I wonder how long a skeptical scientist would last if they went in there and asked a few reasonable questions like :

1) So those teeth were designed for eating what? and
2) How much animal droppings did build up on theArk?
&
3) How long did it take Noah tocatch every species of Australian, Indonesian, tropical ranforest yet undiscoveredetc ..animal…? (& how come THAT really epic story didn’t maeit into the Bible..)

Anyone livng near there (I’m an Aussie resident – sadly ths made it as anews story eevn here in Oz) wish totry that practical experemnt in the toleration of Fundamentalist Christians for giving equal tme to sanity? ..

As for the whole “sexual issues” issue – Yep – the Puritans have a lot to be blamed for .. The Janet Jackson micro-second 1/4 breast pop-out furore must be the most overhyped mountan-from-molehill (sorry Janet -not implying anything there!) beat-up issue in human history … Well except maybe for the War of Jenkin’s Ear!

Hmn .. Maybe we should add “So why did God create us with genitalia and is S/He/It circumcised Her/ His /Itself btw” to the list …

Ciao,

Guido

1) You say that we are in a “democratic, freedom loving society,” yet how many new laws are proposed or passed every year by “Right-Wing Christian Conservative” elected officials that are obviously designed to LIMIT our rights and freedoms? Laws against gays (laws defining marriage as only between a man and a woman) for example. Or laws deciding what can and cannot be shown on public television? I mean, its OK to show people shooting and killing each other on TV, but we have to throw a fit if someone shows a boob? My big concern is that these elected officials of our democratic society are passing laws (such as teaching “intelligent design” in our schools) that are clearly and wholeheartedly religious in nature, thereby forcing religion upon the people, which the Constitution of the United States expressly forbids.

2) Your comment regarding knowledge of science vs. knowledge of the bible works both ways. The whole purpose of this Creation Museum is to demolish the scientific facts (obtained by following the basic scientific principles of hypothesis and observation) that don’t agree with words in a book.

3) The issue of Literal Creationism has been brought up on this board many times. Its okay to say we are trying to “understand Genesis”. I don’t have a problem with studying a text in order to gain a better understanding of the subject matter. But I do have a problem with the literalists that insist the text of the bible is flawless, and that the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of papers, journals, and books and the scientists that study geology, biology, astronomy, etc. who write those books are wrong.

4) The real battle here (if you can even call it a battle) is simply constant vigilance against misinformation. If someone you know were to tell you that the earth is flat, that the moon is made of green cheese, or that the sun is just a big GE lightbulb that floats across the sky, would you correct them? If we are all entitled to our belief, then why would the Creationists care if the scientists believed in evolution? (My answer is because the Creationists get their money from their followers, and scientific fact is a threat to their profits. But that’s just my opinion.)

I have no problem with anyone else’s religion, as long as they practice it in the privacy of their own home.

B-)

http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-11/hovind.html

The difference I see here is one of funding and appearance. Hovind’s theme park comes off rinky dinky and amateur. From the pictures, this museum has the appearance of a modern, neat, glossy museum with quality displays. The presentation is slick. The scientific content is juxtaposed against nonsense that is presented as of equivalent (if not superior) merit. Sadly, there is enough of a market for this attitude that I don’t think the museum will go broke.

This isn’t about denigrating someone’s belief. This is about exposing anti-science for the BS that it is.

(It’s just we can’t help but laugh when you have a bunch of plonkers who are trying to teach people that the T-Rex ate daisies)

GAds, I need more coffee,,,

GAry 7