Sad monkey: A bitter Ken Ham blames atheists and the secular media for the perceived financial failure of his Ark Park.
In a recent blog post to his Answers in Genesis website, leading creationist Ken Ham laments the supposed power of atheists and the “secularist media,” complaining that they are damaging the reputation of his Ark Encounter, and the economy of the surrounding local businesses, writing:
Recently, a number of articles in the mainstream media, on blogs, and on well-known secularist group websites have attempted to spread propaganda to brainwash the public into thinking our Ark Encounter attraction is a dismal failure.
Sadly, they (atheists and the secular media) are influencing business investors and others in such a negative way that they may prevent Grant County, Kentucky, from achieving the economic recovery that its officials and residents have been seeking.
In other words, Ken Ham blames atheists for his trouble. Ham is refusing to take responsibility for his own failure, and refusing to take responsibility for his broken promises to the citizens and business community of Grant County, Kentucky.
Ham is desperate to counter the narrative that his Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are not delivering on the promises he made. He is particularly upset with a recent article from The Lexington Herald Leader that explores Ham’s failure to deliver on financial promises made to community members and local businesses.
Commenting on the agreements the Ark Encounter made with the county and city, and the broken promises made by Ham and his people after being given extremely generous tax breaks, Grant County Judge-Executive Steve Wood opined:
It’s a really bad deal for taxpayers. It was a shock for me because I didn’t really know all the details. Maybe I should have.
According to The Lexington Herald Leader report, Wood is not alone in his disappointment with Ken Ham and his Ark Park boondoggle. Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner complains about Ham’s broken promises, noting:
There hasn’t been any commercial development here.
However, ignoring the criticism from local business people, Ham is sticking to his story that the Ark Park’s failure to produce the financial gains he promised is not his fault, but the fault of “intolerant secularists.” Ham writes:
… we are in a spiritual battle, and the intolerant secularists are so upset with such world-class attraction like the Ark (and Creation Museum) that publicly proclaim a Christian message. They will resort to whatever tactics they deem necessary to try to malign the attractions.
Bottom line: Ham is a sad monkey. His Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are not performing as well as he had hoped they would, and now he is refusing to take responsibility for his own failure, and instead blaming atheists and the secular media.
“When you point your finger ‘cause your plan fell through, you got three more fingers pointing back at you.” – Dire Straits
Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is forcing unmarried employees to sign a chastity pledge.
Fox13Now reports that all prospective employees for Ken Ham’s new Ark Encounter theme park must sign a statement promising not to engage in premarital sex.
According to reports, all Ark Encounter employees are required to sign a statement of faith, disavowing homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and premarital sex.
In addition, employees must affirm that they believe in Biblical creationism, and reject accepted scientific accounts on the age and origin of Earth and its inhabitants.
Ark Encounter employees are expected to believe that God created the Earth in six days and six nights, and that dinosaurs, along with tigers and camels and other animals, roamed the Earth alongside Adam and Eve. In addition, they must reject the overwhelming scientific evidence that the Earth is 4.5 billion years-old and that fossilized dinosaur bones date back roughly 65 million years.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that this anti-science, anti-intellectual, Christian theme park is receiving $18 million in sales tax incentives. Thus, taxpayers are subsidizing destructive and misleading Christian propaganda designed to deceive children and others about the scientific realities of our world.
Many recognize that the state should not be subsidizing the Ark Park. Speaking for many, Baptist minister Bob Fox notes:
I believe, as a Baptist, in the separation of Church and State and I don’t think that the state ought to be involved in promoting any particular religious views. There’s kinds of laws called ‘Sharia,’ where people have used legislation and the government to promote a religious faith, and I think we as Christians need to be careful that we continue to be Christian, and to be Christian in the context of the United States.
Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The Bible based amusement park is designed to be an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.
The Christian theme park is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
Kentucky taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize Ken Ham’s evolution denying Creationist theme park. The park discriminates against non-Christians; and attempts to deceive children and others about the nature of science, and the world in which we live.
Bottom line: The chastity pledge is but one of many insults Ark Encounter employees must endure. Indeed, by asking employees to sign a pledge denying scientific reality in favor of Christian mythology, employees are being forced to commit intellectual suicide. In addition, by working at the park, employees are forced to participate in the immoral attempt to deceive children and others by promoting false Christian mythology as scientific reality.
Bad news for science, secular values, and the separation of church and state.
Kentucky taxpayers will be forced to subsidize an evolution-denying, Creationist theme park being built by Christian fundamentalists hoping to indoctrinate children with ignorant, discredited religious superstitions.
