Paleontologists visiting the Creation Museum at the conclusion of a convention got more than they bargained for when they found their life’s work under attack.
After having a few laughs and taking some pictures, most were surprised and offended to see the way in which evolution was being ridiculed by the museum, which some call a “creationist Disneyland”.
“It’s sort of a monument to scientific illiteracy, isn’t it?” Jerry Lipps, professor of geology, paleontology and evolution at University of California, Berkeley, told the AFP news agency. “Like Sunday school with statues… this is a special brand of religion here. I don’t think even most mainstream Christians would believe in this interpretation of Earth’s history.”
Some 715,000 patrons have visited the $27 million museum since it opened in mid-2007 to “bring the pages of the Bible to life.” The 70,000 square-foot facility presents a literal interpretation of the Bible, and suggests that disbelief of this view leads to moral relativism and the breakdown of social values.
University of Akron paleontology professor Lisa Park was moved to tears as she walked down a hallway displaying flashing images of war, famine and natural disasters that the museum blames on belief in evolution.
“I think it’s very bad science and even worse theology — and the theology is far more offensive to me,” Park told the AFP news agency.
[…]
Howard University anatomy professor Daryl Domning shook his head several times throughout his tour of the museum. “This bothers me as a scientist and as a Christian, because it’s just as much a distortion and misrepresentation of Christianity as it is of science,” he told the AFP. “It’s not your old-time religion by any means.”
Here’s a more in-depth report on the visit, plus an interesting fact (if you can use that word about the museum) one gets from the displays.
Re#27 Traaxx…
What exactly did Uncle Dave say that you were lambasting him for?
Traaxx: Scientists use physical, hold-in-your-hand, measurable, repeatable, observable and so on, data to draw conclusions and generate hypotheses that get adjusted and deepened and occasionally thrown out as new data is discovered. All of the highly complex, interrelated disciplines that go into developing an overall understanding of how we got here are based solely on that process. Evolution (the real process, not what Creationists reduce and twist it to) is one, tiny part.
Creationists use words written and manipulated over generations for political (ie, Christians were originally anti-Roman rule activists), not spiritual (that was a means to an end that worked on the masses), ends by people in a time when it was thought demons caused illness. Creationists discard inconvenient things when convenient and replace them with stories that if rewritten slightly and made into a serious book or movie would be laughed out by them as ridiculous. (Scientology as religion, anyone?)
BTW, nice try, like Alf, at diverting real discussion into a completely, unrelated topic and devolve into namecalling. Hey, that’s just like the creationists when presented with facts they can’t refute!
Whatever…….
“…facility presents a literal interpretation of the Bible, and suggests that disbelief of this view leads to moral relativism and the breakdown of social values.”
“…a hallway displaying flashing images of war, famine and natural disasters that the museum blames on belief in evolution.”
And there was no war, famine, and natural disasters before the theory of evolution was postulated? My mind reels at this “fact”.
Uncle Dave,
re Traaxx. I didn’t Americans drank so early on July 4th.
“[The]facility presents a literal interpretation of the Bible, and suggests that disbelief of this view leads to moral relativism and the breakdown of social values.”
Here is an interesting thought for your Bible literalists:
Let us assume for the moment that God made Adam and Eve, who mated to produce the second generation. Has anyone ever stopped to consider where the third generation came from? It takes no more than a few seconds to conclude that the third and subsequent generations of humans can only have resulted from some form of incest.
So much for “moral relativism and the breakdown of social values” !!!
fred, fred, fred
Stop thinking for yourself. Thinking leads to fear; fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.
#36, qb
That would explain the ” ‘suffer’ little children to come unto me”. I must be entering my second childhood. 🙂
If I recall this is also the place that said that not only did dinosaurs live alongside people but that all animals were vegetarian before the fall of man. (check out the section on “What Did Dinosaurs Eat and How Did They Behave?”) That explains why the dinosaurs didn’t just eat Adam and Eve.
I wonder why they don’t encourage people becoming vegetarians if that is why God made us?
39, Hugh Ripper
You want ALfredENewman to validate a point? He’s got a LOOOOOONG way to go in mental treatment before he can even figure out that his mouth is indeed the same as his ass…
I read the whole NY Times article through the link you provided. Dr. Briggs said he was worried about the “youngsters”, referring to the teaching of creationism. Creationists are worried for kids as well when they are force fed evolution in school. If evolution has so much ground, why is it that when people claimed IDA was the first transitional fossil to be found that they started saying things like WOW, WE FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO BASE OUR VIEWS ON. Are they telling me that all the stuff they had before are practically useless to evolutionary views? Then why should I swallow this IDA? You’ve been wrong all along about the other fossils, why should you be right about IDA?
