Ray Comfort's Blog - "The Soap Box"

• Atheists, Voltaire, Morality and God

  July 29, 2011

  

  "Hello. I am writing regarding some evangelical booklets I have recently found around my high school. They keep turning up, mostly in bathrooms, and are essentially the 'Are you a good person' cartoon from your website in comic form. I must say that I find such propaganda shameful. The implication that everyone is bound for hell fire unless they prostrate themselves before God is far worse than a death threat. The objective of this pamphlet seems to be to prey on the insecure and the unsure, first by instilling a sense of guilt, and then a sense of terror, and finally offering them what you say is the only salvation: submission. I am offended by these manipulative and coercive tactics. However, as Voltaire once said, 'I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.' Though I am certainly no Voltaire, I share the same love of freedom of speech. Therefore, I cannot object in principal to the distribution of ideas simply because I believe them to be incorrect and dangerous. However, when faced with the spread of such ideas, I can combat them in another way: by providing another viewpoint. To this end, I have launched a pamphlet campaign which points out the illogical nature of your propaganda. I hope that logic and humor are enough to overcome the fear and guilt which you employ, and make people see how unlikely the existence of God truly is." Sam 
  
  Sam, I appreciate the courteous way in which you wrote (may you read this reply in the same spirit). 
  
  I also appreciate your understanding of the importance of having the free exchange of ideas. With that said, as you step in as the intellectual savior of your peers, make sure you let them know that as an atheist you believe that nothing created everything (a scientific impossibility). 
  
  If you don't believe that, and instead believe that something rather than nothing created everything (but it wasn’t God), then you’re not an atheist; you’re an agnostic. 
  
  If you are embarrassed to admit that an atheist believes that nothing created everything, you could try to redefine the word "nothing," and say that it's actually "something." That will make you feel better. 
  
  Those who read our booklet may not have had a sense of guilt, fear, and terror that you had. Remember, it was Voltaire who said, "All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God." 
  
  God gave you a conscience, and because of it you are morally responsible to Him for your thoughts, words, and your deeds. So that fear you feel is legitimate. It has driven many a rebel to a sensible submission to the God who gave him life. John 8:31-32.

  For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.
• A Friendly Visit From an Atheist

  July 24, 2011

  

  I had a pleasant surprise this week. My friend Thunderf00t emailed me, and said that he was in Los Angeles and wanted to get together. Two years earlier we had a passive on-camera discussion. This time he suggested that we discuss the subject of morality.
  
  The next day we took two chairs outside, set up two cameras and began talking about an issue which most atheists would rather avoid.
  
  When an atheist talks about morality he has a problem. He has no basis of right or wrong, other than whether or not something is good for society. Kind of like Nazi Germany. Killing Jews was good for the Arian society. It was also legal, therefore it was morally okay in the atheist world-view. 
  
  We respectfully argued back and forth on different issues for about 20 minutes, and then something wonderful happened. Thunderf00t let me take him through the Ten Commandments as a gauge to see if he was morally good. He wasn’t. He freely admitted to being a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, and when I said, 
  
  "Jesus said, whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her, in his heart... ” 
  
  he smiled and (like every honest red-blooded male) pleaded guilty to the violation of the Seventh Commandment. 
  
  No wonder he (and every atheist) didn't like the thought of God's existence. Being morally responsible to Him isn’t a pleasant feeling for a guilty, sin-loving sinner. I know, because I have been where he now is. 
  
  He politely listened as I told him that Jesus took his punishment upon Himself so that he could go free from God’s wrath, and he was even able to finish the Bible verse, 
  
  "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him (trusts in Him) should not perish but shall..." 
  
  and he finished it off, "...have everlasting life.” Unlike many atheists, Thunderf00t knows his Bible.
  
  We then had lunch together, and my son (Daniel), myself and Thunderfoot thoroughly enjoyed further discussions about things that really matter. I don't think the subject of Darwin's theory tale even came up. 
  
  It was a good time all round. After he left we prayed for God's richest blessing on this likeable, quietly spoken, sincere atheist, hoping that he will soon come to his senses and seek out the gift of everlasting life that is alone in Jesus Christ.
  
  Here's the full video, from both of our cameras:
  
  //www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bn62F5pvp0&feature=player_embedded
  
  Pic. From two years ago

  For Evangelism Resources, please visit LivingWaters.com.

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