by Mark Rose, Genesis Alive
After watching the Ken Ham and Bill Nye debate about creation vs. evolution, many thoughts came to mind recalling my past when I embraced evolution and the Carl Sagan/Nye humanistic worldview.
I remember the happy promises and exciting challenges that supposedly lay ahead for unsuspecting youth as Nye promised. Youth should not to be so foolish to be bound by the backward beliefs of the church and Bible with their “do’s and don’ts.”
This was the broken record replay of the seventies, I mused. Follow me and find the real “truths,” unshackled by the Bible and its constraints.
It was obvious to anyone with a brain; “science” had proved them wrong and the Cosmos right. The Cosmos was all there was and with man as the Master, there is no need for God. Nye asserts, join them and you will go nowhere but Sunday School class.
Wow!
Then Mr. Nye takes it to another level. A creationist is actually un-American to follow such foolishness, doing a disservice to your country. What unknowing young intellect wouldn’t follow that offer? It’s appealing to have this intellectual power over faith. No need of the Opiate of the Masses. Here is ‘Nye the Piper’ tooting the same tune again.
In the days of my youth we eventually found out differently.
There were lots of things in life that couldn’t be handled on your own intellectually. Relationships for instance. Who determines what set of rules which guide us? Do we make them up as we go?
Moral values are also influenced. Who decides what is right or wrong?
How can we coexist if we live by different rules? How can a relationship or a marriage work without boundaries? Where do you draw the line if both people have different goals and/or guiding principals? What is the need of marriage itself, and why do all humans deeply desire this relationship? Did chimps invent it?
No! Don’t imitate them. They are godless cannibals who leave their dead to rot.
Many in my generation failed in marriage, including my parents. They had a happy start, but a heartbreaking end. Their failed marriage resulted in ruined lives that turned to drugs and alcohol to cope, which ultimately made matters worse.
Then, I looked back at the older generation. Many of these folk seemed happier than ever. Content, prosperous and peaceful, attending church like nothing had ever happened.
“Man,” I thought. “That looks good. What do they have that I don’t?”
None of them would say “Star Stuff” is the trick. Then I thought to myself, “something’s completely out of whack here.” How can this mess get straitened out? This new paradigm is not working.
Then one night on a flight gone wrong I got my answer.
Staring death in the face I took a chance and gambled, “what the heck” I told myself, I’ve got nothing to loose,
Mark Rose
this whole idea of star stuff won’t get me out of this mess, so I did the unthinkable, I prayed – “If there’s a God, I need your help now.” Being out of fuel, engine failing, no visibility and without a shred of hope to survive, I had seen this played out many times in the Alaskan Bush, this is how you die, this is how so many of my friends died, and maybe it’s my turn now. Then right back this voice speaks and says this, – “Son, you said the right thing!” More than a little surprised I thought, “Well that worked!”, so how about some avgas while you’re at it.
Within a few minutes I broke out of the snowstorm, my engine running better and then hope against hope there it was, the beautiful lights of Kotzebue sparkling on horizon in front me. “Okay”, this is good I thought. I was only 20 miles over the Arctic Ocean until I reached safety.
This I know. Once on the ground I was a changed boy forever.
My well-honed worldview was transformed right then and there. Who was this ‘Guy’ who spoke to me?
I won’t stop until I find out I vowed. Within a few months I was led straight to the Bible, reading it cover to cover. Later, as the result of another wreck and my life spared, I took the next step sitting in the back seat of a bush aircraft that had come to rescue me. I accepted Jesus Christ as my ultimate rescuer and the entire Bible as a complete package. At that very moment I felt myself cross over from death to life.
As a mechanic I knew every type of helicopter comes with a set of manuals. Do as it says and you come home alive. Defy It and nine times out of ten you’re a dead man. I knew that to be true from my own experience.
So life comes with a manual, too. Once you’ve seen what happens to people in those wrecks you’ll get the picture fast. The manual for people is the Bible, plain and simple.
The “System” and the Bill Nye’s of the world have lied to us. That’s why I engage in this arena of thought. I humbly submit that they are wrong.
After my life-changing decision, life started changing for me. I had peace and a new understanding of all kinds of things like work, relationships, the earth, animal life and the Universe as a whole. I was not shackled, as Nye claimed, I was set free!
Answers to all my doubts and questions began to provide clarity. The Bible’s framework made far more sense than the humanistic version of origins.
I discovered we are not alone. The more I prayed the more I received answers. The answers were not in material things, but in things that really matter.
I married a women that understood the same rules and boundaries as I. Guess what? It works. Just like following the instructions for the helicopters. You see, the manufacturer always knows best.
After 6 wonderful children and 37 years of marriage, with God’s guidance, we have made it all work out. We have a Creator and He makes the rules, not man. He Created the Universe and all of life. Every day I search this out the more it’s confirmed.
Over and over Mr. Nye tried to trap Mr. Ham with this question, “If I presented you with absolute scientific evidence that the earth and universe were old, would you accept that the Bible is in error on the subject.”
Ham replied “No.” What wasn’t said was this, every month, more and more evidence is piling up suggesting the earth is young and further, that the old earth clocks are flawed. Far more uniform chronometers suggest an earth less than 10,000 years old is a fact.
In my college geology classes, both my PhD professors threw out their old age believes (to my amazement) when shown the data. What Ham meant was that he trusts the Bible over man’s interpretations of the past.
Why? Because more evidence could be discovered and controvert the other. The point is — the Bible is unchanging. The Nye crowd has changed the age of the earth multiple times in the past 3 decades while the Bible account stayed the same.
And, by the way Bill Nye, my children are fulfilled, happy and creative, so you got that wrong also. As for me, check my patent log.
Bill Nye, your worldview is without form and void. Not only is a complete failure, but worse yet, it wrecks lives.
For more information about Genesis Alive or resources on creationism go to GenesisAlive.com. To contact Mark Rose email genesisalive101@gmail.com.
About Mark Rose
As a teen and stepson of a biologist in Alaska, Mark Rose found myself immersed in the world of evolutionary thinking of the day. Now a devoted Christian, Patent holder and CEO of a high-tech firm near Corvallis, Oregon has launched Genesis Alive, a new organization that is developing resources and sharing new evidence’s for those who desire to investigate where science and faith intersect. For more information go to GenesisAlive.com.
