What gives an argument authority?

I read an article on this website saying that the earth was created in 6 literal days. I'm not convinced and think the writers are under-qualified and bias against science. I suggest you get some one who actually has a doctorate in physics. No one will ever take your articles on creation seriously if you continue to use under-qualified writers.

—N., U.S.

I read an article on this website saying that the earth was created in 6 literal days.

The first chapter of Genesis tells us that God created everything in six days; it even tells us what God did on each of those days. Exodus 20:11 summarizes this: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them ....”

Additionally, there is compelling scientific support that the earth is “young” (thousands of years old, not billions). These include the recession of the moon, the decay of planetary magnetic fields, C-14 in diamonds, and many others.

I'm not convinced

Of course, that is totally irrelevant to the truth of the matter. Proof is not the same as persuasion. A doctor might scientifically prove that his patient has cancer; yet the patient may not be convinced, simply because he or she really doesn’t want to believe that.

and think the writers are under-qualified

Do you have any evidence to support your opinion? More importantly, do you have any arguments against the article itself? The One who originally wrote that the earth was created in six days is God. God wrote Exodus 20:11 with His own finger (see Exodus 31:18). If you can find someone more qualified than God to write on any subject, I’d love to know about it.

and bias against science.

Many of us here at AiG are Ph.D. scientists. So, it’s hard to imagine how we could have a bias against science. As Christians, we recognize that science is based on the Bible. Science requires the uniformity of nature in order to be possible, as shown here. Many scientists have forgotten the biblical basis for modern science and have become inconsistent. On the one hand, they believe the universe is logical, orderly, and upheld in a uniform fashion. On the other hand, they teach that the universe is simply “molecules in motion”—the mindless byproduct of a “big bang.”

I suggest you get some one who actually has a doctorate in physics.

I have a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Furthermore, our articles are peer-reviewed by various other Ph.D. scientists as well to ensure quality and accuracy. That being said, an argument really should be evaluated on its merits, not on the formal education of the one making the claim. To say that something isn’t so because the one making the claim is not qualified is to commit the ad hominem fallacy.

No one will ever take your articles on creation seriously if you continue to use under-qualified writers.

First, you haven’t offered any evidence that the writer is under-qualified. But even if you could, an argument should be evaluated on its own merit. It would have been better if you had attempted to offer a rational objection to the argument(s) presented in the article.