The Great Debate – Short and Sweet

Now that everybody with a pen (or a computer) has appropriated their opinion concerning the Great Debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye  on Tuesday evening, we’ll present the final word. Well, may not final but at least the word up to this point.

First a word of disclosure. I’m a creationist – a young earth creationist. And, unless I get a revelation from God, I’ll stay that way. Also we had the pleasure of visiting the Creation Museum last summer. It was great and I would love to go back again – soon.

So, here’s the deal. My wife Ellie (New Creation Ministries) and I really looked forward to this debate. We planned our day around it. We ran the test patterns on our computer thingy and were already for two and a half hours of intelligent debate.  Understand that the debate began at 5PM AZ time – right at the dinner hour. As you can figure, dinner time was reappointed.

In the end we felt it was a major disappointment. Here’s why:

No one’s mind will probably be changed. Let’s face it most people interested in this debate are either hardcore creationists or hardcore evolutionists. And certainly no evidence was presented during the debate that would change the skeptical mind of a reasonable man.

The combatants didn’t stay on topic.  Nye kept wanting to talk about the ark (That’s a different debate, Bill.) and Ham kept presenting the Gospel (Ken, that’s what won the debate.) The whole tone of the debate kind of had a little political flavor. You know, when you ask a politician a question, it never really gets answered. Case in point: Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama before the Super Bowl. It was pretty much the same talking about creation and evolution.

When the debate concluded I immediately thought of the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19-31) and in particular verse 26 - And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ (ESV). You see, there is this great chasm between the creationist and the evolutionist. And I do not think that chasm was bridged at all in Tuesday’s debate.