Creationism

It's a mistake to say "Either scientism or creationism is true." If those are the only two options, then of course a religious person must be a young-earth creationist, holding that the earth is only 6000 years old, because that is the sum of all of the ages attributed to key characters in the scriptures of the Old Covenant. But there is a third alternative: Catholicism.

Saganists and creationists agree that if there is evolution, then there is no God.

• Creationists believe that because God exists, they are obliged to deny the evidence for the evolution of one form of life from a parent form of life.
• Saganists assert that their theory of evolution--random mutation and natural selection--is a matter of fact and then claim that this fact means that God does not exist.

By contrast, Catholics believe that if science shows that all forms of life come from a common ancestor, then we must conclude that God created an evolving universe. Science studies what God created. Truths found by the right use of reason operating on the information give us by our senses cannot contradict truths revealed to us by God through the Body of Christ. God is the author of the whole universe, God is the author of the powers of reasoning by which we know scientific truths about the universe, and God is the author of revelation.

Some seem to be afraid that if we do not embrace creationism, then we must accept scientism (Saganism). We should not concede the saganist premises that

1. if the scientific story of the Big Bang is true, there is no God, and that
2. if evolution takes place, there is no God.

We don't have to be creationists in order to deny those absurd arguments from the saganists. We may object to the false philosophy of science which holds as a non-scientific belief, "The success of modern science means that there is no God." The existence or non-existence of God is not a finding of physics, chemistry, or biology. Interpreting data from the natural sciences as support for or evidence against theism is a philosophical decision, not a scientific decision.

Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye

• Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official).
• Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis.
• Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

Debate Topic: "Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?"

Ken Ham's Views

Naturalism is a secular religion

I agree very much with Ham's view that "the word 'science' has been hijacked by secularists" and that approach to teaching evolution mandated by the states forces the religion of naturalism on students. Atheism is presented as scientific and theism as ignorant.

The atheists are guilty of bait-and-switch when they argue from easily observable changes (micro-evolution with an already established form) to unobservable changes (macro-evolution--a new species emerging from a parent species).

The evolutionary tree is a matter of belief, not observation. "Certainly there's change, but not the change that's necessary for molecules-to-man."

"If you teach creationism in public schools, that's religion. If you teach evolution, that's science. ... Actually, it's public school textbooks teaching a belief [in the unobserved "tree of life"] and imposing it on students."

"... imposing a naturalistic religion on students."

In my view, any vision of reality that answers all of the questions of religion is itself a religion. Ham is right that Christianity and naturalism are two very different philosophical worldviews that are in conflict with each other: "It's really a battle over worldviews and starting points. It's a battle over philosophical worldviews and starting points."

Creationism is the only viable model of science

Ham says, "Creation is the only viable model of historical science confirmed by observational science in today's modern scientific era."

I object very strongly to his use of the word "creation" as if it means "a model of historical science." I use the word "creationism" instead for biblical literalists like himself who believe that the only model of creation is that given by a literal reading of Genesis 1 (six 24-hour days, 6000 years ago).

God is the lawgiver

Ham asked Nye, "How do you account for the laws of logic and laws of nature from a naturalistic worldview that excludes the existence of God?" Nye never addressed this question. This is not directly taken from the Bible, but is part of the arguments advanced in natural theology. I understand it as a variation of the Fifth Way of Aristotle and Thomas.

C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.

Observational science is different from historical science

Ham made a sharp distinction between two kinds of science:

• Observational science: done in the present.

• Historical science: beyond the range of observation. We were not there "in the beginning." We do not observe the past directly. We can't observe God creating. The only way to know about the beginning of everything is to take God's word for it.

It seems to me that reasoning from effects that are observable to causes that are not in themselves observable is one of the key features of science. We cannot see energy fields directly (electro-magnetic, gravitational, quantum); what we see is the effects of those fields acting on observable forms of matter and energy. Some of the great philosophical arguments for the existence of God in natural theology depend on effect-to-cause reasoning.

I find the view of science proposed by Nye on this score much more satisfying. It is true that science is no substitute for history, and vice-versa, but from looking at the world as it is now, and by making the assumption that the laws of nature have been operating unchanged for most of the history of the universe, we do get a "natural history" of the universe that makes very good sense.

This is not the kind of sense that is available from a witness who could say, "I was there. I saw it with my own eyes." But that it is not one form of knowledge that we value does not mean it is not another form of knowledge or that it is not valuable.

Both theists and atheists can do good science

Ham introduced a number of creationists who have solid scientific or technological credentials. Nye conceded the point. One's theology or atheology is practically irrelevant to observational science, experimentation, and invention.

Doing science requires faith

That science is itself a faith-based undertaking is one of my favorite themes in the epistemologies of John Henry Cardinal Newman and Michael Polanyi. The faith required to do science is not religious faith, but faith in one's powers of reason, faith in the laws of logic, faith in the stability and intelligibility of the universe, and faith in the work done by preceding generations of scientists. No one can "prove everything." The first principles of thought must be taken for granted in any proof; we cannot doubt those principles and at the same time use them to resolve our doubts. It is possible to recognize that the principles are undeniable by understanding that it is self-referentially inconsistent to deny them, but that is very different from having the kind of proof for the first principles that comes from taking them for granted.

