Why Christianity? (Way of the Master)

Why Christianity? is the title of the sixth episode from season three of The Way of the Master.

Episode Synopsis

(0:00 - 1:06)

Ray is shown skydiving (green screen) with his back to the Earth, facing the camera. He retells a story that a man went skydiving and was so overwhelmed by the free fall he forgot to open his parachute. He landed on a soft spot, breaking several bones. His response to his friends was "Boy, did I blow it." Ray says do not blow it with your soul and eternal salvation.

The Intro to this program shows Ray and Kirk asking several questions in line with the are you a good person? routine.

Episode Walkthrough

(1:07 - 3:02)

Shows Ray collecting his parachute at an airport.

• Kirk says "To some people, all religions are the same and it does not matter which one you choose, but to others it is an agonizing choice." He goes on to say that the Bible says there is a Hell, but most people say they will not go there because God is good."

If god truly is benevolent, all loving, merciful, and such, then by his own character he would forgive.

• Ray follows that up with a story. If a small girl is kidnapped, raped and buried alive, you would feel anger at the murderer and you would seek justice. If you are not angry, says Ray, that shows something is wrong with your character.

And if the judge allowed the man to walk free, and instead the judge decides to murdered/jail his own son -- and all the killer has to do is "believed" it happened to wash away all his crimes.... that's justice???

• Kirk takes over and says God cares about evil acts, and you can "bet your precious soul that he does." Because of this, God created a hell. Kirk says that his anger at evil is evidence of his goodness.

If an all-powerful deity cares about evil acts, why doesn't he simply prevent them, or make them impossible in the first place? There are several MMORPG's available today, World of Warcraft, Rift, and Second Life to name a few. Characters can "die" but they just have to restart from somewhere. If a player is causing problems, the admins can simply ban them from the virtual world. Why does God wait for an evil act to happen and then do something that doesn't even repair the damage? Ray gives us an all-powerful being reacting to things he can prevent like a mere human being. If God is angered at the sight of murder, why not make it impossible to murder someone, like human game developers already have? And this is assuming that an afterlife and a god exist in the first place. Real or fictional, the god that Ray believes in doesn't seem to be very smart.

Street interview

(3:03 - 5:01)

Ray and Kirk interview several people and their thoughts of where people go when they die. They believe that most people go to Heaven because God is all good (omnibenevolent). Some say there is no devil or Hell, one said that life here on Earth is Hell (we have sorrow, strife, grief, etc.)

Lesson

(5:03 - 6:04)

• Ray says that most people think God is all good and will forgive people, but they misunderstand the nature of God. When Moses asked to see God's glory, God said he couldn't see him and live (quoting Exodus 33:19-22). Ray notes that it said all of God's glory is displayed in his goodness, and Moses would not be able to stand before God because of his sinful nature. He then quotes Jesus who said bless those who are few in heart for they shall see god.

Did Moses see God. Apparently he did. Exodus 33:11 says "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Also, Deuteronomy 34:10 says "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." Throughout the Bible, God appears to many people, and they do not die. God walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden, but Adam did not die.

(6:05 - 6:17)

• Kirk "So the issue is unspeakably important. If God is good there is not only a place called Heaven, there is a place called Hell. And when it comes where you will spend eternity, you do not want to blow it."

The issue is just in Kirk's imagination. There is no evidence for a Hell.

Street Interview

(6:23 - 8:55) Ray interviews a person on their thoughts on where people go when they die. The man, a Methodist, thinks the spirit does not die. When Ray asks does the spirit go to Heaven or Hell, the man replies it may reincarnate. Ray in a whiny voice asks "how do you know that?" The man says we will find out later. Ray asks if he could be wrong, and the man says he will find out later. Ray then tries to test the man by asking him to spell "shop" followed by asking him "what do you do at a green light." The man says stop, suddenly Ray jumps onto that and says that you were wrong here you may be wrong about the afterlife. The man says its all about philosophy, whether he is to live this life in misery, but Ray jumps in with a whiny voice saying "No that is Monkism, do I look miserable? I have everlasting life, I am not miserable." Ray then takes the man down the are you a good person? routine.

