Friday, February 3, 2012

The State of Tennessee Meets Simple Logic...


The state of Tennessee decided last year to provide Ark Encounter, a theme park owned by the Creationist Institute, with state tax incentives that could allow them to recover 25 percent of the facility's cost. My understanding of the state’s justification for involving the state in a matter of religion is that it allows their citizens to hear “both sides of the debate.” 
As reported by NPR, a major ride at the park, to open in 2014, is Noah’s Ark meets the Dinosaurs. I take it this is some kind of roller-coaster ride (though perhaps given the nature of Noah’s Ark, maybe it’s a variation of a plume ride), where the kids, on Noah’s Ark, pass by those great reptiles, moving animatronically ala Disney.
The commentators on NPR made fun of the ride, based on current well-established scientific evidence that humans evolved millions of years after dinosaurs became extinct…that cavemen and dinosaurs did not co-exist.
My concern is different. If the creators of the Creationist Institute take their own beliefs seriously…if they believe in the reality of Noah’s Ark and the great flood, if they believe that man coexisted with the dinosaurs…why does Noah’s Ark have to meet the dinosaurs? Aren’t there already two dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark?

5 comments:

  1. Here's your answer:

    http://images.oddfunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dinosaurs.jpg

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  2. I don't remember the exact answer WRT Noah, but the creationist "educational" video series I watched the first two videos from 13 years ago spent 30-40 minutes arguing that the Loch Ness Monster and similar critters were proof that dinosaurs *still* existed side-by-side with humans. They also argued that the legends of dragons came from early human fights with dinosaurs. I got the impression they were well aware that kids love dinosaurs, and so instead of trying to explain them away, tried to make them even cooler...

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  3. Must have been fun having a T-Rex on board! These creationists just don't know the limits between going too far and being the laughing stock of the entire world

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