I haven’t sifted through the comments fully to see if it’s been addressed, but I think it’s very important to clearly separate the creationism amongst scientists vs. creationism in the public sphere. I am not at all worried about creationism making inroads amongst biologists, paleontologists, etc. What I am worried about is a bad idea catching on in the public arena where things like the education curriculum in public schools are decided. The perception of people not in the know could be that scientists are dodging the debate. It’s all very tedious, but it’s the situation we’re in. So, yes, someone should debate these folks. My fear with sending underlings (sorry, undergrads) is that these debates aren’t cool headed discussion of proofs and evidence. A person experienced in public speaking, even debating something that’s incorrect, can do so with effective rhetoric and theatrical flourish that will overtake the other side’s argument, at least in the mind of the audience. The advantage that materialists have in evidence is eventually insurmountable, but it still needs to be properly demonstrated to the people who don’t yet understand it.
I haven’t sifted through the comments fully to see if it’s been addressed, but I think it’s very important to clearly separate the creationism amongst scientists vs. creationism in the public sphere. I am not at all worried about creationism making inroads amongst biologists, paleontologists, etc. What I am worried about is a bad idea catching on in the public arena where things like the education curriculum in public schools are decided. The perception of people not in the know could be that scientists are dodging the debate. It’s all very tedious, but it’s the situation we’re in. So, yes, someone should debate these folks. My fear with sending underlings (sorry, undergrads) is that these debates aren’t cool headed discussion of proofs and evidence. A person experienced in public speaking, even debating something that’s incorrect, can do so with effective rhetoric and theatrical flourish that will overtake the other side’s argument, at least in the mind of the audience. The advantage that materialists have in evidence is eventually insurmountable, but it still needs to be properly demonstrated to the people who don’t yet understand it.