Ray Comfort Says Roman Catholic Bishops Misguided About Bible Accuracy

Press Release, October 2005

"The Roman Catholic Hierarchy who penned a document saying that some parts of the Bible are not true, are sadly misguided." So says best-selling author Ray Comfort, the co-host of an award-winning television series and compiler of The Evidence Bible. The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland last week warned their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of Scripture, that they should not expect "total accuracy" from the Bible.

Comfort said, "I have spoken at prestigious universities such as Yale, UCLA and Berkeley on the subject of the authenticity of the Bible, and I've been a platform speaker for American Atheists Inc. at their annual National Convention on the same subject, and I have found that most people who doubt the Bible have never studied it in depth.

"When these men make statements such as 'We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,' they reveal that they have no idea what the Bible contains. In The Evidence Bible we show that the Scriptures contain many medical and scientifically accurate facts, and these were written thousands of years before modern science discovered them.

"For example, 3,000 years ago, when scientists then believed that the earth was flat, the Book of Isaiah was scientifically accurate when it spoke of the earth as being a sphere. The Book of Job was scientifically accurate when it said that the earth had a free float in space. Science then believed that the earth sat on a large animal, and it wasn't discovered that the earth "hangeth upon nothing" until 1650.

"Over one thousand years before Christ, when dealing with disease, the Book of Leviticus insisted that hands should be washed under running water. For thousands of years doctors washed their hands in standing water. If they had believed the Bible and had done what it said to do, multitudes wouldn't have died because of their unhygienic practice.

"These are just a few of many scientific and medical truths hidden in the Scriptures that prove beyond a doubt that the Bible is scientifically accurate and therefore supernatural in origin.

"Despite what skeptics say, it is easily proven that the Bible hasn't changed for thousands of years. Science is continually changing its mind. Much of what we believe to be scientifically accurate today will be laughed at in a hundred years time."

As part of their award-winning television series, The Way of the Master, Comfort and his co-host, actor Kirk Cameron, produced a program on the subject of evolution that he says reveals the unscientific nature of the theory. "We even took an orangutan to a local restaurant and discussed the subject over lunch." Comfort said. "Once you see how scientifically flimsy the entire theory of evolution is, it gives much more credence to intelligent design and the Genesis account, something these bishops have totally discounted."

He added, "What these men profess to believe makes no sense. They accept the incredible miracle of the virgin birth, the entire Sermon on the Mount, and that Jesus rose bodily from the dead. That means they believe that He was the Son of God. Yet when they reject the Genesis account of creation they are saying that Jesus was deceived and therefore fallible, because it's abundantly clear from the New Testament that He believed it. If Genesis is untrue, then Jesus wasn't God incarnate, [which they profess to believe].

"The Evidence Bible also lists one hundred percent accurate biblical prophecies. The Scriptures predict that in the days preceding the "end of this age" that there would be earthquakes happening in different parts of the world, increased violence, nation rising against nation, wars, a breakdown of the institution of marriage, famines, increase in vegetarianism, outbreaks of disease, people having a 'form of godliness,' money hungry preachers deceiving multitudes and slurring the name of Christianity, a general denial of a worldwide flood, skeptics saying that these 'signs' have always been around, and the Jews possessing Jerusalem. The Jews obtained Jerusalem in 1967 after being without a homeland for 2,000 years, bringing into culmination all these 'signs of the times.' The Bible also predicted that in these days Jerusalem would become a burden to all nations.

"When we see all these things happening around us, any reasonable person is forced to the conclusion that the Bible is no ordinary book. It has the fingerprints of divine inspiration all over it.

"It's ironic that these bishops condemn those who believe the Bible for their 'intransigent intolerance' and to warn of 'significant dangers' involved in their beliefs. They say 'Such an approach is dangerous, for example, when people of one nation or group see in the Bible a mandate for their own superiority, and even consider themselves permitted by the Bible to use violence against others.' In the name of tolerance the Bishops themselves show complete intolerance towards believers of the Bible. Perhaps they have forgotten that history reveals that for hundreds of years it was the Catholic church that forbade the reading of the Bible, and used horrific violence against many others during the Inquisitions and the Crusades."

"Some may think that the total reliability of Scripture isn't an important issue, but the implications are very profound. If it is indeed true that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God as the Bible says it is, then the promise of Heaven for those who are born again is a reality. But that means that the promise of Hell for those who refuse to believe and obey the command to repent and trust the Savior, is also true."

Comfort's Evidence Bible was a finalist in the 2002 Gold Medallion Awards, and has been commended by respected Christian leaders such as Josh McDowell, Franklin Graham and Dr. D. James Kennedy. It also contains information that he maintains proves how archaeology and history attest to the reliability of the Bible, as well as answering 100 commonly asked questions of the Christian faith; such as Who made God, and Why is there suffering? He has also written a book called Scientific Facts in the Bible . . . 100 reasons to believe the Bible is supernatural in origin (Bridge Logos Publishers). He said that if the bishops would be willing to open it [and read it], he would gladly send each of them a free copy.