More than two in five Americans believe that God created human beings in essentially their current form within the last 10,000 years, according to a Gallup poll, about twice as many as those who think the species evolved over millions of years and God had no role in the process. In his new book “Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation,” TV’s “science guy” Bill Nye sifts through the evidence supporting evolution to debunk the ideas of creationism. Nye recently spoke with U.S. News about the “troubling” persistence of such beliefs and the importance of early science education. Excerpts:
What prompted you to write this book?
[Ken Ham, president and founder of the fundamentalist group Answers in Genesis,] challenged me to this debate on the subject “Is creationism a viable model?” It turned into a big old deal with millions of views. They work hard to influence students and kids. That’s where they cross a line.What is your main argument against creationism?
Related on the SLP
It’s just unreasonable. How can you have all these things we observe in nature and then conclude that the Earth is somehow 6,000 years old? Billions of people in the world are devoutly religious, and they’re apparently enriched by the communities that they belong to through their religions. But the Earth is not 6,000 years old. And there’s a deep irony that [creationists] exploit or take advantage of all that science brings them – Facebook, cellphones, the food system that we have here in the United States, which is extraordinarily safe – but then promote the idea that the way we came to have all this is somehow wrong.
Read full, original article: Why Evolution Is Undeniable
