RubySoho
Winston
Come on, kids! It's better than Disney World.......it's the Creation Museum!
July 1st 2008 23:04
Hooray for Ken Ham's Creation Museum! Now you and the family can head to Petersburg, Kentucky, and see the Good Science and Good News for yourselves! It's the most fun that you'll ever have making yourself dumber!
OK, enough sarcasm I suppose. That's really more Ruby's area here than mine anyway. The reason I'm bringing up the insult to intelligence known as the Creation Museum is because it was recently mentioned to me during a discussion in which someone was attempting to cite legitimate scientists who support creationism and intelligent design as viable alternative theories to evolution. I have to admit, my jaw dropped a little. Of all the examples I would have picked if I were trying to argue for creationism or ID, I can't think of much I would have relied on less than Ken Ham's nonsensical edifice to ignorance.
First of all, some of you may wonder who Ken Ham is (then again, many of you being Australian, you may already know as much as you need to about him). Mr. Ham is an Australian evangelical Christian. More importantly Mr. Ham is a fundamentalist with a special affinity for the Book of Genesis, which he believes to be literally true, snake, apple, Flood, and all. This, of course, necessitates a number of other beliefs, such as humans and dinosaurs living together and that the earth is about 6000 years old in total. Mr. Ham has worked with the Institute for Creation Research (an unintentionally hilarious appellation if there ever was one), and founded his own group, Answers in Genesis. AiG's focus is to spread the idea of the literal truth of Genesis, and it also strives to weaken ideas about evolution, astronomy, geology, etc. that dispute the literalist interpretation of the Bible.
There, that's Ken Ham done with. There's plenty more, but none of it worth discussing. What is worth a bit more discussion is the Creation Museum, opened in Kentucky in May of 2007 and funded by private donations to AiG. Now, since it's sponsored by private funding, Mr. Ham and the AiG group have every right to open this "museum" and promote whatever views they see fit. More power to them. However, I feel it is the duty of anyone with a true love of knowledge and truth to point out just how laughable the "museum" really is.
Let me run down a few of the great exhibits you'll find at the museum, and then I'll let Mr. Ham speak for himself. At the Creation Museum, you can see:
*A fully engaging, sensory experience for guests. Murals and realistic scenery, computer-generated visual effects, over fifty exotic animals, life-sized people (Holy crap! Life-sized people!?) and dinosaur animatronics, and a special-effects theater complete with misty sea breezes and rumbling seats. These are just some of the impressive exhibits that everyone in your family will enjoy.
*The Walk Through Biblical History: Using the Bible as your starting point, prepare to travel back 6,000 years (See? I wasn't making that up) to the dawn of creation as you enjoy the Six Days Theater. Witness the true time line of the universe unfold through the 7 C’s of History. The final three C’s of Christ, Cross, and Consummation provide a powerful finale to our centerpiece in the Last Adam Theater—illuminating God’s redemptive plan throughout history.
*The Dinosaur Den: Biblical history is the key to understanding dinosaurs (Huh? I mean.....huh?). Explore many of these amazing creatures along with fossilized dinosaur eggs, a triceratops skeleton casting and much more!
*The Dragon Theater: Have you ever wondered where stories of dragons came from? Did dinosaurs ever live alongside people? (No. Oh, wait, I was supposed to say yes?) Come into the Dragon Theater to uncover the truth about dinosaurs and dragon legends.
Wow. And that's just SOME of the science you can learn there! But please, Mr. Ham, expound upon your ideas. Delve into your vast scientific knowledge and endow me with your wisdom. I'm listening. Tell me about Biblical history and dinosaurs.
"Dinosaurs certainly did roam the Earth in the ancient past! Fossils of dinosaurs have been found all over the world, and their bones are displayed in museums for all to see. Scientists have been able to reconstruct many of their skeletons, so we know much about how they may have looked."
I'm with you so far.
