'Science Guy' Bill Nye Defends Evolution vs. Creationism

[brooklynite]

Source: ABC News

TV's "Science Guy" Bill Nye and the leader of a Kentucky museum who believes in creationism debated a question Tuesday that has nagged humankind: "How did we get here?"

Ken Ham, the founder of the Creation Museum, believes the Earth was created 6,000 years ago and that the Bible tells the factual account of the universe's beginnings and the creation of humans. Nye said he, and the rest of the scientific community, believe the Earth was created by a big bang billions of years ago and people have evolved over time.

"I just want to remind us all there are billions of people in the world who are deeply religious, who get enriched by the wonderful sense of community by their religion," said Nye, who wore his trademark bow tie. "But these same people do not embrace the extraordinary view that the Earth is somehow only 6,000 years old."

Nye said technology keeps the U.S. ahead as a world leader and he worried that if creationism is taught to children the country would fall behind.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/bill-nye-defend-evolution-kentucky-debate-22362498

[Vashta Nerada]

1. Lazy journalism strikes again.

There is no "belief" in evolution. A belief is accepting something without facts. Evolution is backed-up by mountains of evidence. It's not a belief.

[mdbl]

18. agree wholeheartedly

The word "belief" is so misused. It's like asking me if I believe I have blood in my veins, or if I believe there is hair on my head. I don't believe in anything. I might consider something, but without any proof or evidence, it's kind of pointless. That dope at the creation museum has a dinosaur with a saddle on it lol. He makes it up as he goes.

[Vashta Nerada]

32. + a million

[AlbertCat]

34. There is no "belief" in evolution.

Nor does Nye think the EARTH was created in a big bag.

[valerief]

44. Correct. I cringe every time I hear the words, "I believe," coming out of pols' mouths.

I'd much rather hear them say, "I think."

[underpants]

47. Plus he has to "defend" evolution

The first thing I got from the headline out in LBN

[Vashta Nerada]

58. Exactly.

Evolution doesn't need defending. If anything needs defending, it's creationism.

[Hissyspit]

2. "It's turtles all the way down, I tell you!!!

All the way down!!"

[lostincalifornia]

7. Turtles or tortisies?

[Hissyspit]

9. How dare you question?!

Infidel!

I bet you don't have a star on your belly.

[lostincalifornia]

20. Nope, lol

[Warpy]

10. It's Kentucky. It would have to be tortoises

Look at their senior senator.

[lostincalifornia]

21. Excellent point

[Laffy Kat]

28. That was great!

[Stonepounder]

29. OK, I'm getting just a little tired of stereotypes!

I live in Kentucky. I am not an uneducated, I am a progressive, I am a woman's libber, I am not a racist, I am pro-choice, I have always thought that who you wanted to spend your life with was a personal choice and didn't have any bearing on who I wanted to spend my life with. I marched in Civil Rights parades and was at Ohio State demonstrating against the war in Viet Nam when Kent State occured. Boone County (the county where the Creationism Museum is located) actually has more registered Democrats than Republicans.

Are there uneducated, in-bred cretins straight out of Deliverance in Kentucky? Sure there are. But I've run into bigots and idiots in Los Angeles and San Francisco too. Also, even though both US Senators are Republican, bear in mind that the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State are Democrats, and the Sec State is a nice lady named Allison Lundergan Grimes, who is actually either tied or leading in the polls in her bid to unseat Mitch McConnell.

