{"id":28279,"date":"2016-06-26T13:54:45","date_gmt":"2016-06-26T17:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=28279"},"modified":"2016-06-26T13:54:45","modified_gmt":"2016-06-26T17:54:45","slug":"the-god-problem-witty-and-witless-in-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=28279","title":{"rendered":"The god problem: witty and witless in Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Ham is erecting a colossal model of Noah\u2019s ark to spread a particular brand of Christian fundamentalism, known as \u201cyoung earth\u201d or \u201cyoung universe\u201d creationism.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: A Noah\u2019s Ark in Kentucky, Dinosaurs Included – The New York Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A minute ago (1:40 pm), I read Laurie Goodstein’s marvelous New York Times article about the ark–yeah, The<\/em> Ark–going up and out in Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Her writing is the witty part. Take a look at the beginning:<\/p>\n

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. \u2014 In the beginning, Ken Ham made the Creation Museum<\/a> in northern Kentucky. And he saw that it was good at spreading his belief that the Bible is a book of history, the universe is only 6,000 years old, and evolution is wrong and is leading to our moral downfall.<\/em><\/p>\n

And Mr. Ham said, let us build a gargantuan Noah\u2019s ark only 45 minutes away to draw millions more visitors. And let it be constructed by Amish woodworkers, and financed with donations, junk bonds and tax rebates from the state of Kentucky. And let it hold an animatronic Noah and lifelike models of some of the creatures that came on board two-by-two, such as bears, short-necked giraffes \u2014 and juvenile Tyrannosaurus rexes.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it was so.<\/em><\/p>\n

The not witty part:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason we are building the ark is not as an entertainment center,\u201d [Ken] Ham said in an interview in a cabin overlooking the construction site. \u201cI mean it\u2019s not like a Disney or Universal, just for anyone to go and have fun. It\u2019s a religious purpose. It\u2019s because we\u2019re Christians and we want to get the Christian message out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The ark is also intended to serve as a vivid warning that, according to the Bible, God sent a flood in Noah\u2019s time to wipe out a depraved people, and God will deliver a fiery end to those who reject the Bible and accept modern-day evils like abortion, atheism and same-sex marriage<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re becoming more like the days of Noah in that we see increasing secularization in the culture,\u201d Mr. Ham said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet his interpretation of what he calls \u201cthe Christian message\u201d is derided by most scientists and educators, and resented even by some Christians who consider it indefensible and even embarrassing. Young earthers believe that God created the universe in six 24-hour days, and since all of history is only 6,000 years, humans coexisted with dinosaurs. An exhibit at the Creation Museum shows two smiling children playing in a lush garden next to two petite Tyrannosaurus rexes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Big sigh from me. And from Bill Nye, the Science Guy:<\/p>\n

Bill Nye, best known as \u201cthe science guy\u201d on television and in books, said in a telephone interview, \u201cHumans and ancient dinosaurs did not live at the same time. It\u2019s completely unreasonable.\u201d Science has established that the earth is billions of years old, and no worldwide flood occurred in the last 6,000 years.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to raise a generation of kids who are scientifically illiterate,\u201d said Mr. Nye, who debated Mr. Ham at the Creation Museum in 2014, a matchup watched online by millions.<\/em><\/p>\n

But geez, they’ll know Ken Ham’s bible.<\/p>\n

By the way, Mr. Ham, I learned, is Australian by birth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ken Ham is erecting a colossal model of Noah\u2019s ark to spread a particular brand of Christian fundamentalism, known as \u201cyoung earth\u201d or \u201cyoung universe\u201d creationism. Source: A Noah\u2019s Ark in Kentucky, Dinosaurs Included – The New York Times A … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[672],"class_list":["post-28279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-god-problem","tag-the-god-problem-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t