The Ham That Roared

The ongoing drama surrounding the coming Ark Encounters theme park just keeps getting kookier. The Courier-Journal is continuing its ongoing skeptical investigation of the full-scale ark replica project, and the controversial Answers in Genesis isn't taking it lying down.

I'd prefer if all parties would just leave our pal Ken Ham alone and let him schleprock on with his Flintstone self - as I've said before, I think people should be allowed and even encouraged to pursue their own private vision and their worldview, even if that vision is completely and utterly out of agreement with the rest of humankind.

It's just too easy to make fun of Ham and his lifelong dream of making Kentucky a Christian Creationist mecca; it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Let the man work. I'm actually really looking forward to the mind-meltingly surreal theme park becoming a reality - mark my words, it will be a road-tripping destination for seekers of Kentucky weirdness, just like his Creation Museum.

P.Z. Myers at Science Blogs takes a predictably snarky tack, referring to Mr. Ham as "the Squealing Piglet". Myers does, however, rightly point out Ham's pathological intolerance for being criticized or questioned. Ham, faced with a new Courier-Journal article in which experts debunk exaggerated claims of attendance, pulled the "more Kentuckian than thou" card and posted this on his Facebook:

"They just don't let up in their anti-Christian agenda driven vendetta against this phenomenal project. We are preparing a response that will be our lead article on the www.AnswersInGenesis.org website. As we are composing the rebuttal now, we'll take my blog item from Saturday and update and adapt it as our response to a newspaper that seems to want to have the Ark be built in another state -- and apparently doesn't care about the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars that would end up elsewhere. Not very pro-Kentucky, is it, for a Kentucky paper?"

Even more worthy of letting one's head hit the desk, the Facebook comments Ham received range from the hilariously telling:

"This is why we quit reading newspapers"

To the embarrassingly bourgeois:

"You say this was a Louisville paper? Well there you go, they really aren't Kentuckians, they bleed red and not blue"

To the jaw-droppingly scary:

"This reporting comes from the father of lies...the deceiver...it is a project that brings God glory and is bound to be a target. Gear up...put on the full armor of God. The shield of faith is a very beautiful picture "painted" by the Apostle Paul. In the historical context of this "picture" the Roman shield was covered with leather then soaked in water...Paul says to take up the shield of faith to put out the flaming arrows of the enemy..."

Can't we all just get along?

Probably not, because Ham's latest volley against the "vendetta" only escalates the war of insults and innuendo:

"We believe, based on previous Ark-related comments made in the newspaper, that the Courier-Journal’s opposition to the Ark Encounter has everything to do with the religious content of the project and the editors’ dislike for something that wants to show that the Bible is true from the very first verse.

Given the track record of the Courier-Journal, our conclusion is that the paper’s editors are trying to discourage people from getting behind the project by employing scare tactics to try to move the Ark Encounter out of state...

Just as God blessed the Creation Museum amidst tremendous secularist opposition it received several years ago, we are confident He will also bless AiG’s latest effort to build yet another complex that will honor and defend His infallible Word."

*sits back, munches popcorn*

Want to lend a hand to help make our state a weirder place to live in, and help Ham build his ark? Click here! You can sponsor a piece of the ark - $100 for a peg, $1000 for a plank, and $5000 for a beam! You can also donate on the phone by calling toll-free 1-855-CTHEARK (1-855-284-3275).

Creationist Theme Park

On Wednesday, Governor Steve Beshear held a press conference to cheerfully announce that Kentucky will soon have the dubious distinction of being home to "Ark Encounters", the world's largest Christian Creationist theme park. Stranger still, it may be done with partial state funding.

Is that legal? Not everyone is convinced that the arrangement doesn't violate Church-State separation issues. The Courier-Journal quoted Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, as saying he hasn't decided yet whether or not to sue. But they also quote prominent Kentucky atheist Edwin Kagin stating that he doesn’t think there's any grounds for a lawsuit.

