He really is a very dishonest guy — which is probably why he is so committed to a Christian faith that gives him a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
He really is a very dishonest guy — which is probably why he is so committed to a Christian faith that gives him a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Not surprising at all.
Never trust a creationist. They will either willfully lie to you or be so incredibly wrong and deluded they don’t realize they are lying to you.
Either way, no bueno.
Since the phrasing of the answers always seemed a bit off in the context of the questions supposedly asked, this is pretty much exactly what I figured he did.
Utter sleaze.
Wow, nothing like lying for Jesus. Funny that atheists tend to take that bearing false witness commandment with far more morally serious weight than they do.
Seriously, when you’re so intellectually dishonest as to be a creationist–when you’ve been given a lot of the facts, as Ray has–it’s not at all surprising that for you truth is optional in general. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to be that intellectually dishonest and still be honest otherwise, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to buy a used car from a creationist who is dishonest enough to deny vast swathes of evidence (your average know-nothing creationist isn’t in the same boat).
Creationism breeds dishonesty.
Glen Davidson
Ray Comfort and his kind all seem to be operating on the same principle. If it brings people to Jesus or else makes for a bigger us/them gap in the minds of believers, then God is OK with it.
You’d think with all the infallibility and divine guidance and such that the strength of their message alone would be strong enough to not need all that lying.
PZ, I’m wondering if you independently recorded your interview by Ray Comfort and have any plans on using it ?
Yes, you’d think so, but their message of faith doesn’t have much strength if it requires faith to begin with to see it. They also have to counter Satan’s powerful deceptions. They’re fighting fire with fire. I’m sure they implicitly figure God would say, “Whatever it takes.”
So be it then: God loves liars and lying.
Look up “pious fraud”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pious_fraud
Aren’t the godbots always whining about moral relativism? Some of us (obviously not the godbots) tend to feel fraud is fraud – period.
How did the host of the video get the original version? Is that second version the only one that Comfort ever showed?
Both are from Ray’s YouTube channel (see the video description). Ray might not have figured and probably didn’t care that someone might spot it.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Seems to me Ray must not “believe” that this ‘commandment (IX)’ is synonymous with “Do not lie, ever”. He must think “false witness” only refers to “saying somebody did something when they didn’t” (or didn’t when they did). Lies about Jesus is simply a contradiction in terms, Jesus is Truth. How is it even possible for truth to be a lie? (according to Ray)
I desperately hope that Comfort comes across at least one person who answers his “Have you ever lied about anything?” question with “Depends; does taping people answering questions and then overdubbing it with different questions entirely count?” It would never see the light of day, but it would still be satisfying to know it happened.
I wonder if the people in the video know what he did to their little recordings. They must feel quite used.
Well, according to Ray, we’re all liars and equally guilty before the eyes of his god; therefore, what’s a little lie or two in Jesus’ name?
Unfortunately, it’s not just creationists. It’s a more or less common technique in TV.
Yes I’ve noticed how interviews I’ve witnessed first hand are completely different when presented to the public.
Information is just so many sound bites to be manipulated into a “just so” story.
I’m noticing that Ray stands up and to the right of his camera’s POV. That makes people he is talking to have to shift their gaze oddly to face him or the camera. IIRC, looking up and to the left, as his victims have to do, is sometimes a sign of lying.
Menyambal, first, that’s an arguable claim, and second, Ray’s schtick is that he’s damning his interviewees via their own claims — the which would fail if he were also suggesting they’re lying about them.
(In short, I think you’re over-thinking this)
Nothing new there, folks. Read Dr. Volkan Topalli’s work on religion and unethical behaviour. The religious will try to rationalize anything and use belief to do it.
http://ivn.us/2013/02/28/study-shows-offenders-exploit-religion-to-justify-criminal-activity/
http://news.gsu.edu/2013/03/27/50/
Christ, what an asshole.
Also, who exactly is thy neighbour against whom thou shalt not bear false witness?
“Comfort maintains that he fairly represented the professor in the film, and that while the trailer for the movie was only a short clip of the interview, Myers is given more talking time than most people in the film. He said that much of the professor’s interview was very relevant, and that it would have shown a lack of integrity if he had misrepresented Myers in the movie.”
http://www.gospelherald.com/article/entertainment/48408/ray-comfort-produces-evolution-movie-atheist-claims-he-was-misrepresented.htm
Speaking of Ray, I hope you saw that your a movie star now: