Ken Ham's Blog, page 462

Congratulations

Last week, the AiG board of directors met for three days at the AiG headquarters, as they do three times a year. During this time, the chairman of our board (Don Landis) and his wife (Bev) celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to Don and Bev.

Don is pastor of Community Bible Church in Jackson, Wyoming, and is also the president of Jackson Hole Bible College.

A Special Send Off

Mike and Lesley Riddle have been working with AiG for a number of years. Mike is a very popular speaker. Over the years, Mike has had a burden to go into a ministry specifically aimed at training teachers in apologetics. During our staff meeting yesterday, we had a special time with Mike and Lesley as we prayed for the couple to "send them off," as it were, to this new ministry venture. Mike will remain as an adjunct speaker for AiG—in fact, he has numerous AiG speaking events into the future.

Because of the wonderful relationship we have with Mike and Lesley, and because we look on what they are doing as an extended arm of AiG, we made them both "honorary staff members," and presented them with their staff badges with all the privileges of an AiG staff member. In many ways, most staff won't notice much difference, as we will continue to see them both in and out of the offices. We will continue to pray for Mike and Lesley as they are involved in this ministry adventure!

Here are some photographs from yesterday's staff meeting:

Mark Looy and Steve Ham present Mike and Lesley with a special plaque honoring their ministry at AiG.

Mark asks Mike to explain what their ministry will involve as they train teachers.

Steve talks about the great contribution they have made to the creation apologetics ministry.

I have just taken the staff badges from them, and then I present them back as we made them honorary AiG staff members.

We will tell you more about Mike and Lesley's ministry in the future. Please pray for them as they continue to step out to use their talents for the Lord in reaching people with the message of the authority of God's Word and the gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Bill Nye "The Science Guy" Doesn't Really Understand Science

Last year I wrote a blog about Bill Nye (from the well-known TV program, Bill Nye the Science Guy) being presented the "Humanist of the Year" award.

Well, on PopularMechanics.com, Bill Nye was interviewed about the teaching of evolution in public schools. I have pasted in some of his statements, with comments from me. It is amazing how the question he was asked concerned molecules-to-man evolution, and then his answer shows how he mixes up historical (or origins) science (e.g.,  historical geology, paleontology, etc., from which belief in evolution is supposedly derived) with observational (or operational) science (the observational and experimental research that builds our technology and so on). He really doesn't understand the nature of these two significantly different categories of science:

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.

When Bill Nye uses the word evolution here, he is talking about the belief in molecules-to-man change (e.g., reptiles changing into birds, or ape-like creatures changing into man). Such a view relates to historical science and involves beliefs about the past that can't be observed—times when no human witness was there. But putting "evolution" and technology like the Internet together is ridiculous. The Internet involves observational (operational) science—lab research in the field of physics, the use of computers and programming done by intelligent human beings, etc.

Also, weather forecasting involves operational science—observing the actual circumstances, understanding low and high pressure, using the laws of nature etc—to make predictions (although such forecasting only works well over a few days in most instances). And to say (as most evolutionists falsely claim) that the main idea in all of biology is evolution is also ridiculous. Students would be much further ahead if they were just taught real biology (such as the nature of cells, reproduction, mutations, and natural selection—all of which creationists accept as sound science) without the baggage of the false view of origins that detracts from this discipline.

. . . Well the longest journey starts with just a single step. Science education: We should support it. Especially elementary school science. Nearly every rocket scientist got interested in it before they were 10. Everybody who's a physician, who makes vaccines, who wants to find the cure for cancer. Everybody who wants to do any medical good for humankind got the passion for that before he or she was 10. So we want to excite a new generation of kids—every generation—about the passion, beauty and joy—the PB&J—of science. These anti-evolution people are frustrating in two ways. The first way is, almost certainly they know better. Those people really do believe in flu shots. They really do understand that when you find fossil bones of ancient dinosaurs, you are looking at deep time, not just 5000 years. And secondly, and much more importantly, having raised a generation of kids who don't understand science is bad for everyone. And with the United States having a leadership role in science and technology, having a generation of kids not believing in science is bad for the world.

Once again, Nye mixes historical science with operational science, either out of ignorance or because he deliberately deceives to indoctrinate people. Flu shots, vaccines, and the cure for cancer all involve operational science as scientists study viruses, cells, etc. and design experiments and tests to accumulate knowledge about the present world.

The bacterial resistance to antibiotic drugs (implied when one is discussing vaccines and flu shots) has nothing to do with evolution—nothing! We have articles on our website that deal specifically with this topic of antibiotic resistance. After mentioning these topics, he then mentions fossil bones and states "you are looking at deep time, not just 5000 years." A scientist does not "look at deep time." A scientist examines dinosaur bones and interprets them in relation to the past (historical science), based on non-scientific worldview assumptions about the past.

