The Freedom From Religion Foundation is advising public schools in more than 1,000 school districts against visiting a new religious theme park.
The Ark Encounter, which is opening this week in Kentucky, is a Christian ministry run by the creationist Ken Ham, who also built the notorious Creation Museum. Ham has been clear about the proselytizing nature of this park from the beginning. In a recent letter entitled, “Our Real Motive for Building Ark Encounter,” he states it plainly: “Our motive is to do the King’s business until He comes. And that means preaching the gospel and defending the faith, so that we can reach as many souls as we can.”
FFRF is already receiving inquiries from concerned parents that overzealous teachers or principals may mistakenly believe it appropriate to schedule school-related trips to the Ark Encounter, as has happened with the Creation Museum. In order to allay such concerns and to remind public schools of their constitutional obligations, it is sending a memo to every school district in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio.
Ham is free to erect monuments to the bible, but public schools are not permitted to expose the children in their charge to religious myths and proselytizing. So, public schools cannot organize trips for students to either the Creation Museum or the Ark Park. Doing so would violate the students’ rights of conscience and the U.S. Constitution.
Good for them.
Children have enough difficulty separating the facts from the bullshit, without having their school introducing primitive superstitions into their lives.
He needs to rename his amusement park, Fantasyland.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing amusing about brainwashing people, and taking tax dollars to accomplish it, and THEN charging $40 a head to be brainwashed. PT Barnum would be appalled.
DeleteI wish he would! Then Disney could sue the shit out of him for trademark infringement! AND nail him to a wall!
DeleteCan I take my pet dinosaur when I visit the ark?
ReplyDelete"Proselytizing." That word jumped out at me. It's hated by everyone. Use it freely.
ReplyDeleteActually, the people who hate the word are NOT the religious right. They LIVE for it!
DeleteIt's those of us who are on the receiving end who despise it.
I guess this is why we don't see reruns of the Flintstones anymore.
ReplyDeleteGiven that they have included dinosaurs among the animals on the ark, they likely categorize the Flintstones as a Docudrama.
DeleteAll that is mentioned in The Bible concerning the ark is its dimensions, so this "encounter" is all Ham's imagination and he no doubt charges exorbitant amounts for admission. No thanks.
ReplyDelete$40 per ticket.
DeleteThere you go, and why would I pay that?
DeleteMary was raped.....
ReplyDeleteI would NEVER sign a permission slip for the Creation Museum or the Ark Park. I'm not an abusive parent.
ReplyDelete"Children have enough difficulty separating the facts from the bullshit, without having their school introducing primitive superstitions into their lives. "
ReplyDeleteI would say fact from fantasy. I know a child who asked her dad "Is Taylor Swift real?"
Let's hope that all of Ham's idiot drawing attractions go broke. Then we won't have to hear about him again.
ReplyDeleteWondering where in the bible it is recommended to build amusement parks...
I believe it's in the book of Grifting 7:24.
Delete"Christian fundamentalist organization Answers in Genesis‘ (AiG) just opened their Ark Encounter in Kentucky, and the event was, ironically, greeted with epic flash floods and heavy rain. Kentucky announced a state of emergency as severe flooding overwhelmed the area. Though AiG’s Ark seems to have survived the worst of it, others have been evacuated and homes destroyed in the deluge."
ReplyDeleteIs it too much to ask that it get swept away and destroyed in a flash flood?
Everyone knows that Ham is not kosher.
ReplyDeleteHey, if you want to indoctrinate your kids, do it on your dime - don't make taxpayers pick up the tab.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the greatest educational gifts we can give to our children is to learn how to recognize and counter sophistry, to be aware of logical fallacies wherever they encounter them (kind of on the same level of not getting into cars with strangers).
That individuality of thought is great, as long as you can back it up with rational and sound rhetoric. We've really lost our oral traditions of simply being able to coherently express ourselves, and yes, even to be able to listen to differing opinions as facts are not plural, and should not be shied away from even though they might contradict your beliefs.
Got a match?
ReplyDeletemy butt and Ham's face? sorry, but that was right over the plate, and I'm still a kid at heart. ;-)
DeleteThey were going to do one for Christmas, but couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.
ReplyDeleteHow are all those Dugger-esque Quiverfull families supposed to afford to go at $40 a head? Do they give a discount if you sign a form agreeing to let God control your uterus?
ReplyDelete