Folks, the correct term is "missionary lizards," not "dinosaurs." The atheists call them "dinosaurs."

 

I stand corrected.

I thought that changed, at least the getting money from the state.

 

That same buddy of mine they kicked out is a member of some type of free thinking group that lobbied the state not to fund the Ark and I believe they were successful.

 

Anyone?

 

 

Ark park construction steams ahead despite tax incentive rift

 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. – In a clearing within the wooded, hilly countryside of Grant County, two large cranes swoop over a sprawling concrete skeleton of what the developers say will become an authentic replica of Noah’s Ark.

 

About 35 workers move about the structure and nearby stacks of long wooden beams, timber of all sorts, and the first formed wooden ribs of a massive ship.

 

Construction of Ark Encounter, the Noah’s Ark theme park of the Christian ministry Answers in Genesis, is well underway — even as U.S. District Court considers the question of whether the religious attraction is eligible for $18 million in state tax incentives.

 

Mike Zovath, chief action officer and co-founder of AiG, said during a recent tour of the site that the ark will be built and AiG hopes to open the park next summer regardless.

 

“The tax incentives, the tax rebates, have nothing to do with construction,” Zovath said. “... We didn’t even include that in our budget or bond offering. That would all be used for future expansion.”

 

State officials — including Gov. Steve Beshear — initially embraced the project when proposed in 2010 as an attraction that would lure thousands of tourists to the state. But last December state Tourism, Arts and Heritage Secretary Bob Stewart rejected AiG’s application for the tax rebates because “the project has evolved from a tourism attraction to an extension of AiG’s ministry.”

 

To award tax incentives, Stewart said in a letter to AiG, would violate separation of church and state provisions of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions.

 

AiG responded by filing suit in U.S. District Court against Stewart and Beshear claiming that the state government’s denial of its participation in the tourism incentive program amounted to unconstitutional discrimination against its religious beliefs. The case is pending.

 

Gil Lawson, spokesman for the tourism cabinet, said Stewart declined to comment on AiG’s decision to press ahead with construction.

 

Critics of any taxpayer support for the religious project said they have no objection to work proceeding with private funding. “As long as they’re not doing it with state support, that’s their own business,” said Daniel Phelps, president of the Kentucky Paleontological Society.

 

Rob Boston, communications director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has asked to intervene in the lawsuit, had a similar reaction. But Boston said, “The fact that Ark Encounter has been able to take this process so far indicates they don’t need any taxpayer support.”

 

Answers in Genesis, which opened its Creation Museum in Boone County in 2007 without the help of any state government incentives, embraces a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis and a belief that the Earth is only 6,000 years old — a view that runs counter to those of scientists.

 

Zovath said construction of the ark began last August after the state gave preliminary approval for the tax incentives it later denied.

 

Under the oversight of construction manager Troyer Group One Source, of Mishawaka, Ind., about 20 percent of the work on the $84 million project is already finished, Zovath said.

 

 

 

Workers are nearly ready to begin assembling the wooden ark atop the one-story concrete base and between support towers that are nearly complete. Zovath said that upon completion, the ark will be “the largest timber-frame structure in the world” — 510 feet long and 81 feet high.

 

The ark will need 3.2 million board feet of wood, he said. “If you laid it end-to-end it would get you from here to Philadelphia.”

 

Last week, AiG opened the construction site for public viewing from a cabin and observation deck just outside the hard hat area. It is charging $20 per vehicle ($10 for Creation Museum members) for the viewing opportunity.

 

Zovath said visitors are being charged to cover the cost of building and staffing the observation site. And he acknowledged few visitors have arrived so far but said traffic will pick up during the summer months, particularly when the timber structure begins to go up.

 

Mike and Sheri Blalock, of Dallas, stopped by the site this week during a visit with relatives in Northern Kentucky who work at the Creation Museum. “We read about it in the Bible all the time,” Mike Blalock said. “So I wanted to take this in, and even though that’s just the base out there right now, you can begin to see just how big it really is. I think it’s going to be first class.”

 

To skeptics who say the ark park would never be built, or will not be completed, without state tax incentives, Zovath said, “Pay your $20 and come out and see how far we’ve come so far. We just don’t need the incentives to get this thing built at this point in time.”

 

That doesn’t mean, he stressed, that AiG isn’t still pressing in court to get those incentives — which under the state program would be up to $18 million in rebates of a portion of the sales tax the park collected during the first 10 years after it is open.

 

Zovath said AiG decided to acquire property for the project in Kentucky only after several encouraging actions by the state, including Beshear’s comments in support at a December 2010 news conference.