Am I embarrassed to live within 10 miles of the Creation Museum? Yeah. But I have seen some pretty incredible acts of kindness by folk that y'all would probably cross the street to avoid. Like the two 'good ole boys' who actually did look like something out of Deliverance, who saw a woman lose control of her car on an icy road a couple of years ago. She and her car ended up almost totally submerged in the river. The woman was trapped in her car. One of the waded in to the freezing water and held the woman's head out of the water while the other ran for a phone to dial 911 and then joined his buddy in the river and waited for the paramedics to arrive. The woman survived and all three were treated at the scene for hypothermia. The two guys appeared somewhat confused at the fuss the news reporters were making over them. The quote I remember was when one of them said, "Well what else were we supposed to do? Someone was in trouble." Or the time that my son-in-law was involved in a traffic accident, leaving his car needing to be towed. The tow truck driver was a snaggle-toothed old fellow with a 3-day stubble and greasy overalls. We had arrived on the scene by the time the tow truck arrived and the paramedics had decided to take our 18-month old granddaughter to the hospital 'just to be on the safe side', leaving us with our 3-year-old grandson. The tow-truck driver quickly realized that Zack was pretty shook up by everything that had just happened. He had Zack come over to the truck and work the levers to get the car up on the flatbed. By the time he was finished Zack was so stoked by getting to help he was back to being his old self.

So lets quit with the stereotypes and the Kentucky bashing. (Oh, and by the way, I live in a mobile home, so we can quit with the 'trailer trash' references as well.

[Warpy]

31. None of which I said.

Please aim your diatribes a little more carefully.

We're done here.

[AlbertCat]

35. So lets quit with the stereotypes and the Kentucky bashing.

Geeeze!

All Kentuckians are sooooooo sensitive!

[MyNameGoesHere]

43. yeah but still, you live in Kentucky. eom

[DrDan]

51. Very very very we'll said - and long overdue

The regional bigotry here is astounding

[mdbl]

52. I understand you're sentiments..

however, as someone who lives a lot further south than Kentucky, the stereotyping goes both ways. Many of those same gentle rescuers that pull you out of the swamp think all laws are bad, including the good ones, and all yankees are stupid. They think large northern cities are of the devil and that Ted Nugent is a hero. They listen to Mush Rush all day and the only black person they quote is Hermann Cain. They still watch and believe charlatans posing as religious people on TV all day while electing every crooked self-serving politician into office. They think Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya and hate everything he says, whether it would benefit them or not. If you're worried about stereotyping, you need to start working on those who keep pulling this country down with their ignorance. I know it seems like a losing battle but we can keep trying!

[exboyfil]

54. I lived in Tennesee for five years

and I agree with you totally. At the end of the day folks who believe in YEC can be good scientists and engineers (my boss is one). I personally think they have a logical dissonance especially those in fields directly impacted by their belief system. I honestly cannot believe a geologist, paleontologist, astronomer, physicist, or especially a biologist can really accept YEC.

Just don't try to teach this stuff to our children in public schools. They have their home and church for that activity.

[Lost_Count]

56. My advice is to get used to it...

South bashing has a big ol' green light round these parts...

[Delphinus]

50. Beautiful!

[ZombieHorde]

3. What would cause you to change your belief?

Ham: nothing would cause me to doubt the word of God.
Nye: one piece of evidence is all I need to reconsider everything.

I haven't watched the debate yet, but my friend posted this question and answer. Can't wait to get the time to watch!

[yourout]

4. And that answer is all you need to know. Fundys and logic are like....

water and oil.

They just don't mix.

[defacto7]

15. ^ this ^^ this ^^ this ^

a thousand times ^ this ^

[countmyvote4real]

17. That was a real "Eureka" moment.

That was one of the questions from the audience which for the most part were pretty good. It was very frustrating for me to listen to Ham's BS. He even managed to define marriage between a man and a woman as scientific.

[Demenace]

57. Why is this still open for a debate?

Why are we still talking about facts with people who peddle fiction? That right there is the problem along with the fact that we say we understand the facts of science yet we are the most superstitious people who still enable the growth of Churches by attending the same dutifully every Sunday!

Until, we settle the questions of facts against fiction within ourselves, we will continue to fall prey to false equivalencies like these debates!

A stark example for the wondering mind: The Vatican fights against Homosexuality but is a gathering of men who we now have the facts on that they (the men of the Vatican as Priests) have abused guess who, male children. A documented fact. Yet we debate and listen to the same Vatican's calls against the very thing that is at the core of their own - not mine - moral failings. Why? Because we have not reconciled in our own minds and accepted that child abusers and men who are unmarried cannot tell me anything about morality and marriage.

