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Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate

April 15, 2024

The debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on the question "Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?" was held February 4, 2014, at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

Ken Ham
Bill Nye

Ken Ham, founder and chief executive officer of the Young Earth creationist (YEC) ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG), challenged Bill Nye, a science educator best known for hosting the 1990s television series Bill Nye the Science Guy, to the debate after taking exception to a YouTube video featuring Nye lamenting the refusal of a large segment of the U.S. population to accept evolution. Tickets to the event sold out within minutes, and according to a Christian public relations firm an estimated 3 million people viewed the event live via video streams on the Internet. During the debate, Ham advocated the legitimacy of a YEC model of the universe's origins, while Nye cited observations from a variety of scientific fields to defend the scientific consensus that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old.

Many scientists were critical of Nye for accepting Ham's invitation, claiming his participation in the debate gave Ham's views undeserved legitimacy, but two humanist groups – the American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry – praised Nye's decision. Scientists, both Christian and non-Christian, generally agreed that Nye won the debate, at least in terms of the science presented, although they debated how convincing the victory was.[1] Ham later announced that the publicity generated by the debate had spurred fundraising for AiG's planned Ark Encounter theme park, allowing the ministry to begin construction. Both Ham and Nye have since released books on the debate.[2][3]

Background edit

On August 23, 2012, the Internet forum Big Think posted a video entitled "Creationism is Not Appropriate for Children" on YouTube.[4] The video featured Bill Nye, best known for hosting the children's educational television program Bill Nye the Science Guy during the 1990s, complaining that a significant portion of the U.S. population does not believe in evolution, asserting that this disbelief has a detrimental impact on science education in the U.S., and encouraging parents who have doubts about evolution not to teach them to their children "because we need them."[5] In a follow-up interview with the Associated Press, Nye said, "If we raise a generation of students who don't believe in the process of science, who think everything that we've come to know about nature and the universe can be dismissed by a few sentences translated into English from some ancient text, you're not going to continue to innovate."[5] By September 2012, the Associated Press reported that Nye's video had been viewed 4.6 million times and garnered 186,000 comments.[5]

Days after the Nye video was posted, the YEC ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG) posted a video response featuring AiG scientists David Menton and Georgia Purdom.[6] AiG founder and executive director Ken Ham also objected to the claims in Nye's video in a post on his blog, Answers with Ken Ham.[6] Soon after, Ham began trying to convince Nye to visit AiG's Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, which presents a YEC viewpoint that the Earth was created by the God of the Bible approximately 6,000 years ago and dinosaurs and humans once co-existed, based on a literal reading of the book of Genesis, in contrast to the scientific consensus that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old and the existence of dinosaurs and humans is separated by about 60 million years.[7] On January 2, 2014, Ham announced on his Facebook page that Nye had accepted his invitation to a debate at the museum.[7] AiG agreed to pay Nye's travel expenses, and the date – February 4, 2014 – was close to one of Nye's previously scheduled speaking engagements at Kentucky's Murray State University.[7][8] In an AiG press release, Ham commented that "having the opportunity to hold a cordial but spirited debate with such a well-known personality who is admired by so many young people will help bring the creation-evolution issue to the attention of many more people, including youngsters."[7] Of Ham and AiG, Nye said, "This guy and his beliefs are in their midst, and we can't have this way of thinking for our science students, to have people like this organization try to insinuate themselves in our schools is not appropriate and a formula for a darker future."[8] Nye told the Associated Press that he didn't mind holding the debate at the Creation Museum: "It either makes me anxious, or it's an opportunity to influence that many more people and, frankly, have that much more fun."[8]

