Mars Hill Forum #48 with Secular Humanist Paul Kurtz: Does the Sun Rise?

 John C. Rankin

On August 26, 1999, at the Kingdom Bound Festival, Darien Lakes, NY, my guest was Dr. Paul Kurtz, prolific author and world’s leading secular humanist. He was delighted to join me for a free flowing conversation with 900 Christians as the audience.

Many young earth creationists believe that the integrity of Genesis 1 is crucial to sound “apologetics,” that is, to give answer for our biblical faith. I agree. But the question relates to the nature of Genesis 1 to begin with, and what it is, and is not, saying about the days of creation.

In 1992, I hosted Dr. Paul Kurtz on a radio show in Boston. Prior to the radio show, he asked me about the days of creation. As I explained the Framework Structure (click here and click here), and addressed other questions about supposed “missing links,” he made no critique of any of my answers, moving on to other issues.

In the 1999 forum, Dr. Kurtz critiqued the idea of a three tiered universe — under the earth, the earth, and the sky. I noted the anthropomorphic nature of such language, biblically and elsewhere, and then I asked him if he enjoys a beautiful sunrise. He said yes. So I said, “But Paul, we know that the sun does not ‘rise.’ The earth rotates.” He smiled.

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