Ray Comfort

Ray Comfort is a Christian minister and evangelist.Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books teaching evangelical Christians propaganda techniques.

Personal life[]

Ray Comfort was born December 5, 1949, in Christchurch, New Zealand to non-religious parents. He is ethnically Jewish from his mother.

Comfort left a bank job at the age of 20 to start a combined surf-shop and leatherware store. For ten years he made fringed cowboy-style leather jackets, making about 1,500 in total.

He married wife Sue at age 20, and converted to Christianity at 22[1]. They have three adult children.

Since 1989, Comfort has lived in Bellflower, CA.

Education[]

There is no evidence that Comfort received formal education beyond high school level. Neither, by his own admission, does he have any theological training.

Theology[]

Ray Comfort adheres to evangelicalism. It's key characteristics being;

A belief in the need for personal conversion (or being "born again")
Some expression of the gospel in "effort"
A high regard for biblical authority
An emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is confirmed by the Statement of Faith on their website.

Past Churches[]

Comfort began his career in his former hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was an itinerant preacher, often speaking in the central Cathedral Square along with other open-air evangelists[2].

In 1989, he was invited by the Hosanna Chapel (now the Hosanna Fellowship) of the Calvery Chapel fellowship, Bellflower, California to begin a full time ministry in the US as 'Pastor of Evangelism'[3].

Living Waters Publications[]

Living Waters Publications is an online store supporting Comfort's Way of the Master cross-media evangelism ministry.

Interviews and debates[]

Rational Response Squad[]

On May 5, 2007, Comfort and Cameron participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and his colleague, Kelly O'Connor, of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan. At issue was the existence of God, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, using at least one argument without relying on faith or the Bible. Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir served as moderator at the event.Highlights included Cameron and Comfort repeatedly referencing the Ten Commandments and denouncing the theory of evolution; conversely, the RRS provided counterarguments in favor of atheism.

Thunderf00t[]

In August 2009, Ray Comfort met up with youtube user Thunderf00t, who is well known for his video series "Why do people laugh at creationists". While this wasn't a debate in the formal sense, Ray Comfort sought to market it as such latter on with a dvd of the discussion which he sold on his website.

Of course, on his side, Thunderf00t had released his own copy of the discussion on his youtube account, which explains for the poor sales.

Also note-worthy, while Thunderf00t's version has 90 minutes, Ray Comfort's DVD is only 80 minutes.

Dawkins offer[]

In February 2009, Comfort challenged biological theorist and author Richard Dawkins, who argued against the existence of God in his 2006 book, The God Delusion, to a debate. Ray didn't contact Dawkins directly instead using an intermediary at WorldNetDaily initially offered $10,000 to him. Dawkins, who has a general policy not to debate with creationists, turned down the $10,000 for Dawkins to go "into a studio and gives me 20 minutes on why there is no God and why evolution is scientific" and instead asked for a $100,000 Charitable Donation to the Richard Dawkins Found for Science & Reason. When the offer came back Ray had increased it to $20,000. Richard Dawkins turned that down saying "I am not in this for the money. My interest is in getting the Banana Man to PART with $100,000 of his money so that that money will NOT be available for buying animatronic dinosaurs with saddles, or other similar nonsense. The fact that he would be making a substantial donation to a charity dedicated to Reason and Science adds to the humour of the situation." At which point Ray apparently pulled out of negotiations.

Richard Dawkins posted the correspondence online [[4]]

Comfort has stated that "Dawkins is afraid, and he thinks he’s safe because I won’t pay that much money for an hour of his time".

Censorship[]

