Students react to Nye-Ham debate
February 4, 2014
By Kevin Erpenbeck
Many students sided with evolution after watching the Creation vs. Evolution Debate on Tuesday night at a viewing party at Central Hall II.
The debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., shed light on two opposing views on the origins of life.
Ham, a supporter of creationism and founder of the Creation Museum, believes that Earth is no more than 4,000 years old and that God is the source of life, based on the Bible’s teachings.
The Creation Museum is a 70,000 square foot facility dedicated to educating guests on the idea of creationism.
Meanwhile, Nye, a scientist best known for his television show aimed at children, believes in evolution. He also believes that the Earth is more than 4 billion years old and that creatures changed overtime to adapt to their habitats.
Ham said creationism is instantly disregarded because of the misuse of the term “science.”
“We’ve seen people be indoctrinated into believing that creationists can’t be scientists,” Ham said. “I believe it’s all part of (secularists) hijacking the word ‘science.’”
Ham said that because Nye was not there to witness evolution, his theory of “natural science” cannot hold water.
“You weren’t there to observe your evolution theory taking place, so how can you prove it did so?” Ham said. “I can prove my theories by what I can see, and I see a lot of evidence in the Bible.”
Nye’s rebuttal involved showing a rock he picked up earlier in the day. The rock was made of limestone that contained the fossil of an ancient creature inside it.
“Here in Kentucky we are standing on millions of layers of limestone that hold ancient life,” Nye said. “How could those animals live there and form those layers in limestone in just 4,000 years? There isn’t enough time to do that.”
Tickets to the debate sold out within minutes of its announcement, and it was streamed online, drawing a national audience.
Students watching the debate in Central Hall II were overwhelmingly supportive of Nye’s theories.
“Where Ham really faltered was when he mentioned that his group is the minority in science,” said Anita Shanker, a biology and French sophomore. “Christianity is really the majority in America, and when he mentioned there’s only one book (the Bible) that defends his theory, he forgets the other religious texts that also have a creation story.”
History freshman Tyler Hill said Nye rose above his opponent because of Ham’s “closed mind.”
“If (Ham) calls himself a scientist, he has to be able to change his mind based on future evidence provided,” Hill said. “But he got a large amount of attention, which is exactly what he wanted tonight.”