Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hargrove / Hicks From the Sticks Kentucky Creation Museum Defies Science, Common Sense
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 2:55 PM
I see. This is science, according to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, just a three-hour drive northeast from Nashville. A group of paleontologists attending the North American Paleontological Convention in Cincinnati took a little field trip to this Kentucky museum to gawk at these ignorant hicks and their funny little fairy-tale filtering of our planet's history.
The New York Times was there to document the hilarity that ensued.
Just imagine what REAL scientists think when told things, straight-faced, like this: That different dinosaurs from different geological periods all, somehow, met their demise on the same date, which is the date of Noah's flood. Noah had dinosaurs on the ark. But they died out later. Does God hate dinosaurs? Anyway, I digress. Dinosaurs met their demise on the same date, despite the fact that their fossils are found in different layers of the earth. Well, the museum says that all the layers, for some reason, were laid down at the same time. God thought that different dinosaurs needed to be contained in different strata. Don't ask me about the inscrutable wisdom behind all of this.
When this group of venerable paleontologists entered the museum, there was an animatronic girl feeding a squirrel, with dinosaurs in the background. Nope, not separated by millions of years of evolution after all.
One scientist was hilariously quoted by the NYT reporter thusly: "I'm speechless," said Derek E.G. Briggs, director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale, who walked around with crossed arms and a grimace. "It's rather scary."
When asked by the scientists how the few creatures aboard the ark were able to multiply and diversify to the multitude of organisms that exist today in such a short period of time, they received this non-answer from the Creation Museum: "God provided organisms with special tools to change rapidly."
"Thus in one sentence they admit that evolution is real," said Dr. Stefan Bengston, professor of paleozoology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History," and that they have to invoke magic to explain how it works.
I'm sure it is all very entertaining, and I'd consider going myself, if for no other reason than to have a good laugh. But you gotta admit, the very existence of this place is disturbing. Imagine the children and the simple-minded adults who enter this museum and leave it in possession of preposterous ideas they believe are gospel. Scary, indeed, Dr. Bengston. Scary, indeed.
Comments (42)
Showing 1-42 of 42
I want to go there so badly -- but not as badly as I want to go here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10790
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The thing that amazes me isn't that something so patently idiotic as the museum exists... it's that so many people think evolution is a hoax.
But unsurprisingly, there's an overlap between creationists and global warming deniers. Next time you read a wingnut ranter, think to yourself, "this jackass believes that man and dinosaur walked the earth, hand in hand or whatever." It'll make it so you don't even argue with their lunacy.
OMG this is fucking awesome. I'm going. Union army officers vs. dinosaurs death match. It's the creation story that should have been told. Now it has. Thank you.
"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." - Thomas Jefferson
"If this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty Being? In giving out punishment and rewards He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on Himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to Him?" - Albert Einstein
But remember that if you go, you have to pay admission. And they will use your money to help elect people to school boards who will insist that schools teach creationism in its "intelligent design" disguise. I don't know that I'd laugh so hard thinking about that.
Huh, this is their address you say?
2800 Bullittsburg Church Rd.
Petersburg, KY 41080
Oh my mistake, I thought that said 'Bullshitburg Church Rd.'
Neither you or anyone else ever in the history of the Universe can prove that God didn't create everything. This was so in the past, is so now, and will continue to be so forever into the future, no matter what YOU say.
All Democrats are commies.
If I had a dollar for every Gilbert Martin comment that began with "Neither you nor anyone else can prove..." I'd be a rich, rich man.
Ha, I actually went there last year (a friend had to go for some sociology class) and...it's even crazier than the article shows. (Shameless self-promotion alert: I blogged about it here: http://pretentiouscollegestudent.blogspot.com/2008/11/creation-museum-part-1.html)
For example, they claim the dragons mentioned in medieval stories were actually dinosaurs. Yep. The dinosaurs were killed off by knights. You can't make this stuff up.
They also claimed that dinosaurs/dragons didn't eat meat until after the Fall. The T-rex's big sharp teeth weren't for shredding meat, they were for eating...coconuts. Anyway, totally crazy stuff, and yes, definately scary when you realise how many people actually believe this.
But Gilbert Jr is a different person! I can tell because I can detect the funny.
Gilbert Jr. needs a hug and some strong medication. Listen Gilbert, you can't prove that god created anything. And you can't prove there even is a god. Just because you believe it in your heart doesn't make it so. You have no fact based evidence of any kind. And you can't use the bible Gil cause it is a book written my MEN, not any kind of god. You believe in God because your momma told you to. Faith just isn't enough anymore Gilbert.
