Are You A Genius? is the title of the ninth episode from season three of Way of the Master.

Episodes Synopsis

(00:00 - 00:53)

Scene takes place with Ray Comfort in a library in the Physics isle checking out some books.

  • Ray begins with "Albert Einstein was born in 1879, and he died in 1955. He was a Jewish born German physicists who is best known for his theory of relativity, and more specifically E=mc2. In 1999 Einstein was named Time Magazine's person of the century and a poll named him the greatest physicist of all time. He had such am impact on modern culture that the name Einstein has become synonymous with the word "genius." Ray meets Kirk Cameron reading a book next to a cart.

It does not matter whose name we use in language, but if the evidence for a particular belief is valid and true. In this case, Ray and Kirk do not care about proving their position, instead they try to fool people into not trusting themselves and present snakeoil to them, appeal to emotion to trick them to joining their faith.

  • Kirk says "In this program, we are going to take a look at this fascinating man and what he believed about life's most important issue: Is there a God? And then we are going to turn the spotlight on you and find out if you are an Einstein."

Using one man to provide support for their claim is an argument from authority. Just because the audience is not brilliant or have very high intelligence does not give any credibility to either Ray or Kirk's position by default. In fact, as seen through many reviews of their shows, debates, and books, the question we can be asking Ray and Kirk is not "are you a genius?" rather "why do you continue to be a shameless constant liar?" People tend to put their trust in people with an average intelligence than a pair of liars who fool people into their con.

The Intro to this program shows outlines of Kirk and Ray going around the world asking questions that reflect the are you a good person? tactic.

Episode Walkthrough

(01:12 - 04:27)

  • Ray "Many who, in an attempt to show atheism to be an intellectual, claim that Albert Einstein was an atheist. However the brilliant scientist said the exact opposite." Ray shows several quotes by Einstein,



  • Ray "Einstein also said..." (Words in italic are words Ray inserted.)

"we know nothing about [God, and the world] at all. Al our knowledge is but the knowledge of schoolchildren. Possibly we shall know a little more than we do now. But the real nature of things, we shall never know, never."

Albert Einstein was not implying "God, and the word." He was addressing education, not theology.

  • Ray "He even showed his insightful mind with..."

"I see a pattern, but my imagination cannot picture the maker of the pattern. I see a clock, but I cannot envision a clockmaker. The human mind is unable to conceive of the four dimensions, so how can it conceive a god, before whom a thousand years an a thousand dimensions are as one."

"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this." -- Albert Einstein, in a letter responding to philosopher Eric Gutkind, who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt; quoted from James Randerson, "Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of Religion Relatively Clear: Scientist's Reply to Sell for up to £8,000, and Stoke Debate over His Beliefs" The Guardian, (13 May 2008)

  • Ray "When asked 'to what extant are you influenced by Christianity?' he said..."



  • Ray "When asked if he accepted the historical existence of Jesus, he replied..."


Apart from the argument from authority, myths can often be filled with "life." The depth of it depends on the person, but the one thing that should speak the loudest is the evidence itself. Thus far, there is no evidence for a historical Jesus. Perhaps the reason the story of Jesus speaks out to Einstein is because virtually every detail of the life of Jesus comes from "Old Testament" scriptures[1].

  • Ray "Albert Einstein as not a fool, he believed in God, he accepted the Creator's existence..."



  • Ray "he continued..."



  • Ray "In fact, Einstein tended to be more critical of debunkers, who seem lack humility or a sense of awe of that of the faithful. He wrote in a letter.." (Words that Ray omitted are in bold. Words in italic are words Ray inserted.)

"Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is the same as that of the religious fanatics, and it springs from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who - in their grudge against the traditional religion as the "opium for the people" - cannot bear the music of the spheres. The Wonder of nature does not becomes smaller because one cannot measure it by the standards of human moral and human aims."

  • Ray "In other words, because of the hatred of traditional religion, they cannot see the genius of God's handiwork in creation."

