Atheists Warn Schools Against Ark Encounter Field Trips - Ark Founder Calls Their Bluff in a Big Way - CBN News Steve Warren

Ken Ham. Photo courtesy: Answers in Genesis

Atheists Warn Schools Against Ark Encounter Field Trips - Ark Founder Calls Their Bluff in a Big Way

01-14-2019

CBN News Steve Warren

A Wisconsin-based atheist group has taken aim at the Ark Encounter tourist attraction in Williamstown, Kentucky by sending a letter to more than 1,000 school districts in five states, warning them that a field trip to the Ark would be unconstitutional.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote: "Public schools cannot organize trips for students to either the Creation Museum or the Ark Park. It is unacceptable to expose a captive audience of impressionable students to the overtly religious atmosphere of (Ken) Ham's Christian theme parks."

Back in August, the group known as American Atheists mailed similar letters to schools in Kentucky.

Ken Ham, the Ark Encounter's founder, said the atheist groups are merely trying to bully and intimidate kids while continuing their attacks against Christians.

"The atheist groups like American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have been increasingly aggressive to restrict the free exercise of religion — particularly Christianity — and they've tried to brainwash people with an interpretation of the First Amendment...it does not mean that Christians are second class citizens," he told Fox News.

Ham explained that all school officials have to do is to tell their kids that their visit is intended to be merely educational. Students do not have to believe what they see, much like visiting a mosque. 

"I would like to see some public schools and public parks to stand up to them and not succumb to their bullying and intimidation," Ham said. "Because the FFRF has sent letters to 1,000 school districts, I'm offering them free admission for the teachers, students who come on an official public school trip."

"And if they do sue them, we have expert attorneys who are willing to defend them in court and I'd like to see a test case go to the Supreme Court and stop this nonsense from these atheist groups who try to outlaw Christian influence in this nation," he added.

Faith leaders like evangelist Franklin Graham have come out in support of Ham and his efforts.

On Saturday, Graham posted to his Facebook page about the incident, writing: "Noah wasn't intimidated by atheists in his day, and neither is the builder of the Ark Encounter in Kentucky, Ken Ham. The liberal, atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation sent letters to 1,000 school districts in 5 states, threatening them that they could not bring students to the Ark Encounter on field trips because it was unconstitutional. The American Atheist group had also sent letters to Kentucky schools. Ken is right, these godless, hyper-secular groups have "tried to brainwash people with an interpretation of the First Amendment." I really like Ken's response! He's offering all of those school districts FREE ADMISSION to students and teachers who come on public school field trips! I hope every school takes him up on the offer. What an opportunity! There's no question it's educational and filled with #truth. Comment below to let Ken Ham and everyone at the Ark Encounter know that you will pray for them to stand strong and continue their great work."

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Evidence of Catastrophic Biblical Flood Found in China? CBN News

Evidence of Catastrophic Biblical Flood Found in China?

CBN News 08-17-2016

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Chinese scientists have discovered new evidence that points to the biblical account of Noah's flood from thousands of years ago.

Archeologists uncovered the bones of children believed to have been trapped by a flood that ripped through the Yellow River Valley nearly 4,000 years ago. Their bones are dated back to time of Noah, leading some to believe these remains are evidence of the biblical story.

If the newly discovered flood is the one of Noah's times, it may shake what scientists originally believed about the Bible.

The discovery points to a massive flood that sent rocks and tons of sediment rushing into the Yellow River Valley. The flood was so big, it created a 660 foot damn that scars China to this day.

Some are not surprised by this discovery, saying there is evidence all around the world of an ancient catastrophic flood.

"There are thousands of feet of flood sediment all over the globe - evidence of a catastrophic global flood," Ken Ham, from Answers in Genesis, said.

Ham argues that the unearthing of evidence pointing to an ancient world-wide flood testifies to the validity of the Christian faith. 

"If the Bible's true, it means God is Creator," Ham said. "It means God owns us. It means we have to be in submission to him. It means that we need to receive the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ."

Anti-Religion Group Warns Schools to Stay Away from Ark Encounter - CBN News

Anti-Religion Group Warns Schools to Stay Away from Ark Encounter

CBN News 07-13-2016

A securalist foundation has contacted thousands of schools in the Midwest warning them that taking a field trip to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky might get them sued.

The new amusement park in Williamston features a 500-foot replica of Noah's Ark. More than 30,000 people have visited the site in the last week.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is trying to keep school children from visiting the park as part of their schooling.

Officials with the organization say ark field trips would expose children to religious proselytizing, the Lexington-Herald Leader reported.

Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said the group sent letters to more than 1,000 school districts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia.

"That would be completely inappropriate," Gaylor told the Kentucky publication. "This is an attempt to proselytize children. The public school is to educate, not indoctrinate."

Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt notified school districts that neither outside groups nor Kentucky Department of Education should determine field trip selection but added that outside trips should directly correlate to school curriculum.

"It is important to remind educators that at all times and under all circumstances, field trips should be a direct extension of classroom learning," he wrote. "As a result, all off-site trips should be directly related to the school curriculum and should seek to maximize student learning by enhancing the classroom experience."

Biblically Accurate Noah’s Ark Measuring 300 by 50 Cubits Built in Kentucky By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Biblically Accurate Noah’s Ark Measuring 300 by 50 Cubits Built in Kentucky

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz June 28, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.” Isaiah 54:9 (The Israel Bible™)

Illustrative: a replica of Noah’s Ark. (Photo: Shutterstock.com)

In two weeks, the doors to Noah’s Ark will open once again — but with a few key differences from the original Biblical story. This version of the “ark” is really an ark-like theme park in Northern Kentucky. Costing over $100 million, the park will be part entertainment and part religious education. Its owners established the Bible-themed park, called Ark Encounter, with the goal of convincing visitors that the Biblical story of the flood is a literal version of a historical event.

The new version of the ark was not intended to be a floating solution for divine flooding, since it has a concrete floor and is supported by concrete pillars anchored into the ground. Launching the ark would require a unique series of natural disasters culminating in a flood that engulfs landlocked Williamstown, Kentucky, 600 miles from the nearest beach. The ark is the showpiece for Ark Encounter, which educates visitors through elaborate exhibits and offers an adjacent Ararat zoo, zip lines, a 1,500-seat restaurant, and a gift shop.

The aptly named Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), built Ark Encounter just a few miles from his Creation Museum, which attracts nearly half a million visitors a year and teaches a young Earth theory of creation. Ham is a powerful voice in his circle of like-minded Biblical literalists. Young Earth Creationism played an essential role in the ark project.

The reproduction of Noah’s naval wonder cost over $100 million and generated almost as much controversy as the original. The ark became the focus of controversy when, in 2014, Ham invited pop-scientist Bill Nye to debate the question, “Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?” The scientific community was dismayed, claiming that by agreeing to the debate, Nye validated creationism, thereby handing a victory to Ham before any words were spoken.

The video was a viral sensation and Ham later announced that the publicity generated by the debate spurred fundraising, allowing the ministry to begin construction on the ark. Ham told the Lexington Herald Leader that the goal of the immense project was to show the true scope of Noah’s Ark, and that it’s possible to build a structure that could hold the 16,000 animals believers estimate survived the Biblical flood.

Even in the planning stages, controversy over the ark led to a prolonged court battle. The exhibit sparked concerns about separation of church and state after Governor Matt Bevin approved $18 million in tax breaks for the project, according to a report by Fox 17 Nashville.

Critics also objected to the park’s plan to hire only Christian workers. Potential employees must sign a “Statement of Faith” which disavows same-sex marriage, premarital sex and adultery. These conditions are acceptable for religious institutions, but AiG had applied to participate in the Kentucky Tourism Development Program. The conditions were approved after it was reasoned that the park was part of a religious institution and not a tourist attraction.In January, US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky upheld AiG’s right to religious preferences in its hiring while still qualifying as a toruist attraction.

Though it has its commercial aspects, it is clearly Biblically inspired. Touted by its creators as the world’s largest timber framed building, it adheres to the dimensions described in the Bible.

And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. Genesis 6:15

A Biblical cubit (ama in Hebrew) is the length from the elbow to the fingertips of an average man. The exact length is unknown, but it is generally accepted to be between 19.8 – 20.6 inches long. Based on this estimate, the builders of the reproduction made their ark 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet tall.

Logs up to 50 feet tall were harvested from as far away as British Columbia and Oregon. All together, 3.3 million feet of wood, or 612 miles’ worth of planks, were used in the ark. As for the builders, instead of Noah’s sons, Shem Ham and Japhet, the new ark employed 75 Amish craftsmen and hundreds of other workers who had to be trained in traditional woodworking, Ham said.

To commemorate the Biblical flood which inaugurated the original, the Kentucky ark will have extended hours for the first 40 days and 40 nights.

Mark Looy, co-founder of Answers in Genesis, told Chatanooga news site Nooga that future plans at the park include a replica of a walled city from 2300 B.C., the Tower of Babel, a first-century Middle Eastern village, a journey through history from Abraham to the parting of the Red Sea, and a walk-through aviary.

The ark replica is not the first to gain global attention as a tourist attraction. Another landlocked ark, located in Hong Kong, was built as a Christian creationist theme park. A floating replica, built by Johan Huibers in the Netherlands, is scheduled to sail 5,200 miles this summer from its berth in Norway to Rio de Janeiro. Earlier this month, a half-size replica Huibers built collided with a Coast Guard vessel in Oslo Harbor while being towed to a new location.