…and this is a 
What a deal. For only 99¢, you can get an abridged version of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life; you can tell it's been abridged because the title has been reduced to Origin of Species. It's also special because it contains a 50 page introduction by Ray Comfort, which tells you everything that the creationists are sure is wrong about the rest of the book. It's like a book with multiple personality disorder — two parts that absolutely hate each other, an intro that is the inane product of one of the most stupid minds of our century, and a science text that is the product of one of the greatest minds of the author's century.
But wait! For only $3.99, you can also get a copy of The Charles Darwin Bible, which is the only Bible in existence to mention DNA, the Cambrian, mutations, peppered moths, etc. And it includes "In-text study notes written specifically for atheists"! Unfortunately, Charles Darwin had nothing at all to do with this Bible; it's actually the product of Answers in Genesis.
I'm tempted to get copies of each. They look like beautiful examples of creationist "thought".
Comments
Posted by: Olifantje | June 23, 2009 7:28 AM
Someone forgot the /i....
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 7:29 AM
Italics tag on the loose.
I got the Atheist Bible and You can lead an Atheist to blah blah blah for free.
I look through them briefly. They're just as bad as hi blog. Lots lying, distortion and bullshit packaged up in Ray's smarmy Snake Oil salesman style.
I don't burn books but I'm trying to find a good use for them.
Posted by: gdlchmst | June 23, 2009 7:35 AM
The thought of Ray Comfort writing an introduction for anything is incredible. The thought of him writing an introduction for Origin of Species is simply disgusting, or laughable...I really couldn't decide.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 7:37 AM
PZ FYI. I have noticed that SB is sometimes not even making it to the Submission Error after hitting post and will just stay on the page where you are submitting the comment. I've seen it multiple times over the last day or so.
I'll hit post,watch the status bar and then it will just show "Done". Never getting to the error message and it appears like you've never submitted the comment because you are still sitting at the page with your typed comment in the "
Post a Comment" section. It happened with the comment I submitted above, but me being the double comment posting nazi that I am I just refreshed and it showed up.
This is a different behavior than what has been happening here over the last few months / year where you'd time out or get the Submission Error message. I suspect we will see a large up-tick in double and triple postings because there isn't even an error message now
Posted by: theareohbee | June 23, 2009 7:39 AM
We should snatch these up...better they're read as comedy ( or used as door stops) than fall into the hands of ' teachers'...
Posted by: theareohbee | June 23, 2009 7:39 AM
We should snatch these up...better they're read as comedy ( or used as door stops) than fall into the hands of ' teachers'...
Posted by: jim | June 23, 2009 7:39 AM
i'll be laughing about this all day long.
Posted by: MadScientist | June 23, 2009 7:41 AM
Abridged "Origin of Species" with an intro by Ray Comfort? I guess everything but the drawings were removed, and the drawings were probably replaced with IDiot diagrams at that.
Posted by: jim | June 23, 2009 7:42 AM
i'll be laughing about this all day long.
Posted by: Gilian | June 23, 2009 7:43 AM
Can you actually do this ? Isn't there some sort of copyright thing going on ?
Could I write a 50 page introduction to an abridged version of the bible, 'proving' that all christians are pedophiles ?
I mean, I know I can, but I'd probably be sued to kingdom come (hi hi)....
Posted by: BaldySlaphead | June 23, 2009 7:44 AM
#2: "I don't burn books but I'm trying to find a good use for them."
Compact TP dispenser for camping trips?
On the other hand, there's already enough shit on those pages...
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 7:46 AM
Damn that post of mine at #2 is full of typos. I blame the renegade Italics tag.
Posted by: Ubi Dubium | June 23, 2009 7:49 AM
OK, if they think it's OK to "abridge" Origin of Species, then is it OK for us to "abridge" their bible? That could be quite a lot of fun!
Please, though, nobody buy those books. I don't want a penny going to support their pernicious gibberish.
Posted by: Benjamin Geiger | June 23, 2009 7:49 AM
Gilian:
Copyright isn't an issue, as both the Origin and the KJV (and many other translations) are well out of copyright.
RevBDC:
Surely there's a table somewhere that needs leveling...
Posted by: gdlchmst | June 23, 2009 7:56 AM
The title of the linked page made me laugh: Origin of Species-Containing the gospel and intelligent design
Posted by: Becca Stareyes
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June 23, 2009 7:56 AM
I am inherently suspicious of someone selling a book to me for what looks like less than it costs to produce one -- I presume that whatever the idea of the book is, it's more important than recouping publishing cost. (For that matter, why not make it free? Answer: Because then, people will get it just to use as a doorstop, while a small fee causes us to at least think twice.)
Gillan @ 10
IANAL, but I know that the text of the Bible is in the public domain. (Okay, I don't know if someone could keep copyright on a translation of the Bible, but certainly the King James version would be well outside of it.) So, presumably anyone could publish as much of it as they wanted, with supplementary material without getting in trouble for copyright.)
(Darwin's writings also appear to be in the public domain. So the same thing would apply.)
Posted by: Louis | June 23, 2009 7:56 AM
"On The Origin of Species" with an intro by Ray Fucking Comfort??????????? (That's his full name)
{Ominous rumbling noise}
"The Charles Darwin Bible" from Arseholes In Genesis?????????? (That's a much more accurate institutional name)
{really ominous rumbling noise}
I.....I.....I.....
{KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM}
Ok that's just not even funny. That was a triple shielded XK 4000 Acme Brand Irony Meter. It was my last one. I kept it in a bunker lined with lead and osmium half a kilometre under the bottom of the Marianas Trench. It was only accessible by bathysphere. I'd even turned the gain waaaaaaaaay down. Even the banana "argument" failed to register it was so well shielded. Being told who and how to fuck by a celibate ex Nazi-Youth member in a funny hat didn't even tweak the needle. I'd got the flux capacitor set up, the inertial dampers were working fine, 1.21 gigawatts of electronic interference was being run and I'd tested it by doing the Kessel run in less than some ridiculous number of parsecs*.
