Suburban Cincinnati Religious Museum Wants State $$$ For Ark Park: Sees Jews 'Subject To Everlasting Conscious Punishment'

The Ark Was Crewed By Jews

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Noah is the most famous non-Christian seafarer in history.  He is known to us today through the Hebrew Bible.  The effort to obtain state tourist tax incentives for a Noah's Ark theme park near the creationist museum could end up sailing into shoals of religious discrimination.  All employees at the Answers in Genesis creationist museum in Cincinnati's Kentucky suburbs must supply a "written statement of their testimony" and agree to support the religious group's articles of faith.  AiG requires belief in Jesus Christ and says anybody who isn't Christian is headed straight to hell.  Or, as the statement of faith puts it:  "Those who do not believe in Christ are subject to everlasting conscious punishment, but believers enjoy eternal life with God . . . It is the duty of Christians to attend a local Bible believing church as portrayed in the New Testament."

Clearly, the creationist museum is not very accepting of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or anybody else who happens to have a differing religious philosophy -- or no religious belief at all. It seems to prefer bigotry.  While Answers in Genesis is entitled to its own religious beliefs, can it force employees to adopt them to get a paycheck?  Religious non-profits are not totally exempt from fair hiring laws.  Xavier University, a Jesuit college in Cincinnati, employs Jews and non-Christians.  Hospitals run by Christian religious denominations in Cincinnati hire doctors and nurses and staff from diverse religious backgrounds.  Jewish Hospital hired non-Jews.  Those organizations adhered to non-discrimination rules and laws in order to access federal and state financial aid.  But the creationist museum and its partner are seeking Kentucky Tourism Development incentives to build a new park themed around a giant replica of Noah's Ark.  Noah was a Jew -- if you believe the Old Testament -- and wouldn't be eligible for a job with Answers in Genesis if he somehow showed up and tried to join its crew.

Stephenie Steitzer of the Louisville Courier Journal reports that the proposed Ark park is close to a deal with Kentucky officials to get the aid package:  "The developers are seeking incentives under the Kentucky Tourism Development Act, which allows up to 25 percent of the cost of a project to be recovered. Under the law, the state each year returns to developers of approved projects the sales tax paid by visitors on admission tickets, food, gift sales and lodging costs. Developers have 10 years to reach the 25 percent threshold. Advocates for church-state separation question whether the tax incentives would raise First Amendment issues."

The First Amendment probably is an issue.  But laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on race, creed and national origin likely come into play when a work force is required to meet this test:  "All job applicants need to supply a written statement of their testimony, a statement of what they believe regarding creation and a statement that they have read and can support the AiG statement of faith."

And here's a sample of what the "statement of faith" contains:

Section 3: Theology

1. The Godhead is triune: one God, three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
2. All mankind are sinners, inherently from Adam and individually (by choice), and are therefore subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
3. Freedom from the penalty and power of sin is available to man only through the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ and His complete and bodily resurrection from the dead.
4. The Holy Spirit enables the sinner to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
5. The Holy Spirit lives and works in each believer to produce the fruits of righteousness.
6. Salvation is a gift received by faith alone in Christ alone and expressed in the individual’s repentance, recognition of the death of Christ as full payment for sin, and acceptance of the risen Christ as Savior, Lord, and God.
7. All things necessary for our salvation are expressly set down in Scripture.
8. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
9. Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father, and shall return in person to this earth as Judge of the living and the dead.
10. Satan is the personal spiritual adversary of both God and mankind.
11. Those who do not believe in Christ are subject to everlasting conscious punishment, but believers enjoy eternal life with God.
12. The only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. Any forms of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, pornography, etc., are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.
13. It is the duty of Christians to attend a local Bible believing church, as portrayed in the New Testament.

Ben Stein Evolves Into Michael Moore Of Christian Right: Lands Creationist Museum Invite

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ben Stein has been an actor, professor, presidential speech writer, comedian and newspaper columnist. Now he's stepping into a new role: America's preeminent anti-evolutionist by appearing as onscreen host of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The movie -- out this weekend -- contends scientists who question the theory of evolution run into bias and career roadblocks. Already, the buzz has brought Stein an invitation to appear at Answers in Genesis, the creationist museum in suburban Cincinnati that contends the world is no more than 5,000 years old. The museum takes the Bible literally and has been drawing crowds of true believers.

Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis, says Stein will be on a road tour promoting the movie. He's already asked Stein to drop in and check out the exhibits of dinosaurs living side-by-side with humans:

"I don't know where the Expelled tour intends to stop along their route, but I'd like to offer an open invitation right here to Mr. Stein and those traveling on the bus. Stop by as our guests for a few hours and tour the Creation Museum. In addtion to giving them an education unlike any other, just think how much publicity for both the film and Aig Creation museum that could elicit!"

In this YouTUBE clip for the film, Stein says he's investigating and speaking out against discrimination aimed at those educators who support intelligent design. The bit seems to intended to portray Stein as an alternative universe version of Michael Moore. Perhaps it's an intelligently designed effort to capture some of Moore's schtick for the other end of the political/relgious spectrum.

So far, no word if the creationist center is on Stein's itinerary. The producers have been catching some flak over allegations that they deceived some scientists to appear in the film. Ham says "based on pre-release materials we've seen, the public education establishment will not be happy with Stein or the documentary."

Photo: Courtesy Wikipedia

Christian Home Schoolers Heading For Ohio: Creationist Leader Is Speaker

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Christian home schoolers are going to gather later this month in Cincinnati and will hear from the founder of a creationist museum that takes the Bible literally. Ken Ham scorns the theory of evolution and contends dinosaurs and humans lived alongside each other 6,000 years ago. It is scientific heresy. But his followers would contend Ham's message is Christian orthodoxy straight from the Book of Genesis.

Homeschooling caught on in the 1980s, in part because some Christians found the public schools too secular. The also was a separate counter-cultural branch of the home schooling movement -- a less religious group who saw the public schools as too rigid and lacking creativity. Researchers say there is third wave, the mainstreamers, who use the Internet and come from every walk of life.

In all, there are an estimated two million American children being home schooled, a number split between Christians and those who feel that conventional schooling causes harm. In the late 1990s, there were about 750,000 home schooled children.

The creationist museum is on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, and is set to open in June on a 50-acre site. Ham is an Australian who settled in the Cincinnati area and has become an active speaker on the Christian circuit. His biography says he once taught science. He will be a featured speaker and is slated to address rebuilding the culture. The schedule of workshops and sessions is HERE.

The home school convention is scheduled for Landmark Christian, which has a large campus in Cincinnati's northern suburbs. Bios of the speakers are HERE. An online article in SynergyField.com about the history of homeschooling says the Christians took to it in the 1980s because tax law changes forced many small sectarian schools to close.

"Suddenly, the parents of the students attending these schools were forced with a choice between government school attendance and homeschooling. For many, this wasn't a choice at all, and these Christian families become part of a large second wave of homeschooling. Christian curriculum providers, already well-established businesses that had just lost a large chunk of their original market, followed the money and easily courted the new market of homeschooling parents."

Cincy-Area Creationist Museum: Seeks Police Powers

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Answers-in-Genesis Creation Museum that now plans a June opening in suburban Cincinnati wants Kentucky's governor to grant its security guards special police powers to make arrests and control crowds. The $25 million museum is on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and will be stocked with exhibits that portray the Earth as about 6,000 years old, an interpretation that takes the Biblical story of Genesis as literally true. Dinosaur models were being installed this month. The museum makes no bones about its religious roots, and is a Christian effort to counter Darwin's theory of evolution.

Museum officials anticipate large crowds, and recently asked Boone County, Ky. for an ordinance granting prolice powers. The Cincinnati Post said the request was rejected. The museum then petitioned Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher for executive action allowing its security staff to function as peace officers.

Tom Scheben, a spokesman for the Boone County Sheriff's Office, told Post reporter Shelly Whitehead the creationist museum had worries about protests. "They're concerned about people coming onto their property and trying to create a ruckus or do damage. I don't know if they've had any problems yet. But we've not been out there for anybody trying to create harm."

A museum spokesman said the creationists did not intend to establish an armed camp and did not plan to operate a full-scale police department. He said Christian group instead anticipated drawing big crowds to what the creationists hope will become a major tourist attraction. So far, no word from the Republican governor, who is seeking reelection this year. And no word if the creationists are preparing for protests.