Here are some interesting quotes From Einstein that Ray and Kirk would wish people did not see... "If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." -- Albert Einstein, quoted in Madalyn Murray O'Hair, All the Questions You Ever Wanted to Ask American Atheists (1982) vol. ii., p. 29


(04:29 - 6:57) Scene switches from Ray in the library to Kirk inn a large computer room.

  • Kirk "Okay, in a minute, we are going to have a test to see if you are a genius. Now we are going to test your intelligence level, and you are going to need a pen and a paper, so please get this or it wont work. While you are getting it, here is another quote by Albert Einstein..."

"I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I wont to know HS thoughts. The rest are details."

Kirk does not aim to test your intelligence level, but to put you through a series of slick tricks to make you seem unintelligent. People tend to make such mistakes under stress or rushed.

As for that last quote, what Ray and Kirk keep misunderstanding is that Einstein was not talking about the theist God. Stenger: To Einstein, 'God' is 'Nature'

"Both deism and traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism must also be contrasted with pantheism, the notion attributed to Baruch Spinoza (d. 1677) that the deity is associated with the order of nature or the universe itself. This also crudely summarizes the Hindu view and that of many indigenous religions around the world. When modern scientists such as Einstein and Stephen Hawking mention 'God' in their writings, this is what they seem to mean: that God is Nature." -- Victor J Stenger, Has Science Found God? (2001), chapter 3

  • Kirk continues "Those who take time to read the Bible CAN know how God created this world. Read Genesis 1. And they can read the thoughts of God throughout Holy Scripture. But the main reason why many wont believe it is because it is not merely a history book, the bible is also a moral book. And for that reason, many people will refuse to believe its pages. Alright, here now is the test. To make this work, please do not talk to anyone while you write down your answers. Sorry we will not be able to repeat the questions, you only have the chance to hear them once so listen carefully."

Genesis provides nothing buy myths of how the universe was created. Genesis 1 says that God created everything magically through incantation. Genesis 1 also says that plants were created before sunlight was created. Reading through the Bible will not provide any clear answer to what God is or what he wants. If such a clear message can be found, why are there over 30,000 denominations in Christianity, with their own interpretations and beliefs?

The Bible is not a history book. The Bible is incorrect about a 6,000 year old earth, the Exodus, the vast Empire of David and Solomon, the fall of Jericho, the city of Nazareth, and such. Before the 1970s, many people thought that archeology was an excellent helping tool for the Bible, however this is no longer true. Scholars are questioning the whole model of "biblical archaeology," which starts with the assumption that the Bible is a reliable guide for field research. Indeed, there is now so much contrary evidence AGAINST the historical accuracy of the Bible that the term "biblical archaeology" has been discarded by professional archaeologists and Syro-Palestinian archaeology has been suggested by some practicing in the field as a more appropriate term.

The Bible is also a very poor moral book. The Bible has been used an currently is used to endorse mass suffering around the world. From suppressing women's rights, promoting slavery, condemning millions to die in Africa for opposing condoms, burning and torture of witches in Africa, driving people to murder doctors, promote pseudoscience, and much more.

  • 1) How many of each animal did Moses take onto the Ark?
  • 2) What is the name of that raised print that deaf people use?
  • 3) Is it possible to end a sentence with the word, The?
  • 4) Spell the word SHOP. What do you do when you come to a green light?
  • 5) It's noon. You look at the clock, and the big hand is on the three, and the little hand is on the five. What time is it?
  • 6) Spell the word SILK. What do cows drink?
  • 7) You are the driver of a train, there are 30 people on board. At the first stop 10 people get off the train. At the next stop, 5 people get on the train. Here is the question: What is the name of the driver of the train.
  • Kirk "It is amazing that we can think we know something and be completely wrong."


(6:58 - 9:11)

  • Ray enters the room with "After we take the time to listen and think carefully before we answer, now try these..."
Read out loud the words in the three triangles. "Paris in the the Spring" "Bird in the the hand" and "Once in a a lifetime."

Ray then goes over the answers to each question,

1. None. It was Noah

Reminder, this story never took place. Similarly, there is no historic evidence for Moses.