This person did a decent job while Ray acted hypocritical and childish. Ray has the curiosity to ask the man "how do you know that?" but Ray does not explain how he "knows" there is a God, Hell, etc. The honest truth is Ray does not "know" he is making it up. Ray tries to play with his mind by showing that in a rush he may make a mistake. Skeptics are willing to take the time to examine the evidence and logic behind things, but not Ray who is guided by dogmatism and blind faith. Ray then childishly insults Monks.

One way to deal with this type of evangelist is to say, “But you may be wrong, suppose there is a God who rewards critical thinking and will send you to hell for following blind faith. “ After that the preacher may become frightened not to think.

Lesson 2

(8:56 - 10:15)

Kirk uses the parachute argument. Imagine if Kirk gave you the option of the original Mona Lisa, ten million dollars, keys to a new car, or a parachute, which would you choose. the scene switches to this question being asked to an individual on the street. He chose the Mona Lisa, just to later sell it. Then then switch the analogy saying, what if you were on an airplane going down? The man switches his choice to the parachute. Kirk says the other gifts become useless against the law of gravity, and that knowledge puts a fear in us to make us pick the right choice in picking the parachute.

Ray and Kirk basically tricked the man by switching the scenario of the analogy all of the sudden, but keep the gifts the same. Imagine if you change the scenario to this: you must get to an important meeting to make ten billion dollars and you need a ride. You may pick the keys to the car. How about this analogy: you are not on a plane, you are in the streets homeless and hungry. You will probably choose to take the cash.

How about if we keep the plane scenario, but we change the gifts. You are offered a parachute, a time machine (T.A.R.D.I.S.), a glider (or a jet pack or hovercraft), or the Iron Man suit (Jarvis will help you fly it). All of them will save you from the falling plane. You even have the option to have a skilled pilot who could land the plane safely in the Hudson River.

(10:16 - 10:29) Ray asks to think about the four major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Which one do you choose? Ray says before you choose, here is some information that will help you. He reminds us that we all die and we should choose.

(10:30 - 11:11)

• Kirk enters and says "Remember how your knowledge of violating the law of gravity at 10,000 feet put a fear in your heart and that fear helped you make the right choice in picking the parachute. Now we are going to look at another law of God, the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments)." The Moral law will put fear into your heart because you have violated them and that fear will drive you to the Savior.

You do not "violate" the law of gravity by falling, instead you are obeying the law. Kirk and Ray cherry-pick the Commandments to fit their agenda, which are not even the real Ten Commandments.

(11:12 - 13:58)

The scene switches to Kirk and Ray standing on the wing of a airplane. Ray and Kirk take the audience through the are you a good person? routine. Kirk says we all know the law because it is written on our hearts, and we know we are guilty. He then asks the audience to ask themselves, based on the Ten Commandments, if they would go to Heaven or Hell.

The law is written on our hearts? Then how do you explain several people with zero moral compass? When a Christian does an evil act, like Hitler, Kirk and Ray and their ilk are quick to say they are not "true Christians" which is the No True Scotsman fallacy. If we are to obey the Commandments, they say nothing about rape, child molestation, torture, slavery, and such. Since none of these are in the top Ten important things to God, does that mean they are good?

Last interview

(13:59 - 17:44)

Ray interviews a person on his thoughts of where people go when they die. The man says he hopes everyone goes to Heaven. When Ray asks does he fear death, the man says no. Ray responds is in a surprising way "You do not mind giving up life?" When he says no, Ray responds with "so you do not value your life?" The man says he does, but Ray cuts him off by asking "So you do not want to die?" The man says he does want to die, but it happens to everyone sometime. When the person says he believes in Heaven and Hell, and thinks he will go to Heaven, Ray does not waste the opportunity to use the are you a good person? tactic.