Many in the scientific community were critical of Nye's decision to participate in the event, claiming it lent undue credibility to the creationist worldview.[9] The Biologos Foundation, an organization promoting the compatibility of science and religion, released a statement advocating evolutionary creation, maintaining the position "that you don't have to choose. You don't have to give up Christian faith in order to accept the best, most compelling science. We expect that we'll agree with most of what Bill Nye will say about the science of evolution. Fossils, genetics, and other disciplines give compelling evidence that all life on earth is related and developed over a very long time through natural processes. But we're also brothers and sisters in Christ with Ken Ham. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for our sins and rose from the dead, and that the Bible is the authoritative word of God."[10] Others expressed concern that Nye's relative lack of familiarity with evolution – his formal training is in mechanical engineering – and inexperience in debates might lead some to conclude that Ham won the debate.[9] "I am by no means an expert on most of this," Nye later admitted, but added, "In this situation, our skeptical arguments are not the stuff of Ph.Ds. It's elementary science and common sense."[11] In preparation for the event, Nye had lunch with scientists who specialize in evolutionary theory and traveled to Oakland, California, to meet with the staff of National Center for Science Education (NCSE), an advocacy group for teaching evolution.[11] In an op-ed for CNN, Nye answered critics, saying, "In short, I decided to participate in the debate because I felt it would draw attention to the importance of science education here in the United States."[12] He later conceded that he had underestimated the debate's impact, saying he expected it to draw attention comparable to his scholarly presentations at college campuses.[11]

Leaders of two humanist groups – the American Humanist Association (AHA) and the Center for Inquiry – praised Nye's decision to participate in the debate.[13] AHA director of development and communications Maggie Ardiente told The Washington Post, "I am looking at statistics and they tell me people like Ken Ham and other creationists are being very effective and that is a serious problem. We can't just ignore that. We have to challenge people like Ken Ham so I support the debate 100 percent."[13] Debbie Goddard, the Center for Inquiry's director of outreach, concurred: "If we don't let [creationists'] ideas see the light of day we can't develop the tools to address them. And we don't just need the tools of facts and evidence, but also of understanding their views and compassion for them if we want to be effective at changing their minds."[13]

Attendance and viewership edit

 
Legacy Hall, the site of the debate

Tickets to the debate, entitled "Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?" and held in the Creation Museum's 900-seat Legacy Hall, went on sale for $25 each on January 6 and sold out within minutes.[14] Creation Museum officials reported that tickets were sold to residents of 29 different states.[15] Ham told The Daily Beast that "the ticket sales won't come to half the cost of the debate."[16]

Over 70 media credentials were distributed for the event.[17] The debate was streamed live over the Internet at debatelive.org and Google+ Hangouts On Air.[18] Approximately 750,000 computers logged into the live stream.[19] The event was widely discussed on Facebook and Twitter, with commenters frequently employing the hashtag #HamonNye.[11] Approximately 10,000 groups from churches, schools, and colleges informed AiG of their intent to host viewing groups.[17] Christian public relations firm A. Larry Ross Communications estimated that almost 3 million people viewed the event live over the Internet.[19][20][21] Immediately after the debate, video footage was made available via YouTube.[18] C-SPAN aired the debate on February 19, 2014.[17]

Debate edit

Tom Foreman, a broadcast journalist from CNN, was chosen to moderate the debate.[22] Each man was allowed a five-minute opening statement, followed by a thirty-minute presentation of the evidence for his side; each man was then given five minutes to rebut the other's arguments, and then the floor was opened for questions that the audience had previously submitted on cards.[22][23] Ham won the coin toss to determine which man delivered his opening statement first.[22]

The debate lasted two and a half hours.[15] During his opening statement, Ham declared, "I believe science has been hijacked by secularists."[22] He followed up by pointing to several examples of scientists who profess a belief in YEC, most notably Raymond Vahan Damadian, a pioneer in the field of magnetic resonance imaging.[24]

Ham also drew a distinction between "historical science" and "observational science", a distinction The Christian Science Monitor notes is unique to creation scientists.[24] "We observe things in the present, and we're assuming that has always happened in the past," said Ham, adding, "You've got a problem, because you weren't there."[25] During his rebuttal, Nye asked, "Why should we accept your word for it that natural law changed 3,000 years ago and we have no record of it?"[25]

Nye cited radiometric dating, ice core data, and the light from distant stars to argue that the Earth must be much older than young Earth creationists like Ham theorize.[24] Ham argued that these various dating methods are untrustworthy because they often give varying ages for the same artifacts.[25]

