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Re: F6 post# 234238

Wednesday, 07/06/2016 11:01:02 PM

Wednesday, July 06, 2016 11:01:02 PM

Post# of 475398
Noah's ark of biblical proportions ready to open in Kentucky


Visitors roam around a replica Noah's Ark as rain clouds pass overhead at the Ark Encounter theme park during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky. The long-awaited theme park based on the story of a man who got a warning from God about a worldwide flood will debut in central Kentucky this Thursday. The Christian group behind the 510 foot-long wooden ark says it will demonstrate that the stories of the Bible are true. Its construction has rankled opponents who say the attraction will be detrimental to science education.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)



Children look into a cage containing model baby dinosaurs inside a replica Noah's Ark at the Ark Encounter theme park during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)



Visitors observe a diorama depicting a caged dinosaur inside a replica Noah's Ark at the Ark Encounter theme park during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)



A visitor browses animal crates inside a replica of Noah's Ark at the Ark Encounter theme park during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)



Visitors roam the Ark Encounter theme park as a replica of Noah's Ark stands in the background during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)



Visitors roam the Ark Encounter theme park as a replica of Noah's Ark stands in the distance during a media preview day, Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Williamstown, Ky.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)


By DYLAN LOVAN
Jul. 5, 2016 7:02 PM EDT

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. (AP) — A 510-foot-long, $100 million Noah's ark attraction built by Christians who say the biblical story really happened is ready to open in Kentucky this week.

Since its announcement in 2010, the ark project has rankled opponents who say the attraction will be detrimental to science education and shouldn't have won state tax incentives.

"I believe this is going to be one of the greatest Christian outreaches of this era in history," said Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, the ministry that built the ark.

Ham said the massive ark, based on the tale of a man who got an end-of-the-world warning from God about a massive flood, will stand as proof that the stories of the Bible are true. The group invited media and thousands of supporters for a preview Tuesday, the first glimpse inside the giant, mostly wood structure.

"People are going to come from all over the world," Ham said to thousands of people in front of the ark.

The ark will open to the public Thursday and Ham's group has estimated it will draw 2 million visitors in its first year, putting it on par with some of the big-ticket attractions in nearby Cincinnati.

The group says the ark is built based on dimensions in the Bible. Inside are museum-style exhibits: displays of Noah's family along with rows of cages containing animal replicas, including dinosaurs.

The group believes that God created everything about 6,000 years ago — man, dinosaur and everything else — so dinosaurs still would've been around at the time of Noah's flood. Scientists say dinosaurs died out about 65 million years before man appeared.

An ark opponent who leads an atheist group called the Tri-State Freethinkers said the religious theme park will be unlike any other in the nation because of its rejection of science.

"Basically, this boat is a church raising scientifically illiterate children and lying to them about science," said Jim Helton, who lives about a half-hour from the ark.

Ham said the total cost of the ark surpassed $100 million, a far cry from a few years ago, when fundraising for the boat was sluggish and much larger theme park plans had to be scaled back.

Millions of people first learned about plans for the ark during a debate on evolution between TV's Bill Nye "the Science Guy" and Ham in early 2014.

A few weeks later, a local bond issuance infused tens of millions of dollars into struggling fundraising efforts. And earlier this year, a federal judge ruled the ark could receive a Kentucky sales tax incentive worth up to $18 million while giving a strict religious test to its employees.

Months later, the tax incentive ruling still has some opponents of the boat scratching their heads.

"It's a clear violation of separation of church and state. What they're doing is utterly ridiculous and anywhere else, I don't think it would be allowed," Helton said.

The court ruled in January that Kentucky officials could not impose requirements on the ark that were not applied to other applicants for the tax incentive, which rebates a portion of the sales tax collected by the ark. That cleared the way for the group to seek out only Christians to fill its labor force. New applicants will be required to sign a statement saying they're Christian and "profess Christ as their savior."

Philip Steele, one of the thousands who got an early preview of the ark Tuesday, echoed Ham's often repeated comment that the sales tax generated by the ark wouldn't exist if the ark was never built.

"I just don't think they understand it," Steele said of the ark's critics. "They'll be able to keep a portion of (the sales tax) to further their ministry, but so be it."

When Ham was asked about the tax incentive at the Tuesday event, he drew loud cheers when he proclaimed no taxpayer money was used to the build the ark.

As much of a boon as the $18 million tax break would be, Bill Nye's agreeing to debate Ham may have helped turn the tide of years of sluggish fundraising.

Nye, a high-profile science advocate and former TV personality, debated Ham on evolution and drew a huge online audience. Nye later said he didn't realize the attention it would draw and said he was "heartbroken and sickened for the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

The video of the debate posted by Answers in Genesis on YouTube has 5.4 million views.

About three weeks after the debate, Ham announced that a bond offering from the city of Williamstown had raised $62 million for the project, and a few months later Answers in Genesis was breaking ground at the site of the ark.

