Peanut butter argument
From RationalWiki
The Peanut Butter Argument for Intelligent Design, or infamously known as "the atheist's nightmare", is a claim by Chuck Missler that states that, as life does not evolve spontaneously in sealed jars of peanut butter, it is absurd to assume it evolved spontaneously in the primordial earth. Needless to say, there are many things wrong with this.
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[edit] The argument
The following video should give you an idea of the general line of "thought" for this argument.
Peanut Butter: The Atheist Nightmare
[edit] "Matter + Energy = ?"
The claim opens with, and relies on, very incorrect assumption that evolution just says that "matter + energy = life". Therefore, according to this oversimplified view, a jar of peanut butter (or any foodstuff, or perhaps any stuff), which is subjected to light through the glass jar or through heating, should spontaneously generate life. To get around any statistical problems, proponents of the argument will cite that "millions of Americans will open a jar every day, performing the experiment millions of times" each with the same result; no life is formed. The idea thus concludes that evolution must be incorrect and that their worldview is correct.
[edit] What a load of #&£%*$%...
Critics of the argument have pointed out that sealed jars of peanut butter are not, generally speaking, billion year-old volcanic environments rich in ammonia and methane, being bombarded by high energy cosmic rays. They also point out that the argument ignores the fact that the probability of life forming on Earth through abiogenesis was, most likely, incredibly low, and early earth conditions were conducive to the formation of life. Even assuming that peanut butter was conducive to spontaneous abiogenesis, the "millions of experiments performed every day" pale in comparison to the trillions performed over billions of years of the Earth's history. In addition, any life that would be created, however unlikely, would be microscopic in size (probably no more than a few strings of organized chemicals) and die almost instantly due to the presence of preservatives in the peanut butter (that is, of course, what those chemicals are there for!). It would certainly not be the case that fully formed ants will walk out of the opened jar as is hinted at by Missler's video sequence.
Aside from all that, the fact that abiogenesis does not occur in jars of peanut butter is immaterial to the theory of evolution, which specifically describes what happens after life formed and developed the ability to evolve. If the peanut butter argument says anything about abiogenesis, it is that the process is not a simple or a quick one, which pretty much all biologists can happily agree on anyway.
Also, to be honest, it's just plain silly... but when did that ever stop a creationist?
[edit] How do we know?
One of the more interesting aspects of the argument ignores the possibility that life has evolved in a sealed jar of peanut butter (perhaps even more than once!), but was promptly eaten before it could evolve to any organized level, let alone to intelligence or sentience. Such an event would be known as a second genesis. Remember this next time you have a peanut butter sandwich.
Furthermore, images of Jesus have shown up in Marmite jars, so there is a (sort of) precedent.[1]
[edit] Pasta sauce argument
A reductio ad absurdum style argument against the peanut butter argument is that if we ask God - it is possible through Creationist theory - for a jar of pasta sauce to be turned into a goat. This experiment has been tried in the following video:
Pasta Sauce: The Creationist Nightmare
[edit] A Strange Coincidence
As any sandwich connoisseur can tell you, peanut butter goes great with that other atheist's nightmare, the banana. Top creation scientists have yet to determine what this odd fact might mean, although most agree that it has something to do with mocking and smiting unbelievers.