 

“That incentive deal is the right of any attraction that meets all of the standards that the state put forward,” Zovath said. “And the integrity of the state is at issue here. We looked around at Indiana and Ohio. And the incentives for bringing the tourist attraction to Kentucky were the reason we decided on this particular site.”

 

But Stewart said in his letter of last December that postings on AiG’s website and correspondence with the state showed that the original project had changed from a secular tourist attraction to become one that would advance religion as well as discriminate in hiring based on religion.

 

“Even though the Commonwealth cannot support this new ministry with Tourism Development incentives, we acknowledge and appreciate (AiG’s) plans to develop this project in Kentucky, regardless of the availability of incentives,” Stewart wrote.

 

Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @TomLoftus_CJ.

Thanks la, that contained a lot of good info.

A microcosm of religion... just accept... don't think ....don't question.

 

Sounds a lot like the direction our education system is going. Indoctrination, not education.

I could see RTS getting kicked out of the Creation Museum for starting a ruckus not because of the lack of science but because the don't serve beer.

 

 

 

 

 

OK, I say that assuming most creationists are also teetotalers. If I am wrong and they do server beer, my joke was really dumb. LOL.

Sounds a lot like the direction our education system is going. Indoctrination, not education.

 

 

In religious-based schools... yes.

In religious-based schools... yes.

 

Actually I was referring more to the public school system as religious based schools more and more putting less emphasis on religious education but 90% still provide an excellent education.

Edited June 17, 201511 yr by Bert

Sounds a lot like the direction our education system is going. Indoctrination, not education.

 

Particularly our universities.

Particularly our universities.

 

Unfortunately it is getting worse across all levels of education. I heard about where a student was suspended about a paper he wrote because he was deemed as a danger to the rest of the students. The students were to write about an instance where people stood up to injustice from the government. Most students wrote about the civil rights stand ins and such. This student wrote about the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN (I think 1943). An event in American History that has been pretty much censored out of the class room. I was impressed the kid had even heard of the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN, I bet most American History teachers have never heard of it.

Unfortunately it is getting worse across all levels of education. I heard about where a student was suspended about a paper he wrote because he was deemed as a danger to the rest of the students. The students were to write about an instance where people stood up to injustice from the government. Most students wrote about the civil rights stand ins and such. This student wrote about the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN (I think 1943). An event in American History that has been pretty much censored out of the class room. I was impressed the kid had even heard of the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN, I bet most American History teachers have never heard of it.

 

"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it..."

Unfortunately it is getting worse across all levels of education. I heard about where a student was suspended about a paper he wrote because he was deemed as a danger to the rest of the students. The students were to write about an instance where people stood up to injustice from the government. Most students wrote about the civil rights stand ins and such. This student wrote about the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN (I think 1943). An event in American History that has been pretty much censored out of the class room. I was impressed the kid had even heard of the 1943 Battle of Athens, TN, I bet most American History teachers have never heard of it.

 

Correction, 1946

Toured the museum a few years back out of general curiosity. Some stuff was humorous, like dinosaurs climbing aboard the ark. Some stuff was wrong -- "Here I stand" was not part of Luther's 95 theses. Thought the names of some coffee drinks were humorous -- "Give me a 'John 3:16 latte,' please." My general impression was that this was the type of place that would appeal to people like the Duggars, religious home-schoolers, etc. Thought the exhibits themselves were fairly well thought-out and constructed. I can see where some people would be asked to leave for vocalizing their opinions.

 

Question for Catholic parents: Do Catholic schoolkids regularly tour the museum as part of school curriculum? If not, why not?[/QUOTE]

NO, the Catholic church sees the Bible story of Genesis as the allegorical story where a loving God created the universe. It is not a scientific paper. There is no conflict between the teachings of the Catholic Church and modern science.

In addition, the Catholic church would probably not agree with the teaching the museum espouses on what a person needs to do to be saved.

 

I went to the museum hoping to find a lot more information regarding how creationists view the data differently than evolutionists. In other words, to see exhibits showing their interpretation of the data and where and why it is different from evolutionists. This is done a little bit but not enough. They mostly are promoting their history of mankind timeline of the 7 C's because this is how they are able to include the gospel.

 

BTW, Ken Hamm is quite happy to debate with those who differ with him but probably not at the museum during hours when it is open to the general public. He probably doesn't want the employees there doing so either. That sort of thing would hardly yield anything positive.

 

Another BTW, regarding Christianity, indoctrination and not allowing any questioning, I don't think that is a fair representation. Many great scientists in history were believers and quite devout. The Bible is actually one of the foundations of western culture and Christians have a long history of valuing education and science. The first universities in the U.S. were church related institutions. Many of them have since lost their way and are completely secular.