On Tuesday, February 4th, Bill Nye the Science Guy debated Ken Ham, a Young Earth Creationist, at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Ken Ham is the curator of this so-called "museum" which has displays of prehistoric humans playing with dinosaurs. Frogbook.com reported on this fraudulent museum as well as Ham's proposed theme park called Ark Encounter in an earlier article: "Tax-Break For Kentucky Creationist Park," click here.
But let's not get into the details of this almost three-hour-long debate here. Basically, from the perspective of a sane person, Bill Nye won the argument hands down. It wasn't hard to prove that the Earth is more than 6,000 years old, or that a wooden ark couldn't possibly carry all the different species of dinosaurs purported to be living just 4,300 years ago! (Oh, brother.) To watch the entire debate, click here.
[Updated Insert – March 16, 2015: Read our latest article about Ark Encounter: "Creation Theme Park Sues For Tax Credit," click here.]
~ Creation Museum of Kentucky. This can't be good for children!
[92% of voters say Bill Nye won the debate in a Christian Today poll, click here.]
The main issue out of this globally publicised debate is whether Bill Nye should have given this nut, Ken Ham, a platform to broadcast his ignorant rants. Worse than that, did Mr. Nye generate free publicity for Ham's awful Creation Museum? Even some Right-wing religious activists were against the debate. Believe it or not, the controversial televangelist Pat Robertson (who once suggested that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez should be assassinated) told Ken Ham to just shut up and not make a joke of himself, click here.
~ Creationism is just a springboard to other Right-wing agendas.
But is Ken Ham really just a fool who keeps offering untenable myths as scientific theories? Or does he know in his heart that he is spewing nonsense; and is it possible that his long-term game plan entails a much broader and insidious political agenda? Some writers think so, click here. Perhaps Mr. Ham wants to show the world that Intelligent Design (Creationism) is qualified to be placed side-by-side with real science via scientific debates (the Frog Blog thinks that's also the whole point of his ridiculous Creation Museum).
What's discussed in a debate like this, and whether he wins or loses, are not important to Mr. Ham. What's important to him is that he is proposing an alternative to logic and reason in education – and that is dogma and indoctrination. In the past, in the Christian and Islamic worlds, logic was taught hand-in-hand with dogma in educational institutions. Maybe what Mr. Ham really wants is to simply de-secularize American education.
[Map Of Publicly-Funded Schools That Are Allowed To Teach Creationism, click here.]
~ Bill Nye: Creationism is bad for us.
Whether Ken Ham is a moron, a madman, or a conman, one thing is certain, indoctrination is very different from education. A real educator teaches information to a student with the sincere belief that this information is in fact true. So, what is being taught is very important here. But someone who indoctrinates a student is working on a much more personal level. He is really demanding that the student TRUST him completely – without question. The lesson being taught here is really blind obedience, which thrives on ignorance, not knowledge.
~ Ken Ham's Creation Museum wages war on education.
In fact, if an indoctrinator's message is based on logic and reason, it would actually work against him. The more illogical his argument (and as long as it contains things that the student wants to hear, such as 72 virgins in heaven), the easier it is for the "teacher" to indoctrinate. This is because the thing being taught will always remain a mystery to the student who will constantly need to be reassured by the teacher.
Education is about empowering the student with real knowledge and the skills with which to THINK. Indoctrination is about empowering the teacher (or the political entities he represents) at the expense of the student.
UPDATE: Why The Debate Was A Mistake
(February 28, 2014) It seems the debate generated enough publicity to raise even more money for this monstrosity called the Ark Encounter. It's okay to criticize Creationism on your own terms, but it's a mistake to give Creationists equal standing as if what they say have any logic or commonsense – let alone any scientific validity.
~ Bill Nye is disappointed the debate helped the project.
UPDATE: World's 1st Atheist TV Channel Launches
(August 4, 2014) Read our latest article on atheism. Is the Internet the graveyard of religion? Click here.
UPDATE: Is Atheist Bill Maher A Bigot?
(January 20, 2015) Read our article on atheist and comedian Bill Maher's controversial comments about Muslims, click here.
UPDATE: Dr. Oz Is Unrepentant For Being A Quack!
(May 21, 2015) Are TV doctors doing more harm than good, click here?
For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Donald Trump Says Vaccines Cause Autism Click here.
- Dr. Oz Is Unrepentant For Being A Quack! Click here.
- Creation Theme Park Sues For Tax Credit Click here.
- Is Atheist Bill Maher A Bigot? Click here.
- World's 1st Atheist TV Channel Launches Click here.
- Unvaccinated Kids Banned In NYC Schools Click here.
- "Cyrus Prostituted Herself": Creationist Click here.
- Teaching Creationism Is Child Abuse Click here.
- GOP Rep. Calls Evolution & Big Bang Lies Click here.
- The 2nd "Scopes Monkey Trial" Is Coming! Click here.
- Tax-Break For Kentucky Creationist Park Click here.
- Bachmann Wants Creationism In Schools Click here.
- "Evolution A Myth": Christine O’Donnell Click here.
- Creation Vs. Evolution: Darwin Defamed! Click here.