Frankly after this the world will be going to hell in a hand basket. Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria etc.
Louis
* I know. Oh Kip Thorne help me, I know. The pain, the unbelievable pain. That dialogue! Aiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 7:59 AM
I'm wanting something a little more creative. I considered the table leveling but I have a new 100 lbs. lab who has already eaten a few technical manuals. I might leave them out for him. Thought I'm concerned they'll make him sick.
Maybe make some sort of camera rest for prone shooting. But they books don't have much weight.
Substance or poundage.
Posted by: Lotharloo | June 23, 2009 7:59 AM
I loved how you put the word "thought" in quotations.
Posted by: sfanetti | June 23, 2009 8:05 AM
The folks that produced the "Origin of Species" site should learn to spell check before they publish. I "distain" people that misspell "disdain".
High quality creationist thought pervades these sites. It would be amusing if it was not so intellectually dishonest.
Posted by: MikeTheInfidel | June 23, 2009 8:05 AM
Ray Comfort is a perfect example of a fundamentalist's total lack of capacity for learning. Being a fundie literally lowers your IQ.
Posted by: Lurky | June 23, 2009 8:05 AM
An introduction by Ray Comfort? Oh no! Does he bring out the banana argument in there? Or the argument from living beings being perfectly adapted to the oxygen level of air? Or heaven forbid, the argument from the probability of males and females having to pop into existence both with two eyes and everything similar?!
I'm sure he completely devastates the (only a!) theory of evolution in those 50 pages.
Might be worth reading the introduction just for laughs, but I wouldn't want to give even one cent to Ray Comfort and his ilk.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 8:08 AM
does not compute
Posted by: Leukocyte | June 23, 2009 8:08 AM
Haha "distain for women"
Apparently using a spell-checker is against Comfort's religion. That doesn't bode well for the quality of his introduction.
Posted by: sailor1031 | June 23, 2009 8:09 AM
Louis: are you insane keeping such things below the Marianas trench? You've probably woken Cthulhu now! I can see it all - the great old ones rising, the Elder Gods leaving their hidden lair beyond Fomalhaut - the final battle in 2014 which will sweep away all godless evolutionists for ever - PZ exiled on some asteroid near Rigel!!! And all because of an unstable irony meter.......I think I hear something outside the wind
(Comment found in a deserted farmhouse in the Vermont woods)
Posted by: Wowbagger, OM | June 23, 2009 8:15 AM
Seriously, if it was for the fact that I know Living Waters belongs to that class-A fuckstain Ray Comfort, I'd suspect this was a parody. But it's not - it's real; a sad package of lies, ignorance and quotemining scumbaggery of epic proportions.
You will know they are Christians by their
loveflagrant fucking dishonesty.Posted by: Cafeeine | June 23, 2009 8:15 AM
@Becca,
To my knowledge, the NIV translation, is still under copyright to Zondervan.
Posted by: Elwood | June 23, 2009 8:16 AM
I decided to take one for the team and started to read the 'introduction' - it's like a 9th grade book report.. but I HAD to stop when ray's random characters reveal the words 'DUMB' and 'STUPID'
I shit you not.
'nuf said.
Posted by: gdlchmst | June 23, 2009 8:17 AM
Just read Comfort's intro. Nothing new, typical creationist bullshit. And a few drawings of Darwin as monkeys.
Posted by: Andyman | June 23, 2009 8:18 AM
On the first day, God createth a blue base and God nameth it Adenine
On the second day, God createth a red base and God nameth it Cytosine
On the third day, God createth a green base and God nameth it Guanine
On the final day, God createth a yellow base and God nameth it Thymine
The Lord decreed that A must marry T and G must marry C. Anything elseth shallforth be an abomination ontoeth man.
Posted by: Greg Laden
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June 23, 2009 8:18 AM
I look forward to receiving my review copies from the publisher.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 23, 2009 8:19 AM
Ray attempts humor today
Fails miserably.
Posted by: NewEnglandBob
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June 23, 2009 8:19 AM
I get my atheist bible at Dunkin Donuts - its in the bin next to the donut holes.
Posted by: Elwood | June 23, 2009 8:20 AM
I decided to take one for the team and started to read the 'introduction' - it's like a 9th grade book report.. but I HAD to stop when Ray's random characters (naturally used in a fallacious metaphor) reveal the words 'DUMB' and 'STUPID'.
I shit you not.
'nuf said.
Posted by: Felix | June 23, 2009 8:23 AM
There's nothing I want to comment on this post. Except for my new cheap joke* that I've already posted on another blog several minutes ago:
What do you call Ray Comfort when he's done with his banana?
A stuffed ape.
*read his post on how he visited the museum in Paris to get the full depth (who am I kidding) of this joke
No, Ray really isn't even funny anymore. I've said my goodbyes from his blog (unlike the usual creotrolls I'm keeping my word). He won't accept any evidence because his ideology doesn't allow him to, nor does it even suggest caring about evidence. The same is true for every single one of his sycophants, who are evidently completely brainwashed, mentally ill and painfully uneducated - often suffering from all of those conditions. He deliberately exploits people who are mentally incapable of resisting, and he boasts about it while baiting scientists, atheists and other acceptants of evolution into enhancing up his bogus 'discussion' and 'debate' threads. He's just a troll puppeteer fleecing half of his drooling audience.
