# Kentucky's Ark Encounter: $100 million boondoggle **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907 "2016-07-02T04:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/61 "2016-07-03T02:49:02Z")
a) I must admit to having a couple friends involved in that project. While their theology and mine may differ, all power to them b) I am more impressed with the Dutch efforts. First, cheaper and at least to me more impressive > **[Dutch Millionaire Builds Exact Replica Of Noah's Ark After Having Flood Dream](https://www.buzznicked.com/man-build-noahs-ark/)** > > Millionaire Johan Huibers constructs an exact replica of Noah's Ark after having dream. > **[Dutch dreamer hopes to bring Noah's Ark replica to Americas](https://www.foxnews.com/world/dutch-dreamer-hopes-to-bring-noahs-ark-replica-to-americas)** > > A Dutch carpenter inspired by a dream to build a massive replica of Noah’s Ark has a new vision – to bring the 410-foot vessel to the Americas in time for this summer’s Olympic Games in Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/62 "2016-07-03T03:39:19Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > To Colibri - I went back and re-read Flyers comment. I had misunderstood it the first time around. You’re right, I don’t agree with him. Thanks. I didn’t think you really did. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/63 "2016-07-03T04:07:31Z")
The biggest issue I have with Bible literalists is that, for anyone familiar with Biblical history, there are stories that were chucked out long ago that were originally a part of the Hebrew Bible that we are just now rediscovering. Why is the “new” set of stories any better than the old? Ask the scholars of the time. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/64 "2016-07-03T05:40:49Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Jesus Christ. Didn’t **Baker** start a thread about an Ark museum in Kansas? How many of these things you got floating around over there? Finally got around to reading the entire thread. You would be surprised how many _are_ out there, both floating and stationary. Some are small scale and some are serious efforts at full-sized recreations. Some are meant to continue the Biblical version and some are flat-out amusement park rides (IE Noah’s Ark in Kennywood Park) that may reflect the Biblical tradition or not. And this isn’t just a American bible-belt thing; they pop up all over the world. But the folks in Kentucky are far from unique - just for some reason a little more controversial and confrontational than most. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/65 "2016-07-03T13:58:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Should belong in a separate thread, but I’d be interested in how **Flyer** tries to weasel his way out of the fact that the Bible contradicts itself in multiple places. Does that mean God has multiple-personality disorder? 😛 I have addressed this is other threads. There are NO contradictions in the Bible. Now, yes, there are APPARENT contradictions. But that is a sign that further study is needed. Once both passages are fully understood, the apparent contradiction disappears. > [@Colibri](#): > > You and **Flyer** appear to make the claim that one cannot be a Christian without being a biblical literalist. This is a patently false claim. The vast majority of Christians are not biblical literalists. In fact, Roman Catholics, the largest single denomination, do not as a matter of doctrine belief that everything in the Bible is literally true. If somebody claimed to be a car, would you believe them? Suppose they said, “I go to a mechanic on a regular basis, and I drink oil and gas.” Would that make them a car? Of course not. In exactly the same way, just because somebody claims to be a Christian, and does some of the things that Christians do, does not automatically make them a Christian. > [@faithfool](#): > > [Tangential question alert!] > > Oh, and for the four people on the internet that still haven’t heard, literalism is a relatively new thing. Seems it’s only been around for the last couple hundred years. Before that was unleaded on us, most took the majority of their bible stories as a fictional representation of how to live a Godly life. So there’s that. Again, no. Archbishop Usher (1581–1656) took the Bible literally. Otherwise, there would have been no point in trying to figure out when the various events took place. John Bunyan (1628–1688), author of the immortal _Pilgrim’s Progress_, believed the literalness of the Bible. And I have read excerpts from Irenaeus’ book _Against Heresies_ (written about 180 A.D.) It’s very obvious that he both took the Bible literally and also believed that there was only one truth and one way to Heaven. Literalism was the **default** until a couple hundred years ago. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/66 "2016-07-03T14:49:26Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > 1. The cornerstone of my faith lies in the New Testament and with Jesus. Jesus spoke in more parables than He did in plain language. Why? To illustrate His points in ways that His contemporaries could understand better. If that was His primary modus operandi then, when He was _right there amongst them_, how much more so would God speak to us, through His holy book, in much the same way? Wouldn’t there be a wealth more of information on how to live our lives through nuance than a constant straightforward set of rules? Parable-speak makes Jesus harder to understand, not easier. “And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why do you speak unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto YOU to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is NOT given.” Matt 13:10-11 Throughout the Gospels, we are frequently told that the disciplines were perplexed by Jesus’s lessons. Jesus knows they are confused and kind of gives them a hard time about it: “And He (Jesus) said unto them (His disciples), How is it that ye do NOT understand?” Mark 8:21 Which causes the poor guys to feign understanding. “But they understood NOT that saying, and were afraid to ask him.” Mark 9:32 Finally, Jesus lets the guys off the hook and promises everything will become clearer later: “These things have I spoken unto you in PROVERBS: but the time comes when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you PLAINLY of the Father.” John 16:25 If the parables were easy to understand, there would be no need for bible study or websites attempting to break things down for the masses. We are no dumber than the folks who lived back in biblical times. Metaphor and allegory are inherently hard to grok for the average mind. Jesus had the ability to preach in plain terms. I’m sure there are a number of hypotheses out there for why he didn’t more often. My guess? People really like for their religion to be shrouded in mystery. People like being able to “prove” their membership to an elite group, and having enough dedication to learn how to interpret a parable provides that evidence. But if anyone off the street can hear the message and understand it just fine without having to strain their brain, then what kind of easy religion is that? People in general don’t want a religion with mass appeal. They want one that appeals to only a special few. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/67 "2016-07-03T15:23:18Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > I have addressed this is other threads. There are NO contradictions in the Bible. Now, yes, there are APPARENT contradictions. But that is a sign that further study is needed. Once both passages are fully understood, the apparent contradiction disappears. How…convenient. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/68 "2016-07-03T15:33:02Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As for believers in a worldwide Flood, I heard a preacher explain how all that water had always been in the sky, providing UV protection for the dinosaurs, which had dutifully gone two by two onto the Ark. The survivors died of skin cancer or something; he wasn’t clear. The guy I heard years ago said that the “firmament” was basically a solid shield around the planet (ISTR that Josephus said that as well). While it was intact, Earth’s atmospheric pressure was considerably greater. Once it was gone the atmospheric pressure dropped, rendering the massive dinosaurs unable to breathe properly, so they died out. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/69 "2016-07-03T15:36:31Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > … If somebody claimed to be a car, would you believe them?.. Catholics aren’t _true_ Christians. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/70 "2016-07-03T15:57:03Z")
My only comment is that I can’t believe the state the attraction is being built in isn’t ARKansas. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/71 "2016-07-03T16:50:13Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > My only comment is that I can’t believe the state the attraction is being built in isn’t ARKansas. No, New Jersey . . . in NewArk. Actually, back in the '80s, [Kea Tawana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea_Tawana)\* started to build an 86-foot ark in Newark. It was unjustifiably condemned, and she was ordered to demolish it. \*not to be confused with Kiri Te Kanawa ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/72 "2016-07-03T17:36:57Z")
So if I write a book and say that everything in it is liiterally true straight from the mouth of God then it must be? There mst have been a lot of infallible folks involved. I think the term used in the NT and OT classes I took (at an evagelical liberal arts college) was “proof texting”. To me if someone’s faith rises or falls on the book being inerrant the faith isn’t very strong. Same goes for atheists insisting on an all or nothing approach. As far as the Ark goes, I’m not sure it’ll work as a stand alone attraction. Maybe put a brew pub in the lower level. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/73 "2016-07-03T18:07:19Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > No, New Jersey . . . in NewArk. I think Newark, DE would be a better place. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/74 "2016-07-03T18:11:41Z")
[Jefferson’s Bible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible) deserves a mention, here. > [@](#): > > The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible, was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson’s condensed composition is especially notable for its exclusion of all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels which contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages indicating Jesus was divine.[1][2][3][4] ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/75 "2016-07-03T18:29:10Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > If somebody claimed to be a car, would you believe them? > > Suppose they said, “I go to a mechanic on a regular basis, and I drink oil and gas.” Would that make them a car? Of course not. > > In exactly the same way, just because somebody claims to be a Christian, and does some of the things that Christians do, does not automatically make them a Christian. But you’re not the one who gets to decide who’s a Christian. The vast majority of people who call themselves Christians do not believe as you do. Within Christianity as a whole, you represent a small minority. If you decided that only steam-powered vehicles could be called cars, that would not make the vehicles that everyone else called cars to cease being cars. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/76 "2016-07-03T21:05:55Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > So if I write a book and say that everything in it is liiterally true straight from the mouth of God then it must be? . . . Gosh, no, that’d be silly. You have to dig up the ancient gold plates with the book inscribed on them, as guided by an angel, and then translate it by dowsing or something. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/77 "2016-07-03T23:33:32Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > As far as the Ark goes, I’m not sure it’ll work as a stand alone attraction. Maybe put a brew pub in the lower level. One source said that the Ark includes a 1,500-seat restaurant and banquet hall. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/78 "2016-07-04T02:18:11Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One source said that the Ark includes a 1,500-seat restaurant and banquet hall. Will every animal on the ark be on the menu? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/79 "2016-07-04T02:27:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What does the park do about the dinosaurs? [Saddle up!](http://arstechnica.com/features/2007/06/ars-takes-a-field-trip-the-creation-museum/) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/80 "2016-07-04T03:46:15Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Will every animal on the ark be on the menu? Probably not the model animals, because they’re using animatronics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907.md?page=5)