The results are in on my survey on the strongest argument for God’s existence. And the cosmological argument has won! Since most folks these days are most familiar with Craig’s version of the Kalaam Argument, my guess is that most folks think Craig’s Kalaam Argument is the strongest argument for God’s existence. I’m sure Craig will be delighted when he receives these results by special courier later today.
In the interim, some readers did ask me what the “Banana Argument” is. The argument can be found in a famous clip where popular apologist Ray Comfort describes his analysis of the banana as the “atheist’s nightmare”.
So why is a banana the atheist’s nightmare? Because it is easy to peel, nutritious, and it curves toward the human mouth.
This is, of course, nothing more than a bald instance of selection bias. If the banana is the atheist’s nightmare, there are no shortage of nightmares for theists. Ever tried to peel a pomegranate?
And as for nutrition, several fruits — cherries, apples, peaches — contain cyanogenic glycosides in their seeds/pits which creates cyanide in the body when ingested. Eat enough apple seeds and you could theoretically die from cyanide poisoning. What kind of design is that?
As for shape, for every ergonomic banana there is an intimidating, spiky durian.
For those reasons, Comfort’s Banana Argument has become emblematic of asinine natural theology and just plain bad arguments for God’s existence.
Anyway, nothing beats the original. And so, without further ado, here is Comfort’s analysis with Growing Pains sidekick Mike Seaver Kirk Cameron:
