Bill Nye VS Ken Ham Live
Out of context: Reply #6
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Ham believes that the Universe was created about 6,000 years ago, and that Noah's flood occurred about 4,500 years ago in the year 2348 BC.[25] He believes that the animals carried on Noah's ark produced the biological diversity observed on Earth. Ham also believes that dinosaurs co-existed with modern humans. He supports his view with biblical scripture.[26] Ham accepts that natural selection can give rise to a number of species from an original population.[27]
Ham questions the reliability of radiometric dating, a technique used to date objects such as moon rocks, fossils and human artifacts.[28] Since 1989, Ham has frequently made the comment, "Were you there?" regarding the origins of life and evolution,[29] implying that knowledge of unwitnessed events requires direct observation rather than inference. Talk.origins responded that the evidence for evolution "was there" and asserted the necessity to continue scientific inquiry with the claim being made that "If this response were a valid challenge to evolution, it would equally invalidate creationism and Christianity, since they are based on events that nobody alive today has witnessed".[30]
Ham believes that there is a difference between facts themselves and their interpretation. "Creationists and evolutionists, Christians and non-Christians, all have the same evidence—the same facts. Think about it: we all have the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same animals and plants, the same stars—the facts are all the same. The difference is in the way we all interpret the facts. And why do we interpret facts differently? Because we start with different presuppositions; these are things that are assumed to be true without being able to prove them. These then become the basis for other conclusions. All reasoning is based on presuppositions (also called axioms). This becomes especially relevant when dealing with past events."[31]
Ham's beliefs and tactics have been criticized by other Christians and old Earth creationists. Answers in Creation, an old Earth creationist website, has called Ham willfully ignorant of evidence for an old earth, and said that he "deliberately misleads" his audiences on matters of both science and theology.[32] Astronomer Hugh Ross, a progressive creationist, has debated Ham and other Answers In Genesis staff[33] regarding the compatibility of an old Earth with the Bible.[34] BioLogos has also responded to Ken Ham's criticisms of its viewpoint.[35]