Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyable only as a guilty pleasure
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 31, 2012
I'm familiar with Ray Comfort, having watched a few episodes of Way of the Master, and followed his blog for some time. As an atheist, I guess I'm weirdly fascinated by him. Not because he gives compelling, challenging arguments; on the contrary, it's the fact that he's managed to become so popular in the Christian sphere despite demonstrating any sort intelligent thought whatsoever that fascinates me. Perhaps he provides me with a sober reminder of how religious fanaticism can poison a person's mind. Or, maybe it's just the comedic value that attracts me. Everyone has a guilty pleasure or two; Mr. Comfort has become one of mine.
Yes, I'm being harsh... by all accounts, he seems to be a rather friendly character, and if I knew him on a personal level, I might grow to like him. But I have certain expectations from someone who manages to get a great deal of published books and speaking engagements. I would expect some ability to think logically and critically, and perhaps a certain amount of wit. Unfortunately, in the evangelical Christian world, I suspect that people are largely interested in reading books that reinforces, rather than challenges their beliefs. The fact that this book has received over a hundred five-star reviews demonstrates that a great deal of people really lack the ability to think critically. Again, that's harsh... but I believe in calling a spade a spade when it's called for.
But what about the book? Well's it's the first I've read of his, and its poor quality isn't surprising. There are a lot of negative reviews on here, so I probably don't need to go into too much detail. However, Ray's weakness in arguing, I think, is largely due to his inability (or perhaps, refusal) to understand the atheist's perspective. He says outright, that atheists actually believe in God, and they simply deny him due to their own selfishness, and desire to sin. It's no wonder, then, that his arguments tend to assume God's existence, even when he's arguing to people that don't believe in God. The format of the book consists of his responses to various questions and comments from atheist readers of his blog (I'm not the only one with this guilty pleasure), and only rarely does he even seem to understand the argument the comment is making. To give just one example, there's a commenter that wonders why Jesus would condemn anger, despite the fact that God and Jesus themselves displays anger throughout the Bible. The argument, properly understood, is that the Bible is inconsistent, which brings into question its inerrancy. Ray doesn't understand this, and thinks that scolding the writer for accusing God stands as a counterargument. He makes the same error when someone shows that God demonstrates atrocious behavior in the old testament. He seems to think that that person is accusing God, and hates God. The more subtle argument that the Bible can't be an inerrant word of an all-loving God, because it depicts God as being less than all-loving, seems to go over his head completely.
For those who look to this book for comedy, you won't be disappointed. Comfort actually suggests (to his credit, it's merely a suggestion) that the dormancy of a chicken when held upside down is a product of intelligent design, since it makes them easier to slaughter for dinner. I have second-hand knowledge that pigs aren't so kind.
And yes, he demonstrates a total lack of understanding regarding the theory of evolution. He actually considers it a flaw that the theory doesn't explain gravity. Yeah, I don't get it either. He doesn't understand the distinction between between evolution, abiogenesis and big bang cosmology, and chooses to take the common creationist tactic of lumping all the science he hates into his definition of "evolution," thinking that by attacking one part of the lump, he's disproven the whole thing.
In short, this book is an intellectual embarrassment. It's mildly amusing, for those who appreciate the "so bad, it's funny" mindset. But, in the great scheme of things, Christians should be embarrassed that nonsense like this even exists.