The Genesis flood narrative, which Nye repeatedly referred to as "Ken Ham's great flood", was a major topic of discussion, with Nye arguing that a boat constructed according to the parameters given for Noah's Ark in the Book of Genesis would not float.[22][24] Nye also calculated that, if there were 7,000 "kinds" of animals on the Ark, on average, 11 new species would have had to come into existence every day for the Earth to contain all presently known species.[25]

Towards the end of the debate, Ham admitted that nothing would change his mind concerning his views on creationism, whereas Nye acknowledged that, if enough convincing evidence were presented to him, he would change his mind immediately.[26]

Reaction edit

No score was kept to declare a winner in the debate.[11] Prior to the event, Ham commented, "I don't see it as a debate to win or lose. I don't believe people should go away saying 'Bill Nye won' or 'Ken Ham won.' I want to passionately deal with what I believe, and I want Bill Nye to passionately speak on what he believes."[22] In a letter published in Skeptical Inquirer after the debate, Nye wrote that by "a strong majority of accounts, I bested him."[11]

Scientists typically stated that Nye won the debate.[24] University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne contested Ham's distinction between historical science and observational science: "Science based on historical reconstruction, when done properly, is just as valid as science based on direct, real-time observation."[24] While Coyne felt the debate may have given undeserved credibility to the creationist viewpoint, he concluded that, "The debate was Ham's to win and he lost. And the debate was Nye's to lose and he won."[24] Science blogger Greg Laden, who had earlier expressed concerns about Nye's lack of evolutionary expertise, believed Nye's victory was as lop-sided as the Seattle Seahawks' victory over the Denver Broncos in the recently played Super Bowl XLVIII.[24] He noted that Nye charmed the "evangelical audience" with his style, while the NCSE noted that Ham – "no mean orator", according to the NCSE – "sometimes rambled far afield, and [his presentation] often raced by so quickly that it was hard even to know what he was saying".[24] Daily Beast writer Michael Schulson, however, used the same Seahawks-Broncos analogy to declare Ham the resounding victor. Although Schulson agreed with Nye's underlying scientific message, and allowed that Nye "had his moments," he wrote that "it was easy to pick out the smarter man on the stage. Oddly, it was the same man who was arguing that the earth is 6,000 years old." He believed that Ham's simpler presentation made him sound like "a reasonable human being", while Nye lost his audience by "sounding like a clueless geek, even if his points were scientifically valid".[16]

Evangelical blogger Ezra Byer credited Ham with raising awareness of the Christian message, but felt he failed to provide compelling factual evidence for his beliefs.[24] As partial explanation, Byer noted, "As I watched Mr. Ham's mannerisms, you could sense a tremendous Spirit about him. He was gracious and the power of God showed through his life. There were multiple times I believed he could have hammered Nye on some of his inconsistencies but in my opinion chose not to."[24]

The Biologos Foundation stated "that one of the lasting effects of this debate will be to further alienate Christianity from science in the public consciousness."[1] The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that the debate "drew world attention, once again, on the United States as the home of whacky Christianity."[27]

Michael Behe, a biologist at Lehigh University and an advocate of intelligent design, felt that by "talking on about the age of the Earth [rather] than on the elegance and complexities of life", both Ham and Nye lost the debate.[24] Metropolitan Nicholas of the Greek Orthodox Church, who was trained as a scientist before taking holy orders, also criticized both Nye's and Ham's approach to the debate, saying that "Research that is done to challenge God, has the disease of prejudice. Research is done to discover scientific truth. What problem is there with someone wanting to broaden the horizons of their thoughts and knowledge? God is approached better this way. God is not an ideology that we should by all means defend, but we believe in Him because He is Truth. In this sense, even scientific truth reveals Him. If He is still questioned, it is time to find out about Him. A believer who fears scientific research, fears the truth. Perhaps he is a believer who does not believe."[28]