Posted by: Dutchdoc
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June 23, 2009 8:23 AM
"you can tell it's been abridged because the title has been reduced to "Origin of Species""
Well, true, but they ONLY left out "The".
(From the 6th edition in 1872 on, the title had been shortened to "The Origin of Species".)
Posted by: apartments wroclaw | June 23, 2009 8:23 AM
how "much" of Darwin is in this book? I guess thet no too much...
Posted by: Christophe Thill | June 23, 2009 8:26 AM
Usually, an introduction would be written by, you know... an expert in the topic. Is Ray Comfort an expert in something ? Certainly not Darwin. Definitely not bananalogy. I doubt he's really knowledgeable about the Bible ("ability to repeat verses at will like a parrot" does not record as knowledge in my book).
By the way, concerning the abridged Bible, I've heard that one Thomas Jefferson tried it once, and that it gave an interesting result.
Posted by: Felix | June 23, 2009 8:29 AM
strike the word 'up' in my previous post. redundancy.
Posted by: Stewart | June 23, 2009 8:29 AM
You don't need to speculate about the introduction; it's free as a pdf from the link and it's simultaneously predictable and unbelievable.
Posted by: Sarah | June 23, 2009 8:33 AM
Just to highlight this bit from the living water site:
"Let’s see if they try to ban Darwin’s Origin of Species. That would be interesting."
I know I don't have anything better to do... you guys?
Posted by: SteveF | June 23, 2009 8:42 AM
It has just been pointed out to me that this could be a sneaky way of getting creationist material into schools.
Posted by: Alfonso | June 23, 2009 8:44 AM
Actually, I don't think the [factual] theory of evolution hates creationism, if we are going to attribute human characteristics to a theory I'd say evolution feels pity for creationism...
Posted by: JoshNarins
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June 23, 2009 8:46 AM
Volume 1 of Rodda's "Liars for Jesus" is an academic treatment of lies the religios tell about America. On-topic in the sense that it is a book and deals with religion in America.
I'm sure you already knew.
Posted by: Alfonso | June 23, 2009 8:49 AM
Actually, I don't think the [factual] theory of evolution hates creationism, if we are going to attribute human characteristics to a theory I'd say evolution feels pity for creationism...
Posted by: ajbjasus | June 23, 2009 8:57 AM
Aaaagh. I clicked a link to Ray's blog, and then watched a video of him witnessing to a really nice, polite old guy in his 80's. It's the most excruciatingly embarassing thing I have ever seen. Health warning on these links please.
Posted by: phoenixflash | June 23, 2009 9:07 AM
......"is designed for use in schools, colleges, and prestigious learning institutions." This isn't so sneaky of a way to get into schools, they are advertising that this is its main purpose. I am sure that I'll have at least one parent, one student or one coworker hand me this crap sometime in the coming school year.
Posted by: Katkinkate | June 23, 2009 9:09 AM
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp @ 18 "RevBDC: Surely there's a table somewhere that needs leveling...
I'm wanting something a little more creative. ..."
I'm sure it would make good mulch or compost. Worm bedding for the compost worms? Do you have a budge, canary or hamster that needs a cage liner?
Posted by: Ranson | June 23, 2009 9:11 AM
Abridged by Comfort? Are we in for more 50-page ellipses*?
*"ellipsises"? "ellipsis"? "small series of dots"?
Posted by: Desert Son, OM
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June 23, 2009 9:13 AM
Apologies for the Off-Topic:
A mathematics professor at UT Austin announced his candidacy in District 10 for Texas State Board of Education against current creationist Cynthia Dunbar. If elected to the position, Professor Lorenzo Sadun would be the only scientist on the Texas SBOE. More on the story here:
No kings,
Robert
Posted by: Stewart | June 23, 2009 9:17 AM
It admits it's abridged. There are a lot of ways to abridge something and Comfort is hardly neutral about this text. In this case, I wouldn't believe it's only an abridgement until I'd personally compared every sentence to an unabridged version in the preparation of which Ray Comfort wasn't involved. If he's tampered with stuff, you can bet this is the edition he'll be quoting from in future.
Posted by: Desert Son, OM
|
June 23, 2009 9:18 AM
Hmmm, I see my html-fu has failed. I'll try to figure out how to post the link; sorry about that.
[grumble, grumble, stupid html, grumble]
No kings,
Robert
Posted by: Desert Son, OM
|
June 23, 2009 9:22 AM
Trying this again.
Article
No kings,
Robert
Posted by: Roland Branconnier | June 23, 2009 9:29 AM
Creationists/Intelligent Designers take a page from the Aesop playbook:
"A wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.
Appearances are deceptive."
Posted by: Revyloution | June 23, 2009 9:29 AM
I never read Darwins Black Box, but I was always under the assumption that Behe accepted common decent. How can they recommend both Ray Comfort and Michael Behe on the same page? They contradict each other at almost every point.
Posted by: Billy C | June 23, 2009 9:31 AM
As for publishing one's own version of the Bible, it would be hard to top the Queen Jane's Version,
http://www.queenjanesversionbible.com/
Queen Jane's frankly says "fucked" where the KJV said "new"; it has icons drawing attention to passages of violence, cannibalism, and fucking; and it refers to the trinity as "GodFather", "Geezus", and the "Holy Spook."
If there is ever a Manual for Pissing off a Fundamentalist, the QJV could be Exhibit 1.
Posted by: Roland Branconnier | June 23, 2009 9:34 AM
Creationists/Intelligent Designers take a page from the Aesop playbook:
"A wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.
Appearances are deceptive."
Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space
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June 23, 2009 9:34 AM
Becca Stareyes says: "I am inherently suspicious of someone selling a book to me for what looks like less than it costs to produce one -- I presume that whatever the idea of the book is, it's more important than recouping publishing cost."
