Yesterday I spent
much of the morning watching a debate between Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”) and
Ken Ham (of Answers in Genesis). Beforehand the debate was billed as being
about creation versus evolution. Sadly,
the whole debate ultimately missed the point.
Most of the debate
between these two men related to the age of the earth/universe. Ken Ham
argued repeatedly for a young earth, approximately 6000 years old, while Bill
Nye offered many different arguments about why such a young date for the age of
the earth was scientifically untenable, and that holding to such a position
would hold back science. Ken Ham argued
that the authority of Scripture as the inspired Word of God demands a young
earth creationist point of view.
The fact is that
there are many Christians who uphold the authority of Scripture as the inspired
Word of God, and who accept the idea that God created the earth/universe, as
well as living things according to their "kinds," but who do not
believe in a young earth/universe. John Lennox and Hugh Ross would be two
examples. In his book Seven Days
that Divide the World John Lennox argues: “It is Scripture that has the
final authority, not our understanding of it.”
While I believe that
it is possible to interpret both Scripture and the scientific data as pointing
to a young earth creation, I don’t believe it is absolutely essential to do
so. It is just as possible to interpret
both Scripture and the scientific data as pointing to an ancient earth/universe,
which was created by God. There is more
than one way to interpret the scientific data that we observe. There is
more than one way to interpret what Scripture has to say about creation and the
age of the earth/universe. Reasonable, Bible-believing Christians can
differ and have differed about these issues.
There is a different
issue that Ken Ham touched on in yesterday’s debate that I wish would have
consumed the full attention of both debaters.
That is the issue of scientific naturalism, the belief that there is no
possibility of the existence of anything supernatural. While Ken Ham brought this issue up, he
allowed himself to be completely sidetracked by Bill Nye’s attacks on the age
of the earth. As a result, this issue
was never addressed by Mr. Nye.
I am convinced that
it is possible to prove that the supernatural exists, because information is
"supernatural," in that it is not material or physical. Those who deny
the supernatural, and claim that everything is only material or natural ignore
the supernatural aspect of information.
All information (including conscious thought or mind, as well as natural
law which is discovered through observation, but which, nevertheless, is not
material or physical) exists beyond the physical realm in which we live. While information can be transmitted by
physical or material means, it is not dependent upon those means of
transmission for its existence or function. Many different kinds of physical means can be
used to transmit the exact same information.
The human genome can be encoded in DNA, on a CD ROM, or in printed form
on paper with ink. It represents exactly
the same information.
To claim that information,
thought, mind, will, or even natural law (such as the laws of physics) must
have a "natural" or "material" cause is absurd. Mind,
thought, information and knowledge must originate from a supernatural source,
since they are not material or physical, but immaterial and thus,
supernatural. This reality is, I
believe, the strongest argument against a purely material or physical universe
to be found outside of Scripture. Those
who would argue that the material universe, the “cosmos” is all there is
must deny the existence of information, since information is not material.
We know from everyday
experience that information always has its source in the mind of a conscious
agent. Information never arises
spontaneously from a purely material or inanimate object. When God created the universe, He did so to
reveal His glory. His wisdom and power
are written not only the physical wonders of the universe such as galaxies and
stars, but also in the laws that govern nature and the information that makes
life possible. This supernatural aspect
of creation reveals the Supernatural source of all creation, God Himself.