Books

The Charles Darwin Bible (HCSB) (2009)
Nothing Created Everything: The Scientific Impossibility of Atheistic Evolution (2009) WND Books.
You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can't Make Him Think WND Books (2009) ISBN 1935071068
The Atheist Bible (HCSB) (2009)
Comfort Food: Delectable Devotions to Satisfy the Soul Bridge - Logos Publishers (2008) ISBN 0882705288
World Religions in a Nutshell: A Compact Guide to Reaching Those of Other Faith (2008)
Evolution: A Fairy Tale for Grownups (2008)
How to Know God Exists: Scientific Proof of God (2008) )
101 of the Dumbest Things People Have Done. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2008) ISBN 0882705555
Overcoming Insomnia: Practical Help for Those Who Suffer from Sleep Deprivation. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2007) ISBN 088270334X
Hollywood Be Thy Name. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2007) ISBN 0882703943
101 Annoying Things About Air Travel. New Leaf Publishing Group (2007) ISBN 0883684772
101 Annoying Things about Other Drivers. New Leaf Publishing Group (2007) ISBN 0892216689
What Your Nose Shows (Creation for Kids). Bridge-Logos Publishers (2007) ISBN 0882703269
Scratch & Sniff (Creation for Kids). Bridge-Logos Publishers (2007) ISBN 0882703285
Intelligent Design Versus Evolution: Amazing Evolution Discovery. Living Waters (2007) ISBN 1878859374
Intelligent Design vs. Evolution - Letters to an Atheist (2006) , a collection of correspondence between Comfort and James D. Franz, an American atheist.
Springboards for Budding Preachers (2006) , a transcript of Comfort open-air preaching with his son-in-law Emeal "EZ" Zwayne.
The Way of the Master. Genesis Publishing Group (2006) (previously 2004 by Tyndale House)
The Way of the Master Minute. (co-author Kirk Cameron) Bridge-Logos Publishers (2006) ISBN 0882702203
How to Live Forever ... Without Being Religious (2006) , a version of the Gospel of John with Comfort's commentary.
Whitefield Gold: Pure. Refined. (compiled by Comfort) (2006)
The Way of the Master Minute: a One-Minute, One Year Devotional for the Busy Christian. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2006) ISBN 0882701614
Spurgeon Gold: Pure. Refined. (compiled by Comfort) (2005)
Overcoming Panic Attacks. Bridge-Logos (2005) ISBN 0882700146
What Did Jesus Do? A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel (2005)
How to Bring Your Children to Christ ... and Keep Them There (2005)
Behind the Scenes: the Way of the Master. Genesis Pub Group, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S.A (2005) ISBN 0974930024
Hell's Best Kept Secret. Whitaker House (1989, updated 2004) ISBN 0883682060

The 2004 version itself was a revised and updated version of Revival's Golden Key, which itself was a revision of God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life.

What Hollywood Believes: An Intimate Look at the Faith of the Famous. Genesis Pub. (2004) ISBN 0974930016
The School of Biblical Evangelism Textbook (2004)
101 Things Husbands Do to Annoy Their Wives (2004)
Out of the Comfort Zone: The Authorized Autobiography. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2004) ISBN 0882709437
Evidence Bible-OE-KJV Easy Reading, Comfortable. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2003) ISBN 0882709550
Miracle in the Making: the Incredible Story of the Making of Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2003) ISBN 0882709313
End Time Believer's Bible. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2002) ISBN 0882709321
Who is the Lord of the Ring? Bridge-Logos Publishers (2002) ISBN 0882708929
God Doesn't Believe in Atheists (1993, 2001) ISBN 0882709224
Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2001) ISBN 0882708791
Revival's Golden Key: Unlocking the Door to Revival. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2001) ISBN 0882708910
The Untearable Bible: for the Terrible Twos. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2001) ISBN 0882708848
The Mystery (2000)
Evidence Bible: Irrefutable Evidence for the Thinking Mind. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2000) ISBN 0882708163
Evidence Bible-Romans: Irrefutable Evidence for the Thinking Mind. Bridge-Logos Publishers (2000) ISBN 0882708554
God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life. Living Waters (2000) ISBN 1878859250
How to Win Souls and Influence People. Bridge-Logos Publishers (1999) ISBN 0882707884
The Power of Darkness. Living Waters (1999) ISBN 1878859226
101 Things Kids Can Do to Annoy Their Parents Bridge-Logos Publishers (1998) ISBN 0882707590
Bride of Heaven, Pride of Hell. Bridge-Logos Publishers (1997) ISBN 0882707337
The Secrets of Nostradamus Exposed. Living Waters (1996) ISBN 1878859188
Everyday Evangelism: Witnessing That Works. Huntington House Publishers (1995) ISBN 156384091X
Comfort, the Feeble-Minded: Consolation for People Who Do Dumb Things: an Autobiography. Living Waters (1995) ISBN 1878859161
Militant Evangelism. Living Waters (1994) ISBN 1878859080
The Undertaker's Nightmare. Living Waters (1994) ISBN 1878859218
The Devils Nightmare. Whitaker House (1993) ISBN 0883682842
The Key to Heaven Whitaker House, New Kingsingston, PA (1993) ISBN 0883684772
Russia Will Attack Israel: a "for the Thinking Mind" Publication. Living Waters (1991) ISBN 1878859056
You've Got to Be Choking. Living Waters (1990) ISBN 1878859005
Springboards for Budding Preachers Inspiring Illustrations, Stimulating Thoughts, Quoates and Aids for Street Preaching and Personal Witnessing. Living Waters (1987) ISBN 0908751133
In Search of New Jawbones: Aggressive Evangelism. Living Waters (1986) ISBN 0908751001
Poured Out for a Thirsty World. Living Waters (1986) ISBN 0908751036
Words of Comfort Living Waters (1983) ISBN 1878859064
My Friends are Dying. (1977) ISBN 1878859072

External links[]

LivingWaters.com – Official website
Ray Comfort Food – official Blogger
The Way of the Master – Website for his ministry with Kirk Cameron
Thunderf00t's youtube account