I am reminded of my trip to India back in '88, when the Soviet bookstores were to be found in every large Indian city. Some wonderful titles like "When we finally hand the last Capitalist," having to do with the corruption of capitalism. You could get some quite nice volumes on mathematical physics, though, for a dollar or so. China, too, had some wonderful cheap books about that time--many in English.
This, though, should be illegal. The idea of philistines like Comfort excerpting from a work that represents one of the great creations of the human mind is nauseating.
Posted by: Anon | June 23, 2009 9:34 AM
The site that is selling Origin of Species doesn't seem to want any payment until after the items come in. I just ordered 1000, and they're going to notify me when they come in.
Thank you 10minutemail.
Posted by: lordshipmayhem | June 23, 2009 9:36 AM
Concerning the abridged Bible, Thomas Bowdler created a version suitable for families.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bowdler
Posted by: RamblinDude
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June 23, 2009 9:37 AM
I'd find this amusing except I know too many people who would read these books and take them seriously. Seriously.
Posted by: Steve | June 23, 2009 9:40 AM
This is the most dishonest and backhanded piece of bullshit from them yet. My hands are literally shaking with rage as I type this.
And these idiots flaunt their ignorance, lie and explicitly state they are being dishonest. What sort of a response do you give to these people? They won't listen and only use your responses to twist out of context and ignore if they can't do that.
"We want to get one million copies into the hands of students and professors in colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Let’s see if they try to ban Darwin’s Origin of Species. That would be interesting."
Basically, we're misrepresenting things so that we can later put scientists in an awkward position that we can take out of context and use to further undermine science.
Rage!
Posted by: slang | June 23, 2009 9:42 AM
Just get it FREE! Project Gutenberg
Posted by: Stefan | June 23, 2009 9:43 AM
From Ray's Site:
What can I say - I am thoroughly disgusted...WWJD? Lie to make his point? I envision Ray as being in an argument on a 5th grade playground making up BS as he goes along...
And when did we start spelling it distain?
Posted by: Louis | June 23, 2009 9:44 AM
@ Sailor1031 #25:
It's worse than you think. The implosion of the irony meter has created some kind of...of...well I don't know what. It's black and swirly and there are purple and green edges and flashes in it. I think I can see something moving inside. It's...it's...it's beautiful! I think I can see my.....
{Transmission inexplicably ends. Louis is found years later orbiting something deep out in the solar system and speaking in bad Latin.}
Louis
Posted by: SteveM
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June 23, 2009 9:46 AM
As much as I dislike Comfort and what he is probably doing to this book, I have a much greater problem with trying to make it illegal.
Posted by: aebrosc | June 23, 2009 9:48 AM
I read the intro. It's just a rehashing of arguments we have all seen before, but instead of using the males and females popping into existence again he went for some variety and after using the eye as an example of irreducible complexity he said that every species with one would have to evolve them separately.
It almost looks as if it was written by two people, the first have is how evolution is wrong and has footnotes the second half is a giant circular argument playing on the fear of death to convert people to christianity and has endnotes. The second half is an analogy between jumping without of a plane without a parachute and dying without believing in the christian god.
Most annoyingly there is a 3 page section called "His Famous Student" in which after quoting Darwin he pulls passages out of Mein Kampf with no warning so at first it looks like the passages are still from Darwin.
I think I am going to get Ray Comfort to make me the worlds smallest circular argument he seems to have the qualifications.
Posted by: strangebrew | June 23, 2009 9:53 AM
Rarely have I seen such disparate and desperate tactics...the rabidly delusional pretending affiliation...however thin the veneer...to 'Chuckie' Darwin...they have been cracking the idiocy up a notch or ten recently...one presumes as usual they pushed the idiocy a little to far....queues at the old 'sign up for jebus stand' must be quieter and deader then the proverbial tomb!
Absolutely priceless...and so very sad that their lies and the distorted stench of pompous self indulgence should ever be made even more available to kids under the guise of science!
Retarded fuckwits and poor excuse for humanity that they are!
Posted by: Stewart | June 23, 2009 9:55 AM
A couple of people have mentioned other versions of the bible that changed things for various reasons. I'm curious as to how Ray Comfort and his ilk might react if an atheist organisation brought out an abridged version of the bible and started distributing it in such a way that it would be easily accessible. It wouldn't matter what changes were made; the main point would be that it's the bible in a version whose contents were determined by non-believers. I'm not advocating any dishonesty; I can only envision such a product being up-front about changes and the motivation for them. But it would still be the bible as much as any abridged version of anything is still that work and therefore entitled to call itself "The Bible (abridged)."
Posted by: amphiox | June 23, 2009 9:56 AM
#55: It's called compartmentalization, and it is a finely honed intellectual ability. It's about the only intellectual ability that these guys have demonstrated the remotest inkling of competence in.
This appears to be a part of their fiendish multi-pronged strategy for the abolition of science (known as the 'spoon' strategy') - to establish an equivalence between evolution and a religion.
If they should succeed, I think PZ and other evolutionary biologists should apply en masse for tax exempt status.
Posted by: Jon | June 23, 2009 9:59 AM
Anonymous @59,
I was just thinking the same thing. My guess is that they're trying to figure out how many people want before getting them all printed. We should all "order" 1000 of them.
I especially enjoy that they are expecting schools to order 1000's of them (what school needs 1000 of any book?) even though no copies are available for review.
Posted by: Victor
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June 23, 2009 10:04 AM
We'll review it, then Ray will cry and have all the reviews removed from Amazon again. Just remember folks, save your reviews to your hard drive so you can repost them later.
Posted by: george | June 23, 2009 10:13 AM
Note that he cites "Denton, Evolution: Theory in Crisis" as his source for "The
amount of information in the 3 billion base pairs in the DNA
in every human cell is equivalent to that in 1,000 books of
encyclopedia size."
