Washington D.C., May 3, 2007 / 11:40 am
Actor Kirk Cameron and best-selling author Ray Comfort will square off with two atheists this weekend for a 90-minute debate about the existence of God.
The debate will take place in New York on May 5 and will be broadcast on ABC.com on May 9 at 1 p.m. EST. Nightline will air a shortened version of the debate May 9.
"The network originally offered me only four minutes to present my case,” said Comfort, who claims he can prove the existence of God, scientifically, without mentioning faith or the Bible. The network eventually agreed to 13 minutes.
Cameron and Comfort are excited that the network has agreed to this project.
“Most people think that belief in God is simply a matter of blind faith, and that His existence can't be proven,” said Cameron. “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 came about after ABC ran a story in January about hundreds of atheists videotaping themselves blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
“There is something more sinister here than a few people not believing in God,” said Comfort. “Why would so many be so bitter against Christianity in particular? Why aren't they making videos that blaspheme Buddha or Mohammed or Gandhi?”