I can smell a second strike coming...

Hey,

With all that's going on over at AC recently - particularly the excommunication of Terry - I get the feeling that there are a lot of folk who are plain fed up with Ray (and not just in the usual "oh that Ray Comfort, look at him being a twat again; bless his little cotton Jesus-socks" kind of way).  Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I think the air is right to invite some of the newly emerging lurkers and general theists that have cropped up since the Pity Party over here for some serious chat and tell Ray to stick it where the circling-Sun don't shine.

If I'm way off base with this, let me know and I'll Winston Smith this post so fast the Cambrian explosion will look like an epoch (oh, wait...)

I know many of us don't post there any more, regardless, but I think we could draw some new blood in anyhow. Thoughts?

In related news,

A poster by the illuminating name of 'Anonymous' wrote a comment on our friend Terry's post Beware of "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing"  and said, among other things:

"The atheists are the fools, and they will embrace you because "an enemy of my enemy is my friend"...

...By your actions you are a false convert. You really need to let that sink in, but not let it blow you up, your rage is very ungodly....

...By going around and slandering LW for rebuking you, you are acting like a fool, instead of being wise and examining yourself to see whether you are indeed "in the faith"."

So we've got;

1. The 'others' are evil and fools, don't trust them
2. You're not toeing the line and therefore you were never one of 'us' to begin with
3. Do not question the leadership

Cult?

Yeah, I'd say it's a fucking cult.

I think this post lends credence to the idea that Ray - or at least one of his minions - posts under false profiles to up the comment count and generally antagonize people, I have one thing to say to that:

Costly mistakes it seems Ray is making,

Ugly scenes with the fans he's forsaking. 

Not able enough,

To rebuke or rebuff,

So he makes out like they were just faking.

Ok, Wee does it much, much better, but I still had fun writing it.

There's been some cracking stuff done while I've been away - it's taken me a while to catch up - so a massive thanks to all the Raytractors who have provided such entertaining reading over the past week or so, so good job all! Now lets steal Ray's readership and get some proper discussion on the go...

Matt

My Response to Ray's Invitation

Not sure if this will get posted, but thought you guys might be interested:

Ray,  

I am considering taking up your offer to attend the Transformed event. Based on the comments so far, it seems like I will be quite the heel if I do show up. I have no problem signing up under my own name and letting you know when I've arrived, as long as there is no chance I will be turned away at the gate after a long drive. It's in a great location too. I haven't visited for awhile, but Charlestown, WV has always been one of my favorite towns, and the people of Charlestown are some of the kindest. I have a few questions for you about the event:  

1. Will I be permitted to live blog the event?  

2. Will I be permitted to use a digital recorder at the event?  

3. Would I be allowed to videotape the event?  

Hope to hear back from you soon.  

Your atheist friend, 

Mike Jarsulic  

BTW, sorry to disappoint you Jinxy, but I'm the last person to hide behind the anonymity of a keyboard.

Transformed!!!

While driving to work today, I had one of those wacky ideas that always seem to pop up. A few months back, I got the urge to visit my one friend in Spain and participate in the running of the bulls while I'm there. Today's idea is even stranger, I am considering going to the Ray Comfort Transformed cult meeting in Charleston, WV. Some of the reasons I have for wanting to attend are to:

• Report back on all the lies that Comfort vomits upon the crowd.
• Witness the mental instability of the the Raytards first-hand
• Meet Terry Burton
• Get my picture taken with Ray
• Attempt to get Ray to autograph a particular photo I saw recently

I'm wondering if you guys think this is a good idea. Admission is free and it is only about a two hour drive. Also, if you have any other ideas for how to spend my time there, let me know. 

Credulity

Hi guys,

Well, I have been waiting for a set of long posts by Dan "debunking atheists," and he is finally done with it.

Now, before you jump to Dan's blog to destroy his arguments, this is what I really want to share with you today:

I started blogging to Ray because I saw the "evolution" video. I felt furious because these guys were lying blatantly to the Christians, and I could not believe it. Well, this is what I detest, the way the likes of Ray, Kirk, Ham, the whole of answers in genesis, and all, abuse the trust of the fundies.

