I Didn't Watch It...

In case you didn't hear, there was a debate this week. Bill Nye The Science Guy debated Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis. They were to have a debate on origins. Nye, a television personality, and Ham, a Christian celebrity, apparently went on for over two hours. My Facebook stream was filled with commentary from my friends who follow Jesus and my friends who don't. But, I didn't watch it, and won't.


Based on Facebook here is what I know about the debate:

• Ken Ham won. 
• Bill Nye won.
• Ken Ham preached the gospel.
• Bill Nye argued that religion hurts children.
• Ken Ham didn't really stay on topic.
• Bill Nye mostly stayed on topic.
• Ken Ham mocked Bill Nye a little bit.
• Bill Nye mocked Ken Ham a little bit.

This is exactly what I thought would happen. The convinced on both sides thought "their guy" won and was better than the "other guy". I assumed it would devolve into a bit of name calling and apparently it did. Thankfully, not very much though.  

The secularists in my newsfeed found Ham to be ignorant, backwards, and yet a polished speaker. The Christians found Nye to be intelligent but close minded and twisted the facts to suit his hypothesis.

Here's the thing, neither man was really up to the task of what they were expected to do. This was to be a scholarly debate on issues surrounding the origins of the universe. The debaters were not scholars and for all intents and purposes are entertainers. 

During the campaign season the news feels that it is important to tell us who celebrities and athletes are voting for. Why? Who cares? Celebrities and athletes are no different than anyone else. If there was a presidential debate where the debaters were two movie stars instead of the presidential nominees, I would not watch either. Why? Because they're not qualified to really deal with the issue at hand. 

This "debate" on origins was no different. 

These were not the best that either side had to offer. They were celebrities on a stage, entertaining the masses. They succeeded. 

My friend Dennis nailed it:

Post by Dennis Leskowski.

Sadly though, they did not further the conversation. They just created more noise. The "debate" simply furthered the ridiculous science vs religion dichotomy. These are two things not at odds with one another.