Bill Nye Archives

Two Views of the Universe - Earthset — Earthset photographed by Christina Koch on Artemis 2 Mission

Prominent atheists recently became upset by Victor Glover’s words aboard Artemis 2 during its history-making trip around the Moon. Some even expressed concern about the “separation of church and space.” We have written before about Victor Glover and his status as a Bible-believing Christian. When he spoke from space, he seemed to receive approval from the other astronauts, but not from atheists on the ground. We see the contrast between the two views of the universe.

Some of Glover’s words that apparently upset atheists include, “You’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe…You are special. In all of this emptiness, this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe, you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together…” Why should those words distress anyone?

Historically, many early scientists explored creation because they believed in an orderly universe created by an intelligent God. Many astronauts have said that being in space gave them a spiritual experience as they realized that Earth reveals design and purpose. I remember watching the Apollo 8 crew read from the book of Genesis on Christmas Day in 1968 as they traveled around the Moon. Our present NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, said that his time in space convinced him that “the heavens declare the glory of God.”

Many leading science popularizers have tried to tell us that science destroys Christian belief. Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, Michael Shermer, Lawrence Krauss, and others have written popular books arguing that science makes belief in God unnecessary and implausible. The two views of the universe can’t both be correct. The truth is that scientific discoveries continue to support belief in God and challenge the atheist concept.

Years ago, Carl Sagan said that Earth is such a tiny dot in the universe that it shows we have no privileged position in the cosmos. Victor Glover said that we are not a lonely cosmic accident, but instead, we are loved. On April 30, 2026, the movie “The Story of Everything” will open in select theaters nationwide. It will compare the two views of the universe—the atheist view and the biblical view that God designed and created all things and that He loves us. I think the movie will show that God’s story is the best and that it is actually supported by science.

References: scienceandculture.com HERE and HERE. You can see Victor Glover’s statement from space HERE. Click H ERE for more information about “The Story of Everything.”

Ham-Nye Walking Debate
You are probably aware of Bill Nye and Ken Ham and their debate which took place in 2014. As if that debate wasn’t embarrassing enough (for both sides), Ham and Nye followed it in 2016 with a walking debate at Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter in Kentucky. The Ham-Nye walking debate was more of the two men talking past each other.

Bill Nye, you will recall, calls himself “the science guy.” Ken Ham, the producer of the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, is the CEO of Answers in Genesis. Nye takes a naturalist position on everything. While he avoids admitting to being an atheist, atheists hold him in high esteem, and he is heavily backed by atheist publications such as Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, and American Atheist. Ham takes an extreme young-earth position and promotes the ideas that dinosaurs lived with humans, that the flood explains all of geology, and that dispensationalism is the proper understanding of biblical history.

What happens in the “walking debate” is that Nye walks through the Ark Encounter exhibits challenging what Ham and AIG have put together as bad science. At the same time, Ham attempts to denigrate Nye’s scientific material with religious views of young-earth creationism. The Ham-Nye walking debate doesn’t resolve anything and only serves to bring the two sides farther apart.

The “Does God Exist? program maintains that science and faith are compatible and that science supports belief in God and the Bible as His word. Over the years we have pointed out that what the Bible actually says is not what either of these gentlemen is presenting. Nye is correct in showing some very bad science in Ham’s exhibits. Ham correctly points out Nye’s tendency to use unproven scientific guesses and assumptions to attack those who believe in God. It is evident that Ham knows little about science and Nye knows even less about the Bible.

Our courses, books, booklets, DVDs, and websites go into a more in-depth discussion of science and faith. If you want to hear two extremes that both oppose our position, you can watch the first debate or the second debate on YouTube.
–John N. Clayton and Roland Earnst © 2018