Anti-evolutionists would have you believe that it is atheistic scientists who are making people lose their faith. I don't believe it. I believe the anti-evolutionists themselves are the far greater cause.
Anti-evolutionists have set up what is known as a “false dichotomy.” A false dichotomy is a choice between two viewpoints, when in fact the viewpoints don't really conflict. Ken Ham, for example, is very adamant that either Genesis one is literal or the Bible isn't true. This is, in my opinion, a false and—dangerous—dichotomy.
Most American children go to school and study science. Many go on to college. Most today can access the internet. Any of them can find out, as an example, that whale evolution is well-documented. They can look at the powerful evidence for human evolution. They will find solid rebuttals to the “no transitional fossils” arguments of young earth creationists.
When they do so, people like Ken Ham will ask them to make a choice between believing Ken Ham's version of Genesis one and believing the overwhelming evidence laid before them by science. Science is not a failure. Science has produced what it said it can produce. It has put men on the moon. It has healed diseases that formerly could not be healed. It has eradicated diseases that have long plagued mankind. It has nearly doubled the average lifespan of man. It has provided us with seemingly miraculous conveniences. The Christianity that Ken Ham is a part of, however, is mostly a complete failure. It has not produced the love that Jesus said his followers would have. In fact, the fundamentalist, anti-evolution section of Christianity is probably the one most known for its lack of love, mercy, graciousness, and understanding.
Faced with such a choice, many, if not most, will choose science.
Who can blame them.
I want to erase that choice. Truth does not compete with truth. We are allowed to look at evidence. We do not have to hide our eyes from what is obviously truth. Our Bible says that the sky is as hard as metal. No one I know, not even Ken Ham, believes that. Why doesn't he stamp and argue that the sky is a hard dome with the sun, moon, and stars in it, because if you don't believe that, you don't believe the Bible? It is because even Ken Ham has to agree that science has proven this not to be true by sending rockets right through the firmament. But you will never hear Ken Ham, nor any other fundamentalist, tell you that the Bible says such things. They don't want you to know!
God has never needed to give scientific revelation millennia ahead of time in order to prove his power. God had no reason and no motivation to reveal to Moses that stars were huge nuclear reactors many light years away from earth, shining as brightly or more brightly than the sun. God has always revealed himself to the earth in other ways. Jesus said that in these last days he would reveal himself to the earth in the love of his disciples (Jn. 13:35; 17:20-23).
Rather than attempting to prove that God gave scientific revelation to people like Moses, Job, and Isaiah, who live thousands of years ago, wouldn't our time be better spent working on providing the proofs God wants to offer to the world? He wants the unity of the disciples and their love for one another to be his testimony to the world. In Matthew 5:16, he commands us to shine to the world by our good works. There is great work to be done in this area! The Bible teaches that we will only achieve this as we exhort one another each and every day (Heb. 3:13). There is a need for people who know that this must happen and who are willing to act!
This is what will cause people to believe God and to believe the Bible. According to Christ, they will believe when they see it working; when they see our love and unity.