"Pete holds to a more direct method of creation. He believes in a God who can do anything, ..."

If he believes such a thing then he has no business talking about science. Such a belief implies that every observable phenomenon is attributable to God - end of story. If that is really the nature of the Universe, then there's no point in any further study - everything there is to know, is known already. That leaves us stuck in the Dark Ages though. Is that what God intended?