2. Deaf people don’t use raised print.

3. The question is an example of one

So is "What the?"

4. Go.

5. Noon

6. Water

While generally true, that is not always the case. At one time, cows were forced to drink blood and other substances. What Ray fails to understand is that answers are not always absolute. Here is a good question, what were cows evolved to eat? Grass or corn? Your answer better be grass.

7. You are the driver of the train

Comfort then goes on to show the billboard with the triangle. Read it again and notice that two of the words are repeated.

(9:12 - 9:31)

  • Kirk "So how did you do? Do you feel a bit humbled, we do to. The point of these tests is to show that our eyes and our ears can fool us, our senses are not always trustworthy, and as human beings are are prone to make mistakes. And the Bible warns "He who trusts in himself is a fool.""

Under a time limit and use of trickery wording, we can make mistakes. But it is a different story all together to deny what is observable right before us, such as gravity, evolution, old earth, and such in favor of fantasy beliefs.

Street interviews

(9:32 - 13:15)

Ray goes around asking random people if they trust their own senses and asks them several of the above questions and read a small card with the three triangles. When one persons tells Ray that he can see the repeating of the words in the triangles, he asks Ray to show him that he is wrong and God is real. Ray does not answer, instead he asks the guy to spell the word SHOP. When he gets it wrong, he asks what does this prove. Ray shouts "It proves that you make mistakes! And you can be making a mistake of your eternal salvation." The scene cuts there.


(13:16 - 13:45)

  • Ray "we tend to trust our eyes, we say things like "seeing is believing." Well, have you ever seen a sunrise? You say "of course I have." Sorry, you have not. You have never seen a sunrise or a sunset. The sun remains still while the earth turns, giving us the impression that the sun rises and sets. Have you ever seen a blue sky? You say "of course I have seen a blue sky?" No you have not, the sky has no color. Ask any astronaut of his view when he came down to earth. There is no color to the sky, it just looks blue on earth.

Have you seen a man walk on water, or rise an army from the dead? Never. No one has. Has someone seen a species of animals diverge into two separate species? Hundreds of times.




Reality Check

(13:49 - 14:28)

  • Kirk "Any magician will tell you that the eye cannot be trusted because they hand is quicker than the eye. Now this is not magic, it is just sleight of hand." He folds a one dollar bill up, unfolds it and it becomes a twenty dollar bill] Ray performs his own trick with a red scarf. He tucks the red scarf into his clenched hand, opens his hand and the scarf is gone. Then he pulls the red scarf from his mouth.

James "the Amazing" Randi has debunked hundreds of supernatural claims and made an early career as a magician. However, he does not like to be called a magician because it implies he is actually doing magic, which is impossible. He likes to call himself a conjurer, but above all things he is a skeptic. It is easy to perform magic tricks on camera, but it does not help Ray or Kirk's point.

(14:29 - 15:15)

  • Kirk "Here is the point of all of this: if we can be wrong about things that don't matter, we can also be wrong about the things that DO matter. And of all the things that matter most is, we cannot afford to be wrong about the existence of God and of Heaven and Hell. The Bible makes it very clear that "he who trusts in his own judgments is a fool." So why are there people who do base their beliefs on eternity that seems right to them rather than the ultimate source of reliability? God's own word. They wrongly assume that there is no hell, or if there is a Heaven they are going to go there because they think they are a good person. Again, the Bible says that there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death."

Only in Kirk and Ray's imagination do these "important" things matter. It is more likely what matters to these two is an audience who will open their wallets. It is easy for a book to say "do not trust your own thinking, because you may be wrong and I say that I am infallible. So you must trust me, above all others who claim to be infallible, or be punished."

The Bible is not the ultimate source of reliability, in fact it is rather the opposite. The Bible contains contradictions, forgeries, discrepancies, interpolations, legendary embellishments, evident fictions, and has many stories not supported by scientific or historic evidence.

