Tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm (19:00) EST, the Creation Museum of Cincinnati, Ohio will host a debate between Bill Nye “the Science Guy” and Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis. It can be watched live online at that and various other web addresses. Obviously, these are diametrically opposed views in more ways than whether or not a Creator was involved, and there is little (if any) common ground between their positions, so it should be a lively debate.
Bill Nye is a well-known television personality, whose program targets children with learning about science. In the past few years, he has angered a few parents with his rather strong views on evolution. So much for open mindedness in seeking the truth, I guess.
Ken Ham is known more from his books, Internet videos and, of course, his organization’s sponsorship of the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky, which raised a few eyebrows at the time. He pushes what he believes is a literal interpretation of Scripture and espouses a young earth creation model. Rather than literal, I would call it more like a straitjacket, though. “Literal” does not mean we are told every jot and tittle of what occurred, and the Bible itself is rather silent when it comes to how old the earth actually is.
The way I see it, there are three ways we could view this debate:
- Since each side has its own faults and conveniently glosses over some rather inconvenient facts, it would not be totally unreasonable to postulate that viewing this debate is about as worthwhile as watching a debate over which one of the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus are real.
- However, each side really does have some merit, does it not? In spite of the young earth insistence that Ken Ham has upon interpreting the Bible, Answers in Genesis actually does have a body of work that shows various weaknesses of the equally strict interpretation the evolutionists place upon the available data. At the same time, even if some measurements are suspect, there is scientific evidence that the earth really is millions, if not billions, of years old.
- Looking at the weather forecast in Cincinnati, it might be a good idea to stay inside and watch the debate anyhow. If anyone is traveling to it, I certainly hope they drive safely. As for me? I’m not going out in that if the forecast is accurate!
BTW, if you bought a ticket to the event, you’ll have to turn to the scalpers. The tickets sold out in 2 hours.
So, do any of you intend to watch it? I’m still undecided, honestly.