Ray Comfort gives away 100,000 copies of Darwin's work with plagiarized introduction

[Questioninggeller]

Creationist, and Kirk Cameron sidekick, Ray Comfort is giving away 100,000 copies (http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?id=383&option=com_content&task=view) of Charles Darwin's Origins of Species at schools around the United States in November 2009. But a few important details:

1) Comfort's version of Origins is incomplete (http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/11/03/scientist-genie-scotts-last-word-to-creationist-ray-comfort-there-you-go-again.html). Comfort's first pressing excludes four chapters that discuss the evidence of evolution. The second pressing is still missing diagrams and epigraphs, which Darwin used to detail his arguments.
2) Then there is Comfort's 50 page creationist introduction. The introduction, described by Dr. Scott, as "a hopeless mess of long-ago-refuted creationist arguments, teeming with misinformation about the science of evolution, populated by legions of strawmen, and exhibiting what can be charitably described as muddled thinking. (http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/10/30/how-creationist-origin-distorts-darwin.html)" (For example, Comfort believes evolution claims male and female evolved separately (http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/11/ray_comfort_replies_to_eugenie.php).)
3) Aside from the creationism in Comfort's introduction, Scott did say Comfort's "first eight pages of the introduction, which is a reasonably accurate, if derivative, sketch of Darwin's life." Now it turns out Comfort plagiarized that part. AIGBusted reports (http://aigbusted.blogspot.com/2009/11/ray-comfort-plagiarist.html):


Ray Comfort: Plagiarist
Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I recently had a look at Ray Comfort's "special introduction" to Origin of Species, and, I got to thinking that the first part of the introduction sounded a little too smart to be Ray Comfort. So I did some googling and found that Ray's introduction looks suspiciously like "A Brief History of Charles Darwin" by Dr. Stan Guffey. Here are some quotes from Ray's intro followed by their parallels in Stan Guffey's work:
...


On returning to England in 1836, Darwin set to work examining and disseminating the extensive collection of specimens he acquired during the voyage. He quickly established a reputation as an accomplished naturalist on the London scene. In 1839 he married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood. That same year he published his journal of the voyage of the Beagle, which brought him immediate celebrity among London’s intellectuals. In 1842 he and Emma moved to Down House in Kent. It was there that she bore ten children and she and Charles spent the rest of their lives.



On returning to England in 1836, Darwin set to work examining and disseminating the extensive collection of natural history specimens acquired during the voyage. He quickly established a reputation as an accomplished naturalist on the London scene. In 1839 he married Emma Wedgwood, and saw his journal of the voyage of the Beagle published. In 1842 he and Emma moved to Downe house, Kent where Emma would bear 10 children and she and he would live for the rest of their lives.

and

During his great adventure as the Beagle’s naturalist, Darwin had studied certain aspects of the morphology and biogeography of the many species of plants and animals that he had observed. He eventually concluded that species exhibited varying degrees of similarity because they were to varying degrees related.



On his great adventure as the Beagleʼs naturalist Darwin had noted and begun to ponder certain aspects of the morphology and biogeography of the many species of plants and animals that he had observed. In particular, he had begun to explore the possibility, and eventually concluded, that species exhibited varying degrees of similarity because they are to varying degrees related.

...


See more examples of plagiarism in that link.

So Comfort raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to re-print Darwin's book in order for Comfort, who has no college education, to write a creationist introduction. He then plagiarized basic facts about Darwin's life and misrepresented science in that introduction. I wonder if Comfort really thinks that helps his cause?

[quixotecoyote]

Normally I'd say "consider the audience" but supposedly they're going outside the choir on this one. Maybe he's just not used to it.

[Beerina]

That's gotta be the stupidest thing since Sylvia Browne plagiarized Joe Nickell.

[Questioninggeller]

Comfort's network handed them out today. Per his blog (http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2009/11/some-of-todays-comments.html):


We had a change of plans. We went in on the 18th.

[Bikewer]

They had some people in the major intersection adjacent to the university here. We would have shown them the door had they actually come on campus; we have a strict "no solicitation" policy.
Evidently they were aware of this and stayed on the public sidewalk.

[Normal Dude]

What a slimeball.

[Sideroxylon]

Lying for Jesus ... plagiarizing for Jesus – it’s all for a good cause.