According to reports, a state board has quietly approved tax incentives worth $18 million for Ken Ham’s controversial Noah’s Ark theme park due to open this summer.
Lexington Herald Leader reports the tax break was initially approved in 2014, but was later canceled after tourism officials learned that the theme park would hire only Christians.
However, Ark Encounter officials sued the state in federal court, saying the state’s decision to withhold the tax break violated its free speech, and in an inexplicable and disappointing decision, they won.
The long-planned Noah’s Ark theme park being built in northern Kentucky is a biblical-themed amusement park that will feature a full scale replica of Noah’s Ark.
The planned Christian theme park will be dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
The Noah’s Ark theme park is scheduled to open July 7.
The $18 million tax break is ridiculous, and an insult to science, the separation of church and state, and the secular values upon which this nation was founded.
Kentucky taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize Ken Ham’s evolution denying Creationist theme park. The park discriminates against non-Christians; and attempts to deceive children and others about the nature of science, and the world in which we live.
Bottom line: taxpayer’s money should never be used to fund religious indoctrination.
How does constructing a replica of Noah’s Ark with modern technology contribute to the argument for the supposed truth of Young Earth Creationism?
In case anyone needed more evidence disproving the claims of Young Earth Creationism, a recent video depicting the current construction of a full scale replica of Noah’s Ark serves as a powerful argument against the possibility that a supposed 600 year old goat herder possessed the tools, materials, and technical know-how to complete such a monumental task.
Ken Ham is spending a lot of money replicating the fictional Noah’s Ark as described in the Bible. The Ark Encounter’s official website shows that close to $19.5 million has so far been collected out of a goal of $29.5 million for the project’s completion.
The life-size Noah’s Ark replica project is being constructed in Williamstown, Kentucky, and is scheduled to be completed by 2016.
A page on the Ark Encounter website attempts to anticipate and address such criticism and questions as offered above:
Answers to Predicted Comments About Ark Encounter Construction
… we don’t have an evolutionary view of history. Many think Noah was a very primitive person with no technology. But prior to the Flood men were making musical instruments and forging instruments of bronze and iron: “His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron” (Genesis 4:21–22). By the time of Noah, who knows what advanced technology they had?
Apparently for Ham and his people, once one rejects “an evolutionary view of history” anything is possible.
Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The $172 million biblical-themed amusement park is designed to be an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.
The planned Christian theme park is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
Yet simply watching the video below depicting the partial construction of the Ark, with all the attending modern technology, equipment, and know-how necessary to build the replica, should be evidence enough to convince any reasonable person that the Biblical account of Noah’s Ark is a fiction, and that to claim otherwise is folly.
Ken Ham needs more than $100 million, modern machinery, a huge team of labor, roads, lumber mills, AND tax breaks and never once thinks ‘You know… I don’t think a 500 year old man could pull this off with tools from the Bronze Age…’ – Anthony Blair
In a victory for science, secular values, and the separation of church and state, Kentucky has withdrawn its offer of $18 million in tax breaks for Ken Ham’s Noah’s Ark theme park.
The good news means Kentucky taxpayers will not be forced to subsidize an evolution denying Creationist theme park being built by Christian fundamentalists hoping to indoctrinate children with ignorant, discredited religious superstitions.
Kentucky Tourism Secretary Bob Stewart says the planned project has evolved from a tourism attraction into an outreach for the Christian ministry that is building it. Stewart said:
“state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination.”
Stewart said the Ark Encounter religious themed park changed from a tourist attraction to a Christian ministry, so state tax incentives cannot go to support it. He also said the group was no longer honoring its pledge to not discriminate in hiring for the Ark Park.
Gov. Steve Beshear issued a statement Wednesday saying that he still expects the Ark Encounter to be a successful attraction, but he reiterated concerns over religious-based discrimination:
“While the leaders of the Ark Encounter had previously agreed not to discriminate in hiring based on religion, they now refuse to make that commitment and it has become apparent that they do intend to use religious beliefs as a litmus test for hiring decisions.”
The Ark Project, a venture of Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis, was approved in July for up to $18 million dollars in tax rebates. The long-planned Noah’s Ark theme park being built in northern Kentucky is a biblical-themed amusement park that will feature a full scale replica of Noah’s Ark.
The planned Christian theme park will be dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
The rationale for the theme park is that “the Ark is a reminder of God’s judgment upon a sinful world. It can also serve as a picture of salvation.”
Kentucky should have never approved the $18 million in tax credits for the Noah’s Ark theme park in the first place. The fact that they are now withdrawing the offer is good news for everyone, except Ken Ham and his supporters.
