Every Christian goes bananas for Answers in Genesis — and with good reason! Answers in Genesis is yet another thing most religious folks can read (and not understand) that sounds scientific and sounds sophisticated but is nothing of the sort. With my uncle Chuck, who is an avid follower of Answers in Genesis, he said that they confirm the Bible’s truth and it ‘makes sense’.
What Answers in Genesis was he reading?
From Answers in Genesis, here’s an article on the Creation Museum (pseudo-science) not using enough (pseudo-) evidence, more appropriately it’s their response:
Thank you for contacting Answers in Genesis. It is very important to understand that creation is not actually “supported” by science; rather science is supported by creation. Without biblical creation, science would not be possible. Science works because God made the universe and created us in His image; we know this from Genesis. God gave us senses that can probe the universe and minds that can use laws of logic. But science would not make sense if evolution and the big bang were true. Why would we expect the universe to be understandable if it and our minds were simply the random results of molecules in motion? In order for science to make sense, we would already have to have faith in God’s Word. See Evolution: The Anti-science.
Of course, there is plenty of science that confirms biblical creation (in fact, all of it does when you consider that science requires a biblical worldview). Much of this science is presented in the Creation Museum. Some of this science in the museum is very apparent (such as the information presented in the planetarium, or the Flood geology room). But much of the science is “behind the scenes,” and you may not have noticed it. Did you notice that the animals Adam is naming look a bit different than the varieties we see today? We’ve consulted with experts in baraminology to learn what the original kinds may have looked like. Did you notice that the earth and stars in the Six Days Theater look a bit different than they do today? We’ve used experts in geology and astrophysics to calculate the way these would have looked at creation.
It’s fine to present evidence, but it’s much more important to compare worldviews. Our worldview (our view of the nature of reality and knowledge) tells us what to make of the evidence. If a person has a wrong worldview, no amount of raw evidence will change his or her mind. Jesus tells us in Luke 16:31 that if people do not listen to Moses and the Prophets (i.e. the Bible), they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. So, although it is good to share scientific evidence that confirms creation, the most important thing is to help people to understand that without the Bible, they couldn’t make sense of anything at all (Colossians 2:3).
What?
Clearly, the big words (where?), the confusing rhetoric (what?), and the expert testimony (lol) has got to be like a sort of zen for people of faith… at least from the Abrahamic religions. Yes, Muslims too.
Not only have I lost ten points off of my IQ simply from reading this, but my skills of comprehension must have died because it was just one gigantic circle of absolutely stunning ‘logic’.
Most people of faith will just say that scientists are smarter than them and it’s by faith that they have their Bible, their God, etc. When those same people of faith come across something like this that confuses them as much as the real science does, they must think that it’s lent some credence. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, I’m afraid.
If anything, it does prove how dumb America is (among other countries).
Congrats on our number two man in the list of creationist failures:
- Kirk Cameron
- Dr. Jason Lisle
Also, it doesn’t really help the creationist cause to put Dr. before your name or PhD after, because you’re still a retarded idiot spewing loads upon loads of obvious horse shit.
I see that WordPress spawned some kind of unholy link to one of my old posts, which somebody clicked, and now I’ve clicked back here. Interesting materials, Seeker — this baraminology and the distinction between “kinds” and “species” is a creationist theory I hadn’t seen before. So the idea is that the original kinds of Gen. 1 can branch out into a variety of sub-kinds within a kind, but not across kinds? It’s a curious ploy, since I believe that the current taxonomic schemes are based on cladistics, such that birds aren’t just different from reptiles — they branched off from the reptilian evolutionary line.
It seems that the baraminologists also contend that diversification within a kind results from a deterioration from the originally created genome of the “arche-kind” or whatever the original kind-creature is called. I guess that’s to keep faith with a theology of natural corruption that Paul gestures toward (e.g., Romans 8:18-25) and that’s usually attributed to the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Hey, it’s not just science; it’s a worldview.
“Not only have I lost ten points off of my IQ simply from reading this, but my skills of comprehension must have died because it was just one gigantic circle of absolutely stunning ‘logic’.”
ahh… I know exactly what you mean. I’m a creationist and even I had trouble understanding that article…
In the end, I gave up. But not without writing about on my blog as well. See my article here
[...] Dr. Jason Lisle (Reading Answers in Genesis: Probably easier when high.) [...]
“Our worldview (our view of the nature of reality and knowledge) tells us what to make of the evidence. If a person has a wrong worldview, no amount of raw evidence will change his or her mind.”
Well at least this part is correct.