I agree with Ham that the saganists "don't want to admit that there is a belief aspect to what they are saying. ... I challenge the evolutionists to admit the belief aspects of their worldview." The glory of science is the knowledge we can acquire through the use our intelligence operating on the information our our senses give us about the physical universe. Those methods cannot be used to support the thought that "science operates on knowledge while religion operates on belief." "Science" is not an object of science. "Science" is not one thing among many physical things. It is not a form of matter and energy found within the realm of space and time. "Science" is not known through the senses, nor can it be broken down into elemental constituents or made the subject of physical experimentation. "Science" is an abstraction, a metaphysical reality. It can only be known by the methods proper to philosophy.

Similarly, the error of those who think that the methods of science can or should be the norm for settling all questions is in supposing that there is nothing else except the physical universe. The thought that "we should settle all questions scientifically" is not an idea that can be tested scientifically. It is not an observation from physics, chemistry, or biology; it cannot be quantified; it is not a conclusion from an experiment in which all variables are controlled; it is not self-evident; it does not itself meet the standard it sets for all other ideas. It is essentially a religious conviction--part of the creed of the religion of science.

Ham says many times that scientists cannot prove that the earth is old because they were not eyewitnesses to the event. This is an absurd standard of proof which, if applied uniformly to the articles of the faith, would require us to deny Jesus, among many other things. I was present at my birth, but I cannot testify that I was born or that Mom is my mother because I had not developed sufficiently to experience and remember the event. If Ham's standard is correct, I must be doubtful that I was born and that Mom is my mother. I am not going to endorse that way of thinking about proof!

I follow Aquinas and Aristotle: the sufficient reason for my existence had to have existed for me to exist; I exist; therefore, there was a cause that had the power to bring me into existence. From the science of biology, I know that cause was the union of my father and mother, and I also know that they themselves were caused in the same way by their parents. I was not there when my parents were conceived--or when they conceived me--but I know that these historical facts are true.

This kind of reasoning from effect to cause is normal for human thought. There is nothing wrong with scientists following the chain of caused causes all the way back to the Big Bang. Their arguments and observations make good sense, even though scientists may and do disagree with each other about many details in the story.

Genesis must be taken literally

Ham said, "I take Genesis as literal history, as Jesus did." While I fully endorse the use of Genesis 2 to establish the foundations of marriage (one man, one woman, united by God for life), neither Jesus nor I take the Genesis story literally. Genesis 2 does not literally say "What God has joined, man must not separate" (Mk 10:9). Jesus draws that lesson from the story, but those words are not in the story at all.

If you adopt Ham's interpretation for Genesis, you're committed to it for the whole of the Bible. All of his Protestant theology of sola scriptura and the infallible bible come into play.

Ham believes that there was no death at all among any animals until Adam sinned. This is an unwarranted claim on both scientific and biblical grounds.

I accept the claims of science that the universe is vastly older than the 6000 years calculated by Ham from a literal reading of the Scriptures. I think there is excellent evidence in the fossil record that countless animals died before humans appeared on the earth. Ham believes that all of the fossils are from the Flood.

The Scriptural passage from Paul deals with death as the punishment given to humans as a consequence of their disobedience to God. The passage does not literally say what Ham says it says. It is only about the human experience of death, not that of all animals. It is clear from the context of the passage that those who are punished are all who have sinned. That excludes animals from the group being punished by death, because all other animals besides humans are incapable of sinning.

Romans 5:12-14

Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned--for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.

Ham believes that all of the animals were vegetarians until the Fall. To me, this just seems ludicrous. Although there may be a great deal of disagreement among the dating methods, as Ham says at several times in the debate, they are in 100% accord in placing the lives and deaths of multitudes of animals long before the human era. For me, the teeth of ancient animals--sharks, T-Rex, sabre-tooth tigers--found in fossils tell me that they were meat-eaters long before Adam and Eve broke our relationship with God.

The Body of Christ is Noah's Ark

I do not believe in the literal details of the story of the flood and Noah's ark as told in Genesis. It seems to me to be a theological parable: after the Fall, where humans go, sin goes, too; there is no innocent family (or church) from which the whole human race could be reconstructed. The Body of Christ is the true Ark, and the great flood that is destroying sinners is sin. Anyone who wishes to survive the flood is welcome on the New Ark. Anyone who prefers sin will be destroyed by their sin. The reality of this spiritual flood cannot be perceived against our will. "Those who have eyes to see will see. Those who have ears to hear will hear."