“University of Akron paleontology professor Lisa Park was moved to tears as she walked down a hallway displaying flashing images of war, famine and natural disasters that the museum blames on belief in evolution.”
Well, it’s true! The Nazi had their own ideas, based heavily on Darwinism. And so they justified exterminating the Jews, as an exercise in Eugenics. But cleansing themselves of the defective race, that was dragging them down. Except, of course, for the ones they counted on to design their V2 rockets. Sorry if this upsets the sensibilities of evolutionists, out for a lark at the museum. They’re mighty thin-skinned. What were they expecting? A bunch of displays on a sixth grader level?
Apparently, while visiting this museum, in order to ridicule its exhibits, these scientists were shocked at how good they were, at presenting their side. Possibly better than many museums of Nature History, which favor Darwinism. But they didn’t want to admit that, so they rework their displeasure into the rank we see at the article’s beginning. As if they are saying, “How dare these creationists have the nerve to present their interpretation in a public museum”. And let’s face it. Presenting it in a far more entertaining way than the evolutionary model does. Let’s see. All this stuff happens after millions of years pass by, with little results. BORING! Got speaks and there’s new life. Schwing! See how that’s more interesting?
I’ve always had a problem with how evolution defies the Second Law of Thermo Dynamics. Stretching change out to millions of years, to get around the law, is just plain stupid reasoning. If anything, more time makes higher organizations, less likely. Darwin didn’t know about DNA. If he did, he would have thrown in the towel. Because it’s never been demonstrated how something so complex could possibly happen by chance. Or make itself even more complex over time. But this is the thread that the evolutionists have been clinging to. Never abandoning this obsolete, pre-DNA, concept of life. Only patching it up to keep it afloat.
Millions of people may very well suffer because of Darwinism. Failure to acknowledge an intelligent design of DNA, may severely delay the development of medical cures for diseases. Oh, but preserving Evolution is more important than saving lives. So screw all the sick people of the world. If DNA studies threaten the little dictatorship of Darwinists.
Check our the DVD of the movie “Expelled”. Your public library system should have it. It’s far more educational than “Ice Age 3”.
I went thru grade school back in the 60s. And I can still remember being confused by having both the concept of the primitive cavemen, in my head. And the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. They seemed to be at odds with each other. They couldn’t both be true. So why was the public school system out to defy religious teachings? Why did they think it was their duty, to come up with an opposing story of the origin of man? Who the hell asked them to?!
Seems like a faction of avowed atheists took it upon themselves. Probably because of all the religious based morals laws, that inconvenienced the atheists’ bohemian lifestyle. Usually the most prominent atheists are men of wealth and power. Big surprise. Their idea of Darwinism is that since they achieve great wealth, it’s because they evoluted to the top of society. Sheer luck at backing the right horse, never had anything to do with it. Nor stabbing their competitors in the back, or bribing the right politicians. Yeah, that all sounds about right for evoluted superior ethics and behavior. Is it a good thing that America’s founding fathers weren’t atheist evolutionists (or whatever cabal of atheists they had back then).
The Nazi had their own ideas, based heavily on Darwinism. And so they justified exterminating the Jews, as an exercise in Eugenics.
So because the Nazis justified their murders on evolution that makes evolution bad? The Nazis also used mass transit to move the people they killed so does that make mass transit bad?
Let’s say that evolution has caused wars. Ok, then how does evolution cause famine and natural disasters?
I’ve always had a problem with how evolution defies the Second Law of Thermo Dynamics.
take two minutes to look it up and you might figure it out.
Check our the DVD of the movie “Expelled”. Your public library system should have it. It’s far more educational than “Ice Age 3″.
and then go to Expelled Exposed and see why Expelled is just as fictional and unscientific as a movie that has talking mammals interacting with dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, the religious types might have the opportunity of a very brief last laugh on the science community if later this year, the geo/electromagnetic effects that have begun to effect our planet’s weather and plate tectonics, due our solar systems approach to the galactic center, gives rise to the realization that the gravity based theory of universe is *completely wrong* and the universe is in fact, completely Electrical and Plasma based in nature.
This will also give rise to the fact that gravity is NOT a constant and that Spin (as in a spinning body) actually “does” create the effect of gravity and that mass, is not the only factor in determining “gravity”
Ultimately, this may expose the fact the huge dinosaurs could not possibly support themselves using the current physics models used to determine their weight.
-now, if one allows that gravity is not a constant, and that there was a bit less gravity pulling on these massive animals back then, (possibly because of a slightly slower spinning earth) these animals would have no problem supporting themselves, given their mass and size.
The current physics just don’t pencil out in relation to large dinosaurs and the their current assumed weight.
Religion will have a brief “Ha Ha” moment, but only because it has been the purposeful corruption of the modern sciences that has continued to lead us led astray.
