A Biblical Starting Point

Question: What is your starting point in the pursuit of what is true and what is not?

Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, recently related this story:

A well-known atheist in the USA was interviewing me in my office concerning the creation/evolution issue and the book of Genesis. The conversation went something like this:

“So you admit that you start with the Bible?” she said to me.

“Yes, of course,” I replied.

“And you are not prepared to change anything the Bible states, are you?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “The Bible’s statements concerning creation, the Flood, and so on are not subject to change—God’s Word cannot be altered.”

“Ah,” she then responded, “that’s why creationists like you can never be real scientists. You see, real scientists like myself start with evidence and develop our theories. Then, as new evidence comes along, we modify our theories accordingly. You start with the Bible, not evidence, and you are not prepared to change your views. I start with evidence and am prepared to change or modify theories as new evidence comes along. That is real science.”

I then responded by asking, “You are an atheist, correct?”

“Yes,” she responded.

“And you don’t believe in God, and don’t believe the Bible’s account of Genesis has any part in science and in discussing the origins issue—is that right?”

“Yes,” she again responded.

“Are you prepared to change that?” I asked.

Now I can’t prove it because I didn’t have a video camera running at the time, but I believe I saw a slight smile on her lips as she ignored the challenge and went on asking more questions. You see, I believe this atheist realized that I had caught her—that she started with beliefs that she was not prepared to change. And those beliefs determined how she approached evidence in regards to the origins issue.

I was making the point that no one ever starts with just evidence. We all have presuppositions that determine how we approach scientific evidence.