On February 27, 2014, Ham announced that the publicity the debate generated for AiG had spurred fundraising for its stalled Ark Encounter project, allowing the first phase of construction – a 510-foot (160 m) representation of Noah's Ark estimated to cost $73 million – to begin.[29] Following the announcement, Nye told the Associated Press he hopes the project "goes out of business", adding "If [Ham] builds that ark, it's my strong opinion, it's bad for the commonwealth of Kentucky and bad for scientists based in Kentucky and bad for the U.S. And I'm not joking, bad for the world."[29]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Ham on Nye: Our Take". The Biologos Foundation. February 5, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014. Emily Ruppel, Deborah Haarsma, Jim Stump, John Walton, Dennis Venema, and Ted Davis.
  2. ^ Deiviscio, Jeffrey (November 3, 2014). "A Fight for the Young Creationist Mind - In 'Undeniable,' Bill Nye Speaks Evolution Directly to Creationists". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "Inside the Nye Ham Debate". Answers in Genesis. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  4. ^ Nye, Bill (2012). Creationism is Not Appropriate for Children. Big Think. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Lovan, Dylan (September 24, 2012). . AP Online. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Ham, Ken (August 29, 2012). "Time is Nye for a Rebuttal". Answers with Ken Ham. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Lovan, Dylan (January 2, 2014). . AP Online. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Poulisse, Adam (January 3, 2014). "Bill Nye to Debate Evolution with Creationist in Kentucky". Pasadena Star-News.
  9. ^ a b Chowdhury, Sudeshna (February 3, 2014). . The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  10. ^ Haarsma, Deborah (January 15, 2014). . The BioLogos Foundation. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Lovan, Dylan T. (April 16, 2014). . AP Online. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  12. ^ Nye, Bill (February 4, 2014). "Why I'm debating creationist Ken Ham". CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c Winston, Kimberly (January 30, 2014). "Ham-on-Nye debate pits atheists, creationists". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  14. ^ . The Gazette. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  15. ^ a b Lovan, Dylan (February 4, 2014). . AP Online. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Schulson, Michael (February 5, 2014). "The Bill Nye-Ken Ham Debate Was a Nightmare for Science". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Zaimov, Stoyan (February 4, 2014). . Christian Post. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  18. ^ a b . U.S. Federal News Service. January 31, 2014. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Zaimov, Stoyan (February 5, 2014). . Christian Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  20. ^ Saroyan, Strawberry (April 16, 2006). "Christianity, the Brand". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Sweet Spot". A Larry Ross. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Poulisse, Adam (February 5, 2014). . Redlands Daily Facts. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  23. ^ . The Charleston Gazette. January 29, 2014. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Chowdhury, Sudeshna (February 5, 2014). . The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014.
  25. ^ a b c d O'Neil, Tyler (February 5, 2014). . Christian Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  26. ^ Arel, Dan. "Did Bill Nye Hurt Science". www.huffingtonpost. HuffingtonPost.Inc. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  27. ^ Maddox, Marion (March 2014). "Too Much Faith in Schools: The Rise of Christian Schooling in Australia". Opinion: ABC Religion & Ethics. ABC Online (Australian Broadcasting Network). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  28. ^ "Ken Ham & Bill Nye, Meet Met. Nicholas & BioLogos". 6 February 2014.
  29. ^ a b . The Gazette. February 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2019.

External links edit

  • Nye, Bill; Ham, Ken (4 February 2014). "Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham (video - 165:32)". YouTube.