Posted by: Alec | June 23, 2009 10:16 AM
I'm concerned that the title of this book is misleading. It says "Origin of Species" and the author is still "Darwin".
Someone who doesn't know any better may think that this whole book was written by Darwin, and that this actually is THE "Origin of Species".
Fraudulent at best.
Posted by: Stewart | June 23, 2009 10:18 AM
@#74
Meaning you're concerned that Comfort will fool young people in precisely the way he intends.
Posted by: ragarth | June 23, 2009 10:19 AM
Someone with a decent amount of money should get The Jefferson Bible published, then distribute it out. What are the creationists going to do, burn the works of one of our founding fathers?
Posted by: Lynna | June 23, 2009 10:19 AM
50 pages! Ray Comfort took up 50 pages of an abridged version with his blather. Now that's a sin. Where was the editor?
Posted by: Alec | June 23, 2009 10:19 AM
Stewart -
Exactly. It's abhorrent that they are even producing this book.
Posted by: MartyM | June 23, 2009 10:21 AM
#69
What needs to be done is produce a bible that gives the reader actual historical context, social norms of the time, info about the author(s) and what we don't know about them, chronology of the written texts, information about the estimated 400,000 differences between the manuscripts and copies and their location and the history of how they come to exist, some textual criticism, which verses were added after-the-fact, which books are left out,... One could go on and on. These are things fundies don't want to know or don't want others to know.
Posted by: jimmiraybob | June 23, 2009 10:26 AM
Take Ray's "book", tack on a new 50 page introduction/rebuttal, bind the whole enchilada, and title it On the Origin of Speciousness.
Posted by: SteveM
|
June 23, 2009 10:27 AM
So Comfort's argument is to ask which of these 4 religions you should choose. But first be aware that you've broken all the 10 commandments and will surely be damned to Hell for all eternity. So, do you pick the religion of the 10 commandments or one of the 3 others? Talk about begging the question! What's even worse is how he dismisses Islam, that even though it also recognizes the 10 commandments, it says you can be saved by repenting and doing good works. It amazes me how these guys can argue with a straight face that being a good person will not get you into heaven, not realizing that what that also says is that you do not have to be good to get into heaven.
Every sentence of that introduction is a lie or some form of deception and I feel stupider for having read it.
Posted by: raven | June 23, 2009 10:29 AM
They are probably collecting names and email addresses for mailing lists. Mailing lists can be valuable and can get sold multiple times.
Posted by: Tracy Walker | June 23, 2009 10:29 AM
Are you certain that isn't the "Origin of Speciousness"?
Posted by: SteveM
|
June 23, 2009 10:32 AM
Asimov's Annotated Bible might be what you are looking for. I did not read the whole thing, but this was the first book I read that explained that "The Revelation of John" was talking about Rome and not the modern world.
Posted by: Asa | June 23, 2009 10:32 AM
I wish there really was a Charles Darwin bible. That would be hilarious...
Posted by: Tracy Walker | June 23, 2009 10:35 AM
Darnit, jimmyraybob, you beat me to it.
Posted by: SteveM
|
June 23, 2009 10:43 AM
Sorry, it is actually Asimov's Guide to the Bible
Posted by: JD | June 23, 2009 10:46 AM
Actually, Ray Comfort has disproved the theory of evolution!
No amount of genetic drift, gene flow, mutation and selection could produce the penultimate tard.
Posted by: Andyman | June 23, 2009 10:56 AM
#88
ssssshhhhhhhhh, don't tell him that, he'll have a field day with his own stupidity. So annoyed that Discomfort comes from NZ - my country.
Posted by: Gerard Foley | June 23, 2009 11:00 AM
From the introduction:
Look for the words dumb, duh and best of all stupid in the random letters that rarely produce words that make sense!
Posted by: eNeMeE | June 23, 2009 11:06 AM
I'm tempted to get copies of each.
Why do you hate your poor brain cells? That's just mean!
Posted by: SteveM
|
June 23, 2009 11:11 AM
I think that was Comfort's extremely clumsy attempt at ridiculing the concept even more, but ends up just shooting himself in the foot.
Posted by: E.V. | June 23, 2009 11:12 AM
Can you believe it? Comfort is actually right! Letters, words and gods are all human constructs.Posted by: Matt Penfold | June 23, 2009 11:14 AM
Maybe the paper is supersoft and can be put to other uses.
Posted by: Qwerty | June 23, 2009 11:21 AM
I took a dump the other day, looked into the toilet, and my turd appeared to be in the shape of a banana. I instantly thought of Ray Comfort; so, I think it was a message from his god.
Posted by: Bad Albert | June 23, 2009 11:23 AM
Funny. Their book description says more about the stuff they've added than it does about the original text. That should be a warning even to believers.
Posted by: Glen Davidson
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June 23, 2009 11:24 AM
Uh, yeah, except that an "atheist" wouldn't even read Origin of Species in order to understand evolution per se (history of science classes are all that I know that use that text), unless he were unusually naive. Above all, he wouldn't read trash from AIG or Comfort in order to comprehend evolution, only in order to know what idiocy these morons have recently used.
Sure, there is no god, and Darwin is his prophet. Don't worry, though, the DI is smarter than AIG and Comfort, and they're as dully plodding along attacking Darwin, as if he were the prophet of evolution--remaining blissfully ignorant of the ongoing science of evolution.
No, it's all for the uneducated theist, really, because few other than he would fall for the pig-ignorant idea that evolutionary theory=Darwin's writings. Pretend the notes are for the "atheist," however, and the marks will lap it up.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/6mb592
Posted by: Janine, OMnivore | June 23, 2009 11:28 AM
Why do you hate your poor brain cells? That's just mean!