[Questioninggeller]

Here's some excerpts of press Ray Comfort got:


Religious author gives away edited copies of 'Origin of Species' at Pitt
Pittsburgh Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1014630-53.stm)
By Anya Sostek
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


...
At Pitt, it took about an hour and a half to distribute 1,000 books outside the Cathedral of Learning yesterday morning, said volunteer Jenifer Pepling.
...

Full: Pittsburgh Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1014630-53.stm)


Darwin book with creationist spin passed out at university
The book's introduction compares Darwin to Adolf Hitler.
By Nathan Crabbe, Staff writer
The Gainesville Sun (http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091119/ARTICLES/911191059/1109/)
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.


Thousands of copies of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" with an introduction by creationist author Ray Comfort were distributed Wednesday at the University of Florida and other campuses across the nation.

The giveaway was a day earlier than expected, avoiding some protests planned over Comfort's views.

Volunteers associated with Comfort's ministry distributed the book without incident at UF.

But some students who received the book took issue with Comfort's opinions and said the handout was a deceptive way to disseminate them.

"It was very confusing because I thought it was a Charles Darwin book and it ended up being propaganda," said economics and political science major Mallory Andrews, 20.

In the introduction, Comfort links Darwin to Adolf Hitler and uses the complexity of life as proof of God's role in creation.
...
While the group claimed 170,000 copies of the book were distributed at 85 campuses, the California-based National Center for Science Education's Steven Newton said the number was much lower.
...

Full: The Gainesville Sun (http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091119/ARTICLES/911191059/1109/)


Evangelists hand out Darwin books with creationist introduction at Missouri State
FOX2now.com (http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-mo--darwin-evangelists,0,5880059.story)
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Members of Christian groups handed out copies of the book that first proposed the theory of evolution to students on the Missouri State University campus.

But the copy of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" that many students received included a 50-page introduction from a Christian author who questions the validity of evolution.

The author, Ray Comfort, supports creationism.

Students who gave away about 1,000 copies of the book on Wednesday say it gives people a chance to consider different sides of the controversy over evolution.
...

Full: FOX2now.com (http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-mo--darwin-evangelists,0,5880059.story)


Christians distribute Darwin books at MSU
News-Leader.com (http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190390/1007/Christians-distribute-Darwin-books-at-MSU)
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


...
There seemed to be little controversy or debate about the giveaway of 1,000 copies at MSU during the lunch hour on a cloudy, cold day.
...
Affiliated with Springfield-based Born Of Him Ministries, Marlin helped organize the give-away in cooperation with groups as varied as the Chinese Christian Student Association and the Monett Ministerial Alliance. Thirty volunteers helped hand out the books.

For his part, Marlin said he couldn't recall ever holding a copy of Origin of Species before the book distribution.
...
MSU biology professor John Heywood said he has a concern about what he considers a creationist strategy to use Darwin's words to criticize evolutionary theory.

"If they want to hand out creationist literature, they should be upfront, rather than camouflage it," he said.
Full: News-Leader.com (http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190390/1007/Christians-distribute-Darwin-books-at-MSU)


Creationist to dispense Darwin at NMC
Traverse City Record Eagle (http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_323072529.html)
By Alex Piazza
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


Traverse City -- Bill Wiesner bought more than 250 copies of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" this month.

But he disagrees with the theory of evolution.

Wiesner spent more than $300 on special edition versions of the book that include a 50-page introduction that instead supports the creationism-based theory of intelligent design.

He plans on giving away 700 copies of the special edition today on Northwestern Michigan College's campus, five days before the 150th anniversary of Origin's release.
...
Many atheists disagree with today's campaign, but book-burning would be "entirely out of order," said Marie, director of Michigan Atheists Affiliate. Membership in the Michigan Atheists Affiliate exceeds 2,000, she said.
...

Full: Traverse City Record Eagle (http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_323072529.html)



Christian group hands out controversial book to Virginia Tech students
WSLS.com (http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/14715/darwin-giveaway-raises-eyebrows)
By Ashley Roberts
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


As part of a nationwide “Origin into Schools” campaign, volunteers were on campus Wednesday to distribute 2,000 free copies of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” including a special introduction advocating a creationist counterpoint.
...
Sections claiming Darwin was an atheist and evolution is a logical precedent Adolf Hitler’s policies of genocide have ignited nationwide controversy.
...
Student responses were mixed, with some accepting and others refusing copies altogether. Others said they took them in an effort to be polite but did not intend to read it.