April 15, 2024
bill, debate, debate, between, bill, question, creation, viable, model, origins, held, february, 2014, creation, museum, petersburg, kentucky, hambill, founder, chief, executive, officer, young, earth, creationist, ministry, answers, genesis, challenged, bill,. The debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on the question Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins was held February 4 2014 at the Creation Museum in Petersburg Kentucky Ken HamBill Nye Ken Ham founder and chief executive officer of the Young Earth creationist YEC ministry Answers in Genesis AiG challenged Bill Nye a science educator best known for hosting the 1990s television series Bill Nye the Science Guy to the debate after taking exception to a YouTube video featuring Nye lamenting the refusal of a large segment of the U S population to accept evolution Tickets to the event sold out within minutes and according to a Christian public relations firm an estimated 3 million people viewed the event live via video streams on the Internet During the debate Ham advocated the legitimacy of a YEC model of the universe s origins while Nye cited observations from a variety of scientific fields to defend the scientific consensus that the Earth is approximately 4 5 billion years old Many scientists were critical of Nye for accepting Ham s invitation claiming his participation in the debate gave Ham s views undeserved legitimacy but two humanist groups the American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry praised Nye s decision Scientists both Christian and non Christian generally agreed that Nye won the debate at least in terms of the science presented although they debated how convincing the victory was 1 Ham later announced that the publicity generated by the debate had spurred fundraising for AiG s planned Ark Encounter theme park allowing the ministry to begin construction Both Ham and Nye have since released books on the debate 2 3 Contents 1 Background 2 Attendance and viewership 3 Debate 4 Reaction 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground editOn August 23 2012 the Internet forum Big Think posted a video entitled Creationism is Not Appropriate for Children on YouTube 4 The video featured Bill Nye best known for hosting the children s educational television program Bill Nye the Science Guy during the 1990s complaining that a significant portion of the U S population does not believe in evolution asserting that this disbelief has a detrimental impact on science education in the U S and encouraging parents who have doubts about evolution not to teach them to their children because we need them 5 In a follow up interview with the Associated Press Nye said If we raise a generation of students who don t believe in the process of science who think everything that we ve come to know about nature and the universe can be dismissed by a few sentences translated into English from some ancient text you re not going to continue to innovate 5 By September 2012 the Associated Press reported that Nye s video had been viewed 4 6 million times and garnered 186 000 comments 5 Days after the Nye video was posted the YEC ministry Answers in Genesis AiG posted a video response featuring AiG scientists David Menton and Georgia Purdom 6 AiG founder and executive director Ken Ham also objected to the claims in Nye s video in a post on his blog Answers with Ken Ham 6 Soon after Ham began trying to convince Nye to visit AiG s Creation Museum in Petersburg Kentucky which presents a YEC viewpoint that the Earth was created by the God of the Bible approximately 6 000 years ago and dinosaurs and humans once co existed based on a literal reading of the book of Genesis in contrast to the scientific consensus that the Earth is approximately 4 5 billion years old and the existence of dinosaurs and humans is separated by about 60 million years 7 On January 2 2014 Ham announced on his Facebook page that Nye had accepted his invitation to a debate at the museum 7 AiG agreed to pay Nye s travel expenses and the date February 4 2014 was close to one of Nye s previously scheduled speaking engagements at Kentucky s Murray State University 7 8 In an AiG press release Ham commented that having the opportunity to hold a cordial but spirited debate with such a well known personality who is admired by so many young people will help bring the creation evolution issue to the attention of many more people including youngsters 7 Of Ham and AiG Nye said This guy and his beliefs are in their midst and we can t have this way of thinking for our science students to have people like this organization try to insinuate themselves in our schools is not appropriate and a formula for a darker future 8 Nye told the Associated Press that he didn t mind holding the debate at the Creation Museum It either makes me anxious or it s an opportunity to influence that many more people and frankly have that much more fun 8 Many in the scientific community were critical of Nye s decision to