"Alright brain, I don't like you and you don't like me - so let's just get this over with so I can go back to killing you with beer."-Homer Simpson
Posted by: Erp | June 23, 2009 11:40 AM
Couple of points.
First the KJV is copyrighted in Britain; Crown Copyright which never expires.
Second Charles Darwin is known to have commented in his wife, Emma's, copy of the New Testament. The Darwin Correspondence Project mentions it in an essay. I'm not sure who has the book now.
Posted by: Bad Albert | June 23, 2009 11:43 AM
After scanning that awful intro, I feel a more accurate book description by Living Waters would be "Ray Comfort's grossly incorrect ideas on the diversity of life with a corrected conclusion by Charles Darwin". However, I will reserve my final opinion until I find out what part of Darwin's text they changed or left out.
Posted by: Scrabcake | June 23, 2009 11:48 AM
Oooooh. Here are some things to do with books!
Paper beads!
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2006/08/how_to_make_paper_beads.html
Secret compartment book (although this would probably be better for something with aesthetic value.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/12/make_a_secret_compartment.html
Bracelets, too!
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/03/recycled_book_cuffs.html
And a compartment for a spy camera! There's another guy who implanted a scanner in a book.
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/06/how-to_turn_a_book_into_a_top-.html
Posted by: p1gnoe | June 23, 2009 11:48 AM
Get copies only if it would seem that they cost more to produce than these guys are charging, as when they are financially supporting their proselytizing..
Posted by: Ben | June 23, 2009 11:56 AM
I wouldn't be too concerned about him changing anyone's mind that hasn't already been made up. It was the evangelical lies that pushed me to atheism in the first place. My parents used to send me to 'church camps' and 'church schools' and once a 'youth group' all the time. They weren't particularly religious people. They just called it "cheap babysitting."
The antics of the evangelists included:
- Fake miracles to try to shock kids into believing. No joke. I'm pretty sure that's why Moses didn't get into the holy land.
- "If you don't go to church, you're going to Hell."
- My parents were told I was no longer welcome in the youth group after suggesting that parts of the Bible were metaphors. (actually, I was elated by this.)
- Being excluded from snacks or activities for failing to memorize bible verses.
- Telling kids that "Jesus doesn't want you to do that" for doing things that the adults just found annoying.
Bottom line is, this stuff doesn't convince anyone who is on the fence about these things. These lies will ultimately come back to haunt them when they find future generations are actually more secular.
Posted by: Notagod | June 23, 2009 12:02 PM
This book is an example of the lack of morality that is common within those associated with the christian mythology. Yet it is common among the christians and indeed even in society in general in the United States to claim a desire or need to adhere to the christian moral code. I suspect christian morality is in reality a big part of the problems faced by the United States.
Posted by: nullifidian | June 23, 2009 12:03 PM
Shouldn't this be entitled "For braindead biblephiles only"?
Posted by: kantalope
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June 23, 2009 12:09 PM
Darwin looks sad in the introduction pics.
Posted by: Nominal Egg | June 23, 2009 12:27 PM
Or, cancel your order when they are ready, so they've got 500,000 books lying around that they can't sell.Posted by: Nominal Egg | June 23, 2009 12:30 PM
Are you sure the plasma inducers were aligned correctly?Posted by: GMacs | June 23, 2009 12:34 PM
"In-text study notes written specifically for atheists"!
Well, that's what I've been doing to the pocket bible I got for graduation. Except they aren't necessarily for atheists, but just me being nit-picky. I can get that way about the fiction I read.
Posted by: jimmiraybob | June 23, 2009 12:41 PM
Tracy Walker @ 86
Darnit, jimmyraybob, you beat me to it.
I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see "Origin of Speciousness" occur twice almost simultaneously. This miracle only goes to prove the revelatory powers of the FSM.
All praise the FSM, the Alfredo Sauce, and the holy glass of Chianti.
Posted by: Darren Garrison | June 23, 2009 12:41 PM
#56 "Queen Jane's frankly says "fucked" where the KJV said "new""
Okay, I want that translation.
http://net.bible.org/search.php?search=new&mode=&scope=
"Instead fucked wine must be poured into fucked wineskins"
...
"Then a fucked king, who did not know about 2 Joseph, came to power 3 over Egypt"
...
"I will give you a fucked heart, and I will put a fucked spirit within you"
...
"For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that matters is a fucked creation!"
Posted by: James | June 23, 2009 1:04 PM
I'd like a bible introduced by Dawkins and maybe a copy of the Qur'an with Hitchens commentary all the way through.
Also, if PZ could do an audio track for copies of Expelled, I would actually buy a legit copy.
Posted by: Acronym Jim | June 23, 2009 1:10 PM
Why bother with writing an atheist introduction to the bible when you can just stick an "explicit content" label on it and be done with it?
Posted by: Ziztur | June 23, 2009 1:45 PM
I think Ray Comfort is awesome! He is so bad that he can do practically nothing but help our cause.
I have noticed something really interesting - most Christians I talk to in the real world have never heard of him. What's up with that?
Posted by: Art | June 23, 2009 2:08 PM
Think of all the poor, dead trees that gave their lives for such an ignominious end. Think of the trees, the oil used to make the ink, the energy used to print, process and transport these doorstops. The flagrant and gratuitous waste of resources shows nothing but contempt for life and the well being of humanity.
Posted by: AVSN | June 23, 2009 2:21 PM
I think I will adopt a new mode. From now on I will read the title and the tags and then decide if the entry is worth reading.
Posted by: Qwerty | June 23, 2009 2:22 PM
I read the intro as a form of self-torture.