Lesson 3

(17:45 - 18:02)

Ray hammers the point to let fear of being guilty drive you to finding the Savior. Ray says fear of the lord is the healthiest feeling you can have, while quoting the Bible "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom."

Inside the plane

(18:03 - 25:48)

Kirk says that death could come at anytime, perhaps before the program is finished. But which religion do you choose? There are so many. Kirk examines the four religions mentioned earlier and which one can help you. Hinduism says when you die you will be reincarnated, and depending how good you have been determines what you come back as. Kirk says that is like jumping out of this plane and getting sucked back, "well that is an interesting concept, but it does you no good with your real problem of sinning against God and the reality of Hell." Ray walks in and talks about Buddhism, saying that it teaches that life and death is sort of an illusion. He says that is like him sitting in that plane seat saying to himself "I am not really here and the law of gravity does not exist. But that does not help you with your real problem of sinning against God and the reality of Hell." Kirk talks about Islam, that it does acknowledge sin and Hell and God's justice, but the hope Islam offers is that people can skip Judgment by doing good deeds and winning God's mercy. Ray takes over by saying Islam says that you can win God's mercy for good efforts, but that is like jumping out of the plane and flapping your arms is going to save you from a 10,000 foot drop. But Ray does not stop there, he says that good and righteous works will be nothing compared to the perfect being of God and saying our good works should redeem us is a form of bribery.

How dishonest can you get. Already beforehand, they dismiss each of them by assuming and asserting that their particular god is the only god and hell is a real place without any empirical data or proof for either.

Kirk then moves on to Christianity and it is unique because God came to earth as a man to pay for our sins as a parachute can save us from the law of gravity. They then put on a show alongside an analogy: Imagine you are on a plane, and suddenly it is going down. You fear for your life and want to be saved. Someone hands you the Mona Lisa, you push it away. Someone offers you keys to a Ferrari, you reject it. Someone offers you a million dollars, you reject it too. Suddenly someone offers you a parachute that can save you. This parachute provided to you from Ray Comfort is faith in Jesus Christ that will save you from a terrible fate. They use the scary imagery of a failing plane and the quick assertions and promises of Christ saving you and cleansing you of your sins as an appeal to emotion. Finally, using cinematic software, it shows them jumping out of a plane and their parachutes opening.

This is Ray and Kirk's Parachute Analogy, which is a revision of the flawed argument known as Pascal's Wager.

Final Interview

(25:50 - 27:39)

Returning to the man from the previous interview. After being through the are you a good person? routine, the man does not want to go to hell so he plans to get right with god. It ends with the man doing the Lord's Prayer.

The Way of the Master
Season One Episodes: 1. The Firefighter   2. The Mirror of the Ten Commandments   3. The Motive of the Sinner   4. The Summary of Salvation   5. Practice What You Preach   6. Idolatry—The Darling Sin of Humanity   7. The Beauty of a Broken Spirit—Atheism   8. WDJD?   9. Blasphemy, Sabbath, Parents   10. Murder   11. Adultery   12. Theft   13. Lie and Covet
Season Two Episodes: 1. God's Wonderful Plan   2. Conscience   3. Alcatraz, Al Capone, Alcohol   4. True and False Conversion   5. When Things Go Wrong   6. The Satanic Influence   7. How to Witness to Someone Who's Homosexual/Gay   8. Evolution   9. How to Witness to a Loved One   10. The Fear of God   11. Ice Breakers—Gospel Tracts   12. The Greatest Gamble  13. How to Get on Fire for God
Season Three Episodes: 1. Battle for the Lost   2. Where Has the Passion Gone?   3. Joe Average   4. Caught in a Lie   5. The Divine Butler   6. Why Christianity?   7. Jehovah's Witness   8. Mormonism   9. Are You A Genius?   10. Last Words of the Rich and Famous   11. How to Find God's Will   12. What Scares You   13. Hollywood Be Thy Name
Cast
Ray Comfort — Kirk Cameron

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