"The story of their discovery began back in the 1820s, when Gideon Mantell, an English doctor, found some unusual teeth and bones in a quarry. Dr Mantell realized there was something very different about these animal remains, and believed that he had found an entirely new group of reptiles. By 1841, about nine types of these different reptiles had been uncovered, including two called Megalosaurus and Iguanodon."
Mmmhmmm, no problems yet.
"Other than the huge size of some dinosaurs, the major feature that really distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles (such as crocodiles) is the position of their limbs. Dinosaurs had posture that was fully erect, similar to that in mammals. Most other reptiles have limbs in a sprawling position."
Wow, maybe we really do agree!
"As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth almost 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals (including the dinosaurs) occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000!), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right (and it is!), dinosaurs must have lived within the past thousands of years."
Right aga......waitaminute, what? Oh. Seems we've hit a snag. Anything else?
"The Bible tells us that God created all of the land animals on the sixth day of creation. As dinosaurs were land animals, they must have been made on this day, alongside Adam and Eve, who were also created on Day Six (Genesis 1:24-31). If God designed and created dinosaurs, they would have been fully functional, designed to do what they were created for, and would have been 100% dinosaur. This fits exactly with the evidence from the fossil record.
Evolutionists declare that no man ever lived alongside dinosaurs. The Bible, however, makes it plain that dinosaurs and people must have lived together. Actually, as we will soon see, there is a lot of evidence for this."
Uhhhhh-huhhhhhh........
"The Bible teaches (in Genesis 1:29-30) that the original animals (and the first humans) were commanded to be vegetarian. There were no meat eaters in the original creation. Furthermore, there was no death. It was an unblemished world, with Adam and Eve and animals (including dinosaurs) living in perfect harmony, eating only plants."
So.......T-Rex ate lettuce? Velociraptor enjoyed hay? Makes sense. I mean, just look at those dull, plant-grinding teeth they have.
"Well, what happened to all the land animals that did not go on the Ark? Very simply, they drowned. Many would have been covered with tons of mud as the rampaging water covered the land (Genesis 7:11-12,19). Because of this quick burial, many of the animals would have been preserved as fossils. If this happened, you would expect to find evidence of billions of dead things buried in rock layers (formed from this mud) all over the Earth. This is exactly what you do find.
By the way, the Flood of Noah’s day probably occurred just over 4,500 years ago. Creationists believe that this event formed many of the fossil layers around the Earth."
4500 years? Dinosaurs completely fossilized in 4500 years? Dinosaurs broke down into vast oceans of oil in 4500 years? Dinosaur bones are found in rock layers with radioactive half lives of MILLIONS of years because they're 4500 years old? Ken, at what point do you finally say "just kidding"?
Well, those are Ken's arguments from Ken's website. They are the same arguments you'll get at the Creation Museum, along with other, even dumber ones. There is no way for me to offer even a trace of respect, or really anything other than pure derision, for the Creation Museum. I can't even take the name seriously. This isn't a museum. There is no testament to knowledge in that building. It is a cheap carnival show dressed up with modern trim, a circus of misinformation designed to indoctrinate children with ignorance and vaccinate them against reason. It's a sham with pretty lights and a petting zoo, and it's all designed to cloud the truth so thoroughly that the uninformed have no hope of discerning the reality it obscures.
There's really not much for me to add. Now, those of you reading this are either trying to restrain yourselves from gouging your own eyes out just to prevent any more concentrated idiocy from penetrating your ocular membranes.....or you're nodding in agreement with Ken's ideas and wondering what my problem is. If you are the latter person, please, please, please, please, please do some more research. Look into evolutionary theory some more and get a REAL idea of what it says, not a view distorted by a pastor or dogmatic religious theology. Knowledge and truth are so critical to us as a species, so essential for appreciating our place in the universe. I'm not saying that people need to abandon their religious beliefs. However, people do need to take a critical look at what they believe and how it stacks up against scientific evidence, and not just toss knowledge aside when it conflicts with a cherished, fanciful notion. Truth is what it is, not what we wish it to be. Ken Ham can make all the museums he wants, he can preach all the misinformation he likes, but there is one thing he can't do, and that's alter reality. It will defy him for eternity.