In the case of Dan, well, the guy does an awful job mostly because what he does is ... he trusts these guys! So, he simply copies from some creationist web site whichever propaganda he finds. Thus, he does not even understand properly what he is posting (he admits to it), and yet, he expects us to just believe that he gave us a good "debunking." Setting aside how foolish this is, the guy exposes himself to ridicule, and when I warn him about this possibility he thinks I am insulting him, which he often calls an ad hominem.

So, where is this going? Well, Dan is an excellent example of why I detest Ray and the like. There you have it. A guy who candidly posts stuff that has already been shown to be fallacies and lies, thinking he is doing a good job. The guy gets a good beating, but seems not to notice, but I bet he will notice one of these days (though he seems to forget what we say from one thread to the next, so this might take a while).

I do not know, maybe I am too compassionate, but I truly think Dan is somewhat naïve, and that in his innocence he is risking to have his trust in humanity destroyed because, if you cannot trust those you should be able to trust (aren't Christians supposed to be guided by high standards of morality, especially if the issue is their deeply held beliefs?), then what is left? Those "amoral" atheists? (unless he also gets to understand that atheism does not lead to lack of ethics).

Dan does not seem to be brilliant, but he tries to be honest. Still, either he will become a cynic, just like Ray and the like, or he will understand. What is your bet?

G.E.

A Telling Trend:

Over the last few weeks, I've noticed an interesting trend in Ray's posts. Out of his last 20 posts, NINE of them have contained a direct quote from an atheist commenting on his site.

This gives the illusion that Ray is "addressing" the arguments of the atheists, when in fact, he's doing the exact opposite - using his bully pulpit to take cheap shots. Moreover, the posts addressing the atheists' comments usually don't even contain honest replies to the comments, but instead only trite, pithy dismissals such as "God will not judge you by the Constitution, but by His Law", and "Can you email me any evidence you can offer to show that atheism is real?".

Ray, if you want to actually discuss the issues raised by your commenters, please do so...in the comments section, where the person addressed has the opportunity to make a reply in kind. Using your bully pulpit to make your "replies" is a dishonest and cowardly tactic, and everyone knows it.

It would be nice to see you actually make your case over here, where the comments are instantly visible and your ridiculous censorship rules don't apply...but I know it would be asking too much to expect you to participate on a playing field that's truly level...

Genesis stands literally!

In Ray's 'Hating God' post, TEMPLE asked, 'Is evolution the true God-killer?' I thought that FourKid's answer was the most telling.

If Genesis is incorrect, then so could any other part of the Bible - who would decide? how would we know?
*The virgin birth? It is critical that Jesus was born without the sin of man.
*The Resurrection? If Jesus didn't come back from the dead then we have no hope of conquering death.
Genesis stands literally and without error.
Blessings,
Patti

Patti, much like many others at Ray's blog, seem to apply black-and-white thinking to everything. Its honest comments like these that remind me of why science can be so difficult for them to grasp. Its obvious that they fear it will entirely undermine their belief system, but thats partly due to this polarized world view coupled with an intellectual tunnel vision they seem to have.

When I find it hard to understand why they cannot wrap their minds around simple ideas supported by an enormous amount of evidence, I need to remind myself that its difficult to stretch a mind that seems to be suffering from a mental atrophy. This is a great example of the ill effect of living in an environment that discourages independent thinking and inquiry.

~Atomic Chimp

Chumming the waters yet again.

Well, our buddy Ray has a new post up...this one is nothing more or less than an excuse to level more insults against atheists. Here's the relevant paragraph:

It is because of God's love that I care about the fate of those that lack intelligence (atheists). When the atheist says that there is no evidence that God exists, I take the time to reason with him about creation not being an accident, even though it is intellectually demeaning to have to do so (atheism is the epitome of stupidity). It's an intellectual embarrassment. But I have done so thousands of times, and will do so until my last breath . . . thanks alone to the love of God that dwells in me.

Well, Ray, you should know a little something about "intellectual embarrassments"...

I'm not sure we should even respond to this latest desperate attempt to bait us...instead, perhaps it would be best to discuss this one here, and save our replies over there for issues of more substance than "you're stupid".

The Cult of the Raylians

Pray Here