September 8, 2012

You may have been following the fascinating YouTube exchange involving TV personality Bill Nye (of the PBS–TV series for young people called Bill Nye the Science Guy) and our AiG ministry. After AiG had posted two YouTube rebuttals to Nye's anti-creationist video rant which had gone viral (one of our videos featured AiG staff scientists Dr. David Menton and Dr. Georgia Purdom; see www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-AyDtD6sPA, and then there was one by me: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxX11c1cSWU), Bill Nye was interviewed about the videos by the well-trafficked website of the Huffington Post. Because Nye has engaged AiG in a public way, and after some extreme hostility by secularists directed at Drs. Purdom and Menton that showed up on websites and Facebook pages, I decided to do two things: 1. post my second Nye video on YouTube, viewable on a recent blog; and 2. extend an invitation to Mr. Nye to a public debate on evolution vs. creation.
We actually thought of this debate idea with Nye a few days ago when Dr. Purdom, who holds a PhD in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University, informed the Christian Post by email (though the news site did not use this quote) that "although Mr. Nye does not have the scientific credentials many of our staff hold in the sciences, we are willing to engage him in a public debate." Interest in holding a debate with Nye increased when another article on the Huffington Post site-related to the AiG vs. Nye issue-claimed that Dr. Georgia Purdom "did not comment on studies that have shown that evolution has been observed in a laboratory setting." Well, you need to read Dr. Purdom's blog response and to see whether or not the HuffPost did its homework.
One possible debate venue, suggested by Dr. Purdom to the Christian Post, was the PBS–TV network that had been broadcasting the Bill Nye the Science Guy programs. Or an evolution-creation debate, Dr. Purdom stated to the Christian Post, "could be held at a public university, using an impartial moderator. I would think that someone as polished and charismatic as Mr. Nye would relish the opportunity to debate a creationist. In addition, since Nye will soon be hosting a new science program, I would think he would like to see the publicity generated by his participation in a major public debate."
After Dr. Purdom was quoted by the Christian Post and also made some comments about Nye on Facebook, she was bombarded with horrible profanity and other vile language (mostly on Facebook) from secularists. That terrible reaction just increased our determination that Mr. Nye's beliefs needed to be challenged for the world to see. So, we are publicly calling on Bill Nye to debate one of our PhD scientists here at the Creation Museum, inside our new Legacy Hall (seating 1,000 people), with an impartial moderator-or perhaps hold the debate on a college campus. Dr. Purdom is not afraid at all to publicly debate him, and with all that Nye has stated so confidently in public, he surely would not be afraid to defend his position in a professionally moderated debate?
We await Mr. Nye's reply to the challenge.