Since 1925 the Creationists have been scrambling to recover from Clarence Darrow's complete obliteration of the credibility of Genesis as a scientific basis for our origins. During the Scopes Monkey Trials Darrow put his opposing council, William Jennings Bryan, on the stand as a Biblical Scholar. Darrow proceeded to rip apart the logical underpinnings of any science that Genesis could offer.
In the 91 years since some very smart people on the Creationist side have prepared themselves for battle against those of the science world by stepping onto the science turf and couching their belief systems in the language of science. Some of it sounds pretty good if you do not challenge their assertions.
At the Ham on Nye debate of 2/4/14 Bill Nye did some pretty serious challenging; especially if you were already on the the side of science. He hit a lot of great points about Noah's Ark vs. a 4,000 year history. He hit the Cosmos. He hit his reason for being there (the economic destabilizing effects of Creationism in a Global Marketplace).
I think I found the core of the discussion in a statement by Ken Ham, the opponent in the debate, at about 56 minutes 10 seconds into the debate. Ham relates the following:
The battle is really about Authority.More than just Science or Evolution or Creationism;
it is about who is the authority in this world:Man or God.
(Link)
At an axiomatic level, Ken Ham reveals Creationism for what is really is: a political/religious recruitment tool that warps the words of the Bible for their own purposes. It is a power play devoid of spirituality.
Because of this, Bill Nye The Science Guy could not penetrate the subset of believers in Christ called Creationists. Creationists built their fortress of ideology just for a guy like Nye. The Science Guy would not acknowledge the existence of God when offered. Nye was just as stubborn as Ken Ham in holding onto his texts and core belief systems. Each group can point over the divide and say -- the other guys won't budge.
What we are looking at here is a group of people trying to do more than what God is permitting. Here is where Bill Nye fell down during his debate. He did not avail himself of the opposing team's playbook -- The Bible. The fuel for shutting down the Creationists sits right there in the Bible.
Had Nye looked at the tapes of the game played 91 years ago (ok the transcript) or even the play or movie "Inherit the Wind" he would have seen the flaw in the Creationists' defense. Belief in the Bible as God's inspired word.
Nye could have used a scouting report that would have looked at the Bible differently -- hierarchically.
Here is how it goes:
The reason for the Bible is the our journey with God to bring His Son to us.
Christians believe Jesus is God's Son and is one with the God the Father.
That means anything quoting Jesus in the Gospels are from the mouth of God.
That supersedes ANYTHING ANYWHERE else in the Bible.
(I could jump on Ken Ham when he claimed that Jesus believed in the book of Genesis. I need the exact passage on that -- otherwise it is a violation of the First Commandment by attempting to stuff words in God's Mouth.)
By placing the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles (the first 5 books of the New Testament) ahead of the rest of the Good Book, you push entire The Old Testament and the rest of the New Testament down a notch simply because they are the 'inspired' Word of God and not the real deal.
Resetting the table here offers a totally different take on Christ when He says, My Kingdom is not of this world. That can be taken to reinforce and expand "Render unto Caesar" from tax policy to all things of this earth.
If you are playing on Christ's Team you are playing for the next world -- not this one. The Creationist Team is over-stepping Jesus' authority when they demand that all Christians tow their line about the origins of the world. An argument could be made that the Creationists have specifically violated the Word of God when they force their "Authority" upon the rest of us in this world.
Keep in mind that to be a Christian one only needs to follow Christ. He set 2 rules. Love God the Father and treat each other the way you want to be treated. No where does it talk about binding to a creation story. If you need to get more technical, a Christian needs to accept the Apostles' Creed -- no creation story. There are variations inside Christianity as to what gets you past the Pearly Gates. Some people take the predetermination route, others go for good works, and some of us are just hoping for the Grace of God. Still -- no adherence to the Creation Story of Genesis.
Had Bill Nye used the overstepping of this sect of Christianity using the terms of Christianity, we could be looking at another 100 years of Creationists building fortresses.