Answers in Genesis is the parent of Ark Encounter LLC, which is building the park in Grant County, Kentucky. Answers in Genesis reports the park’s life-size replica of Noah’s Ark is expected to open in 2016.
The bottom line: “tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination.”
Why are Kentucky taxpayers subsidizing an evolution denying Creationist theme park being built by Christian fundamentalists hoping to indoctrinate children with ignorant, discredited religious superstitions?
Last week the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Board approved $18 million in tax breaks to promote Ken Ham’s long-planned Noah’s ark theme park being built in northern Kentucky.
Ark Encounter is a $172 million biblical-themed amusement park planned in Williamstown, Kentucky. The Christian theme park will feature a full scale replica of Noah’s Ark, and is a venture of Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis.
NPR reports the project is slated to include a facsimile of Noah’s Ark and the Tower of Babel, and will proselytize Christian evangelicalism to patrons.
The Christian theme park will be dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
The rationale for this taxpayer subsidized theme park is that “the Ark is a reminder of God’s judgment upon a sinful world. It can also serve as a picture of salvation.”
Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize an avowedly Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis.
Kentucky Taxpayers Subsidize Ark Encounter Theme Park
The creationist responsible for Kentucky’s Ark Encounter — a museum set inside a replica of the Biblical Noah’s Ark — is warning children about the dangers posed by libraries.
Former science teacher and hardcore evangelical Ken Ham tweeted a link to a right wing article bemoaning the presence of LGBTQ-friendly books in libraries along with a caption stating “the enemy” is trying to infiltrate the hearts and minds of kids.
Speaking out on Twitter, the intellectually challenged conservative Christian who believes the Earth is only 6,000 years old warned his followers that “public libraries are becoming dangerous places for kids (of all ages)” because public libraries offer LGBT friendly books.
Ham tweeted:
parents need to be reminded: “You shall teach them [God’s Word] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
Increasingly (sadly) so, but public libraries are becoming dangerous places for kids (of all ages). And sadly, the majority of kids from church homes have already had their hearts & minds captured by the enemy through public schools, TV etc. Christian…
parents need to be reminded: “You shall teach them [God’s Word] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
Ham is wrong, as usual. In fact, a church is much more dangerous for children than a public library. But this is to be expected: Ham is a dishonest actor promoting child abuse in the name of religious superstition.
Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The life-size version of Noah’s Ark located in Williamstown, Ky., just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.
Ark Encounter is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
The truth is that there is no scientific controversy concerning evolution. The assumption that creationism, or intelligent design, constitutes a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution is simply false.
Simply put, creationism is not a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution. And preventing children from learning the truth about the world, like teaching children that creationism is an acceptable scientific explanation for the diversity of life on Earth, or that humans and dinosaurs existed on earth at the same time, is a form of child abuse.
Bottom line: Creationist Ken Ham, a man who believes the Earth is only 6,000 years old, claims that “public libraries are becoming dangerous places for kids.”
Creationist Ken Ham Claims Public Libraries Are ‘Dangerous Places’ For Children (Image via Twitter)
Creepy Christian creationist Ken Ham has a meltdown via Twitter after being called out for abusing children by teaching creationism.
Ham, the president and founder of Answers in Genesis, the Christian Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter theme park, went on a Twitter rant earlier today after reading a Patheos post pointing out the fact that teaching children biblical creationism and calling it science constitutes intellectual child abuse.
In furious succession Ham rattled off five tweets expressing his anger and extreme displeasure with the provocative post exposing his deceptive and immoral practices:
This Christian hate filled article (really showing up how angry at God these atheists are), is a reminder that Jesus said: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18 https://t.co/46pF101Cas
(This Christian hate filled article (really showing up how angry at God these atheists are), is a reminder that Jesus said: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18)
Note this atheist is saying the Government should have more rights than parental rights over children (particularly for Christians). Atheists, in this spiritual war, want to brainwash your kids in the religion of atheism as they shake their fist at God https://t.co/46pF101Cas
(Note this atheist is saying the Government should have more rights than parental rights over children (particularly for Christians). Atheists, in this spiritual war, want to brainwash your kids in the religion of atheism as they shake their fist at God)
This atheist, like Nye & Krauss, does not understand the basics of science–they can’t even distinguish between what one can observe & repeatedly test & what is belief. They are blinded to the truth because of their hatred of their Creator God. https://t.co/46pF101Cas
(This atheist, like Nye & Krauss, does not understand the basics of science–they can’t even distinguish between what one can observe & repeatedly test & what is belief. They are blinded to the truth because of their hatred of their Creator God.)
