher for years, and he's been hawking bullshit for years. Check out his Way of the Master and LivingWaters sites. Depressing, isn't it?
I'm wondering if the poster named Sye TenB is a Poe, since he's acting more stupid than anyone there, and come on! Look at his name.
Remember, everyone, that Dr. Myers asked us all to ignore Kenny.
Sye Ten B is my second favorite Christian poster over at Comfort's blog. He's right behind Terry Burton and his multiple personalities. I don't think STB is a Poe. I figure the clash of reason and faith just drove him into his ultimate example of circular reasoning.
Re: 164
Hi! Fuck off, moron religiobot troll! That is all!
It's a good thing I moved out of California before I realized Comfort preached publicly in places I could easily drive to. I probably would have gotten myself arrested by now for some hazardous stunt involving an atonal/experimental choir, mega-candlepower search lights, stunt rigging, and a banana costume.
Maybe it's not too late. All aboard, Amtrak . . .
Boohoo Kenny. Boohoo.
Well, Comfort has noticed this site and is busy trying to make a martyr out of himself, and trying to demonize us.
Well, I've got a reply posted over there that deals with that. It's a reply to this dingbat.
This comment is what originally set her off.
It looks like we've hurt Comfort's feelings. He's now "trying" to provide context for his Einstein and Hawking quotes.
Too bad he still fails. Not that it stops his supporters in the least. Fortunately, there are still those who are able to straighten him out.
Well, it looks like Comfort's noticed this site; he's posted about it. Not that he says where it's from or anything.
I've responded here, only to draw some character's attention here. The beautiful thing is, in that very reply she does the things I accuse those people of doing (ie. misrepresentation). So, I set her right here. You may notice the little cartoon the man has on his post.
I can haz teh quotemining too-
Ray Comfort says-
"I have never said that Einstein was a Christian, that he believed in Jesus or in a personal God. He wasn't dumb."
This supports my thesis that 90% of creationist arguments, or at least insults, are just what has already been said about them turned around. It's beyond childish, and I laughed really hard after that last part. I might keep this article to show they really think lightning and rain is the work of god (makes them sound like an old american indian tribe). This tells me two things: 1. Zeus is the true god and 2. Thomas Edison = Jesus and Faraday = Holy Spirit
I've had the great fun of heckling Ray Comfort for 9 months or so. Whatever else can be said about him, his blog is great fun. Some delightful characters--saved and damned--show up to argue.
All I can say is--PJ ORourke is right about making fun of born again Christians.
As I wrote on my blog, preachers in San Francisco blamed the 1906 earthquake & fire on heathens, sinners, etc. - despite the delicious irony that most churches were destroyed but a whiskey warehouse owned by A.P. Hotaling survived (the building stands even today). Local journalist Charles Field wrote the following verse in response:
"If as they say, God spanked the town / For being over-frisky / Why did He burn His churches down / And spare Hotaling's whiskey?"