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Watch Bill Nye Debate Ken Ham on Creation

July 8, 2023
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Television personality Bill Nye the “Science Guy” debated Creation Museum founder Ken Ham yesterday.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI&feature=share[/youtube]

The event was meant to explore the age old question, “How did we get here?” from the perspectives of faith and science.

Ham, an Australian native who has built a thriving ministry in Kentucky, said he trusts the story of creation presented by The Bible.

“The Bible is the word of God,” Ham said. “I admit that’s where I start from.”

Nye delivered a passionate speech on science and challenged the museum’s teachings on the age of the earth and the Bible’s flood story. Like most scientists, Nye believes there is no credible evidence that the world is only 6,000 years old.

“If we accept Mr. Ham’s point of view … that the Bible serves as a science text and he and his followers will interpret that for you, I want you to consider what that means,” Nye said. “It means that Mr. Ham’s word is to be more respected than what you can observe in nature, what you can find in your backyard in Kentucky.”

The event drew dozens of national media outlets and about 800 tickets sold out in minutes. Ham said ahead of the debate that the Creation Museum was having a peak day on its social media sites.

“I think it shows you that the majority of people out there, they’re interested in this topic, they want to know about this, they don’t want debate shut down,” Ham said before the debate.

At times, the debate had the feel of a university lecture, with slides and long-form presentations.

An example of Ken Ham’s evidence

Responding to an audience question about where atoms and matter come from, Nye said scientists are continuing to find out.

Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society, said there are plenty of religious people around the world who don’t question evolution science.

“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.”

“I think they did a good job outlining their own arguments without getting too heated, as these debates tend to get,” he said.

Nye studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977. Ham earned a bachelor’s degree in applied science with a focus on environmental biology from the Queensland Institute of Technology in Australia, and he formerly worked as a science teacher in Australia’s public schools, according to his Answers in Genesis biography page.

The debate was hatched after Nye appeared in an online video in 2012 that urged parents not to pass their religious-based doubts about evolution on to their children. Ham rebutted Nye’s statements with his own online video and the two later agreed to share a stage.