Bill Maher, Bill Nye Criticize Creationism; Ken Ham Fires Back
TV host Bill Maher called religion "the enemy of science" in a recent broadcast of his "Real Time" show, on which popular scientist Bill Nye argued that Creationism should not be taught in textbooks. Both men were criticized by Creation Museum President Ken Ham for "attacking" Christianity.
"Innovation is what's going to make United States' economy grow. And in order to have innovation, you need to have scientifically literate students graduating from all kinds of schools," Nye said during his appearance on Maher's show.
"But then you have this situation in Texas, where people want to have Creationism in text books," he continued. "I don't have any big deal about somebody's religion, but if you claim that the Earth is 10,000 years old, that's just wrong."
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Nye has warned a number of times in recent years against the belief in Creationism, which follows a literal interpretation of Genesis. Maher, an outspoken critic of religion, used the opportunity to claim that religion is an enemy of science.
"When people say we can reconcile science and faith – no, we can't," the TV show host added.
Ham, who often comments on public figures getting involved in such debates, wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday that the show was "two atheists attack Christianity – Bill Nye and Bill Maher continue their attack on creationists."
However, Nye has not publicly declared if and what faith system he follows, and although he rejects Creationism in school, he has said that he does not have a problem with people following religion.
Taking objection to the claims that Creationism is harmful, Ham claimed that that Nye "still doesn't understand the difference between historical science and observational science."
"These two mock the Bible and totally distort the Bible's account of the creation of the sun and the moon. Of course, AiG (and probably many others) have answered their false arguments – but Maher and Nye aren't interested in answers that defend Christianity," Ham added, who is also the president and founder of Answers in Genesis. He also linked to further information on his website arguing in favor of Creationism.
Creationism and evolution remain divisive subjects among Americans. A 2012 Gallup Poll found that 46 percent believe humans were created in their present form by God, 32 percent think that humans went through evolution but with God guiding the process, and 15 percent say God was not involved at all in the creation of humans.
