Evangelist Ray Comfort and his Christian organization Living Waters have been under fire in the media this week after Politico published a piece dubbing the group a “far-right organization” — all while calling out newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) ties to Comfort and his work.
Comfort responded in an interview with CBN Digital, stating he was unsurprised by Politico’s handling of the story and that people are free to watch the videos for the full context and real story. He said persecution and such treatment of Johnson and Living Waters is “par for the course for any Christian.”
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start” 👇
The headline of the Politico article in question read, “Mike Johnson is a board member of a Christian publishing house that called ‘monkeypox’ a penalty for being gay.” The text itself went on to highlight Johnson’s role as a board member with Living Waters, and evidently attempted to make the connection seem troubling.
Comfort’s biblical views on homosexuality and abortion — among other issues — came under fire in the article, with these perspectives and some of his ministry videos and articles being summarized and presented through a secular media lens, one which can often leave out key context and meaning.
“In a Living Waters article published in March, Comfort also bemoaned the fact that Christians could no longer call homosexuality ‘morally wrong,'” one line read, going on to quote the evangelist, who said, “There was a time in America when we could say these things without any real repercussions.”
Of course, millions of Americans hold to this view. While it’s true support for gay and lesbian relationships hit a high of 71% in 2022, that proportion fell in 2023 to 64%. Regardless, Comfort’s perspective — a traditionally biblical one — is in step with most Bible-believing churches.
And another section of the article claimed Living Waters has “also published videos in which people try to stop women from getting abortions, with the presenter badgering one woman entering a clinic by telling her: ‘You think you’re getting rid of a problem. You’re gonna cause yourself a problem for the rest of your life. You’ll never forget this day.'”
Here, too, it must be noted that what some will see as “badgering” others will frame as offering a loving warning. This, too, is an issue where millions agree wholeheartedly with Comfort and Living Waters. Yet, based on a cursory reading of the Politico piece, there’s little indication that might be the case.
As for Comfort’s reaction to the article, he told CBN Digital he wasn’t surprised “in the slightest” by the outlet’s perspective on him and Living Waters, nor was he flummoxed over the news site’s framing of his viewpoints on a plethora of the issues.
“It’s expected that certain media outlets will slant and misrepresent certain facts to suit their own purposes,” Comfort said. “This was the case with this article. But the real facts are available for everyone to plainly see in the videos they referenced.”
Comfort has, himself, also released a response video you can watch here:
Another area the Politico piece focused on was one of Comfort’s videos about monkeypox, which the evangelist believes was wrongly framed. The lede of the article read, in part, “House Speaker Mike Johnson sits on the board of a Christian publishing house that suggested getting ‘monkeypox’ was ‘an inevitable and appropriate penalty’ for being gay.”
But Comfort said the “monkeypox issue was posed as a question rather than a statement,” and said people are free to watch the footage for themselves.
“Conflict gets news articles read, and this created conflict,” he said. “However, the video to which they linked is a most loving interaction I had with two homosexuals who both listened respectfully, and were clearly thankful for our conversation.”
You can watch the video:
The lede went on to claim Comfort suggested “former President Barack Obama was rumored to be the antichrist, because of his ‘leanings toward Islam.'” Again, the evangelist clarified there’s much more to the story than the Politico scaffolding lets on.
“The list for antichrist candidates down through the ages has included every man and his dog,” he told CBN Digital. “That was just part of the list I’d heard over the last 50 years. Barack Obama and Donald Trump have been rumored to be candidates — political bias certainly comes into play as to whether they are potential candidates. Obama made it because of an item I saw on CNN.”
A look at the article penned by Comfort and linked by Politico clearly shows he was documenting historical speculation surrounding the Antichrist. A portion of Comfort’s piece reads:
Here, now, are the compelling historical figures who were said to be the antichrist.
In the early days of Christianity, some believed that the Roman Emperor Nero was the Antichrist due to his horrifying persecution of Christians. He fits the bill.
And so did Adolf Hitler. Think of the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust, and it’s easy to see that he embodied the Antichrist.
More modern candidates have been Henry Kissinger. He was often rumored to be the Antichrist, particularly during the Cold War era. So was Barack Obama, with his leanings toward Islam. And then, there’s Vladimir Putin. Plus, there are those who are convinced it’s Donald Trump. And then there is King Charles. Many Christians are certain he is the Antichrist, pointing to, among a host of things, him being able to speak some Arabic.
As for the broader issue observed in media of late: attempts to tie Johnson to controversy. Comfort said these sorts of reactions are simply “par for the course for any Christian.”
“The Bible says, ‘All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution’ (2 Timothy 3:12),” he said. “Mike is a very high-profile, godly man, so it’s to be expected from a sin-loving world.”
As for Living Waters being described as a “far-right organization,” Comfort said he and Politico might have very different definitions of what this entails.
“If far-right means that we don’t want babies killed in the womb — that we only want that which is right in the sight of God, then so be it — we are far right,” he said.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***