participate in the event claiming it lent undue credibility to the creationist worldview 9 The Biologos Foundation an organization promoting the compatibility of science and religion released a statement advocating evolutionary creation maintaining the position that you don t have to choose You don t have to give up Christian faith in order to accept the best most compelling science We expect that we ll agree with most of what Bill Nye will say about the science of evolution Fossils genetics and other disciplines give compelling evidence that all life on earth is related and developed over a very long time through natural processes But we re also brothers and sisters in Christ with Ken Ham We believe that Jesus is the Son of God that he died for our sins and rose from the dead and that the Bible is the authoritative word of God 10 Others expressed concern that Nye s relative lack of familiarity with evolution his formal training is in mechanical engineering and inexperience in debates might lead some to conclude that Ham won the debate 9 I am by no means an expert on most of this Nye later admitted but added In this situation our skeptical arguments are not the stuff of Ph Ds It s elementary science and common sense 11 In preparation for the event Nye had lunch with scientists who specialize in evolutionary theory and traveled to Oakland California to meet with the staff of National Center for Science Education NCSE an advocacy group for teaching evolution 11 In an op ed for CNN Nye answered critics saying In short I decided to participate in the debate because I felt it would draw attention to the importance of science education here in the United States 12 He later conceded that he had underestimated the debate s impact saying he expected it to draw attention comparable to his scholarly presentations at college campuses 11 Leaders of two humanist groups the American Humanist Association AHA and the Center for Inquiry praised Nye s decision to participate in the debate 13 AHA director of development and communications Maggie Ardiente told The Washington Post I am looking at statistics and they tell me people like Ken Ham and other creationists are being very effective and that is a serious problem We can t just ignore that We have to challenge people like Ken Ham so I support the debate 100 percent 13 Debbie Goddard the Center for Inquiry s director of outreach concurred If we don t let creationists ideas see the light of day we can t develop the tools to address them And we don t just need the tools of facts and evidence but also of understanding their views and compassion for them if we want to be effective at changing their minds 13 Attendance and viewership edit nbsp Legacy Hall the site of the debateTickets to the debate entitled Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins and held in the Creation Museum s 900 seat Legacy Hall went on sale for 25 each on January 6 and sold out within minutes 14 Creation Museum officials reported that tickets were sold to residents of 29 different states 15 Ham told The Daily Beast that the ticket sales won t come to half the cost of the debate 16 Over 70 media credentials were distributed for the event 17 The debate was streamed live over the Internet at debatelive org and Google Hangouts On Air 18 Approximately 750 000 computers logged into the live stream 19 The event was widely discussed on Facebook and Twitter with commenters frequently employing the hashtag HamonNye 11 Approximately 10 000 groups from churches schools and colleges informed AiG of their intent to host viewing groups 17 Christian public relations firm A Larry Ross Communications estimated that almost 3 million people viewed the event live over the Internet 19 20 21 Immediately after the debate video footage was made available via YouTube 18 C SPAN aired the debate on February 19 2014 17 Debate editTom Foreman a broadcast journalist from CNN was chosen to moderate the debate 22 Each man was allowed a five minute opening statement followed by a thirty minute presentation of the evidence for his side each man was then given five minutes to rebut the other s arguments and then the floor was opened for questions that the audience had previously submitted on cards 22 23 Ham won the coin toss to determine which man delivered his opening statement first 22 The debate lasted two and a half hours 15 During his opening statement Ham declared I believe science has been hijacked by secularists 22 He followed up by pointing to several examples of scientists who profess a belief in YEC most notably Raymond Vahan Damadian a pioneer in the field of magnetic resonance imaging 24 Ham also drew a distinction between historical science and observational science a distinction The Christian Science Monitor notes is unique to creation scientists 24 We observe things in the present and we re assuming that has always happened in the past said Ham adding You ve got a problem because you weren t there 25 During his rebuttal Nye asked Why should we accept your