# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/81 "2016-07-04T03:55:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > 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. Yeah, I was just taking a wild guess as to why He’d explain things to them in that way, but your theory is awesome. So, I’m agreeable to going with that. ---
**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, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/82 "2016-07-04T04:15:40Z")
> [@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. > Christian. My favorite verse in the Bible is the last one in John: “Jesus did many other things as well. Were they all to be written down, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” That would definitely fill in a lot of cracks, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/83 "2016-07-04T04:16:02Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > 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. Says the Catholic to the Biblical literalist who just killed someone for working on the Sabbath. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/84 "2016-07-04T04:21:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My favorite verse in the Bible is the last one in John: “Jesus did many other things as well. Were they all to be written down, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” That would definitely fill in a lot of cracks, that’s for sure. Nah, Ezekiel 23:20. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/85 "2016-07-04T05:53:18Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Where is Christ mentioned in Genesis? Was it \*The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway \*album? ---
**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 4, 2016, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/86 "2016-07-04T09:47:21Z")
> [@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. And what’s even more ludicrous: the person who claims that those who run on electricity or compressed air or gerbils aren’t cars. ---
**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 4, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/87 "2016-07-04T12:24:13Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Was it \*The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway \*album? Okay. That was good. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/88 "2016-07-04T12:31:09Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > I have addressed this is other threads. There are NO contradictions in the Bible. Which version are you using? ---
**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 4, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/89 "2016-07-04T14:26:06Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Which version are you using? Apparently his own. ---
**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 4, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/90 "2016-07-04T16:36:49Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Apparently his own. It’s about 20 pages long. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/91 "2016-07-04T17:06:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Apparently his own. It’s a serious question, though. The Bible comes in a variety of versions, some missing entire books that are found in others. If it is Flyer’s position that only someone who believes in the literal truth of the Bible is a Christian, it is important he identify, specifically, which version of the Bible has to be literally taken. For one, again, different versions have different sets of texts. Catholic bibles have books no Protestant version does, and Protestant bibles are not entirely consistent with one another. Secondly, unless he’s much more educated than he’s letting on, Flyer is reading an English translation of the Bible, not the original text. Different translations are, to put it mildly, of varying levels of quality; they absolutely do NOT say the same things, and different verses will often have strikingly different literal meanings. So Flyer has to identify precisely what Bible is absolutely correct, since anyone following a different version or translation is wrong and not a Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/92 "2016-07-04T17:11:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s a serious question, though. The Bible comes in a variety of versions, some missing entire books that are found in others. If it is Flyer’s position that only someone who believes in the literal truth of the Bible is a Christian, it is important he identify, specifically, which version of the Bible has to be literally taken. Would it be possible to identify the version from the verses he quotes in his post #23? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/93 "2016-07-04T17:22:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would it be possible to identify the version from the verses he quotes in his post #23? Using [biblehub.com](http://biblehub.com), all his verses seem to come from the KJV. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/94 "2016-07-04T17:24:38Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > A classy feature for the Ark Encounter would involve Bill Cosby’s Noah skit playing on a big screen. > > _It’s the Lord, Noah_ > > Right! > > Where are ya? > What you want? I’ve been good. > > _I want you to build an Ark_ > > Right! > Whats an Ark? > > _Get some wood build it > 300 cubits by 80 cubits by 40 cubits_ > > Right! > Whats a cubit? > Lets see a cubit…I used to know what a cubit was > > _Well don’t worry about that Noah > When you get that done > Go out into the world and > Collect all of the animals in the world by twos > Male and female, and put them into the ark_ > > Right! > Who is this really? About halfway through this I started imagining it ended up like the Stonehenge scene in Spinal tap. With God standing over a tiny Ark and Noah having to admit he has no idea what the fuck a cubit actually is. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/95 "2016-07-04T17:36:23Z")
Actually yeah. Flyer uses this for 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” This is clearly one or another of the King James versions; it’s hard to say which, as the newly updated versions (the original is a pretty hard read at times; English in Jacobean times was a hell of a lot different) don’t change this particular passage. It is however quite different in other versions. ---
**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, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/96 "2016-07-04T17:41:16Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nah, Ezekiel 23:20. (grabs smelling salts) Yep, it’s in there. 😛 p.s. Last year, one of my friends posted a picture on Facebook of an ark her 9-year-old daughter had made in Sunday school. It has a plastic spoon taped to it, and no, it was not a rudder or a sail. It was Noah’s wi-fi antenna. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/97 "2016-07-04T22:50:58Z")
On the subject of biblical literalism, I seem to recall from a documentary that there are approximately 6000 bibles or books or fragments of books from the era before printing presses that are known to exist. Of them, not one is an exact copy of any of the other ones. Each is unique. So, the question of which one is the inerrant “word” is not a light one. I wish I had been involved in that project. It would make fascinating (if a little tedious) work. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/98 "2016-07-04T23:23:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > . . . It was Noah’s wi-fi antenna. 😛 Love it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/99 "2016-07-04T23:31:22Z")
The next time the Pope is answering questions, someone should ask him flat out: Which parts of the Bible are bullshit, and which parts are true? It’ll be nice to get an official, definitive ruling on that. A Catholic one, anyway. (And a followup: What’s up with fish? That’s meat, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907/100 "2016-07-04T23:53:28Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > What’s up with fish? That’s meat, right?) Been there, done that. Not long ago, either. [Is fish “meat”?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=788878) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentuckys-ark-encounter-100-million-boondoggle/758907.md?page=6)