Now, who's ready to hit the "Creation Adventure Workshop"?
*all text demarked with an asterisk taken directly from Creation Museum website
information for this post taken from the following websites:
www.creationmuseum.org
www.answersingenesis.org
http://en.wikipedia.org
http\:\/\/en\.wikipedia\.org\ /wiki\/Ken_Ham
OK, enough sarcasm I suppose. That's really more Ruby's area here than mine anyway. The reason I'm bringing up the insult to intelligence known as the Creation Museum is because it was recently mentioned to me during a discussion in which someone was attempting to cite legitimate scientists who support creationism and intelligent design as viable alternative theories to evolution. I have to admit, my jaw dropped a little. Of all the examples I would have picked if I were trying to argue for creationism or ID, I can't think of much I would have relied on less than Ken Ham's nonsensical edifice to ignorance.
First of all, some of you may wonder who Ken Ham is (then again, many of you being Australian, you may already know as much as you need to about him). Mr. Ham is an Australian evangelical Christian. More importantly Mr. Ham is a fundamentalist with a special affinity for the Book of Genesis, which he believes to be literally true, snake, apple, Flood, and all. This, of course, necessitates a number of other beliefs, such as humans and dinosaurs living together and that the earth is about 6000 years old in total. Mr. Ham has worked with the Institute for Creation Research (an unintentionally hilarious appellation if there ever was one), and founded his own group, Answers in Genesis. AiG's focus is to spread the idea of the literal truth of Genesis, and it also strives to weaken ideas about evolution, astronomy, geology, etc. that dispute the literalist interpretation of the Bible.
There, that's Ken Ham done with. There's plenty more, but none of it worth discussing. What is worth a bit more discussion is the Creation Museum, opened in Kentucky in May of 2007 and funded by private donations to AiG. Now, since it's sponsored by private funding, Mr. Ham and the AiG group have every right to open this "museum" and promote whatever views they see fit. More power to them. However, I feel it is the duty of anyone with a true love of knowledge and truth to point out just how laughable the "museum" really is.
Let me run down a few of the great exhibits you'll find at the museum, and then I'll let Mr. Ham speak for himself. At the Creation Museum, you can see:
*A fully engaging, sensory experience for guests. Murals and realistic scenery, computer-generated visual effects, over fifty exotic animals, life-sized people (Holy crap! Life-sized people!?) and dinosaur animatronics, and a special-effects theater complete with misty sea breezes and rumbling seats. These are just some of the impressive exhibits that everyone in your family will enjoy.
*The Walk Through Biblical History: Using the Bible as your starting point, prepare to travel back 6,000 years (See? I wasn't making that up) to the dawn of creation as you enjoy the Six Days Theater. Witness the true time line of the universe unfold through the 7 C’s of History. The final three C’s of Christ, Cross, and Consummation provide a powerful finale to our centerpiece in the Last Adam Theater—illuminating God’s redemptive plan throughout history.
*The Dinosaur Den: Biblical history is the key to understanding dinosaurs (Huh? I mean.....huh?). Explore many of these amazing creatures along with fossilized dinosaur eggs, a triceratops skeleton casting and much more!
*The Dragon Theater: Have you ever wondered where stories of dragons came from? Did dinosaurs ever live alongside people? (No. Oh, wait, I was supposed to say yes?) Come into the Dragon Theater to uncover the truth about dinosaurs and dragon legends.
Wow. And that's just SOME of the science you can learn there! But please, Mr. Ham, expound upon your ideas. Delve into your vast scientific knowledge and endow me with your wisdom. I'm listening. Tell me about Biblical history and dinosaurs.
"Dinosaurs certainly did roam the Earth in the ancient past! Fossils of dinosaurs have been found all over the world, and their bones are displayed in museums for all to see. Scientists have been able to reconstruct many of their skeletons, so we know much about how they may have looked."
I'm with you so far.
