Knowing Pains

Former 1980s sitcom star, Kirk Cameron, has said and done some goofy things since his conversion to radical Christianity. But he and his strange "partner," Ray Comfort, have gone too far, even for these two.

They plan to give away 50,000 copies of Darwin's Origin of Species with a "Special Introduction," written by Comfort. The introduction begins with a biography of Darwin and ends with an appeal to accept Jesus as Savior. In between is a blatant attack on evolution, complete with the obligatory reference to Hitler (he was an "evolutionist," therefore evolution is wrong).

Ray Comfort's come-to-Jesus logic, which he has used countless times, goes something like this:

Even if you have committed only one teeny weenie sin, like stealing a paper clip or telling your wife she isn't fat, you are a "lying thief," worthy of the deepest, darkest pits of hell. What's more, in God's eyes, your teeny weenie sin is the moral equivalent of the murder of a nine-year-old girl, who "had been kidnapped, brutally raped, and then buried alive." The little girl Comfort references is Jessica Lunsford, who he says, "was found tied up, in a kneeling position, clutching a stuffed toy."

Now, the moral of this story for Comfort is not the theologically stupid idea that God is apparently unable to differentiate between white lies and brutal murder; it is that God is vicious enough to send you straight to hell for the smallest of sins because...well, I'll let him explain it:

Many people believe that because God is good, He will forgive everyone, and let all sinners into Heaven. But they misunderstand His goodness. When Moses once asked to see God’s glory, God told him that he couldn’t see Him and live. Moses would instantly die if he looked upon God... The goodness of God would have killed Moses instantly because of his personal sinfulness.The fire of God’s goodness would have consumed him, like a cup of water dropped onto the surface of the sun....

These are extremely fearful thoughts, because the God we are speaking about is nothing like the commonly accepted image. He is not a benevolent Father-figure, who is happily smiling upon sinful humanity.

In the midst of these frightening thoughts, remember to let fear work for you. The fear of God is the healthiest fear you can have.

It is bad enough that this appalling theology is taught and believed by many church-going people Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday night after Wednesday night, right here in Southwest Missouri and elsewhere; but to include such trash in an edition of the one book that, maybe more than any other in history, has helped free human minds from superstition and fear, is simply unconscionable.

Kirk Cameron made a little video of his plan to deceive unsuspecting people with the phony edition of Origin of Species, but I prefer the following video, in which someone named Cristina rips Cameron a new orifice. [Beware of some mild profanity.]