© 2016 Associated Press

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ee0845e4a1b7497ab1890953850ac69c/noahs-ark-biblical-proportions-ready-open-kentucky


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The Great Flood


Uploaded on Dec 30, 2009 by DarkMatter2525 [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhtZqdkjshgq8TqwIjMdCQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkMatter2525 , http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkMatter2525/videos ]

The logistics of Noah's Ark. People actually believe this story. It's time for a dose of reality. The YouTubers known as KaseyAkira, Bluetrilobite, and Vashcat encouraged me to debunk the story of Noah's Ark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I225Vcs3X0g [with (over 13,000) comments]


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Rain threat reaffirms faith for crowd at Ark Encounter's preview day


More than 7,000 poeple were on hand for the ribbon cutting of the Ark Encounter.
(Source: Rick Miller, WAVE 3 News)



A full view of the Ark Encounter
(Source: WXIX)


By Gordon Boyd, Reporter
Published: Tuesday, July 5th 2016, 1:11 pm CDT
Updated: Tuesday, July 5th 2016, 4:05 pm CDT

WILLIAMSTOWN, KY (WAVE) - Drones, a crane-operated camera, projection-screen video system, a full marching band and an octet of shofars provided the epic proportions you'd expect for the preview of what's billed as the largest timber structure in America.

But nature itself, in gray clouds and sprinkling drops delivered the Biblical backdrop that Acts in Genesis couldn't have bought for Ark Encounter, the controversial $86 million to $93 million re-creation of Noah's Ark expected to be both tourism attraction and demonstration of an absolutely literal interpretation of the Old and New Testaments.

"Did you like our special effects," AIG executive Mark Lody asked the crowd of 7,000 who, collectively, represented 43,000 families whose donations raised $33.5 million of the project's cost.

"We believe God has raised all of us up, all of these years, just for this," Ark Encounter founder Ken Ham said. "We didn't have the funds, we didn't have the expertise, but God called us to do it."

The Ark recreation measures 510 feet long, more than 80 feet wide and five stories high. It utilizes more than 3 million "board feet" of lumber in the superstructure and decking.

Though no live animals are aboard, an elaborate sound and sensory array evokes their presence, right down to the faint aroma of animal waste.

"That's one of the logistical questions everybody asks -- 'how do you manage the poop', said Dr. David Ensley, an Indiana OB/GYN who was explaining an elaborate system of drainage to his own son, Noah, age 12.

Ensley, who was raised a non-believer, embraced Christianity shortly after he married.

"I was science-based, all grounded in Evolution, but I saw that Biblical truths are possible," he explained. "People will take away different things."

"We are glad to have this in Kentucky," Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton (R-Bowling Green) told the preview crowd. "God is here today, and even if it rains, that's okay."

Gov. Matt Bevin's tacit endorsement of Ark Encounter represents a 180 degree shift from his predecessor, Democrat Steve Beshear, who withdrew a state tax incentive that could have been worth $43 million, based on attendance projections of 16,000 visitors per day and 2 million per year.

Bevin agreed to a package that could be worth $18.25 million, essentially a rebate of sales taxes spread across the next ten years.

"We worked out what the city can do, what the county can do, what the Ark can do," Williamstown Mayor Richard Skinner said. "We weren't always in agreement, but we made it work out."

Adult tickets range from $40 for a single-day pass to $175 for the season, according to the Ark Encounter website. Seniors age 60 and older will pay $31, children 5 to 12 $28. Children younger than 5 will be admitted free.

The Ark Encounter represents the second phase of an investment that began with the nearby Creation Museum, dedicated to a Biblical interpretation of Earth and human history. Expansion plans include a "First Century Walled City" detailing civilization prior to the Great Flood, a Tower of Babel, a petting zoo and a walk-through aviary.

Ham sees prophetic implications in the Encounter's planned opening July 7 (7/7). "Genesis chapter 7, verse 7 details the day Noah and his family boarded the Ark," he told a Christian publication in April.

The Encounter will operate in shifts the first 40 days and nights of operation; the length of the rains as told in Genesis. The day schedule will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., resuming from 5 p.m. to midnight. The attraction expects to employ 35 to 40 people year-round, and 300 to 400 seasonally, according to the website.

"Some people will see it just to see it, but this isn't Kings Island," said Radcliff's David Bollinger, whose visit with wife Sara coincides with their 20th wedding anniversary. "This is faith. This is truth."

PREVIOUS STORIES

Ark Encounter plans to sue Kentucky over tax incentives
http://www.wave3.com/story/27986922/ark-encounter-plans-to-sue-kentucky-over-tax-incentives

Ark re-creators: Encounter will float financially, regardless of tax battle
http://www.wave3.com/story/29411389/ark-re-creators-encounter-will-float-financially-regardless-of-tax-battle


Copyright 2016 WAVE 3 News.

http://www.wave3.com/story/32375474/rain-threat-reaffirms-faith-for-crowd-at-ark-encounters-preview-day [with embedded video report]


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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07

"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790


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