Saturday, April 03, 2010

Will he do it?

I know I have said many times atheists ought to ignore the farcical spectacle that is Ray Comfort, but this one was too good to pass up. A viewer has emailed us reporting that over at Ray's blog, a reader calling himself "imadallasguy" has left this comment:

Ray,

A good way you could honor your Saviour and the sacrifice He made for you would be to call in live tomorrow to the Atheist Experience of Austin show which airs live on Easter Sunday at 4:00PM CST.

He did so much for you. What a sweet and blessed thing it would be for you to honor Him in return by calling in to the show, so that His word could go out to all the unbelieving world.

I'll be listening for your soothing voice tomorrow.

In reply, Ray loaded up the .50-cal Bullshit SMG and set it on full auto.

imadallasguy...All they have to do is ask. I would be honored to go on their program. I don't want to invite myself.

Gee, if I had a dollar bill for all the times Matt has told me he's attempted — right there in the comment sections of Ray's own blog — to get Ray to agree to some face time, I'd have...well, probably about twelve bucks. Whatever, the point is, he knows full well he's been "asked".

So here is the comment I just left, which I reproduce here just in the event it somehow fails to make its way out of Ray's moderation queue, thus enabling him to keep claiming he'd love to talk to us, we've just never asked him. (Perhaps some of you ought to visit that thread and back imadallasguy up on his call-in request, eh? Godless eyes are watching!)

Ray: imadallasguy...All they have to do is ask. I would be honored to go on their program. I don't want to invite myself.

As one of the rotating cohosts of The Atheist Experience, I say consider yourself asked. You are formally invited to phone in tomorrow, or on any Sunday afternoon it is convenient for you, from 4:30-6:00 PM CST. The number is 512-477-2288, and the earlier in the program you call, our phone screener will make sure you're pushed to the front of the queue. We look forward to hearing from you.

I am also aware that our host, Matt Dillahunty, has made debate overtures to you several times, often right here in the comments of your blog. So I find it curious you say you've never been approached by any of us. Still, I understand you're a busy man, so perhaps you've forgotten.

Who'll start the betting?


Addendum, one hour later: Ray did post my comment.


Second addendum: Well, fuck. Apparently the show's not on tomorrow, and Joe didn't find out until yesterday, and (bit where I jumped Joe's case for not letting us know before Saturday deleted, because that was done in frustration and thus uncool, sorry). So I'll have to leave another comment informing Ray of this, and making sure he knows the offer's open. Not that I expect him to call, still. Sorry, gang.

19 comments:

  1. Any bet other than "not in a million years" is a one in a billion...

    ... which means I'm willing to bet a couple of bucks that he calls in within the next month and then hangs up while pretending to have technical problems, or makes sure to call in when Matt D. isn't around.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It'd be sweet if Ray phoned in. I left him a comment, saying as much.

    I doubt he'd go through with it though... he's notoriously bad at taking anything posters tell him seriously. It really was some kind of miracle that Ray debated Thunderf00t after he left a message on Ray's blog... I don't know how that happened.

    Improbable Joe: "I'm willing to bet... he calls in within the next month and then hangs up while pretending to have technical problems..."

    I seem to recall that "Dr. Dino" Kent Hovind pulled that on the Infidel Guy some years back. I think it was him, at least.

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  3. FRONT ROW SEAT ON THIS ONE!!!

    and I totally agree with Improbable Joe.

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  4. That would be awesome. An easter debate between Ray Comfort.

    Ray Comfort basically encompases everything i see in christianity. And I've been waiting almost since i began watching the AE for an epic battle of theology between Ray and MattD. I've definately got my fingers crossed that he calls in.

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  5. Remember the Thunderf00t discussion only happened because Ray was embarrassed into it. TF offered in private, Ray accidentally published it, with it now public people pressured him to do it, Ray gave an incredibly lame excuse (he asked TF to pay Richard Dawkins), TF took it to YouTube, Ray got hundreds of people telling him to do it, Ray finally accepted it.

    It will be interesting to see how this goes, hopefully we can twist the knife a little and get something happening.

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  6. Crap.

    I guess Comfort can pretend that Jeebus saved his worthless hide by cancelling the Sunday show.

    The thing about Ray Comfort is that he woks off a standard script, and he can be "beaten" by either knowing the script and the arguments against it, or by throwing him off that script. You could throw Matt D. against him and watch him fall to a superior understanding of the arguments and refutations...