However, in matters of corruption, religion, esp modern religion, is the supreme leader in the wholesale corruption humanity.
-for this, modern religions will *never* be forgiven.
Time will tell, hopefully sooner than later. -I wait patiently for that day.
-s
#42 Glenn E
In nearly all the matters in which the Pan-German movement was wanting, the attitude of the Christian Social Party was correct and well-planned.
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf))
Even today I am not ashamed to say that, overpowered by stormy enthusiasm, I fell down on my knees and thanked Heaven from an overflowing heart for granting me the good fortune of being permitted to live at this time.
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
I swear before God this holy oath, that I shall give absolute confidence to the Fuehrer of the German Reich and people.
-Heinrich Himmler
God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany.
-Hermann Goering
No matter what human beings do I shall some day stand before the judgement seat of the Eternal. I shall answer to Him, and I know he will judge me innocent.
-Rudolf Hess
Maybe we should just agree that these guys were a bunch of homicidal, paranoiac bastards. Hmmmmmm?
Wow, Glenn E, you really made me take another look at Mein Kampf.
“The most marvelous proof of the superiority of Man, which puts man ahead of the animals, is the fact that he understands that there must be a Creator.”
“It was by the Will of God that men were made of a certain bodily shape, were given their natures and their faculties. Whoever destroys His work wages war against God’s Creation and God’s Will.”
“Where do we acquire the right to believe that man has not always been what he is now? The study of nature teaches us that, in the animal kingdom just as much as in the vegetable kingdom, variations have occurred. They’ve occurred within the species, but none of these variations has an importance comparable with that which separates man from the monkey — assuming that this transformation really took place. They’ve occurred within the species, but none of these variations has an importance comparable with that which separates man from the monkey — assuming that this transformation really took place.”
Hitler doubted evolution? Hitler a creationist?
Sorry to say, I don’t think he really was a Christian, do you? He does use the word “evolution” once – I’ll leave that an exercise for you. Maybe you should actually read Hitler’s writings yourself and think for yourself.
qb, on your list of evil bastards, don’t forget to include the iconic Father of the Reformation himself, Martin Luther. He gave inspiration to people like Hitler, who even gave him credit in Mein Kampf as one of the great reformers.
Of course, some of what Luther advocated concerning what should be done with the Jews is rather bone-chilling. You can read about it in Luther’s famous book on the subject…
Naturally, Luther justified all of his proposals, even including violence against the Jews to “drive them out like mad dogs” with his love for Jesus Christ and the need to defend his Savior from the many blasphemies and vices of the Jews.
It would seem that a fair amount of the credit for the worst offenses of the Third Reich has to go to Creationists, not Evolutionists after all. Beware the Creationist who feels his Creator needs defending.
If Sarah Palen is ever elected President of the United States by those who believe this museum actually makes any sense, then the rest of you who live in the US will have to forgive the world for being put in a position of labelling the US a rogue nuclear state and demanding the complete nuclear disarmament of the US and a significant scaling back of its conventional military forces.
Having these kinds of people in power would be a bigger threat to world peace then the Soviet Union ever was. Religious extremists with no grip on reality and one of the worlds largest nuclear and conventional stockpiles is a frightening prospect for those of us who don’t believe in dinosaurs with saddles on them and don’t live in the bible belt of the US.
Dan
so, what is their complaint? I think the museum is silly but why go? Just so they can have an excuse to bitch and complain?
#45 Whew! We’re going to whiz by the galactic center later this year? Wonder what it will look like? When will we see all those pretty stars? Why can’t we see any new ones with our naked eyes already? If we’re moving into a whole new neighborhood (galactic wise) why hasn’t there been a great change in the stars we now see? Some of these must already be undergoing this shift you seem to refer to, so shouldn’t some of the stars be changing? If their gravity changes, then their density will change, meaning they will burn brighter or darker or possibly even go nova? Shouldn’t we see evidence of these changes already?
If, on the other hand, you weren’t serious about your post, then let me say “Ya got me!”.
Heres an interesting view by Steven Hawkings that early earthers and scientists can discuss to mutual benefit: We must include transmission of information outside of DNA as part of the evolutionary process.
http://dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/07/stephen-hawking-the-planet-has-entered-a-new-phase-of-evolution.html
actually, it has more to do with
intermingling (somewhat rolling) magnetic fields and resonance.
-as in the concentrated magnetic ribbon around the edge (center) of the milky way.
-s
It’s still a free country so if you don’t like it or disagree then stay the fuck out. Go visit the dildo and museum in San Francisco instead.
“It’s sort of a monument to scientific illiteracy, isn’t it?” Jerry Lipps
That line is an instant classic. +2 kudos to that guy