# Ray Comfort - Self-Serving Assmunch **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877 "2009-10-15T06:14:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/21 "2009-10-16T00:11:42Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Oh, please. Creationists are stupid when compared to the nice lady who cleans the bathrooms at work. I used the word “especially”! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/22 "2009-10-16T15:33:29Z")
If Ray Comfort was eaten by cannibals, would that represent Comfort food? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/23 "2009-10-16T19:32:06Z")
Comfort claims he has challenged Dawkins to a debate but Dawkins (who I’m guessing trembles in fear at the very mention of the Tatooine double-son brilliance of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron) has repeatedly declined because obviously he knows he can’t defeat Comfort. Dawkins’ version, which dovetails but with a different spin, is that Comfort offered him $10,000 for a debate and Dawkins, who doesn’t need the money, did indeed decline, but said he _would_ debate him under two conditions: 1- Comfort donate $100,000 either to his (Dawkins’) foundation or to a mutually agreed upon scientific research & education foundation (which Dawkins says he feels is right since creationists have done so much to hurt science education) 2- Comfort include the “Banana argument” 3- Both sides have the right to film and host the video Comfort countered with an offer to donate $20,000 to a children’s charity. Dawkins doublecountered with an offer for Comfort to go screw himself, probably in words close to that (he not being known for suffering fools gladly). Personally I wish he’d take the $20,000 for some neutral charity and go smear the idiot (though I’ve no delusions that Comfort’s followers would think Comfort lost the debate). Comfort’s response to the Banana God Argument Rebuttal is priceless as well: we have no way of knowing what bananas looked like thousands of years ago because there weren’t any photographs then, and they were probably more like plantains. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/24 "2009-10-16T19:48:56Z")
[A cite](http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2009/10/archeology-and-banana.html) for the “No photographs please, we’re prehistoric plantains” argument from his blog (raycomfortfood). ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/25 "2009-10-16T19:57:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Comfort claims he has challenged Dawkins to a debate but Dawkins (who I’m guessing trembles in fear at the very mention of the Tatooine double-son brilliance of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron) has repeatedly declined because obviously he knows he can’t defeat Comfort. I’ve listened and watched Comfort in debates. He’s absolutely horrible. It’s embarrassing to watch the man. I did, however, like his _discussion_ with Thunderf00t, but only because I learned some stuff from Thunderf00t, not because Ray was any bastion of clarity. > [@Sampiro](#): > > 2- Comfort include the “Banana argument” Ha! That’s great. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Comfort countered with an offer to donate $20,000 to a children’s charity. Dawkins doublecountered with an offer for Comfort to go screw himself, probably in words close to that (he not being known for suffering fools gladly). Personally I wish he’d take the $20,000 for some neutral charity and go smear the idiot (though I’ve no delusions that Comfort’s followers would think Comfort lost the debate). I don’t follow Comfort very closely… Does he actually have followers who believe he performs well in these debates? I actually haven’t encountered anyone who uses a Comfort argument - the best I’ve gotten is ridiculous forwards including the coke can/banana thing. No one is actually willing to take his position and run with it though (at least not in my experience). ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/26 "2009-10-16T19:58:29Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If Ray Comfort was eaten by cannibals, would that represent Comfort food? I would assume that it would provide incredible **dis** comfort to those who enjoyed a medium well Ray… ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/27 "2009-10-16T20:01:13Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Is that the guy who cited bananas as proof of creationism, despite the fact they were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago and are way different than their wild progenitors? I guess this is an example of intelligent design, just not in the way he thought. Yes, this is the guy who cited bananas, even though bananas are cloned and AFAIK cannot be produced without human intervention. Further, the banana we eat today is actually inferior to the ones (the Gros Michele - sp?) we ate 50 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/28 "2009-10-16T20:10:41Z")
It’s interesting to speculate on what would have become of Cameron if he hadn’t found Fundamentalism. He’s clearly got some serious loose screws and a near addictive personality doesn’t mind turning off his critical thinking for decades, so I’m guessing if it hadn’t been Christianity it would have been Scientology. If it weren’t a religion of any kind then he’d probably have a “measles-mumps-and-rubella-vaccines-are-government-mind-control-dot com” or he’d be on talk shows claiming either that George Bush personally capped 52 people in the Twin Towers on 9-11 or that Obama and Ahmadinejad are the same person. He’s actually one of the most popular actors in the world believe it or not due to the phenomenal popularity of _Growing Pains_ in China. I wonder if he has been there to proselytize yet. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/29 "2009-10-17T01:59:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If Ray Comfort was eaten by cannibals, would that represent Comfort food? The cannibals could take note of how he was perfectly created for the purpose of being cannibalized and use it as evidence that their God must exist exactly as described in their holy writings. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/30 "2009-10-17T05:49:19Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Oh, so that’s the real reason he destroyed the computer in _Fireproof_! Oh my god, someone besides me \*saw \*this movie??? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/31 "2009-10-17T18:52:17Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Oh my god, someone besides me \*saw \*this movie??? Nah, I just saw a highlights clip on YouTube. I’m not sure if I could sit through the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/32 "2009-10-17T20:19:25Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Oh my god, someone besides me \*saw \*this movie??? I didn’t see it but it was huge down here, largely because of church groups buying out showings. There are also all manner of “Fireproof your marriage” workshops- there’s apparently a big tie-in to the movie. In case there are any Dopers not familiar, the weirdest thing about the movie to me is that the final scene called for the main character (Kirk Cameron’s character) to kiss his wife. Cameron, being far holier than such heretical satanic party boys like Jimmy Stewart and Chuck Norris, insisted that his real life wife stand in for the actress playing his wife (shadows and from the back photography) so he wouldn’t have to kiss another woman. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/33 "2009-10-17T21:34:03Z")
I watched it because when I was working at the video store I mine all the garbage for camp gems; sometimes you find some real polished turds. This one looked especially ripe. Interestingly, despite the shotgun-in-the-face subtlety of its agenda, it actually succeeds fairly well as drama. If it didn’t have that eerie, faux-reality feel of a PSA for senior citizens (you keep expecting the actors to freeze, look at the screen, and address you directly with a fake smile–“Hi, I’m June Allyson for Depends!”), it actually might have been somewhat compelling. It felt like one of those bizarre B-movies about Revelations I was forced to watch at church in the 70s, only with slightly higher production values. When Kirk’s dad finally convinces him to give the Lord a chance, it comes off exactly like he’s talking about a laxative or a life insurance policy. Which of course he is. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/34 "2009-10-19T18:51:58Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > … > > 2- Comfort include the “Banana argument” > > … After **crowmanyclouds** sidetracked me with a link to Wiki’s Peyronie’s page, which linked to the Andropenis site, I read this as _2- Comfort include the “Banana augmentation”_ :eek::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877/35 "2009-10-20T02:19:20Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > After **crowmanyclouds** sidetracked me with a link to Wiki’s Peyronie’s page, which linked to the Andropenis site, I read this as > _2- Comfort include the “Banana augmentation”_ :eek::smack: That sounds like the title of a BIG BANG THEORY episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-comfort-self-serving-assmunch/513877.md?page=1)