word for it that natural law changed 3 000 years ago and we have no record of it 25 Nye cited radiometric dating ice core data and the light from distant stars to argue that the Earth must be much older than young Earth creationists like Ham theorize 24 Ham argued that these various dating methods are untrustworthy because they often give varying ages for the same artifacts 25 The Genesis flood narrative which Nye repeatedly referred to as Ken Ham s great flood was a major topic of discussion with Nye arguing that a boat constructed according to the parameters given for Noah s Ark in the Book of Genesis would not float 22 24 Nye also calculated that if there were 7 000 kinds of animals on the Ark on average 11 new species would have had to come into existence every day for the Earth to contain all presently known species 25 Towards the end of the debate Ham admitted that nothing would change his mind concerning his views on creationism whereas Nye acknowledged that if enough convincing evidence were presented to him he would change his mind immediately 26 Reaction editNo score was kept to declare a winner in the debate 11 Prior to the event Ham commented I don t see it as a debate to win or lose I don t believe people should go away saying Bill Nye won or Ken Ham won I want to passionately deal with what I believe and I want Bill Nye to passionately speak on what he believes 22 In a letter published in Skeptical Inquirer after the debate Nye wrote that by a strong majority of accounts I bested him 11 Scientists typically stated that Nye won the debate 24 University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne contested Ham s distinction between historical science and observational science Science based on historical reconstruction when done properly is just as valid as science based on direct real time observation 24 While Coyne felt the debate may have given undeserved credibility to the creationist viewpoint he concluded that The debate was Ham s to win and he lost And the debate was Nye s to lose and he won 24 Science blogger Greg Laden who had earlier expressed concerns about Nye s lack of evolutionary expertise believed Nye s victory was as lop sided as the Seattle Seahawks victory over the Denver Broncos in the recently played Super Bowl XLVIII 24 He noted that Nye charmed the evangelical audience with his style while the NCSE noted that Ham no mean orator according to the NCSE sometimes rambled far afield and his presentation often raced by so quickly that it was hard even to know what he was saying 24 Daily Beast writer Michael Schulson however used the same Seahawks Broncos analogy to declare Ham the resounding victor Although Schulson agreed with Nye s underlying scientific message and allowed that Nye had his moments he wrote that it was easy to pick out the smarter man on the stage Oddly it was the same man who was arguing that the earth is 6 000 years old He believed that Ham s simpler presentation made him sound like a reasonable human being while Nye lost his audience by sounding like a clueless geek even if his points were scientifically valid 16 Evangelical blogger Ezra Byer credited Ham with raising awareness of the Christian message but felt he failed to provide compelling factual evidence for his beliefs 24 As partial explanation Byer noted As I watched Mr Ham s mannerisms you could sense a tremendous Spirit about him He was gracious and the power of God showed through his life There were multiple times I believed he could have hammered Nye on some of his inconsistencies but in my opinion chose not to 24 The Biologos Foundation stated that one of the lasting effects of this debate will be to further alienate Christianity from science in the public consciousness 1 The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that the debate drew world attention once again on the United States as the home of whacky Christianity 27 Michael Behe a biologist at Lehigh University and an advocate of intelligent design felt that by talking on about the age of the Earth rather than on the elegance and complexities of life both Ham and Nye lost the debate 24 Metropolitan Nicholas of the Greek Orthodox Church who was trained as a scientist before taking holy orders also criticized both Nye s and Ham s approach to the debate saying that Research that is done to challenge God has the disease of prejudice Research is done to discover scientific truth What problem is there with someone wanting to broaden the horizons of their thoughts and knowledge God is approached better this way God is not an ideology that we should by all means defend but we believe in Him because He is Truth In this sense even scientific truth reveals Him If He is still questioned it is time to find out about Him A believer who fears scientific research fears the truth Perhaps he is a believer who does not believe 28 On February 27 2014 Ham announced that the publicity the debate generated for AiG had spurred fundraising for its stalled Ark Encounter project allowing the