This post is a response to Young Earth Creationist: Ignorance Of What You Dispute, a post featured today on WordPress‘s home page.
God is a Young Earth Creationist (“YEC”). He knows the earth was created in six days. He was there. In fact, He did the creating, making Him the very first YEC. But while the author of this article (“BGH”) seems ignorant of the inherent limitations of the physical sciences, and while his article seems to have multiple personalities, he does manage to make a good point (almost).
Logical Flaws
First and foremost, BGH does not acknowledge the God of the universe. Were everything else about his article beyond reproach, his misplaced starting point would lead him always into error.
Next, the author seems to have a hard time defining what he wants to talk about. The article’s title, intro, and conclusion decry the “young earth creationism” theory of the origin of the planet. Clearly, he’s starting-out defending the various dating techniques used for determining the age of our planet. Yet all of his bullet points (comprising the middle half of the article) seek to distance evolution – not the age of the planet – from other fields of study.
Another error in BGH’s logic is his choice for first scientific field he distinguishes from evolution: cosmology, which BGH defines as “the field that explains the origins of the universe”. It’s funny that he’s specifically excluding the age of the universe from the discussion, when it’s the age of the planet that is being discussed.
An Interesting Point
However, I must agree with BGH’s critique of the logic of many “YECs” that engage evolution in the public sphere. When the Word of God is cast as merely one’s “belief” as opposed to God’s Truth, no logic can bail-out the argument. If the YEC grants non-Biblical beliefs equal value with God’s Word, there is no point in continuing the debate. The YEC has then forfeited any right to influence either the person they’re debating or those watching from the sidelines.
The job of the Christian is not to debate science on scientific terms. To do so is to grant science the authority to be the arbiter of truth. It also implies acceptance of science’s physical limitations for the debate, a debate that is fundamentally about the existence of a spiritual God.
Instead, our arguments must begin as does the Bible, and as creation itself began: “In the beginning, God…”
Tags: worldview
Phil's Blog 
March 25, 2009 at 4:33 am
Thank you for completely displaying the unfortunate ignorance referenced in the post.
Whether you like it or not, science is divided into distinct fields of study with distinct scope. Shall I call you a Jew because without Judaism there would be no Christianity. Or shall I call you a catholic, because without Catholicism the original bibles would not have been compiled.
Evolution is a biological field of study, it is not part of cosmology, please take a moment to understand how scientific fields of study are broken down into subtopics that have their own scope and remove just a small bit of the prejudice you hold toward science solely because it does not reference your ‘god’.
March 25, 2009 at 11:53 am
First, BGH, thank you for commenting, and for doing so as yourself. Too many people hide behind anonymity when there is disagreement; you are kind enough to allow me to address you directly.
Second, I will identify myself. I acknowledge the God of the universe. I affirm that He created the entire universe (including Earth) in just six days. I also acknowledge God’s righteous judgement of sin, and the inability of the accused to escape that justice on our own. Finally, I’m ecstatic about His love for the world as expressed by His sacrifice of His Son in our place (Romans 3:21-26), a gift that is received by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-10). I also hold a bachelors degree in electrical engineering, which required earning a minor in mathematics and taking courses in chemistry, biology, and physics. So I am not unfamiliar with the organization of the sciences.
I thought about asking why you mentioned evolution at all in either your post or your comment here. But that is not the important question.
The question that is most important is this: Have you ever read the Bible? Have you tried to understand the God who authored the physical laws? I would beg you to seek Him out – to learn the full extent of His righteous judgment of sinners like us, and to see how that judgment makes His love that much more amazing.
You are right: scientific and technical fields of study are not inherently incompatible with a relationship with God. So don’t feel that you must give up your interest in the sciences to learn about Him. But you must accept what the Bible says apart from science, lest your understanding of God be artificially limited by the laws of science. God wrote those laws, and He violates them from time to time. So don’t make the mistake of assuming that He’s bound by them.
Thank you again for taking the time to comment here.
-Phil