As I’ve challenged Bill Nye many times, name one technological achievement that would not have been invented without the blind faith belief in the religion of molecules to man evolution! There are no examples! Evolution is an anti-God religion https://t.co/46pF101Cas
(As I’ve challenged Bill Nye many times, name one technological achievement that would not have been invented without the blind faith belief in the religion of molecules to man evolution! There are no examples! Evolution is an anti-God religion)
The real intellectual child abuse is when atheists like Stone, Nye & Krauss attempt to brainwash children in their religion of atheism & its consequences of a worldview based on moral relativism–no wonder so many turn to drugs, sex, violence, suicide https://t.co/46pF101Cas
(The real intellectual child abuse is when atheists like Stone, Nye & Krauss attempt to brainwash children in their religion of atheism & its consequences of a worldview based on moral relativism–no wonder so many turn to drugs, sex, violence, suicide)
Ham’s angry rants are filled with the typical conservative Christian bigotry and propaganda one might expect. Ham is simply railing against atheists and anybody else challenging his deeply flawed and misguided understanding of the world.
Bottom line: By teaching children that creationism is a legitimate scientific theory that disproves the theory of evolution, Ken Ham is engaged in a deplorable form of intellectual child abuse.
And the fact that people are calling it child abuse makes Ken Ham angry.
Creationist Ken Ham Freaks Out After Being Called Out For Child Abuse (Image via Twitter)
Teaching children the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true, constitutes intellectual child abuse.
Every child deserves an education. However, many children in the U.S. and around the world are denied an education in the name of religious superstition. In the U.S. some children are denied a science education because they are being home-schooled or attend Christian schools that fail to teach the facts of basic biology, like evolution.
Instead of learning about evolution, children in extreme Christian environments are taught creationism. This is wrong, and immoral. Children have a right to a science education. Denying children a science education by teaching creationism is a form of child abuse.
Evolution
Evolution is the single, unifying scientific explanation for the diversity of life on earth, and the foundation upon which the biological sciences are built.
Indeed, the scientific theory of evolution is accepted by an overwhelming majority of mainstream scientists around the world as the cornerstone of biology. To deny the reality of evolution is to deny the foundation upon which modern medicine and related biological sciences are built.
Thus, if there is a controversy about evolution, it is not scientific. The controversy is not about science, but religion. The fact is that once the theory of evolution is accepted, a literal, fundamentalist reading of Biblical creation is rendered untenable. Many Christian and other religious fundamentalists are simply unable to accept evolution as a scientific truth for this reason.
And because adults refuse to accept the scientific truth of evolution, children suffer.
Recently, a voice of reason, everybody’s favorite “Science Guy,” Bill Nye, spoke out against creationism in an essay published in Skeptical Inquirer. Noting that creationism is “bad for science education, bad for the U.S., and thereby bad for humankind,” Nye went on to note:
“… if you, as an adult, want to hold on to a completely unreasonable explanation of the Earth’s natural history that is useless from a practical standpoint, that’s your business. But we don’t want our kids, our science students, to be indoctrinated into that weird worldview, because our kids are the scientists and engineers of the future. They need to be the innovators that drive the U.S. economy in the coming decades.”
And speaking to Popular Mechanics about the problems of teaching children creationism, and why evolution is key to a science education, Nye declared:
“Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back. And it’s fine if you as an adult want to run around pretending or claiming that you don’t believe in evolution, but if we educate a generation of people who don’t believe in science, that’s a recipe for disaster. We talk about the Internet. That comes from science. Weather forecasting. That comes from science. The main idea in all of biology is evolution. To not teach it to our young people is wrong.”
Nye is not alone. Top scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss also advocate for children, arguing children should be allowed to develop as critical thinkers and be protected from religious indoctrination.
Speaking with The Irish Times, Dawkins, a leading biologist, and Krauss, a leading physicist, defended a child’s right to a proper education.
“There is a balancing act and you have to balance the rights of parents and the rights of children and I think the balance has swung too far towards parents. Children do need to be protected so that they can have a proper education and not be indoctrinated in whatever religion their parents happen to have been brought up in.”
“That means parents have a limited — it seems to be — limited rights in determining what the curriculum is. The state is providing the education, it’s trying to make sure all children have equal opportunity.
“And parents of course have concerns and a say, but they don’t have the right to shield their children from knowledge. That’s not a right any more than they have the right to shield their children from health care or medicine.
“And those parents that do that are often tried and imprisoned when they refuse to allow their children to get blood transfusions or whatever is necessary for their health. And this is necessary for their mental health.”
