The Way of the Master

How, oh, HOW can I have missed the boat on one of the stories of the decade - the online ministry of former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron?

The organization he heads is called "The Way of the Master," which sounds kind of spacey New Age, but isn't. In fact, it's a pretty hard-core hell-and-repentance ministry with flashy videos and a kick-ass website. Think Chick publication gone hi-tech. Under their title are the words: "Seek and save the lost the way Jesus did."

Healing the sick and raising the dead? Challenging the pharisees of your day? No, Cameron and company lay a premium on making "the lost" realize that the God of Abraham is no pushover, and though you may feel like a good person, you'll probably be spending eternity in hell.

It's a message that the former child star delivers with his goofy yet earnest charm. His ministry partner Ray Comfort, though lacking the sass of Tracey Gold, makes up for it all with a blustery and knowing Aussie accent. Neither of the two have M Div's.

The videos made me uncomfortable. It wasn't the hard line message. I think they're in line with a strong Christian tradition there. It was the pretty awful reliance on logical argument when witnessing, the embarassing spectacle of their Christian apologetics. Watch this clip - Comfort explains intelligent design by showing how much more perfect a banana is than a can of Tab:

CLIP

I was almost convinced. Banana - three ridges. My grasp... wait, I count FIVE ridges. What? And what about mangoes? Much tastier, but clearly not kosher in the eyes of God. And pomegranites - forbidden fruit!

Anyways, isn't the image of a man holding a banana a really bad one for arguing against the spectre of evolution?

A little bit of internet research shows that the banana was probably domesticated by man in Papua New guinea 5,000 years ago, and further genetically modified in the modern age. But that's not really the point. I know there are some who disagree, but logic seems like an awkward road to faith. There is a temptation to fight the perceived threat of science with scientific language. It just doesn't end well - you can see it here. The "masters" are chock-a-block full of these startling mini-arguments. Great on the street, but you get a three card monte feel as they walk away and they fall apart.

In any case. The two were on Nightline a year ago. Catch up on their videos and website for a look at a new face of evangelical outreach.

UPDATE: Yahoo News published a piece about Cameron about a week after this post. Check it out here. Here's the kicker:

Cameron says he'd love to do non-religious films and TV again, but at times it's difficult to convince producers that while he has found Jesus, he hasn't lost his sense of humor.