Comments on: On the Origin of Specious Arguments

By: Vic

Vic — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:02:40 +0000

I just realized that I have a copy of “On the Origin of Species” with the Ray Comfort intro. They were handing out free copies outside of the student center at my university a few months back. I was just relieved that they seemed to be handing out legitimate educational material at a college instead of fairy tales like they usually do. Looks like they still managed to slip in some bit of tom-foolery…

Such a strange tactic, though. I’m left scratching my head a little bit… Who even reads the introduction to books like this anyway?

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:30:35 +0000

I just read Mr. Comfort’s entire Special Introduction. I didn’t read particularly carefully or thoroughly, but I got enough out of it to count easily a dozen clear logical fallacies (metaphors that don’t make sense at all, appealing to majority, straw men, etc. etc.). Plagiarism is bad, yes, but misleading people with bad logic is much, much worse.
There is a lot more to this piece of bilge than simple plagiarism and denial of scientific evidence. The last several pages entirely abandon the evolution aspect and instead are filled with phrases like “you must repent of your sins (turn away from them)”, and “confess your sins to God, put your trust in Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life. You have God’s promise on it.” Pretty heavy shit. This is apparently much more serious than just deciding where we came from and why our hands look so much like monkey hands.
I recommend reading this crap, because it’s lame to argue one side of a debate without any knowledge of what the other side thinks.
FUN BONUS GAME!!
Keep track of the number of fallacies you can find in Comforts’s arguments.
0-5: Uh oh, maybe go back to high school?
6-10: Getting better. Review college books.
11-15: Pretty good. You’re probably ready to take on most Creationists.
16+: “Bring it on, Bananaman!”

By: Ice Maiden

Ice Maiden — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:44:12 +0000

Many years ago when Ray Comfort lived in Christchurch, New Zealand I knew him and was a friend of is to a point. I also attend the New Life Church where he would occasionally preach. He was a regular in Cathedral Square during the lunchtime. At that time he had a regular following and would be in constant verbal battles with the “Wizard of Christchurch”. As long as Ray could peddle his form of religion he was happy and anyone who tried to put across a different interpretation was the devil incarnate. Ray once he had a “firm” conviction of one aspect of the bible then it had to be the exact word of God regardless of any irregularities. Those of us here in New Zealand who knew Ray then now treat him as a person who has lost the plot and will not waver from his convictions. Plagiarism is something that Ray was good at then and obviously he has perfected to a fine art.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:12:47 +0000

You’d SWEAR, for just one second, that he doesn’t care about the content and is doing it just for the money he makes off of faith-based fools.

Whoops!

By: ed

ed — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:29:33 +0000

Daniel, you wrote “I don’t believe order needs an orderer the way design needs a designer” The point of the cornflake example is that what appears to be “designed” when it comes to evolution really is just another example of something that has been ordered by natural laws and “selected” by circumstance (but not by random chance). Just as the corn flakes were ordered and naturally “selected” by circumstance (but not by random chance) for bottom placement in the box by their size, the size and position of their surrounding flakes, and by the force of gravity, biological evolution and adaptation can be explained. The development of the eye is one such example.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolut.....11_01.html

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:57:13 +0000

Isn’t it truly remarkable how God has designed the human hand? There are two smaller fingers which can be curled over to fit perfectly into the palm, with the thumb fitting neatly on top of them to keep them gently but firmly in place, while the remaining two fingers can be held upright to convey a symbolic gesture to people of Mr Comfort’s ilk. Evolution could never have succeeded in giving us such a wondrous ability to express ourselves so perfectly!

By: Robert Stovold

Robert Stovold — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:04:28 +0000

Thanks for your comments, Be Crowned and Daniel – I’ll be addressing the “Outside influence” and “I donâ€™t believe order needs an orderer like design needs a designer” concerns in the printed article.

By: Sterling

Sterling — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:02:26 +0000

Sad thing is Barfly, dishonesty is a part of our evolution. Kind of counter-productive for this cause.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:24:42 +0000

The most successful species designed the box for the cornflakes to be kept in an order which allows for the smallest flakes to fall to the bottom. /- Was the most successful species designed ?
(mmmmm…cornflakes Om nom nom nom)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:55:53 +0000

I don’t believe order needs an orderer like design needs a designer.

Just sayin’.