In what could create a great deal of controversy among both atheists and creationists, a debate has been set at the creationism museum in Kentucky.
The debate will take place on Tuesday, February 4th, and will feature science expert Bill Nye, or “Bill Nye The Science Guy” and Ken Ham, who started the creationism museum, being a proponent of creationism over science.
Proponents of creationism could be excited for the museum’s founder to be able to take on such a figure in the world of science.
Although some atheists or science supporters will be rooting for Bill Nye in the debate, some of them believe that it is not a debate that he should even be having, and that it simply brings more attention to the idea of creationism.
When it was first announced that Bill Nye would be making the trip to Ham’s museum, a great amount of debate was rightfully stirring with people, and the controversy that surrounds the museum has been brought up.
The idea for the upcoming debate was sparked after Bill Nye posted a video on Youtube that said that teaching creationism was bad for children. The video received over 6 million views, and Ham wanted the chance to be able to prove him wrong.
Those who saw Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous are likely to remember the creationism museum since Maher also made a visit to the museum during the film.
An important thing to keep in mind when going into the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham is that the two sides are not aiming to change people’s minds or win the debate necessarily, but simply being able to bring the issue up, and give people the information to decide on their own.
In relation to the upcoming debate, Ken Ham said “I don’t think it’s about winning or losing. For me, it’s about overcoming censorship about getting information out there to get people thinking critically.”
Ken Ham will have the home advantage as they say with it being held at his museum, which could be an intimidating factor for Bill Nye, and Ham’s many followers may hurt Nye’s chances of being able to debate.
The event is being labeled as “Is Creation A Viable Model Of Origins” and Bill Nye and Ken Ham will square off in an intense debate that will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Tickets to the event were originally $25, but they are all sold out now.
However, for those that want to watch the debate from home, you can go here. There are also people gathering in various places around the country to watch the event.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