[JeffHead]

5. Bill Nye ran circles around this creationist freak.

[alp227]

6. Cincinnati Enquirer local news article, since this was in northern Kentucky...

Bill Nye, Ken Ham argue how the universe and life began

[freshwest]

8. We need someone to take up Carl Sagan's torch to enlighten people of how valuable life is.

The problem with too many of the religionists dominant in media is they see the Earth as disposable, as business does. That is wrong, it cannot be what their God or whoever they believe intended.

Their own book says He gazed upon the results of His Work, and pronounced it Good and not a garbage pile made of leavings after a rummage sale. This same wonder of life is felt by good hearted people with faith or without it.

Thanks to Bill Nye for being a true American 'partriot' who wants this country to succeed and for mankind to stop killing the Earth with wrongfully or stupidly applied science and use it to save our planet.

There is no guarantee that we will be removed from our follies, or if we are, that we could possibly be trusted with another such gift as the planet Earth is. We are what we are, we cannot escape the consequences of our acts, and too many believe fantasies that tell them differently in order not to face that harsh reality.

Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws. Your choice determines the consequences. Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.

~ Alfred A. Montapert

[Scootaloo]

11. There are many, many people walking Sagan's path

The difference between then and now is entirely on the user end. The American audiences that Sagan came to wanted to learn. they wanted to explore and expand and develop and grow themselves. Education was an end in and of itse;f - you educated yourself to become an educated person.

Today's Americans are walled-off isolationists who imagine that they have everything they need, and have no use for looking beyond the walls they built around themselves. there's no interest in learning - whatever's worth knowing you already know, and ifyou don't know it hten it must be a lie. Education is a process by which tests are shoveled in and diplomas are shit out, nothing more. There's less respect for intellectual pursuit than there was during the mcCarthy era.

Americans today rely on "truthiness," and people like Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and so many others are pretty literally casting their pearls before swine. Bit Whoever Bless 'em for keeping up the effort anyway.

[countmyvote4real]

19. Here you go: Neil deGrasse Tyson

http://io9.com/new-cosmos-trailer-shows-how-carl-sagans-series-has-go-1512368734

[msongs]

12. the bible says Ham is an abomination nt

[valerief]

45. DUzy! nt

[underpants]

48. BAM!

[Phlem]

13. Couldn't watch it for 2 hours.

But I caught the opening statements, that's when I turned it off and said to my self, "Bill Nye's going to wipe his shoes all over this guy and takes his ice cream shake. That's all I needed. Bill is one of my all time hero's and a big and hardy Thank You to Bill Nye!
Hopefully this gets on the networks somehow so I can record it.

The whole beginning was a commercial, "Kids get in free in 2014!"...."with paying adult" as it was held at the Museum.



-p

[dreamnightwind]

14. Ham is unclean

Read it in the Old Testament, same place Ham read his creation myth, must be true.

[xfundy]

16. An honest man can say, "I don't know."

Nye said it several times.

I didn't hear it once out of the preacher-man. All he kept saying, over and over, was "'cause gawd."

[defacto7]

22. Bill is a great communicator...

I have to admit, there is something I forget at times concerning believers, and Bill made this plain:

"I just want to remind us all there are billions of people in the world who are deeply religious, who get enriched by the wonderful sense of community by their religion," said Nye, who wore his trademark bow tie. "But these same people do not embrace the extraordinary view that the Earth is somehow only 6,000 years old."

It is easy for non-theists like myself to put believers into a smaller box than many deserve. As an atheist I am concerned more with education, human advancement, and survival of all life than I am with the beliefs themselves. In politics, many politicians have bowed to a few moneyed extremists and have taken a position of authority for the advancement of those extremists who hold a very narrow view of reality or use narrow views to control an uneducated population. With the explosion of that mindset it is easy to be narrow and mistake believers as being one entity rather than being diverse.

What we need is education based on reality so people can make decisions without being cowed into ignorance. If their view of the universe includes religious views that respect the rights of others to have their beliefs and the right to non-belief, then the world is all the more colorful for it.

Thanks Bill for helping me to keep that in perspective.