Ham says that Noah and his family were saved by passing through the door of the ark and that now we know that Jesus is the door to salvation. I agree with his application of the Noah story to the reality that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

Ham quoted Paul: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom 10:9). Notice that this saving act of faith does not literally require reading the Scriptures literally. The act of faith is focused on the revelation given to us in Jesus and through the ministry of the apostles. It is not necessary to be a young-earth creationist in order to believe that God the Son became human in the Virgin Mary's womb and lived and died for us.

The universe reveals the glory of God

Ham and I agree that the immensity of the universe reveals the infinite greatness of God. This is a common theme in the Scriptures. Wherever there is beauty, there is God; wherever there is goodness, there is God; wherever there is truth, there is God; wherever there is love, there is God; wherever anything exists at all, there is God. These are the grounds of natural theology.

The success of science testifies to God's greatness. He has given us minds perfectly suited to understanding His work in creation. Science is methodologically atheist, and many scientists are philosophically convinced that the meaning of their discoveries proves the truth of atheism, but their philosophical and theological errors do not prevent them from being good scientists.

No lawgiver, no laws

Ham argues that the existence and action of God is necessary for the existence and action of science--God is the author and guarantor of the laws of logic and the laws of nature. I think that this is a profound truth. Notice that it does not come from a literal reading of any passage in Genesis. It is a philosophical insight that is consistent with the whole of the Scriptural tradition.

It is not possible to make someone see this truth against their will. The mantra of the saganists is that order can come out of disorder by accident, life can emerge from the random combination of chemicals, and that the entire universe can pop into existence out of nothing at all, for no reason whatsoever. "The fool says in his heart that there is no God." The signs that point toward God must be read correctly, as with any text. The fool says, "There is nothing on that page but a random collection of atoms and molecules." The person who knows how to read the book of nature says, "This is a love letter from God."

Bill Nye's Views

Natural laws operated in the past as they do now

This is a bedrock assumption of science, and it seems to be to be a thoroughly reasonable assumption, until we collect evidence using this assumption that would causes us to doubt its truth.

On this assumption, every event in astrophysics can be explained back to the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. In that first brief moment of time, the natural laws whose operation we have traced back to just after that moment fail to explain what seems to have happened in that moment.

Reflections

"Creation" is not a "model of origins"

The question for debate was whether creation is "a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era."

My immediate answer is "no" on the grounds that the religious dogma or philosophical judgment that one God created all things is not a model of origins. The thought that there is a sovereign Creator leaves open the question of how God unfolded what we now see all around us. There are many different models that are consistent with this theological and/or philosophical conviction.

A model is essentially a simplified imaginative representation of a larger or more complex reality. Model cars imitate the shape of real cars but not the size. Model aircraft that are capable of flight usually are not constructed of the same materials as a full-size aircraft. Some model ships are capable of floating or are used in tank-testing to predict how full-scale hulls will perform; others are designed merely to please the eye.

The doctrine of creation is that God created all things ex nihilo, which is Latin for "out of nothing." We can model (picture, imagine) this in different ways.

God is the Author of the Big Bang

In this model, God is the direct or indirect cause of the Big Bang. Some scientists speculate that there are an infinite number of universes. If so, the theistic view is that God created all of them. There is no theological difference in the dogma of creation in either case. If God created all physical realities, it does not matter whether the domain of physical realities is far greater than what we can observe now from our vantage point within this universe. The infinite, eternal, all-present, all-knowing, all-good, all-powerful Being whom we worship is the cause of "all that is visible and invisible" (Nicene Creed).

The deists imagined that God simply created the initial conditions of the whole universe, like a clockmaker building a clock, then wound it up and set it running deterministically, with no further participation in the process. I am opposed to determinism, but not to the thought that God did create the natural laws that make the development of life possible.

Progressive Mediate Creation

• Stephen E. Jones, Creation/Evolution/Design, "My Theory of Progressive Mediate Creation: 1.1. What is Progressive Mediate Creation?"

"Progressive Mediate Creation" is the view, based on Genesis 1, that God created the raw materials of the universe immediately from out-of-nothing (ex nihilo), and thereafter He created mediately by working (both naturally and supernaturally) through natural processes and existing materials.

[Creation/Evolution/Design is] my commentary on creation, evolution, intelligent design and the evidence for Christianity being objectively true. I am an Australian Christian old-Earth creationist biologist who accepts universal common ancestry (but not evolution).

Things Miraculously Pop into Existence All at Once

The model here is based on a belief in God's miracle-working power. The picture is that the universe as we know it is brought into existence all at once 6,000 years ago, with all of the stars and galaxies spread out as if they had moved into those positions by normal physical processes. They have the appearance of being ancient but really are young.

As a Christian, I believe that God is all-powerful and can do whatever He wills; if the Resurrection of Jesus did not take place, my religion is false and deserves to be condemned in no uncertain terms. Although I concede that, in principle, God could instantaneously create a universe that seemed very old (13.7 billion years, according to Nye) but is really young (6,000 years according to Ham), I am not attracted to the picture of an instantaneous creation.

The Scriptures are not scientific text books

Cardinal Baronius

"The Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go."