For every great thing you say god does, I can send you the headline of a tragedy that must be him working in mysterious ways. Like a father locking his daughter in a basement for 24 years in Austria and having children with her, beating her, etc. She was 42 years old when they found her in that basement Gilbert. That is a true story Gilbert so I ask you, why would an all knowing, all loving god let that happen? When she was alone in the dark tied up FOR 24 YEARS Gilbert, do you think she prayed to god? Can you explain to me why he didn't listen to her? Mysterious ways? No sir. No loving God would need to let those kind of things happen Gilbert because no loving god would need to exact revenge on a human. No loving god would let us suffer that way. As Mr. Einstein pointed out, everything you do is god's will, so that means he is judging himself when he let's Elisabeth Fritzl stay in a basement for most of her life.
So here is my question for the masses, if you could prove god didn't exist, would you?
I think the scene/PITW needs to sponsor some sort of "how to survive on the internet" boot camp.. lesson one is troll identification:
1) Funny trolls
2) Irritatingly persistent trolls with too much free time
3) bored Scene staffers (see 2)
4) psychotic trolls that you should actually be afraid of
5) people that are so dumb you think they're trolls but then you slowly realize in horror that they're completely serious and your faith in humanity takes a significant dip
6) nemesisboy
and so on.. There are as many varieties as stars in the sky, of course, but I think some basic identification skillsets are lacking here.
I just checked out the creation museum website and it is filled with lots of goodness for the whole family. The creation museum also claims to have had over 750,000 visitors so far. And at $21.95 a person, that should pay for lots more propaganda. I think I may open up a creation museum of my own if they are making that kind of money, $16.5 million in just a few years, not bad.
If anyone is interested, PZ Myers will be leading a tour of the creation museum on August 7th.
http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/06/30/a-pz-myers-led-tour-of-the-creation-museum/
I'm certainly planning to attend and I hope a lot more people will too. It'd be great to show up with about 500 people to laugh and giggle at all the absurdity.
All you liberal, douche-bag, fascist control freaks just got owned by Gilbert Jr. I, as the voice of reason and the authority on everything under the sun, just found this enlightening article on a great news site called "The Onion" that disproves all of your warped philosophies: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27604.
Read it and weep libs.
Scalzi did a fabulous post and photoset of the Creation Museum back in 2007. Highly recommended: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/your-creation-museum-report/
And I forgot to mention that I'm cloning a dinosaur that I will call Patrick Henry in my mom's basement and will train him to eat fascist liberals. Jeff Woods will be first on the menu. Just a heads up.
and then there was a HILARIOUS LOL Contest with Scalzi's photos: http://whateveresque.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=495
It will make you, um, laugh out loud. Really.
Its so funny and sad at the same time, I hardly know where to begin. Just remember, these are the same folks that vote Republican and go to tea-bagging parties.
Hello to all from Houston County, LBL area of TN
Wow.
A story that is vitriolic against Creation that does not tell the truth about the object of it's derision.
What a unique concept -
NOT!!
And the comments are mostly in agreement with the story itself.
Someone mentioned Carbon Dating -
Tell me, guys, if Carbon Dating is actually accurate and the earth is billions of years old -
Why is there C14 in coal, oil, and diamonds?
It should have decayed below the level of detection in ALL of these by now -
If anyone is interested in a CIVIL debate concerning the SCIENCE involved, come to Talk About Origins:
www.tao.invisionzone.com
Hmm.
try that link again:
http://www.tao.invisionzone.com
OH - by the way - it is NOT TRUE that the museum claims all layers in the geologic column were laid down by the flood.
It makes them sound ignorant, though, so the claim is made regardless of the facts.
No, Terry, the museum claims GOD laid them all down at once. It's the only way this fairy tale makes any kind of sense. And anyone who claims the Earth is only 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and homo sapiens co-existed IS ignorant.
this is what i think of everyone fighting on this page.
http://www.ifilmdb.com/Crunchyroll/Pictures/ArguingOnTheInternet-Special%20Olympics.jpg
This fake museum is run by Ken Ham who should be put in prison for mental child abuse.
"And anyone who claims the Earth is only 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and homo sapiens co-existed IS ignorant."
Right. They're also insane and hopelessly stupid.
The Quest for Right, a 7-book series on physical science vs. Darwinism, announces "Good news!" The dismantling of the hocus pocus conjured up by the obstructionist league of scientists allows the return to the highly respected and accurate traditional field of dating. The traditional field is the systematic account of past events, peoples, places, and things methodically recorded, usually in chronological order, on physical instrumentation. Unlike the pretentious dates imposed by quantum scientists, the utilization of written documentation makes it possible to ascertain precise dates simply by opening an encyclopedia or a history book, and, in particular, the Bible. The Quest for Right traces the dynasty of Jesus back through the pages of the Bible to the first man Adam. The exhaustive effort proves to the dismay of geologists that the earth was created on September 13, 4007 B.C. The study details the genealogy of Jesus with such profound logic and historical detail that every mouth will be stopped.