“I don’t plan on reading the book,” said Amanda Heffelfinger, a junior psychology major. “I just took it because I didn’t want to say no.”

Full: WSLS.com (http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/14715/darwin-giveaway-raises-eyebrows)



Controversy on campus over book by Darwin
Contra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13818898)
By Troy Anderson
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


A Westlake Village actor and an evangelist minister and author teamed up Wednesday at UCLA to pass out hundreds of copies of Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species," with a special introduction on intelligent design.

The book giveaway - coming several days before the 150th anniversary of the publication of the book outlining the theory of evolution - has some scholars fuming because of its controversial introduction by Ray Comfort, an evangelist TV host and author.

"We had two people rip out the introduction. Two books destroyed out of 2,000 passed out isn't bad," said Comfort, an author of more than 60 books and founder of Bellflower-based Living Waters Publications.

"One guy looked like he was going to burn it. He had a cigarette in his hand. But he knelt down and ripped out the first 50 pages."
...
Robert Luhn, spokesman for the Oakland-based National Center for Science Education, said Comfort's introduction is filled with "bad history, bad science and bad theology."

"He claims there are no transitional fossils," Luhn said. "There are lots and lots of transitional fossils around the world. He equates Charles Darwin with Adolph Hitler, basically saying Hitler carried out Darwin's ideas to their logical conclusion. There is no support for that historically."
...
Comfort's introduction to the book offers a timeline of Darwin's life, a history of evolution and claims that Darwin was racist and disdained women. He quotes "Mein Kampf" and purportedly presents "undeniable proof that Darwinism was the catalyst" for the extermination of millions of Jews during World War II.
...

Full: Contra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13818898)


Christians help students find 'Origin'
UK The Kentucky Kernel (http://kykernel.com/2009/11/18/christians-help-students-find-%E2%80%98origin%E2%80%99/)
By Katie Perkowski
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009


Students on UK’s campus may be used to seeing the men in black suits passing out little green books, but on Wednesday, they were met with a different kind of handout.

Members of churches throughout Kentucky passed out about 1,000 copies of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” as part of the national Origin Into Schools movement.
...

Full: UK The Kentucky Kernel (http://kykernel.com/2009/11/18/christians-help-students-find-%E2%80%98origin%E2%80%99/)

The National Center for Science Education has a new webpage about this:

http://www.dontdissdarwin.com


Analysis and synopsis
Ray Comfort has written a lengthy introduction to his edition of Darwin's Origin of Species. This introduction is partly lifted from other sources, partly Comfort's own musings on Darwin's life and legacy, and partly Comfort's evangelism.

Virtually every page contains scientific and historical errors.

Comfort repeats hackneyed creationist claims: a lack of fossils with transitional forms (false), the complexity of DNA requiring a creator (false), the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics somehow making evolution impossible (false). Comfort offers no fresh ideas, and simply parrots standard creationist talking points, all long-ago debunked by sites such as TalkOrigins.org.
...


Full: dontdissdarwin.com (http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/analysis.php)


FXwZM81XDUA

[Cainkane1]

I was going to try to get aa copy and ignore the pages of religious drivel but since its incomplete he can keep it.

[cisco]

I'm setting the over/under for when it comes out that Ray Comfort is a gay pedophilic drug addict at 8 years. Any takers?

The guy is a serious creeper. Even his name, which I suspect is made up, gives me the heebs.

[Beerina]

But some students who received the book took issue with Comfort's opinions and said the handout was a deceptive way to disseminate them.

"It was very confusing because I thought it was a Charles Darwin book and it ended up being propaganda," said economics and political science major Mallory Andrews, 20.


With all due respect, how the hell would you know, Mal?

[quixotecoyote]

Full: News-Leader.com (http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190390/1007/Christians-distribute-Darwin-books-at-MSU)

Gee, I wish I'd been on the ball there. I should have been out next to them with pamphlets about the dishonest edits and plagiarism.

[LostAngeles]

The nigh-riots and such over the UC Regents meeting has kind of drowned out the efforts made by the skeptics group at UCLA.

www.bruinskeptics.org

Kirk Cameron and Ray were physically present there.

[Edges]

With all due respect, how the hell would you know, Mal?