first phase of construction a 510 foot 160 m representation of Noah s Ark estimated to cost 73 million to begin 29 Following the announcement Nye told the Associated Press he hopes the project goes out of business adding If Ham builds that ark it s my strong opinion it s bad for the commonwealth of Kentucky and bad for scientists based in Kentucky and bad for the U S And I m not joking bad for the world 29 See also editA Scientific Support for Darwinism Rejection of evolution by religious groups National Center for Science Education Project Steve Undeniable Evolution and the Science of CreationReferences edit a b Ham on Nye Our Take The Biologos Foundation February 5 2014 Retrieved May 3 2014 Emily Ruppel Deborah Haarsma Jim Stump John Walton Dennis Venema and Ted Davis Deiviscio Jeffrey November 3 2014 A Fight for the Young Creationist Mind In Undeniable Bill Nye Speaks Evolution Directly to Creationists The New York Times Retrieved November 4 2014 Inside the Nye Ham Debate Answers in Genesis Retrieved 2018 02 10 Nye Bill 2012 Creationism is Not Appropriate for Children Big Think Retrieved February 11 2014 a b c Lovan Dylan September 24 2012 Bill Nye warns Creation views threaten US science AP Online Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b Ham Ken August 29 2012 Time is Nye for a Rebuttal Answers with Ken Ham Answers in Genesis Retrieved February 11 2014 a b c d Lovan Dylan January 2 2014 Bill Nye to visit Creation Museum for debate AP Online Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b c Poulisse Adam January 3 2014 Bill Nye to Debate Evolution with Creationist in Kentucky Pasadena Star News a b Chowdhury Sudeshna February 3 2014 Bill Nye vs Ken Ham Should Scientists Bother Debating Creationists The Christian Science Monitor Archived from the original on June 11 2014 Haarsma Deborah January 15 2014 Ken Ham vs Bill Nye The BioLogos Foundation Archived from the original on May 3 2014 Retrieved May 3 2014 a b c d e f Lovan Dylan T April 16 2014 Bill Nye says he underestimated debate s impact AP Online Archived from the original on June 11 2014 Nye Bill February 4 2014 Why I m debating creationist Ken Ham CNN Retrieved February 12 2014 a b c Winston Kimberly January 30 2014 Ham on Nye debate pits atheists creationists The Washington Post Retrieved February 12 2014 Bill Nye Debate Tickets Already Sold Out The Gazette January 6 2014 Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b Lovan Dylan February 4 2014 Bill Nye defends evolution in Kentucky debate AP Online Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b Schulson Michael February 5 2014 The Bill Nye Ken Ham Debate Was a Nightmare for Science The Daily Beast Retrieved February 5 2014 a b c Zaimov Stoyan February 4 2014 Bill Nye Ken Ham Creationism Debate Preview Mass Media Coverage Surrounding Event Christian Post Archived from the original on May 4 2014 Retrieved February 12 2014 a b University of Cincinnati Geology Club to Broadcast Bill Nye Ken Ham Debate on Creation U S Federal News Service January 31 2014 Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b Zaimov Stoyan February 5 2014 Bill Nye Ken Ham Discuss Humans and Dinosaurs With Piers Morgan Reactions to Creationist Debate Christian Post Archived from the original on March 5 2014 Retrieved February 12 2014 Saroyan Strawberry April 16 2006 Christianity the Brand The New York Times Retrieved 4 May 2014 Sweet Spot A Larry Ross Retrieved 4 May 2014 a b c d e f Poulisse Adam February 5 2014 Evolution vs Creation Bill Nye Ken Ham Debate the Origins of Life Redlands Daily Facts Archived from the original on June 11 2014 Red House Church to Host Creationism Debate The Charleston Gazette January 29 2014 Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b c d e f g h i j k l Chowdhury Sudeshna February 5 2014 Bill Nye versus Ken Ham Who Won The Christian Science Monitor Archived from the original on June 11 2014 a b c d O Neil Tyler February 5 2014 Science vs Bible 5 Arguments for and Against Creationism From the Ken Ham Bill Nye Debate Christian Post Archived from the original on March 9 2014 Retrieved February 12 2014 Arel Dan Did Bill Nye Hurt Science www huffingtonpost HuffingtonPost Inc Retrieved 13 February 2017 Maddox Marion March 2014 Too Much Faith in Schools The Rise of Christian Schooling in Australia Opinion ABC Religion amp Ethics ABC Online Australian Broadcasting Network Retrieved 15 April 2014 Ken Ham amp Bill Nye Meet Met Nicholas amp BioLogos 6 February 2014 a b Noah s Ark Project Spurred by Evolution Debate The Gazette February 27 2014 Archived from the original on October 30 2021 Retrieved January 7 2019 External links editNye Bill Ham Ken 4 February 2014 Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham video 165 32 YouTube Portals nbsp Evolutionary biology nbsp United States nbsp Science Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Nye Ken Ham debate amp oldid 1218413820, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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