The genealogy of Jesus is made possible by incorporating two previously unknown bellwethers situated in the Bible; the bellwethers led the investigation across two bridges in time that would have otherwise been unbridgeable.
The dynasty of Jesus transports the reader (1) from the accretion of the earth from a watery nebula to the creation of the new heavens and earth; (2) from the creation of the dinosaurs to the demise of the hapless creatures, as recorded in the Bible; (3) from the time of Noah’s flood to the future destruction of the earth by fire; and (4) from the dedication of the earthly house of the Lord to the dedication of the true temple, Jesus. The project is so authoritative that all previous works on the subject will necessarily have to be revised.
I have been looking for years for a plausable explanation of Intelligent Design. I just moved close to the Creation Museum and will go there. However, I also believe in the validity of carbon dating (without knowing how it actually is done). Is this something like Christians believing in God without actually seeing Him first hand? I look forward to the explanation of the 6000 year-old earth to see if supports science in a way I can buy. Until then, Creationism makes sense to me based on all the archeaological findings.
Thermodynamics and entropy. When the darwinists corner those two, I will listen with more intent. In the meantime, however, I do believe their were dinosaurs during the civil war. I saw the the picture on the internet. That makes it real. It is historical evidence of an unquestionable caliber. Why do you hate the civil war dinosaurs?
The movie Religulous does a good job showing what a moron Ken Ham is, and also how idiodic the Creationism Museum is.
There`s a David Brin sci-fi series I enjoyed a while back, the Uplift series. Kinda a manifesto of the evolutionist standpoint. There`s one thing that struck me though - eventually humans catch on to a major deception by the highest evolved races, which is that their penultimate library doesn`t go back as many eons as they had been deceived into believing it did, it only goes back to the last cataclysmic rending of the universe (oops, hope I didnt ruin the story for anyone! :). I`m from a science background, and carbon-dating, light-year estimates, etc, all seem the same to me in this...they are all only accurate (ie provable) for about 10,000 years....hmmnn.... Oh, and Evolution with a BIG E is NOT the same as evolution little e, as in this bird was a lot browner a 100 years ago vs this bird was a toad a 100 years ago. :P And one last thing, as far as I know the 6000 year universe was an idea thought up by a monk hundreds of years ago that`s totally denied now, about 10,000 years is the current estimate by creationist scientists. Yep, I`m a Christian, and having been edumacated in the highest halls of evolutionist belief I can say that when you get down to the nitty-gritty details of Big-E evolution (NOT little e!), it takes as much faith, or more, than believing in intelligent design....but most people on both sides of the issue just want to take `the experts` word for things instead of looking into it themselves.
God is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness. There will be a judgment day and at that time, we'll see who is correct. I would not want to be any of those "scientists", the author of this article or most of the respondents to it. The denial of the existence of God and his creation is tantamount to the unpardonable sin.
Has anybody else ever seen the illusrations these guys have of dinosaurs with saddles? Just curious.
I can't PROVE God exists. I only believe it by faith. Faith is a gift that has been given to me. I am sorry you don't have that gift at this point in your life. I hope and pray you will receive it before you die, because then the existence of God will take on a whole new meaning.
As far as evolution goes, if you study it in depth, you will find there are MANY inconsistencies. With creation, while there may be some gaps in our understanding about how things happened, there are no inconsistencies.
That was a fun read.
For those of faith it's simple really.
You just have to say:
"I believe in a deceiver god. He created the world 10,000 years ago but made it look exactly like a world much older. He faked all kinds of evidence to fool people that looked carefully into thinking the world is vastly older. He buried fossils and layered the rocks, he piled up river delta's to resemble dirt deposited over millions of years and sculpted valleys to look like glaciers had cut them. He engaged in all this fake evidence in order to test our faith. This is the kind of god he is. He doesn't want us to believe in our own eyes and minds but to unthinkingly believe a book. That's why he gave us a brain, so we could not use it."
This simple statement neatly encapsulates the fundamentalist position. It really doesn't require further analysis than that. I guess it's sad really that people feel they have to believe every last word of the bible in order to believe in a god. Apparently it’s an idea that can’t handle much competition.
I thought about going to the museum to see what the enemies of thought are selling but in the end I don't think I'm going to go even though I'm quite close to it. I don't want to fund this twaddle with my money.
As for those who find it necessary to believe in the literal truth of an English translation of a Latin translation of a Greek translation of an Aramaic oral tradition. Peace be with you, I hope you find as much comfort in your tiny world view as I do my expansive one.