Here's a brief description:
1.) About 12 pages of Darwin's history and a brief explanation of his theory.
2.) Followed by about 14 pages with every creationist argument ever made repeated here ad nasaum.
3.) Numerous quotes throughout. What's creationism without quote mining.
4.) A couple of Darwin quotes to make him look like a racist and a sexist followed by about six quotes from Hitler's Mein Kauff.
5.) And finally, a plea that the reader repent that reads like a Chick tract, but without the amusing cartoon pictures.
Excuse me now; I have to go barf.
Posted by: Billy C | June 23, 2009 2:58 PM
@110
I mean it says "fucked" where the KJV says "knew."
I'm a little disappointed to see that the book's website apparently was not ready for Pharyngulated traffic.
Posted by: David G. | June 23, 2009 3:10 PM
What's really disgusting is that Comfort was brazen enough not only to bring up the "complexity of the human eye" example in a foreword to the Origin of Species, but also to quote the first part of Darwin's response in which Darwin "freely admit[s]" that to suggest the eye could have evolved seems "absurd in the highest degree." Comfort of course omits the following passages in which Darwin describes the lack of depth that argument has and why, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that Comfort did the same thing in the actual text he "abridged."
Mindful of the fact that abridging a text requires that its original meaning be maintained, I can't help but feel a growing homicidal rage accompanied by nausea.
Posted by: Acronym Jim | June 23, 2009 3:15 PM
The "Living Waters" website that hosts the Origin of Species bulk order even includes a quote from P.Z.'s review.
Very subtle.
Posted by: SteveM
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June 23, 2009 3:17 PM
But the weird thing is that Comfort does say that Darwin went on to explain that he thought the eye could develop by degree, which Comfort then says is even more absurd.
Posted by: lytefoot | June 23, 2009 3:25 PM
So, I just skimmed the comments, so someone else might have noted this... Living Waters is using a quote from this entry on the page to market the book! That is just amazing! Check it out!
Posted by: Lt | June 23, 2009 3:28 PM
Hello all, Why do they quote PZ at the bottom of their page selling the book? Are they to stupid to know he's dissing the book or do they think they'll sell more if their own following knows PZ disapproves of it? It must be the latter, can anyone be that thick headed...
Posted by: David G. | June 23, 2009 3:28 PM
@ SteveM
And that makes it even more brazen, he left out the actual argument. Darwin walks the reader through his argument, which itself is part of a whole tome describe the basic argument for natural selection and the evidence for it, while Comfort just says "goddidit and it's absurd to say he didn't so there."
Posted by: SteveM
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June 23, 2009 3:29 PM
They must think it will have some kind of "reverse cred'", as in "if PZ hates it, it must be good!"
Posted by: Acronym Jim | June 23, 2009 3:31 PM
One thing to bear in mind is that many times these bulk offers for low, low prices are designed to get the publication on best seller lists. It's a favorite tool of the radical right-wing tools (coultergeist et al).
If that's the case here, I suspect the abridged version is probably supportive of comfort's views - i.e. cherry picked beyond recognition.
Posted by: SteveM
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June 23, 2009 3:34 PM
@ 123:
I agree, it's like he thinks he found a loophole in the "quote mining" accusation.
Posted by: Southern Comfort | June 23, 2009 3:44 PM
Can Ray Comfort do this legally?
Posted by: Cat of Many Faces | June 23, 2009 4:04 PM
Someone needs to bite the bullet and find out what was cut as I expect they will definitely cut it to make it absurd.
These are the quote mine masters after all...
Posted by: Paul Burnett | June 23, 2009 5:34 PM
More from http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/146710758.html:
Special Origin of Species to be Given Away in Schools
Contact: Trisha Ramos, Living Waters Publications, 951-707-6767
MEDIA ADVISORY, June 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- According to a recent survey, more than a third of professors at the top fifty universities describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. Among biology professors, it's a whopping 61%. It's no surprise then that belief in atheism has doubled in the college age bracket in the last 20 years. Best selling author, Ray Comfort, said, "Keeping intelligent design out of schools, is a hill to die on for evolutionists, so when I found that Charles Darwin's Origin of Species was available in the public domain, I had an idea that would get the truth onto college campuses. We are therefore reproducing Origin of Species in an abridged form (280 pages) with an added 'Special Introduction.'"
This introduction gives a timeline of Darwin's life, and his thoughts on the existence of God. It lists the theories of many hoaxes, exposes the unscientific belief that nothing created everything, points to the incredible structure of DNA, and notes the absence of any undisputed transitional forms. To show the dangerous fruit of evolution, it also mentions Hitler's undeniable connections to the theory, Darwin's racism, and his distain for women. In addition, it counters the claim that creationists are "anti-science" by citing numerous scientists who believed that God created the universe -- scientists such as Einstein, Newton, Copernicus, Bacon, Faraday, Pasteur, and Kepler.
Comfort says, "This special edition includes many original graphics and (as it says on the back cover) is designed for use in schools, colleges, and prestigious learning institutions. Its release is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Darwin's book, initially published in November 1859 as On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life."
The back cover lists the above information as well as saying the book contains "Information on Intelligent Design vs Evolution." The publication, which has already pre-sold over 20,000 copies, is already getting raving reviews from evolutionists:
"It's like a book with multiple personality disorder -- two parts that absolutely hate each other; an intro that is the inane product of one of the most stupid minds of our century, and a science text that is the product of one of the greatest minds of the author's century." PZ Myers, biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris
Comfort added, "People that feel strongly about this issue can simply stand on the sidewalk at the main entrance of any college or university with a sign that says: 'Free 150th year anniversary editions of Origin of Species.' Having an indication of how many want the book will greatly help us with our print-run quantity. We want to get one million copies into the hands of students and professors in colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Let's see if they try to ban Darwin's Origin of Species. That would be interesting. The entire 50-page introduction can be freely read on www.livingwaters.com."