You don't have to be an expert on evolution to know when someone is wrong about it. Even if one only has a basic understanding of it, it can be blatently obvious when someone has no idea what it means. I was a creative writing major and I know why "I didn't evolve from a monkey," is a display of ignorance about what the theory of evolution actually says.

[K'Z'K]

My campus was one of the lucky few to get this thing. They were out in force yesterday. I must have been giving off strong "atheist evolutionist" vibes because the four people I passed closely by all ignored me. On my way home, I was regretting not asking for one. A friend managed to get a copy for me, though, after it was left in a lab by a student. It looks rather nice, and has a cover price of $4.99(!).

I did hear one student yesterday refuse it, and one today who was rather amused when I mentioned that the nonsense (though I used a less polite term) introduction wasn't even original nonsense. I think he intended to ignore the intro and read the good part.

I haven't done a full comparison, but it appears (from a quick comparison to the 1909 edition as scanned into Google Books) that the only major change to the text is that chapter VII, Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection, has been omitted entirely, with subsequent chapters renumbered. The title is also incomplete. The cover of the book and all references to Darwin's work simply call it The Origin of Species or On the Origin of Species. The complete title is intact with the actual text.

I'll keep it in my religious propaganda collection.

-K'Z'K

[Marquis de Carabas]

This (http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/resources/Fact-Check-KRMiller.pdf) is nice. It's a pamphlet written by a Christian biologist briefly debunking some of the worst of the drivel from Comfort's introduction.

[Questioninggeller]

Dawkins responds (follow link for the video):


Dawkins: Evangelist an 'idiot' on evolution
By Peter Wilkinson, CNN
CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/11/25/darwin.dawkins.evolution/)
November 25, 2009 7:34 a.m. EST

London, England (CNN) -- A Christian evangelist branded an idiot by atheist biologist Richard Dawkins for trying to refute Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has brushed off the criticism.
...
And referring to U.S.-based evangelist Ray Comfort, who argues that the universe and life is the result of an intelligent creator, Dawkins said: "There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot.

"Hunches aren't interesting, hunches aren't valuable. What's important is scientific evidence. It doesn't matter what mister whatever his name is, Comfort ... what his opinion is. It doesn't matter what my opinion is. What matters is evidence. And the evidence is clear. The evidence is in favor of evolution."
...
Responding to Dawkins' criticism, Comfort issued a statement to CNN. "If the views expressed in my introduction of 'On the Origin of Species' are 'idiotic,' why would Mr. Dawkins tell students to rip them out of the book, as he did recently?
...

Article with video: CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/11/25/darwin.dawkins.evolution/)

[shawmutt]

Just downloaded a copy. What a bunch of useless drivel. I'm glad Christians like him are representin' Christ. His crap is so easily disseminated. I tried not to get angry, but Jesus age Christ what a clueless toolbag. I can't even comprehend the level of ignorance...I'm baffled. I pity the fool.

In any case, make sure everyone possible knows about dontdissdarwin.com.

[godofpie]

This (http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/resources/Fact-Check-KRMiller.pdf) is nice. It's a pamphlet written by a Christian biologist briefly debunking some of the worst of the drivel from Comfort's introduction.
Thanks MdC. That's a great resource.

[maddog]

Is he still giving them away? Will he send them out (postage paid) if we email him and ask?

If he's spending his money to send his garbage to people who know it is garbage, then he's got less to spend on trying to convert the uninformed. Plus, it gives us more kindling.

[Questioninggeller]

Comfort's version is on his website for $4.99 plus shipping. It is not complete, he omits various things. If you want to read Comfort's creationist/stolen introduction its online.

If you're interested in Darwin's first edition, get it:
The Origin of Species (http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html) (University of Cambridge)
The Origin of Species (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html) (talk.origins)
The Origin of Species (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species) (wikisource)
The Origin of Species (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/09/science/20090209-darwin-evolution-documents.html) (NY Times)
The Origin of Species (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451529065/) (Amazon.com listing)

[Questioninggeller]

The nigh-riots and such over the UC Regents meeting has kind of drowned out the efforts made by the skeptics group at UCLA.

www.bruinskeptics.org

Kirk Cameron and Ray were physically present there.

Here's video of Cameron talking to a student while giving the books out:
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Related, "Creationist Cowards Diss Darwin":
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[maddog]

Comfort's version is on his website for $4.99 plus shipping. It is not complete, he omits various things. If you want to read Comfort's creationist/stolen introduction its online.

