I've posted the following challenge to Ray Comfort's blog. I'm re-posting it here in hopes of showing my fellow atheists why we have nothing to fear.



TO THE CREATIONISTS

You all seem to have a lot of faith in this new edition of On the Origin of Species. I’m surprised at you putting so much faith into a book which most of you have never read in its complete form and which is, with the exception of Ray’s introduction, a strong argument against creationism.

I know you want to see the two theories debated side by side. That is not what is going to happen. Here is why you should be concerned about this giveaway:

Ray has said the book is going to be about 300 pages. His introduction – a “fair and balanced” discussion of creationism – is only 50 pages. In other words, Ray’s book will be 5/6 evolution and 1/6 creationism. Given that the creationists are the ones with something to prove here those numbers seem pretty unbalanced.

Consider what it says about your theory that Ray is able to sum it up in under 50 pages. Consider that Darwin’s last edition of On the Origin of Species was about 600 pages long rather than the mere 300 Ray is putting out. Even so, the discrepancies are obvious. What does it say about your theory that it can be summed up in under 50 pages where as evolution requires 600? This does not imply that creationism is simpler and therefore makes more sense because, when it comes to scientific publications, your words must be backed up with evidence, and more evidence means a stronger theory.

Let’s assume that 50% of Darwin’s work was pure filler – just razzle-dazzle. The other 50% is evidence to back up his theory. Ray has said that his introduction will address Darwin’s character. That’s his razzle-dazzle. Let’s generously assume that only 10% of Ray’s introduction addresses Darwin the man. In other words, let’s assume that Ray’s work is 90% evidence for creationism. Now we do the math. Feel free to play along on your calculators.

All told, Ray has collected 45 pages of hard evidence for creationism. Darwin’s score: 150 pages of hard evidence for evolution. And that’s just in the abridged version. Darwin’s unabridged work would contain 300 pages of hard evidence. Darwin is the clear winner.

Now let’s take that one step further and assume that only 25% of Darwin’s work contains hard evidence for evolution. Of course, this is an extreme example. If this were true Darwin’s theory certainly would not have gained science’s approval. However, this still leaves Darwin’s abridged work with 75 pages of pure, hard evidence and the unabridged version and 150 pages supporting evolution. Darwin still wins.

In fact in order for creationism to compete with Darwin’s theory in the evidence department, Darwin’s unabridged work must contain less than 7% supporting evidence for evolution. Why on earth would Darwin be considered the visionary he is today if his life’s work rested on less than 45 pages of hard evidence?

According to Amazon, Ray’s books generally run about 200 pages long. I challenge Ray Comfort to come up with 600 pages of hard, verifiable evidence for creationism so that he may truly challenge Darwin’s work. I hope the creationists here will encourage Ray to take up this challenge.

After all, God is on your side.