"The story of their discovery began back in the 1820s, when Gideon Mantell, an English doctor, found some unusual teeth and bones in a quarry. Dr Mantell realized there was something very different about these animal remains, and believed that he had found an entirely new group of reptiles. By 1841, about nine types of these different reptiles had been uncovered, including two called Megalosaurus and Iguanodon."
Mmmhmmm, no problems yet.
"Other than the huge size of some dinosaurs, the major feature that really distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles (such as crocodiles) is the position of their limbs. Dinosaurs had posture that was fully erect, similar to that in mammals. Most other reptiles have limbs in a sprawling position."
Wow, maybe we really do agree!
"As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth almost 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals (including the dinosaurs) occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000!), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right (and it is!), dinosaurs must have lived within the past thousands of years."
Right aga......waitaminute, what? Oh. Seems we've hit a snag. Anything else?
"The Bible tells us that God created all of the land animals on the sixth day of creation. As dinosaurs were land animals, they must have been made on this day, alongside Adam and Eve, who were also created on Day Six (Genesis 1:24-31). If God designed and created dinosaurs, they would have been fully functional, designed to do what they were created for, and would have been 100% dinosaur. This fits exactly with the evidence from the fossil record.
Evolutionists declare that no man ever lived alongside dinosaurs. The Bible, however, makes it plain that dinosaurs and people must have lived together. Actually, as we will soon see, there is a lot of evidence for this."
Uhhhhh-huhhhhhh........
"The Bible teaches (in Genesis 1:29-30) that the original animals (and the first humans) were commanded to be vegetarian. There were no meat eaters in the original creation. Furthermore, there was no death. It was an unblemished world, with Adam and Eve and animals (including dinosaurs) living in perfect harmony, eating only plants."
So.......T-Rex ate lettuce? Velociraptor enjoyed hay? Makes sense. I mean, just look at those dull, plant-grinding teeth they have.
"Well, what happened to all the land animals that did not go on the Ark? Very simply, they drowned. Many would have been covered with tons of mud as the rampaging water covered the land (Genesis 7:11-12,19). Because of this quick burial, many of the animals would have been preserved as fossils. If this happened, you would expect to find evidence of billions of dead things buried in rock layers (formed from this mud) all over the Earth. This is exactly what you do find.
By the way, the Flood of Noah’s day probably occurred just over 4,500 years ago. Creationists believe that this event formed many of the fossil layers around the Earth."
4500 years? Dinosaurs completely fossilized in 4500 years? Dinosaurs broke down into vast oceans of oil in 4500 years? Dinosaur bones are found in rock layers with radioactive half lives of MILLIONS of years because they're 4500 years old? Ken, at what point do you finally say "just kidding"?
Well, those are Ken's arguments from Ken's website. They are the same arguments you'll get at the Creation Museum, along with other, even dumber ones. There is no way for me to offer even a trace of respect, or really anything other than pure derision, for the Creation Museum. I can't even take the name seriously. This isn't a museum. There is no testament to knowledge in that building. It is a cheap carnival show dressed up with modern trim, a circus of misinformation designed to indoctrinate children with ignorance and vaccinate them against reason. It's a sham with pretty lights and a petting zoo, and it's all designed to cloud the truth so thoroughly that the uninformed have no hope of discerning the reality it obscures.
There's really not much for me to add. Now, those of you reading this are either trying to restrain yourselves from gouging your own eyes out just to prevent any more concentrated idiocy from penetrating your ocular membranes.....or you're nodding in agreement with Ken's ideas and wondering what my problem is. If you are the latter person, please, please, please, please, please do some more research. Look into evolutionary theory some more and get a REAL idea of what it says, not a view distorted by a pastor or dogmatic religious theology. Knowledge and truth are so critical to us as a species, so essential for appreciating our place in the universe. I'm not saying that people need to abandon their religious beliefs. However, people do need to take a critical look at what they believe and how it stacks up against scientific evidence, and not just toss knowledge aside when it conflicts with a cherished, fanciful notion. Truth is what it is, not what we wish it to be. Ken Ham can make all the museums he wants, he can preach all the misinformation he likes, but there is one thing he can't do, and that's alter reality. It will defy him for eternity.