[Phlem]

38. Dude he was like a monkey! All over the walls

about Noah's ark, about a whole lot of other stuff in a microcosm of roughly 15 minutes. It was a knock out punch first round and after that I just couldn't bear to watch Ham anymore.

Click

I will sleep good again tonight!

-p

[defacto7]

42. Bill is great.

Sleep well Phlem!

[Cha]

23. And, there it is..

"I just want to remind us all there are billions of people in the world who are deeply religious, who get enriched by the wonderful sense of community by their religion," said Nye, who wore his trademark bow tie. "But these same people do not embrace the extraordinary view that the Earth is somehow only 6,000 years old."

thanks brooklynite

[Redfairen]

24. I see ABC put this story in its "Entertainment" section

Good publicity stunt for those involved. Otherwise, so what?

[blkmusclmachine]

25. So, I guess Jesus couldn't make it to the taping. Had to send a canned ham, instead.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

26. What? Science rips religion a newer asshole? In other news, water is wet. I love Bill Nye!

Got me into scientific discovery as a kid, as did Mr. Wizard, Nova and 3-2-1 Contact on PBS.

[Snarkoleptic]

27. Should have started up a drinking game.

Do a shot every time Ham says "There's this book...".

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

55. You have to be careful doing that

You might die of alcohol poisoning.

[nilram]

30. "After the #creationdebate, be sure to stay tuned for the #gravitydebate. "

"Do things fall when you drop them? Find out tonight!"

-- TheTweetOfGod, https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod


ha! I love that guy! I mean, God.

[weissmam]

33. I though Ken Ham was thrown in jail for fraud and tax evasion

[Moostache]

41. That was Kent Hovind...an even MORE inane douchebag...(nt)

[fleabiscuit]

36. IMHO it's unfortunate this took place.

I just don't see any payoff of presenting a forum that could possibly give even the illusion that creationism is worthy of a debate. It shouldn’t have happened.

[Phlem]

37. True but

it still had to be done. If people don't get it this time...well then you know what your dealing with and I'm pretty sure that had a lot of viewers.

-p

[JoePhilly]

49. Better a debate like this, rather than a similar "debate" in your kid's science class.

Either we beat down creationist nonsense like this ... or the nut jobs teach it to our kids as an alternative to evolution, in our schools.

Every time this happens, it create youtube moments that can be used to reverse the indoctrination of others.

[AlbertCat]

39. At the "Christiantoday.com" poll....

Nye is winning by like 90-something %. (according to what I read on Face book. I really don't want to go to Christiantoday.com myself)

That's a Christian site y'know...

[Archae]

40. Ken Ham has never been quite right...

Ever since that truckload of Jack Chick creationist tracts fell on his head.

[BlueMTexpat]

46. The mere fact that there has to be

a debate about creationism versus evolution in the 21st century in what is arguably the world's most enlightened nation (something that is certainly in doubt these days) is very scary. It indicates that we really aren't as far from becoming a theocracy as we might think, especially a theocracy ruled by a controlling, well-funded minority.

As Nye said - and as several others in this thread have said - there are plenty of deeply religious people who can reconcile their faith with science. Those same people also understand that the place for religion is in the church/mosque/synagogue/ashram/whatever and in their own personal lives - not in the public education or political system. I have great respect for such people, even though I myself am agnostic.

It is people like Ham who are the problem - those who believe (or at least articulate publicly ... their only true belief is in Mammon) that religion and science are mutually exclusive. There is also an extremely serious problem with US corporate media, who make false equivalencies, assigning the same weight to religious belief as to science. Just as they do in the political sphere, giving the same weight to idiotic pronouncements as they do to well-reasoned arguments.

It is not merely creationism versus science. It is willful ignorance versus reason. There should be no doubt about an outcome. That there is even a hint that there might be a doubt does not bode well for our collective future.

[Scuba]

53. +1

[Gothmog]

59. I watched some clips and Nye was great

Nye did a good job

[mdbl]

60. At least Ham has evolved from worshipping the sun

which is where he and others like him started.