I've been clicking around the Way of the Master website and let me just say, first off, it's simply puke-tastic! The homepage reminds me of a bad local car commercial, and I can almost hear them in the background chanting, "Sell, sell, sell!" That's what it comes down to, though, how many of their videos and altered Bibles can they sell? And they've really pulled out all the stops too: the flashy graphics, the comforting photos encountering people "just like you," the exciting sounds! They bombard you with links and advertisements to attend conferences, price reductions for books, and videos about how to "get on fire for God." They are doing exactly what I saw an anti-abortion website do not too long ago; they post anything and everything they can on the homepage with the hopes you'll find SOMETHING which appeals to you, enticing you into hidden folds within their propaganda.
It's all a sales tactic, really. I should know too, having worked in sales and customer service since I was legally able to hold a job. Preaching their "message" has a lot to do with their approach, assuming the consumer comes to their website on a "slightly interested" level regarding what they're selling. Their second part to this sales pitch for Jesus is attempting to debunk the competition... the competition in this case being non-theists. Next to all of these features showing how great THEY are, they have a video challenging Darwin's Origin of Species. This, specifically, reminded me of my days of working at an electronics store. We heartily boasted that we had the lowest prices, would match any price, and had superior customer service than any other store in town. For us, we had to constantly shop around and keep on our toes should anyone try to outdo us. For 'Way of the Master', they took the easy way out of this by disputing the words of someone who's been dead for over 100 years! Those like myself will object to their illogical rationalizations, but unless the consumer is seeking these objections out, Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are free to post whatever they choose without worry about on-site backlash or legal ramifications. They have chosen the easiest route in order to gain a loyal following, and have done so in a very classic yet non-personal way. It's an extremely lazy and, dare I say, cheap way to appeal to people. Obviously it hasn't deterred many from following their "teachings" but as a non-believer, I question their level of hypocrisy and challenge them to actually try to take all of their "flash" out of what they do, if they TRULY believe what they say is truth. For them, wouldn't their messages about God and Jesus be enough, if it is actually morally and spiritually superior to all else?
I already know what I would get in a response, as it's the same dull and uncreative response I've heard countless times.
"God gave us free will to accept or reject it."
Yet, it still circles back to the same idea: if your product isn't good enough, you need to rely on certain tactics to make the consumer believe they want it. It is as simple as that, and I doubt Kirk would put his Ray Comfort meal ticket on the line in order to figure that out. As for Ray, would he trade the wealth he has gained from all of his 60 books and Living Waters company in order to live the Bible versus he teaches, such as "the love of money is the root of all evil"? (1 Timothy 6:10) Unfortunately, we can't forget that there is always an excuse... always. Not being a betting person myself, I would STILL bet that the excuse in this situation would be something taken from the Bible, and twisted around to explain why their wealth is permissible. I supposed it's true, just about everyone has a price tag.
It's all a sales tactic, really. I should know too, having worked in sales and customer service since I was legally able to hold a job. Preaching their "message" has a lot to do with their approach, assuming the consumer comes to their website on a "slightly interested" level regarding what they're selling. Their second part to this sales pitch for Jesus is attempting to debunk the competition... the competition in this case being non-theists. Next to all of these features showing how great THEY are, they have a video challenging Darwin's Origin of Species. This, specifically, reminded me of my days of working at an electronics store. We heartily boasted that we had the lowest prices, would match any price, and had superior customer service than any other store in town. For us, we had to constantly shop around and keep on our toes should anyone try to outdo us. For 'Way of the Master', they took the easy way out of this by disputing the words of someone who's been dead for over 100 years! Those like myself will object to their illogical rationalizations, but unless the consumer is seeking these objections out, Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are free to post whatever they choose without worry about on-site backlash or legal ramifications. They have chosen the easiest route in order to gain a loyal following, and have done so in a very classic yet non-personal way. It's an extremely lazy and, dare I say, cheap way to appeal to people. Obviously it hasn't deterred many from following their "teachings" but as a non-believer, I question their level of hypocrisy and challenge them to actually try to take all of their "flash" out of what they do, if they TRULY believe what they say is truth. For them, wouldn't their messages about God and Jesus be enough, if it is actually morally and spiritually superior to all else?
I already know what I would get in a response, as it's the same dull and uncreative response I've heard countless times.
"God gave us free will to accept or reject it."
Yet, it still circles back to the same idea: if your product isn't good enough, you need to rely on certain tactics to make the consumer believe they want it. It is as simple as that, and I doubt Kirk would put his Ray Comfort meal ticket on the line in order to figure that out. As for Ray, would he trade the wealth he has gained from all of his 60 books and Living Waters company in order to live the Bible versus he teaches, such as "the love of money is the root of all evil"? (1 Timothy 6:10) Unfortunately, we can't forget that there is always an excuse... always. Not being a betting person myself, I would STILL bet that the excuse in this situation would be something taken from the Bible, and twisted around to explain why their wealth is permissible. I supposed it's true, just about everyone has a price tag.
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