I'm heading to the Creation Museum this weekend. I thought I should have some questions ready in case I see Ken Ham there. Any ideas?

How about "How can you willfully ignore 150 years of scientific evidence and still not violate the commandment to not bear false witness?"

 

Or "You do realize we have *watched* one species evolve from another in both lab and natural settings, right?"

 

Or, my favorite, just punch him in the balls.

I'll end with those. How about some questions that are less likely to stop a QA session or get me kicked out?

Or "You do realize we have *watched* one species evolve from another in both lab and natural settings, right?"

Examples are more powerful. It'd be good to have a few at hand.

I would ask how you can get your money back, or how you can leave the museum at the end of the tour and still have a hopeful view of humanity's future.

Ask him how he knows what dinosaurs look like.

 

It's a more pernicious question than it appears.

I would ask how you can get your money back

 

I'm getting in for free.

Ask him how he knows what dinosaurs look like.

 

It's a more pernicious question than it appears.

 

He didn't witness it.

Feel free to ask about the Creation story's predictions.

 

If Noah's Ark were true, then there would be a maximum of 2 alleles per animal, 1 Y chromosome per male animal, and 1 mitochondrial DNA per female animal (actually, can be more than that if the male is genetically defective, and also sometimes some sperm mitochondria enter the egg). But if the Flood story is true, you should expect a maximum of 4 alleles for "unclean" animals and 14 alleles for "clean" animals, a maximum of 10 alleles for humans, a maximum of 1 Y chromosome and 1 mtDNA for unclean animals, 1-6 Y chromosomes and mtDNAs for clean animals. Any additional genetic variability would have had to evolve in the ~4000 years since then.

 

Also, why would God embed retrovirus fragments throughout our lineage in the pattern expected by common ancestry? In fact, why would God embed retroviruses in our DNA at all?

 

So, ask about retroviruses in our genes and why an intelligent designer might put them there, or about how many alleles various animals have (as if you just thought of the idea on the spot).

Also, why would God embed retrovirus fragments throughout our lineage in the pattern expected by common ancestry? In fact, why would God embed retroviruses in our DNA at all?

The interesting thing about this is that in the bible God states that He will not lie to us. So, either the bible is wrong (and God is lying about that), or the fossil record is wrong (and He is lying about that - as He would have created it to make it appear that the Earth was not created 6,000 years ago when the bible says it was).

 

So either one or the other is wrong and deliberately wrong, hence a lie, and that invalidates the statement by God that He will never lie to us.

The interesting thing about this is that in the bible God states that He will not lie to us. So, either the bible is wrong (and God is lying about that), or the fossil record is wrong (and He is lying about that - as He would have created it to make it appear that the Earth was not created 6,000 years ago when the bible says it was).

 

So either one or the other is wrong and deliberately wrong, hence a lie, and that invalidates the statement by God that He will never lie to us.

 

Wait, are we allowed to talk about religion again? I'm so confused...

 

Anyway, most of the hardcore Creationists have this idea called "embedded age" where God created the Earth at its inception already aged, so that it looks much, much older, but actually isn't. When asked if God is being deceitful, they will say "nope, because God tells us the real age in the Bible." So, that's not as powerful of an argument as you may think.

Since they say the Grand Canyon was formed by the Great Flood, ask him why the whole world doesn't look like the Grand Canyon.

 

So, um, why are you going there, exactly?

So, um, why are you going there, exactly?

 

It's on the way back to my apartment.

So he can point and laugh, of course.

My favourite is the vitamin C synthesis by the human body. We have the whole genetic complex that is used by other species to manufacture vitamin C, but in humans it is defective, with a single mutation stopping the process. Easy to explain in evolutionary terms (a mutation plus genetic drift at a time our ancestors were fruit eaters, and didn't really need the vitamin C manufacture.) But why would the creator have built into our bodies the entire gene complex and then deactivated it all with a mutation?

 

Humans are now working on re-establishing the mechanism by means of gene therapy.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi91.html

 

Why didn't God do that?

as a Creationist myself but not a strict believer in the Old testament of the bible, I`d like to know How the genetic bottle-neck that occurred Twice (Adam/Eve and Noah) was somehow bypassed?

as a Creationist myself but not a strict believer in the Old testament of the bible

 

How does this compute?

Sayonara

There are lots of flavours of creationist. It is really the rabid fundamentalist type that I abhor - the ones that deny all the evidence of modern biology.

 

My father was religious - traditional Christian - but always declared that the first books of the old testament were merely parables. He believed in 'creation' but only as carried out via evolution. Possibly a bit of a tricky set of beliefs to hold simultaneously, but not at all unusual.

 

There is no problem with a Christian believing in some form of creation, but not blindly adhering to every part of the Old Testament.

As you well know Lance, Creationist with a capital "C" has a limited set of meanings.

 

My question to YT is intended to discover the meaning which he attaches to it.

As you well know Lance, Creationist with a capital "C" has a limited set of meanings.

 

My question to YT is intended to discover the meaning which he attaches to it.

 

YT's capitalization does not necessarily correlate to the proper grammatical usage; He uses capitalization for emphasis as well. For example, he also capitalized the word "Twice."

Why do you assume YT is male?

The attached icon is female.

Why do you assume YT is male?

The attached icon is female.

 

Lance - That's probably the single dumbest thing you've ever said. It's not like YT2095 is some random noob.

 

The "attached icon" is from BG.

So he can point and laugh, of course.

 

And while pointing and laughing, reflect for a while on who is likelier to have a higher evolutionary fitness: your average atheist, or your extra fundamentalist Christian who is opposed to birth control?

iNow

I am well aware of the nature of the icon. Lieutenant Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. I am also aware that the actress playing that role is quite beautiful, and that female psychology being what it is, lots of women take beautiful women as role models. I have noticed that female participants in this, and other forums frequently adopt beautiful women as icons. So that is not a stupid observation.

YT's capitalization does not necessarily correlate to the proper grammatical usage; He uses capitalization for emphasis as well. For example, he also capitalized the word "Twice."

Okay then, "the word creationist as it is used and known on this site, a contextual selector which YT is very much aware of".

 

Why do you assume YT is male?

The attached icon is female.

It's not an assumption.

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iNow

I am well aware of the nature of the icon. Lieutenant Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. I am also aware that the actress playing that role is quite beautiful, and that female psychology being what it is, lots of women take beautiful women as role models. I have noticed that female participants in this, and other forums frequently adopt beautiful women as icons. So that is not a stupid observation.

Well no, it's not stupid per se, it's quite astute if you take it in isolation. But you do have to ignore all the other evidence, such as YT's photos of himself, and the threads where he discusses his partner and progeny.

So, by that reasoning, I should be in the middle of the smoldering ruins of Tokyo right now, battling a giant moth?