Posted by: sbh
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June 23, 2009 5:45 PM
In response to a couple of questions above:
The works of Charles Darwin are in public domain, assuming they were published during his lifetime. Posthumous publications could be in copyright depending on when they were published and (of course) the laws of the country in question. Anyone can do as he likes with the public domain texts, which is one reason it's very important to get your Darwin from a reputable source.
A specific text of a modern edition of one of Darwin's works could easily be in copyright, however.
Most decent translations of the Bible are in copyright. As far as I know there is no PD modern-speech translation that is based on the best available original texts. (I would be happy to learn otherwise.) The King James Version is IMNSHO a really crappy translation, but you can quote it without violating copyright. There are in fact many abridged and altered editions of it out there.
There are also many bibles that give "the reader actual historical context, social norms of the time, info about the author(s) and what we don't know about them, chronology of the written texts, information about the estimated 400,000 differences between the manuscripts and copies and their location and the history of how they come to exist, some textual criticism, which verses were added after-the-fact, which books are left out,..." And yes, fundies hate them. There's a story I've heard many times (probably an urban legend but I haven't checked) about a fundamentalist preacher using a blowtorch to burn one of them in his pulpit. Look for an edition put out by a reputable academic press.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible is well-written but not particularly reliable. It's essentially a popularization of the Anchor Bible commentary, which is a production of an American school of thought associated with W. F. Albright. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's only one school of many, and a lot of (to my mind) important matters go overlooked.
(IANAL and my comments on copyright law are based on my defensive understanding of US law as somebody who is attempting to get PD texts online and doesn't want to get sued.)
Posted by: Acronym Jim | June 23, 2009 5:54 PM
Book banning is another time-tested way to boost books sales. It appears these folks have finally figured that out (after being bitten in the ass by it time and again) and are hoping that's how scientists will respond. I have a feeling they are going to be disappointed.
Posted by: Jaycubed | June 23, 2009 6:07 PM
"Hello all, Why do they quote PZ at the bottom of their page selling the book? Are they to stupid to know he's dissing the book or do they think they'll sell more if their own following knows PZ disapproves of it? It must be the latter, can anyone be that thick headed...
Posted by: Lt
I was wondering about their use of PZs "review' in their ad too. As for the question, "can anyone be that thick headed..." the answer is obviously yes!
Posted by: jsoutofbiblepgs
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June 23, 2009 7:08 PM
Oh dear, every single one of his sources is some WTF website....like telling us there are 4 nucleotide bases to DNA....he references that to some Kid's Genetics webpage...it's really funny! That doesn't need to be cited...it's common knowledge - unless you are Ray Comfort.
AND he sticks the entire citation with the URL down there on his footnotes...and it's not even properly formatted. If he was a freshman college student in an intro bio or natural history course, I'd fail him. If he was a senior in high school, I'd give him a C, maybe.
Posted by: Acronym Jim | June 23, 2009 7:13 PM
Because this work is in the public domain, the entire 561 page original "Origin of Species" is available for free download on google books.
The "abridgement" cut over 300 pages from the original.
Posted by: Carlie | June 23, 2009 7:31 PM
This is crying out for someone to make stickers for the full text that say: "The Origin your pastor doesn't want you to know about. Want to see what he's hiding? It's all inside."
Posted by: Yoritomo | June 23, 2009 8:39 PM
I actually think Comfort's idea was pretty good. If someone offered me a free "150th anniversary" edition of Darwin's Origin, I'd probably gladly take it - and realize a little later how I've been screwed. But if they really manage to get a million of those books given away, they may get a few converts - say, maybe 100. (That's assuming that one of ten books won't be thrown away unread, and that one in a thousand readers is vulnerable.) I could imagine that they'd consider such a number of conversions "success".
I wonder whether the converse might succeed as well: My bible is about 1,350 pages long. "Abridge" it in half: 700 pages. Write an "introduction" of about 20% of the remaining length: 140 pages. That should almost be enough space for an abridged (heh!) God Delusion. Give the result away for free at religious gatherings and hope that some of the recipients will come to reason.
The obvious disadvantage of this plan is that the religious will usually already own a bible and thus will be less likely to get another one, even if it's free. Maybe make it a "children's bible", which will both explain why it's abridged and serve to subvert attempts at early religious indoctrination...
Posted by: MAGonzalez | June 23, 2009 10:45 PM
Can they do that? We can just add our own corrections to the bible... and sell it. (It would probably shrink to 5 pages...)
Posted by: gaypaganunitarianagnostic | June 24, 2009 12:28 AM
An honest abridgment of 'The Origin' might be desirable. I doubt that the version in question is honest in any way. I am sure you could 'sour cherry pick' for statements that sound discreditable, and I expect that has been done here.
Posted by: Krystalline Apostate | June 24, 2009 12:35 AM
So did (Dis)Comfort cop this idea from Jefferson's abridged bible?
Posted by: Laborum | June 24, 2009 5:03 AM
Is it worth ordering a few hundred thousand copies with a email adress randomizer? Wonder if they'd actually print them...
Posted by: pyramus | June 24, 2009 11:16 AM
#64: We didn't start calling it "distain", and a spellchecker wouldn't have caught it, because it's an actual word that means "to stain, sully, discolour, or defile". The writer meant "disdain", of course (it's a compound of "dis-" and "deign", which in turn is related to "dignify"), but if you get most of your information through your ears rather than your eyes, then you might never notice that they're two different words.
Posted by: Slugsie | July 2, 2009 7:55 AM
They've added a quote from PZ to the end of the page. What fun! ;)