Christians meet atheists in televised God debate

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron

Two Christians are meeting two atheists in a televised debate with the subject the existence of God, and Ray Comfort, a best-selling author and expert on Christian evangelism, says he can prove the existence of the Almighty in his allotted 13 minutes – without mentioning the Bible or faith.

"The network originally offered me only four minutes to present my case," Comfort said. "After speaking with Kirk [Cameron, former Growing Pains and Left Behind series movie star] and conferring with the atheists, they settled on 13 minutes. I'm ecstatic. I can prove the existence of God in that amount of time."

The debate will be Saturday in New York, and ABC had originally planned a live webcast of the 90-minute event, but changed plans to capture a larger audience, officials said.

ABC instead will broadcast the entire debate on ABC.com on May 9, at 1 p.m. EST.

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"We are very grateful to ABC for taking this courageous step," Comfort said. "As far as we know, nothing like this has ever been done before. ABC's website is already the 7th most visited news site, with 19 million visitors every month. But with more than 177 million people in the U.S. who call themselves Christians, we are sure that it will draw an even larger viewing audience."

Comfort is no stranger to challenges. He's the Christian leader who produced Gospel tracts that look like $1 million bills, a situation on which WND has reported previously. The tract repeatedly has attracted the authority of the U.S. Secret Service, even though there is no such thing as a real $1 million bill.

"Is there actually evidence for God? That's the most important question any of us will ever consider," said Comfort, whose has written books titled "God Doesn't Believe in Atheists," and "Intelligent Design vs. Evolution – letters to an atheist."

"We are excited that the network has decided to do this, because we have something very relevant to present," said Cameron. "Most people think that belief in God is simply a matter of blind faith, and that His existence can't be proven. We will not only prove that God exists, but as an ex-atheist I'll show that the issue keeping so many people from believing in God – Darwinian evolution – is completely unscientific. It's a fairy-tale for grownups."

The idea for the debate developed after several atheists launched the Internet site Blasphemy Challenge, which offers to send people a DVD if they post on Youtube.com a video of themselves condemning themselves to hell.

The self-described "Rational Response Squad" said its DVDs, "The God Who Wasn't There," was described by the Los Angeles Times as "provocative – to put it mildly."

Those DVDs, at least until 1,001 are gone, are free, almost.

"There's only one catch: We want your soul," the website said. "It's simple. You record a short message damning yourself to Hell, you upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free 'The God Who Wasn't There' DVD."

"You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: 'I deny the Holy Spirit,'" the website instructed. "Why? Because, according to Mark 3:29 in the Holy Bible, 'Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.'"

ABC told of the website and the hundreds of responses in a story, getting Comfort's attention.

"But," Comfort said, "there is something more sinister here than a few people not believing in God. Why would so many be so bitter against Christianity in particular? Why aren't they making videos that blaspheme Buddha or Muhammed or Gandhi? We made our own video clip and posted in on Hollywoodblasphemy.com to expose why."

The debate is to be moderated by Martin Bashir, and plans were announced that also on May 9 a shortened version of the debate will be aired on "Nightline."

Comfort and Cameron also have collaborated on The Way of The Master, an online teaching site that coaches Christians on how to explain their own faith.

Comfort told WND he's constantly amazed at "how many respectable men of God say you cannot prove God; that it's only a matter of faith."

"I've seen atheists backslide when they've heard me provide them proof," he said.

"What I will say sits squarely on the basis of Scripture," he advised, without giving away his multi-point strategy, on which Christians should take notes.

Besides Comfort's writings on atheism, and Cameron's own experience with it, Comfort attended the 2001 annual convention of American Atheists, Inc., at their expense and request, to speak to the group.

"Evolution is unscientific. In reality, it is a blind faith that's preached," said Cameron. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I was once a na?ve believer in the theory."

"Most people equate atheism with intellectualism," Comfort said, "but it's actually an intellectual embarrassment."

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