And though I usually don't come down on the same side as Kagin (I don't have much kind things to say about atheism in general), for once, I agree with him. The loophole by which the theme park qualifies for state funding is through tax incentives, and even legal scholars who hate Creationism are grudgingly agreeing that the arrangement is legit.

Personally, I have no problem with the idea of the Ark Encounters park, even though I don't share their beliefs. Nowadays, religion seems to play a much smaller part in the average American's life, and the "separation of Church and State" routine is increasingly wielded as a kudgel against certain religions, and against the idea of religion itself. I say, let there be lavish theme parks for all religious beliefs, even obscure ones. Could be epic, if you think about it.

The park is being brought to you by a for-profit group called Ark Encounters LLC and a non-profit group called Answers in Genesis, the folks who brought you Kentucky's Creation Museum.

You may remember that I wrote about the Creation Museum in a somewhat irreverent style in Weird Kentucky, which prompted Ken Ham to fire back a rebuttal on his site, and also prompted an angry letter to me from one of his faithful. When writing the book, I had sources for each of the points that Mr. Ham takes umbrage to - not even including my firsthand experience - but that's not the point. I knew full well when I wrote it that it would be publicity for the Museum, and as Bela Lugosi said, "there's no such thing as bad publicity." Ham himself even acknowledges this:

Regardless — it is all still advertising! We have met a number of people who have come to the Creation Museum out of sheer curiosity because of hearing things like this—and we praise the Lord that they come! At least they will hear the gospel clearly presented.

And so I find myself in the odd position of supporting Mr. Ham and his enterprises, even though I disagree with the premise they're based on, and even though Mr. Ham himself doesn't seem to get that I'm actually trying to help him despite our differences. There are many religion-hating persons who seek to stop Creationists from spreading their message like this - I am not among them. Unlike arrogant atheists like Bill Maher, I wholeheartedly support what Mr. Ham is doing, even if I do find his Flintstones-esque message to be scientifically incorrect and scripturally unsound.

Ham & Co. probably don't welcome my support, however, since I just don't fall into lockstep with their dogma. Ham is at his most frightening when he says: "The issue we challenge people with concerns not undermining (thus rejecting) the absolute authority of God’s Word!" Ham's idea of God has much more important supporters on his side, anyway - like Gov. Beshear himself, who seems absolutely thrilled about all this. From Forbes:

Gov. Steve Beshear said he favors providing the tax incentives to encourage investors to move ahead with the Ark Encounter project that investors claim would create about 900 permanent jobs and have a $214 million economic impact in its first year of operation. The governor, who is seeking re-election next year, showed little patience with people who object to the project on religious grounds.

"The people of Kentucky didn't elect me governor to debate religion," Beshear said. "They elected me governor to create jobs. That's what we're doing here, and that's what we're going to continue to do."

Letters, We Get Letters

From the ol' JSH mailbag yesterday came this friendly and charming e-mail:

Mr. Holland,
I was very disappointed to see your page on the Creation Museum contain so many inaccuracies. Adam and Eve are presented as being middle brown, not Caucasian, there is no mention of people saddling dinosaurs ( the dino with a saddle on it is for picture taking), and there is absolutely no statement anywhere that says pornography and abortion are a direct result of the earth being millions of years old. Your statement that there are no reputable source citations provided for its claims is a lie. You don't agree with their opinion, that's all. Many, many educated scientists are on staff, but because they hold a different interpretation of evidence than you, they are not qualified or reputable? Your facts are wrong and you misrepresent the museum's position, isn't it funny that you did what you accuse them of doing? I am surprised your editor allowed so many lies into the book. Where is your professionalism?
Pam in CA

To which the author responds:

I'm not going to argue about it. I never claimed to have, or to seek, "professionalism" - whatever that means. I'm a lout. I suck. So does ABC News. So does Richard Dawkins. So does City Beat. So does The Chicago Tribune. So does Scientific American. We're all totally wrong and you're totally right. You totally nailed us. Have a great day.