    ... or just let Tracie force him to a standstill by refusing to accept his foundational assumptions, and insist that he give valid, logical definitions of all of the terms he plans on using. Fun either way!

    Or... Don laughs at Comfort a bunch, Jeff Dee screams at him(AWESOME!!!!!), Russell hits him with some crazy computer-based logic, and/or Martin... what does our friend Martin do again? Oh, yeah! Martin, you catch Comfort in some example of illogic/fallacy/piss-poor reasoning, and then tell him to call back once he understands the topic and his own argument, plus the arguments against it.

    Yeah, I've listened to/watched the entire Atheist Experience archive. :)

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  7. The way I would proceed from here is contacting Mark@livingwaters.com (that's Ray's email filter buddy) with essentially what Martin put on the blog, extending Ray an offer to appear on the show, either in person or by phone. He can call in whenever he likes or perhaps preferably a prearranged time could be set up for him to call and chat with the hosts. And mirror any sent email on Ray's blog just so he can't pretend not to have been contacted.

    Oh and the people who know what they are doing make videos and put them on youtube.

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  8. I don't expect him to ever call in, but if he does, please, please for the love of all imaginary space fairies, take a subtle bite from a banana while you let him speak.

    Instant Youtube gold.

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  9. Oh come on. Finally there is some hope of Ray calling in and the show is cancelled. God must be out there doing his best.

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  10. You realize that's the only reason Ray was apparently accepting. Jesus told him the show wasn't going to be on, so he has a perfect opportunity to say he tried, and then use the incidence as an excuse not to call again.

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  11. Ray Comfort replied.

    He said:

    "Martin:
    http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=281&lang=en"

    That's his interview request form, so it looks like he wants to send you to back of the line.

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  12. In response Ray Comfort said on 4/4/10 3:02AM
    - - - - - - - - -

    "Martin said...I've just learned that The Atheist Experience will not be on tomorrow. Still, please consider the invitation to call open-ended from the following Sunday afternoon on."

    Martin:
    http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=281&lang=en

    - - - - - - - - - - -

    This takes you to a fill in form for a Radio interview. I suppose this is the start of Ray's way to find a way to wiggle out!

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  13. preempted by Mormons? what exactly is up with that??

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  14. I know that few of you, if any, go in for absolute certainty, and you will never again here me use the term, but I am absolutely certain that Ray Comfort will never dare to call in to the AE. Especially seeing as how their will be no show tonight. This gives Ray a whole week to let the thing blow over and hope that all his braindead flock will forget it ever happened. It is simply an impossibility.


    Heck, if Ray actually did call in he just might convert me right there. Just imagine, it would be the first true documented miracle.

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  15. Ray replied with a link to an interview request form... could this mean that he expects to get paid for the interview?

    http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=281&lang=en

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  16. He's pulling out the old interview request form routine: send out an "interview request form"; then pretend to be inundated with countless requests for television and radio appearances. I haven't seen anything this clever since the banana in the tailpipe routine.

    Does he really think that he's fooling anyone?

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  17. "Does he really think that he's fooling anyone?"

    Considering his audience? He doesn't' think, he knows.


    Me: I don't think he knows either ;)

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  18. really don't get the excitement.

    Its no fun debating Ray. He doesn't respond to anything you say to him.

    Just remember the Thunderfoot debate. Thunderfoot explained to Ray a perfect example speciation and all Ray said was: So what, then there is such a thing as "speciation", but animals don't turn into other animals....
    facepalm


    For crying out loud. This guy made a video on how bananas are evidence for god. And after people told him that the modern, domesticated banana is a perfect example of evolution he simply said ( paraphrasing): The banana changed a bit, so what. God gave us the knowledge to change it, just like he helped us to change dogs so they fit in our cars. Its still a banana.

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  19. Well, we know how this turned out, don't we?

    Can't say that I am surprised, but I certainly am disappointed. A call to the AE by Ray Comfort would be huge. He would be publically humiliated, and shown for what he is, and anybody on the fence would see how easily his brand of evangelicalism is refuted (and what these guys are able to muster in defense of their.....well, bullshit).

    This would have been doubly awesome if Matt had been there to take the call. Not because the rest of the crew isn't fit to handle Ray (I mean, come on) but simply because Matt has been after him for some time, trying to get him to agree to a debate.

    The fireworks....ah, the fireworks would have been beautiful to behold.

    ReplyDelete

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