Street Interview: One 2 One

(15:21 - 20:21)

Ray asks this one person if he thinks he will go to Heaven, and then taking him through the are you a good person? routine. When they still find it unlikely that God would send them to hell, Ray uses the analogy of a criminal and court telling the judge that he thinks he is a good person (even right after he raped and killed a little girl). Ray says damnation is eternal and God is good and will seek justice. When he guesses if a person does go to hell for eternity, then the person might as well join the devil against God. Ray, ignoring that claim, tells the person about Jesus, a man who lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sins and the man should repent now.

Ending Lesson

(20:22 - 21:31)

  • Ray "During WWII, Air Force records reveals that a plane and a crew completely disappeared on their first combat mission. The plane was later discovered an incredible thousand miles past its target. Investigators found that the crew had bailed out the the plane just before crashing in the 140 degree Libyan desert. Most of the crew's remains were found 78 miles from where they bailed out, one of the men walked an incredible 140 miles before he died. What baffled military experts for years is how can a plane end up a thousand miles past its target. This is what happened: a strong tail wind had caused them to arrive at a destination far from what they had estimated. The instruments told them they had arrived, but they made the fatal mistake of not believing the instruments. They trusted their own natural senses. [Ray then quotes Proverbs 14:12] So do not make the same fatal mistake when it comes to your eternal salvation, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all you ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path."

Ray retells the story of the B-24D bomber Lady Be Good. What Ray is promoting here is a discouragement from independent rational thought. Ray discourages rational thought in favor of blind faith in a book.

(21:32 - 23:05)

  • Kirk "In light of these thoughts, its interesting to notice that at the age of 34, a young Albert Einstein proudly boasted about something that seemed right to him." They include another Einstein quote,

"I have firmly resolved to bite the dust, when my time comes, I with the minimum of medical assistance, and up to then I will sin to my wicked hearts content."

  • Ray "as Albert Einstein aged, he became more philosophical..."

"To one bent on age, death will come as a release. I feel this quite strongly now that I have grown old myself and have come to regard death like an old debt, at long last to be discharged. Still, instinctively one does everything possible to postpone the final settlement. Such is the game that nature plays with us."

Einstein never believed in life after death. "I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it." -- Albert Einstein, 1954, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press

  • Ray "It seems Einstein spoke of Biblical truth unawares, however isn't nature that seeks a final settlement that is the law of God. Like a criminal who has transgressed civil law, Einstein like the rest of humanity is in debt to eternal justice because he had transgressed God's law. This great debt that he had spoken of could not be satisfied with mere silver and gold. Its a debt that demands capital punishment. It calls for the death penalty for guilty transgressors. An eternal damnation in Hell. Its terrible to create demands, a soul that sins it shall die. But this demand was fully satisfied by the one who cried on Calvary's cross, "It is finished." It was paid in full by the precious blood of Jesus."

It is easy to compare the thoughts different viewpoints of people to match that of a book, such as the Vedas or the Koran.

They then quote 1 Peter 3:18.

1 Peter is agreed by the vast majority of critical scholars to be a forgery. 1 Peter 3:15 says "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." Peter says that Christians should be ready to explain why they believe what they do. This is a good verse to remember when Christians refuse to debate you.

1 Peter 3:1 ""Wives, be in subjection to your own husbands" and 3:7 "The wife, as unto the weaker vessel" In relation to her husband, the wife is "the weaker vessel."

(23:08 - 23:32)

  • Ray "Most of us think that we are rather intelligent, and the more knowledge that we get the more puffed up we get with pride. Don't believe it? Try talking to the average university student about the things of God. They are more than often condescending to the gospel. They think they are too intelligent to believe it. Their attitude brings up a very important point."

Knowledge is power against irrational uneducated ideas. That is what Ray fears. University students go to school for a great education, and they expect a lot of themselves to learn as much as they can, so it is not surprising that students act smart. They learn a lot at school, in the fields of history, religion, philosophy, and science. After a good education, maybe it is their knowledge of Christianity that makes them doubt the gospel, not pride. Pride is not an evil sin as Christianity puts it. Anyone, including religious people, who puts on more clothing than that is necessary to keep warm portrays a sense of pride.

