I'm not sure how I got on their mailing list, but not long ago I received an email from Ray Comfort's people announcing his new film, The Atheist Delusion. It promised to destroy atheism with one simple question. I suspected bananas might be involved...
Apparently Ray is no longer depending on the banana to make his case, however – which was certainly something of a disappointment. Nevertheless, the argument remains essentially the same. His one question that “destroys atheism” is (are you ready?): Could a book come into being by accident, without having been put together by some intelligence? And if not, then how could DNA – the “book of life” – have come into being without an intelligent designer?
The funny thing is that Ray seems convinced that atheists have never heard of this “problem” before. It's as if he expects us to be taken by surprise, and maybe even to immediately drop to our knees and ask Jesus for forgiveness. True, some of the unsuspecting random individuals he interviews seem unsure how to answer him. But does Ray really think that people like Lawrence Krauss (who is briefly featured in the movie) have never come across this old and tired argument? Or that they don't know what to say in reply?
I only watched the first 20 minutes or so – already way too much. I had to stop soon after Ray asked one of his interviewees, How did chickens see before they evolved eyes? And how did they search for food before they evolved a brain, or breathe before they evolved lungs? Moreover, he adds, this isn't just a problem with chickens: One has to explain the same thing with respect to “elephants, horses, cats, cows, human beings,” and so on. Yes, in Ray's fantasy version of evolution, each species had to evolve every one of its organs from scratch!
Maybe from now on he should just stick with bananas?
Apparently Ray is no longer depending on the banana to make his case, however – which was certainly something of a disappointment. Nevertheless, the argument remains essentially the same. His one question that “destroys atheism” is (are you ready?): Could a book come into being by accident, without having been put together by some intelligence? And if not, then how could DNA – the “book of life” – have come into being without an intelligent designer?
The funny thing is that Ray seems convinced that atheists have never heard of this “problem” before. It's as if he expects us to be taken by surprise, and maybe even to immediately drop to our knees and ask Jesus for forgiveness. True, some of the unsuspecting random individuals he interviews seem unsure how to answer him. But does Ray really think that people like Lawrence Krauss (who is briefly featured in the movie) have never come across this old and tired argument? Or that they don't know what to say in reply?
I only watched the first 20 minutes or so – already way too much. I had to stop soon after Ray asked one of his interviewees, How did chickens see before they evolved eyes? And how did they search for food before they evolved a brain, or breathe before they evolved lungs? Moreover, he adds, this isn't just a problem with chickens: One has to explain the same thing with respect to “elephants, horses, cats, cows, human beings,” and so on. Yes, in Ray's fantasy version of evolution, each species had to evolve every one of its organs from scratch!
Maybe from now on he should just stick with bananas?
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