However, this debate means more to me than just Nye v.s. Ham, science v.s. faith, fact v.s. fiction. To me, it's a matter of good and evil, with science being the good. The reason I describe creationism as "evil" is its effect on children. Ken Ham and his followers are essentially spreading ignorance to America's youth by placing the bible, a mostly fictional text, over fact. The Christian view of creationism itself can be quickly debunked by well-known information. We have discovered artifacts of greater than 6,000 years of age! It's just that simple! Glaciers, fossils, rocks... we know that these things were crafted by nature or by man over 10s of thousands of years ago (in the link is but one example of many.) My problem with Ken Ham, and most creationists, is not the fact that they choose to ignore all science and logic, but that they present their viewpoint, as fact, to children. Ken Ham runs a museum based around the idea of "educating" people, and children, about creationism. It's fine if you choose to ignore every reasonable conclusion about the world and make your own, but these creationists are infecting impressionable minds with their flawed worldviews. Kids with developing brains should have the opportunity to choose what they believe in, and if they want to forgo science for a life of faith, that's fine, but it should also be their right to know the things we can prove. And while a child's parents should give them the ability to formulate their own views on life, school is not the place to teach creationism. School is a place for fact, not fiction. How can our country produce intelligent minds is we place faith equal to or above fact?
Monday, February 10, 2014
Bill Nye v.s. Ignorance
In a live debate this past February 4th, the world watched as children's science icon Bill Nye "the science guy" debated Ken Ham, founder of a creationist museum in Kentucky. Ham was arguing the position that creationism should be considered fact (and taught as such,) while Nye was arguing the opposite. In case you don't know what creationism is, I'll explain it for you: it's simple the belief that the world was created by some kind of supernatural being. Specifically in the context of Christianity, it's the belief that god created the universe about 6,000 years ago. While Nye's lifelong goal has been to teach kids science through facts and logic, Ham's has been to advance this absurd theory, which is why he opened the museum. And while I believe a debate between these two is interesting to watch and discuss, I think it's ultimately futile for two reasons: first, and most importantly, it's not really a debate. A debate requires both sides to present a rational case backed by facts with sources, and when one side's "evidence" is a fictional text, the "debate" becomes more of a heated exchange. Secondly, no matter what kind of reasoning Nye provides, religious peoples who are entrenched in their stubborn, faith based beliefs will never change their opinion.
However, this debate means more to me than just Nye v.s. Ham, science v.s. faith, fact v.s. fiction. To me, it's a matter of good and evil, with science being the good. The reason I describe creationism as "evil" is its effect on children. Ken Ham and his followers are essentially spreading ignorance to America's youth by placing the bible, a mostly fictional text, over fact. The Christian view of creationism itself can be quickly debunked by well-known information. We have discovered artifacts of greater than 6,000 years of age! It's just that simple! Glaciers, fossils, rocks... we know that these things were crafted by nature or by man over 10s of thousands of years ago (in the link is but one example of many.) My problem with Ken Ham, and most creationists, is not the fact that they choose to ignore all science and logic, but that they present their viewpoint, as fact, to children. Ken Ham runs a museum based around the idea of "educating" people, and children, about creationism. It's fine if you choose to ignore every reasonable conclusion about the world and make your own, but these creationists are infecting impressionable minds with their flawed worldviews. Kids with developing brains should have the opportunity to choose what they believe in, and if they want to forgo science for a life of faith, that's fine, but it should also be their right to know the things we can prove. And while a child's parents should give them the ability to formulate their own views on life, school is not the place to teach creationism. School is a place for fact, not fiction. How can our country produce intelligent minds is we place faith equal to or above fact?
However, this debate means more to me than just Nye v.s. Ham, science v.s. faith, fact v.s. fiction. To me, it's a matter of good and evil, with science being the good. The reason I describe creationism as "evil" is its effect on children. Ken Ham and his followers are essentially spreading ignorance to America's youth by placing the bible, a mostly fictional text, over fact. The Christian view of creationism itself can be quickly debunked by well-known information. We have discovered artifacts of greater than 6,000 years of age! It's just that simple! Glaciers, fossils, rocks... we know that these things were crafted by nature or by man over 10s of thousands of years ago (in the link is but one example of many.) My problem with Ken Ham, and most creationists, is not the fact that they choose to ignore all science and logic, but that they present their viewpoint, as fact, to children. Ken Ham runs a museum based around the idea of "educating" people, and children, about creationism. It's fine if you choose to ignore every reasonable conclusion about the world and make your own, but these creationists are infecting impressionable minds with their flawed worldviews. Kids with developing brains should have the opportunity to choose what they believe in, and if they want to forgo science for a life of faith, that's fine, but it should also be their right to know the things we can prove. And while a child's parents should give them the ability to formulate their own views on life, school is not the place to teach creationism. School is a place for fact, not fiction. How can our country produce intelligent minds is we place faith equal to or above fact?
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