(23:33 - 24:32)

  • Kirk "a man once walked up to a store window and could not believe what he was seeing. There was a cat sitting in the window, and it was a mangy cat -it was a flea-bitten, rat-bitten ugly cat. His ear was chewed of, his tail was chewed off, most of its fur was missing, it was an ugly cat. Then his eyes widen and realized there was a sign there that said "cat for sale: $50" and he though "what? Someone wants $50 for that!?" Then he saw something that made his eyes widen even further, the cat was drinking from a saucer that he recognized as a Ming Dynasty saucer worth thousands of dollars. He then ran into the store and purchased the cat. When the man wanted to take the saucer as well, the store manager said no, he sold 70 cats worth for that saucer this week.

(24:33 - 25:26)

  • Ray "That man was snared, or trapped, by his own craftiness. The Bible says that God has ensnared the wicked by their own craftiness. What does that mean? Let me explain. Many years ago I ran a kids club.At it conclusion I would get a big bag o candy and give them a piece of candy each. On dad told the kids to line up, so I looked at that line and I saw that the little bra bullies had pushed their way to the front ad at the back were the meek sickly ones. I remember thinking, that is a line of greed if I ever saw one. Then I had an idea. I said "kids, stay where you are. If you move and get out of line you are not getting candy."" Ray then went to the back of the line with the bag of candy and handed the candy out to the meek kids first.

(25:27 - 26:02)

  • Kirk "That is how God has trapped the wicked in their own craftiness. God has turned the line around. In this world, where the rich get richer and the poorer get stomped on, God has doe something incredible. The Bible says God resisted the proud but he gives grace to the humble. You just ask a proud person if they will admit they are a sinner, therefore our deserving of hell and are wiling to repent and follow Jesus Christ no matter what the cost, and you will usually hear "What, are you kidding me? I do not believe that silly message." Behold, the wisdom of God.

(26:03 - 26:30)

  • Ray "The Bible says that God has chosen the foolish in the world to confound the wise. He has chosen not the many wise, not the many mighty, not the many noble. You find that people who are proud of their intellectual abilities, their social standing, their great accomplishments are rarely stooped to the gospel. Through their own pride, they exclude themselves from understanding the truth. God designed it this way. And he even said that we must come to him as what? As a little child."

Basically, Ray is admitting God is a deliberate deceiver. If God did design everything this way, then how can he punish his creations for acting in accordance to how they were made? Ray and Christianity would love to have people act like little children who do not use or practice critical thinking like an adult. People should cherish their intellectual abilities, it is the best tool we have. It is therefore, not surprising that Christianity would teach that God designed wisdom as foolish.

(26:31 - 26:56)

  • Kirk "So, if you want to enter Heaven, be wise. Make sure you humble yourself as a little child, and don't trust in your own understanding. Remember, human nature is prone to error. The man who put the eraser at the end of the pencil knew what he was doing. What we need to do is turn back o God's instruction book: The Bible, the ultimate source of reliability an wisdom.

If you really want to be wise, ignore Kirk and Ray. There is no evidence at all for a Heaven. Don't act like a child, grow up and think. Your mind may not be perfect, but it is the best tool that you have and that separates you from the rest of the animal kingdom. The man who put the eraser at the end of the pencil was smart, but the authors of the Bible did not have erasers. Instead, the Bible's words are dogmatic and remain fixed while still being demonstrably incorrect.

(26:57 - 27:09)

  • Ray "We hope this program has been entertaining and helpful to your understanding the great truth: that God has chosen the foolish things in this world to confound the wise."

Ray has conjured up a God to be a deceiver so less intelligent people can feel comfortable to continue not thinking. A clever notion of Christianity, it does not want followers who can think.

End credits role, as well as a message for the audience to view their website, join them and receive instructs and buy their products.

The Way of the Master
Season One Episodes:


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Season Three Episodes:


Ray Comfort — Kirk Cameron

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