Yes I realize that but, whether you realize it or not, you are making false accusations with the way you attempt to pit “creationists” against theistic evolutionists. Both groups are creationists, they just disagree about the method and timing.
There is a philosophical argument that can be given based on simple reason and observation, but the simplist way to do it is to point to Genesis 1:1. Most people - even irreligious people - don’t find that hard to believe.
This is simply a lie.
I believe scripture and I assume you do as well. We simply interpret some passages differently. If I accused you of “not believing scripture” simply because you interpret scripture differently than me, you would be rightly irritated. I am irritated, but it is tempered by my assumption that you are simply repeating the lies told in YEC circles and don’t intend it as a personal attack.
I’m not terribly concerned about people believing me. I want people to believe Jesus, believe Moses, believe the scriptures properly, and believe good science. There is no conflict.
In the popular mind, belief in evolution somehow eliminates the need for a Creator. This fuzzy thinking takes for granted that there is a material cosmos, an earth, and the primordial conditions required for evolution to happen. But there is no material reality itself unless it is brought into existence. I could go through the lengthy philosophical argument with you, and I’m sure you would agree, so let’s just put forth the assertion that the material must have come into being from another realm - what we would call the spiritual realm. So based simply on the fact that the material realm exists at all, we know there is a Creator. So all atheistic philosophies are thereby disproven.
Back in the post you referenced, you took issue with my assertion that atheistic evolution completely fails because it cannot explain the existence of the elements required for evolution. To put it another way, one cannot make a cake unless the ingredients exist.
In this context, you dragged Bill Nye into the conversation with his idea that life on earth may have come from Mars, thereby giving credence to atheistic evolution.
Of course, the response to that is obvious... simply moving the origin of life (or its primordial elements) to another location in the material universe does not solve their problem. Their problem is that Earth, Mars, Pluto, and the Sun EXIST AT ALL!
Therefore, I took no position on whether or not life originated on Mars because it is simply irrelevant.
As I have already pointed out, Bill Nye’s argument is irrelevant. It is wishful thinking. I have easily disproved it.
Regarding Genesis 1-2 not being literal, that became obvious to me when I was working through those passage in Hebrew years ago. I had not formed an opinion about the means of creation back then, although I actually leaned toward YEC with “apparent age” being the reason why things looked much older.
Through my study of the literary clues provided in Genesis 1-2, I realized that the passages didn’t address the process or timing of creation at all. They were not intended to and imposing that expectation on the texts undermined the true purpose of the narratives - to refute the pagan myths and introduce the God of Moses as the singular Creator of the heavens and the earth.
My final shift to theistic evolution occurred last year in my study of the human genome.
I reject YEC because it does not properly fit the facts of scripture or science. Moreover, YEC is often used as a litmus test of “believing God” or not. It interferes with the work of evangelization and often becomes a substitute for real faith in God among its most zealous adherents.
