On Twitter yesterday, Creationist Ken Ham blasted Bill Nye for his advocacy of science.
Nye said in a recent interview that teaching Creationism may be legal, but it’s a form of brainwashing. Referring to Ham, he said, “He can believe whatever he wants. He can run around influencing all the adults he wants; it’s the kids that are gonna be a burden on me. They’re gonna be scientifically illiterate…”
Ham, as usual, took that to mean Nye wants to take away his rights, somehow, and that teaching evolution was just pushing a different religion onto children.
Teaching kids how to think, how to ask questions, and how to tell bullshit from reality isn’t brainwashing. It’s critical thinking. Science isn’t a religion; science is a method. And if the process ever leads to a mistake, the same process can lead to a more correct resolution.
Meanwhile, telling kids that they have to believe the nonsense written in an ancient book — and that they’ll be tortured in hell for eternity if they don’t accept its core doctrines — is the definition of brainwashing.