Dawkins, Krauss, Nye, and others make an interesting and compelling claim: Forcing children to accept the religious superstitions of their parents can be a form of child abuse.
For example, teaching children Biblical creationism as a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution is considered by many to be a form of child abuse.
Ken Ham
The leading proponent of creationism is Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, an organization devoted to teaching and promoting the false notion that Biblical creationism is a legitimate scientific theory. Ham and his organization produce and supply much of the literature and curriculum used by Christian schools and others to teach children creationism.
Ham and his organization are also behind the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. Aimed at children and located in Kentucky, the multi-million dollar facilities are part of Ham’s Christian fundamentalist project to spread his flawed and misleading message based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis.
The Creation Museum and life-size version of Noah’s Ark are designed to be an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.
The 500-foot-long, $100 million ark opened in 2016, and is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
By teaching children creationism is a legitimate scientific theory that disproves the theory of evolution, Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is engaged in a despicable form of intellectual child abuse.
However, Ham is not alone in his desire to force creationism into the science classroom. American politicians routinely try to smuggle creationism into the public school classroom via various nefarious legislative efforts. From state legislatures to the highest reaches of government, creationism has powerful proponents that would happily sacrifice the intellectual health of children on the altar of religious superstition.
Mike Pence
In fact, even Vice President Mike Pence believes that creationism should be taught in public schools. When serving as a congressman, Pence made it clear that he opposes evolution, while claiming that creationism (intelligent design) provides the only “rational explanation for the known universe.”
In 2002, Pence delivered a passionate speech on the floor of the House of Representatives arguing that evolution is “only a theory” and that public schools should teach the theory of intelligent design as well as the theory of evolution.
“I believe that God created the known universe, the earth and everything in it, including man. And I also believe that someday scientists will come to see that only the theory of intelligent design provides even a remotely rational explanation for the known universe.”
In other words, for Pence, the only rational explanation is “God did it.”
In his speech to congress, Pence also made the false and misleading claim that creationism is a valid scientific alternative to the theory of evolution, arguing that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the public school science classroom.
Christianity
The question is begged: Why is creationism so important to so many Christians? Well, it may be that evolution exposes the flimsy house of cards that is the foundation of Christianity, and by extension, all Abrahamic religions. For if one embraces science, and accepts the scientific account of evolution, one must dismiss biblical creationism as myth, metaphor, or some other euphemism for factually untrue.
Speaking for many Christian fundamentalists, Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham argues that any coherent understanding of Christianity depends upon a literal interpretation of the Bible, including a belief that the story of Noah and the account of creation offered in the Book of Genesis is historically accurate.
The fact is, for many, once biblical creationism is rejected, Christianity unravels: there is no Adam and Eve, no original sin, and no need for redemption through the blood of Christ.
In addition, once one biblical account of supernatural absurdity is rejected, all other biblical accounts of supernatural absurdities become suspect, including the absurdity that is God. Indeed, implicit in evolution is a powerful argument for atheism. And this drives some Christians to ridiculous positions, like clinging to the untenable claim that the earth is only 6,000 years old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.
To conclude: Forcing children to accept the religious superstitions of their parents is a form of child abuse. And it follows that teaching children Biblical creationism as a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution is an example of such child abuse.
Angry creationist claims atheism and evolution are religions.
In a recent Twitter rant, creationist Ken Ham claims evolution is the “religion of death” and atheism is the “religion of naturalism.”
Ken Ham, the man behind Ark Encounter, a Christian fundamentalist propaganda project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis, recently went on a Twitter rant to issue a warning about evolution, the “religion of death;” and atheism, “the religion of naturalism.”
Christianity is a faith that explains the evidence and is confirmed by observational science–it’s the true faith.
Ham is wrong. Atheism is not a religion. Evolution is not a religion. And Christianity is not “confirmed by observational science.”
For Ham to claim that atheism or evolution is a religion, is the intellectual equivalent of arguing “I know you are but what am I.” It is a tired and old argument that is often made by frustrated apologists for religion.
Indeed, there is something odd about Ham, or anyone else, defending their religion by claiming that atheism or evolution is also a religion. Such claims come across as a pathetic attempt to try and claim that atheism and evolution are just as absurd as Ham’s particularly absurd version of Christianity.
For the record, atheism is not a belief system, nor is it a religion. Atheism is simply a lack of belief in god(s). As for evolution, it is also not a religion; instead, it is a scientific theory, and the foundation upon which all the biological sciences rest.
Bottom line: there is no intellectual equivalency between religious belief and atheism, or religious belief and evolution. Ham is wrong.