If you're interested in Darwin's first edition, get it:
The Origin of Species (http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html) (University of Cambridge)
The Origin of Species (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html) (talk.origins)
The Origin of Species (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species) (wikisource)
The Origin of Species (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/09/science/20090209-darwin-evolution-documents.html) (NY Times)
The Origin of Species (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451529065/) (Amazon.com listing)

No, see, the point is to get him to spend his money in ways that it will not help him accomplish his goals.

[Questioninggeller]

No, see, the point is to get him to spend his money in ways that it will not help him accomplish his goals.

Here's a report of Comfort's latest press release:



Creationists to Give Out 1M Copies of Darwin's 'Origin'
By Nathan Black
Tue, Nov. 24 2009 03:09 PM EDT
Christian Post (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091124/creationists-to-give-out-1m-copies-of-darwin-s-origin/)



One million more copies of a special pro-Intelligent Design edition of On the Origin of Species will be given away to college students, Ray Comfort announced.
...
"It's our aim to get this edition into the hands of students in every university in the United States, then Europe, and then the rest of the world," Comfort said in a statement.
...
The ministry leader, who co-hosts "The Way of the Master" television series with actor Kirk Cameron, has stressed that the books they're handing out are reproductions of Darwin's work, with no alterations. It just features an alternative introduction, which includes a rebuttal to evolution and links the theory of evolution to Hitler and racism.
...

Full: Christian Post (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091124/creationists-to-give-out-1m-copies-of-darwin-s-origin/)

[Cainkane1]

There was a suggestion that an effort should be made to get one of these books and ignore or tear out the creationist driver. However since these jerks have omitted the evidence for evolution it probably isn't worth the effort.

This is actually a plot to have this edition used in colleges and schools thew world over.

[Questioninggeller]

Stan Guffey has responded:


UT Professor Considers Legal Action Over Use Of Charles Darwin Bio
By Rikki Hall
Knoxville Metro Pulse (http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/dec/02/ut-professor-considers-legal-action-over-use-charl/)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Stan Guffey had been waiting months for Nov. 18 to arrive. On that day, Christian groups handed out free copies of a 150th-anniversary edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species on college campuses across the country. Guffey is a biology lecturer at the University of Tennessee who earned his doctorate studying genetic differences between northern and southern populations of brook trout. When he heard talk outside his office about people handing out books on the UT plaza, Guffey says, “I hot-footed it over to get myself a copy.”

“Would you like me to autograph this?” Guffey asked the distributors, telling them he is one of the authors, albeit unacknowledged. Since spring, e-mails had been trickling in alerting him to extensive similarities between the first three pages of the edition’s introduction and “A Brief History of Charles Darwin,” which Guffey wrote in 1997 for UT’s first Darwin Day event. He wrote the biography, handed out on campus each February and available through the Darwin Day website, “to make Darwin accessible to people who thought Darwin was a devil, to make him human.”
...
Comfort put his introduction on the Web months ago, and several bloggers who monitor anti-evolution efforts noted differences in style between the biography and the rest of the introduction. A brief computer search uncovered the source, and they confronted the author and publisher about the apparent plagiarism months before the book was printed. Guffey says he was never contacted for permission to use the biography. Both the author and publisher declined to comment for this story. Contacted by phone, Bridge-Logos publicist Shawn Myers said it was the first she had heard of matter, so she was unable to respond.
...
Guffey is preparing a cease-and-desist letter through an attorney to prevent further distribution of the book and is contemplating further legal action.


The full article is worth reading at the Knoxville Metro Pulse (http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/dec/02/ut-professor-considers-legal-action-over-use-charl/)

[Stellafane]

Originally Posted by Ray Comfort
During his great adventure as the Beagle’s naturalist, Darwin had studied certain aspects of the morphology and biogeography of the many species of plants and animals that he had observed. He eventually concluded that species exhibited varying degrees of similarity because they were to varying degrees related.

Originally Posted by Stan Guffey
On his great adventure as the Beagleʼs naturalist Darwin had noted and begun to ponder certain aspects of the morphology and biogeography of the many species of plants and animals that he had observed. In particular, he had begun to explore the possibility, and eventually concluded, that species exhibited varying degrees of similarity because they are to varying degrees related.


OMG! Stan Guffey totally ripped off Ray Comfort! What would REO Speedwagon think??