22 Answers To Messages From Creationists

Matt Stopera over at BuzzFeed asked 22 Creations to write down some questions for the scientifically literate following the Nye/Ham debate. I thought it would be fun to answer these questions playing the role of Bill Nye The Science Guy. You can see the photos of the Creationists asking the questions on the BuzzFeed article.

1.   “Bill Nye, Are you influencing the minds of children in a positive way?” Yes!
2.   “Are you scared of a Divine creator?” Hell No! 😉
3.   “Is it completely illogical that the earth was created mature? i.e. trees created with rings… Adam created as an adult…” Yes, that is completely illogical. Hey, you asked.
4.   “Does not the second law of thermodynamics disprove evolution?” No, that only applied in a closed system and as I (Bill Nye) explained in the debate, we don’t live in a closed system.
5.   “How do you explain the sunset if their is no God?” First, it is “there” not “their.” Second, the Earth rotates and when one side of the planet begins to face away from the Sun, we observe it as a sunset.
6.   “If the Big Bang Theory is true and taught as science along with evolution, why do the laws of thermodynamics debunk said theories?” They don’t. As I (Bill Nye) explained in the debate, we don’t live in a closed system so the law of thermodynamics doesn’t apply.
7.   “What about Noetics?” As I (Bill Nye) said in the debate, no one knows how consciousness arises. There are several interesting hypotheses on the matter and I encourage you to educate yourself on them and the relevant research. Maybe someday you can become a great scientist, figure it all out, and explain it to me. However, your belief that the world is 6000 years-old in direct contradiction the all the evidence will probably impede your progress. Think about it.
8.   “Where do you derive objective meaning in life?” I derive meaning in life from my life. Trying to understand the wonders of the universe is such a thrill and provides me with tremendous meaning. I hope some day you will try it.
9.   “If God did not create everything how did the first single-celled organism originate? By Chance?” I don’t know. There are several interesting hypotheses on the matter and I encourage you to educate yourself on them and the relevant research. Maybe someday you can become a great scientist, figure it all out, and explain it to me.
10.   “I believe in the Big Bang Theory. God said it and BANG it happened!” That is not a question; it is an assertion. Do you have any evidence to support your claim? You see, in science we follow the evidence. If you have evidence for your assertion, then perhaps you can write a paper and get it published in a reputable scientific journal for other scientists to peer-review.
11.   “Why do evolutionists/secularists/humanists/non-God believing people reject the idea of their being a creator God but embrace the concept of intelligent design from aliens or other extra-terrestrial sources?” Wow. First, it is “there” not “their.” Second, are you really asking why non-God believers reject the claim of a creator God? It seems like your question answers itself. Third, I can’t speak for all the “evolutionists/secularists/humanists/non-God believing people,” but I have seen no evidence that for intelligent design from aliens or other extra-terrestrial sources and until I do, I have to reject that hypothesis too. Also, alien and extra-terrestrial are the same thing. Finally, I accept the mountains of evidence from multiple scientific fields of study that show that species evolved through a process of natural selection.
12.   “There is no in between… the only one found has been Lucy and there are only a few pieces of the hundreds of necessary for an ‘Official proof.’” Every fossil is a transitional fossil. Remember in the debate where I showed that slide of all the skulls. I’m afraid you have been misinformed and that is the reason why I agreed to do this debate. So that I can inspire you to inform yourself about the facts. Google is your friend.
13.   “Does metamorphosis support evolution?” Yes.
14.   “If Evolution is a theory (like Creationism) or the Bible why then is Evolution taught as fact.” Evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. Creationism is not a theory. It is a claim. The Bible is not a theory either. It is a series of books that have been translated and edited multiple times over hundreds of years. I think you are confusing the scientific term “Theory” with the way that same term is used in a non-scientific setting. For the record, Gravity is also a scientific theory and yet you seem to have little trouble accepting it as fact. Think about it.
15.   “Because science by definition is a ‘theory’ — not testable, observable, nor repeatable’ why do you object to creationism or intelligent design being taught in school?” Science isn’t a theory, it deals with theories. Science is two things. It is a body of knowledge and a method for gathering that knowledge. Science is all about testable, observable, and repeatable experiments. Evolution is testable, observable, repeatable, and it is predictive. Creationism and intelligent design are none of those things. It is not science and therefore should not be in science class. If you wanted to put it in a class devoted to literature on origin myths, I wouldn’t have a problem with that. But it isn’t science and doesn’t belong in science class.
16.   “What mechanism has science discovered that evidences an increase of genetic information seen in any genetic mutation or evolutionary process?” Reproduction.
17.   “What purpose do you think you are here for if you do not believe in salvation?” Living life! Do you go to the movies? Why would you go to a movie when you know it will be over in two hours? What would be the purpose? I enjoy a good film from time to time and for me the purpose of the movie is to enjoy the show. As Shakespeare once put it, “All the world’s a stage.” Live your life and learn about the universe. There is no greater show than the wonders of the cosmos.
18.   “Why have we found only 1 ‘Lucy,’ when we have found more than 1 of everything else?” Raise your hand if your name is Lucy… I think it is safe to say that we have found more than one Lucy. 😉 Seriously though, if you are referring to Australopithecus afarensis, we have actually found quite a few fossils of that hominid in several different locations. Keep in mind though that fossils can be extremely difficult to find. They need very specific conditions and that is why Lucy was such an amazing find. Again, I want to correct you that we have indeed found more than one Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy).
19.   “Can you believe in the Big Bang without faith?” Yes, you can accept the Big Bang Theory on the evidence. I encourage you to read up on the evidence supporting the Big Bang Theory. You just might be amazed at what you find.
20.   “How can you look at the world and not believe someone created/thought of it? It’s Amazing!!!” The world certainly is amazing. Much more amazing that if someone just created it. No, it is much more amazing. What we find with the scientific method is that sometimes things aren’t what they seem. Sometimes they are far more interesting that we could have even imaged. I encourage you to not be satisfied with a belief that God did it, but to open your mind to the wonders and thrills of scientific discovery.
21.   “Relating to the big bang theory Where did the exploding star come from?” First, you should understand the theory. It was probably a singularity and was definitely not a star as stars did not yet exist. Second, we don’t know what if anything came before the Big Bang. Einstein discovered that space and time are linked and that suggests that before space there could not have been time. If that is the case, then the question is meaningless. But in truth, we really don’t know and that is the great part of science; there is always new things to learn and discover.
22.   “If we came from monkeys then why are there still monkeys?” We Christianity came from Judaism, why are there still Jews? Seriously though, we didn’t come from monkeys; we share a common ancestry with monkeys.