Now, who's ready to hit the "Creation Adventure Workshop"?
*all text demarked with an asterisk taken directly from Creation Museum website
information for this post taken from the following websites:
www.creationmuseum.org
www.answersingenesis.org
http://en.wikipedia.org
http\:\/\/en\.wikipedia\.org\ /wiki\/Ken_Ham
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Comment by Triple B
SPL Focus
Black Books
"No apparent, perceived, or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record,"
In other words, if it doesn't fit with his beliefs it's wrong, no matter how much evidence he is shown to the contrary. It's frightening that around half of the schools in America favour teaching creationism over evolution...
Comment by Thoraiya Dyer
Demented World
(It's either laugh or cry...today I'm choosing to laugh...and the sarcastic comments help, ha ha)
Triple B: Well spotted...not much hope for continuing research, then?
Let's hope more of these don't spring up everywhere, diluting the integrity of real museums.
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
You know, as much as I don't understand it, I can handle it when people refuse to accept science when it contradicts their religious beliefs. What I can't accept when they attempt to denigrate science by claiming their beliefs are on the same level regarding probability and fact. Nothing sets me off so much as someone saying evolution and creation are both 'theories' which need to be given equal time.
Give creation all the time you want in church but I think kids should actually learn something in school.
Comment by Josie
Unique Parent
Comment by Jeff Musall
Secular Humanity
Comment by alt_ed
Alted Opinion
ArtCombat
The Inner Saintdom
Well, as silly as it may be, i guess if Ken wants to run his bogus jesus ass'kissing museum its his right to do so. BUT seriously people, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD ATTEND?
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
The number of people here in the U.S. who put stock in creationism (and simultaneously scoff at evolution) is simply stunning. One of those ideas has just as little intellectual pedigree as its imaginary, mythological premise suggests, while the other has 150 years of science behind it. How there is still a debate is beyond me, but Ken Ham and his idiot factory surely don't help the matter any.
Thanks for the comment!
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Ruby - I definitely understand your distinction, but they both piss me off about equally. In the end they both amount to willful ignorance. Of course, many creationists are truly misinformed and misdirected. In a sense, they may lack the capacity to interpret the data correctly, if they've been raised from infancy to filter everything through the Bible. The Creation Museum exists to establish and affirm that filter, and as such it's an affront to education.
Josie - Regarding the "proving" of creationist theories - for one thing, science never actually "proves" anything (outside of mathematics). That's not how the word applies in terms of scientific theory and research. All that happens is more weight is added to a theory, but it can generally never be proved beyond all doubt. So, right off the bat the creationists misuse terminology. That's no surprise, since they also torture every other aspect of science they can get their hands on. And you are absolutely correct. The only people claiming to "prove" anything in support of theology are those already invested in that theology.
Thanks for the comment!
Jeff - For the most part, fundamentalist beliefs trend towards people with a lower degree of education. However, there are also a surprising number of well-educated, sometimes brilliant, people who swallow much of the same tripe. It is inexplicable to me, except in terms of willful self-deception. I can only speculate that sometimes an individual's ability to compartmentalize their thinking overrides their clarity of perception. We're all guilty of that, to an extent, some people just a bit more so in the area of religion.
alt_ed - Far too many people would want to attend, sadly enough. Although, for a good laugh, I would most likely attend if I were closer to it. I don't know if it would make me angry or amuse the hell out of me (probably both), but I would be intrigued either way.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
great post!
i hope it was inspired in small part by my little evolution tantrum (its a fuckn FACT) haha
now i want to pick out the funniest bits:
(i know that wasnt even your words but it was still extremely funny!)
and finally
i have enjoyed myself immensely!
Ruby has been a fantastic influence on you . . . oh hang on youre one and the same right?
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
As for the sarcasm, it's pretty much my first language IRL. I just tone it down a lot here, as it isn't the best method for me to express my viewpoints most of the time. Every now and then I indulge myself a bit, though.
-Winby
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone