Evolution vs. God

[Ben Davis]

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Hello. My name is Ray Comfort. I thought I would drop in, say hello and share a thought.

My friend PZ Myers (I hope he doesn't mind me calling him a friend) is thinking that I am going to misrepresent him in the upcoming movie “Evolution vs. God.” He said, “Someday maybe I’ll get to be in a movie in which I’m not selectively edited and misrepresented. It will not be this movie.” I don’t know why he is thinking this way when he hasn't seen the movie. The interview was edited back for the promo, but that’s what you do with promos because they have to be short. But in “Evolution vs. God” PZ gets to talk as much as or even more than anyone in the entire movie. Of course it was “selectively edited.” That’s what editors do. They remove the mundane and irrelevant and select that which is interesting--and a lot of what he said certainly was interesting. When I do interviews I fully expect to be cut back to that which the producers believe is relevant to their theme. After all, it’s their program.

So PZ, you were of course “selectively edited” (as was every person in the movie), but I have to protest when you accuse me of misrepresenting you. That would show a lack of integrity on my part and a disregard for our friendship. I really enjoyed meeting you. It really was an honor, and I would gladly enjoy a meal with you any time you are back in Southern California (at my expense, of course). PZ kindly posted the promo on his page.

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It seems to me that publicising this 'explanation' is Ray trying to head-off any backlash from the 'atheist community' before the bad press actually hits. Otherwise, he'd just say this to PZ's face, surely? Further, the fact that he feels the need to explain could be a sign of a guilty conscience.

In this scenario, if the editing fundamentally changes the meaning of the remaining content, it's misrepresentation whether deliberate or accidental. If I were accused of such misrepresentation, instead of posting 'excuses', I'd be having a look to see where my accidental errors were so I could fix them and preserve the original meaning of the content.

My suspicions are aroused...