One does not dig up fossils with labels on them telling us how old they are!!

Bill Nye then goes on and states, "having a generation of kids not believing in science is bad for the world." However, because of what he has previously stated, he is really saying that "believing in science" and believing in "evolution" are the same! This is the way unsuspecting kids are brainwashed to believe the lie of evolution in the public school education system, science museums, and science programs on TV.

Oh the teachers get pulled every which way. People get on school boards just with this agenda of not teaching evolution. The school board comes running in and beats them over the head. But denying the facts does not make them not true. And in science we're always looking for the truth, it's what we do. Does this work? Does this solve the problem? Can you do the same experiment and get the same results?

He is highly misrepresenting the school board battles I am familiar with. None of them have insisted that the schools should be "not teaching evolution." There have been situations where such boards have wanted the scientific objections to evolution to be examined by students, or for other views of origins including creation or intelligent design to be taught as well. But no school board that we are aware of has asked for evolution to be removed from the curriculum.

Bill Nye was asked: "Should teachers be mandated to teach evolution as fact?" His response was as follows:

What other fundamental theory in all of biology is there? Intelligent design, as the judge in Dover, Penn., said, is "breathtaking inanity." It was so stupid it took his breath away. I agree with him. It's great to teach in history class, though. People believed the earth was the center of the universe. People believed the earth was flat. It was reasonable at the time, but we don't learn about those ideas in science class.

There he goes, doing what some others have done over the years—trying to equate those who believe in creation with those who supposedly believe in a flat earth. This is just nonsense, and is typical of those who try to mock creationists by making such false associations.

So to believe in design is "stupid?" By the way, if the universe evolved by natural processes, then how can we accept the laws of logic? And if Bill Nye's processes of logic evolved by natural processes, how can he be sure that his or any other evolutionist's thoughts about the past correspond to reality? Maybe the chemicals and electrical charges in his brain are producing these thoughts for some unknown but purposeless, mindless evolutionary reason.

Gravity is a theory. People have landed spacecraft on the moon within a few feet of accuracy because we understand gravity so well. People make flu vaccinations that stop people from getting sick. Farmers raise crops with science; they hybridize them and make them better with every generation. That's all evolution. Evolution is a theory, and it's a theory that you can test. We've tested evolution in many ways. You can't present good evidence that says evolution is not a fact.

Once again, Bill Nye mixes operational science (hybridization regarding crops, flu vaccines, landing on the moon, etc.) with historical science (the belief in evolution). And yes, Bill, we can experiment with gravity and measure the forces involved. That's why scientists could design spacecraft to land on the moon—they knew what forces to account for. To equate this with the belief in evolution (molecules to man) is deceptive thinking and wrong.

It's so sad that the man called the "science guy" on television doesn't understand the true nature of science—the difference between historical science and operational science, and the limits of operational science in regard to dealing with the topic of origins.

You can read the entire interview at this link.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Does Elizabethton Presbyterian Church in Tennessee Teach Heresy?

This coming weekend, Dr. Jason Lisle and I will be speaking in two churches and at a conference in Johnson City, Tennessee. (Go to our outreach site for more information about the various meetings.) A Presbyterian minister in that state has commented very negatively (on his personal blog) about this visit by AiG. But before I share some of his comments with you, let me offer some quotes from the website of his church, First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, Tennessee (this so-called "Presbyterian church" is about 20 minutes from where I will be speaking):

During Winter, we honor the path of Creativity. One dramatic way to put it is that we give birth to God. The incarnation means that God has become one with us. As created in the image of God/dess, we are co-creators with the Divine Spirit. "Creativity," writes Matthew Fox, "Is where the Divine and the Human meet." Creativity is not a special elite project of professional artists and musicians, but it is the essential aspect of humanity itself. We are creativity . . .

Here is part of their Mission Statement:

Honor our Christian heritage while we explore the knowledge and wisdom of multiple religions, science, philosophy, humanities and psychology to deepen and enrich our spiritual journeys. Nurture one another through fellowship and compassion in a community that seeks to offer wholeness. Embody our faith through local ministries and in actions that promote environmental sustainability, peace, and justice for all people and Earth. In awe and gratitude for the Divine Mystery that dwells within each of us and pervades our Universe, we seek to create a Christian community that honors our past, is vitally connected to our present, and looks with hope and vision to the generations after us.

Their website also states:

We will also use some texts from other traditions, such as the teachings of the Buddha in the Dhammapada, creation mythologies from different cultures, and we will explore our new creation story, the 14 billion year creation extravaganza that finally produced you and me. In order to remove the obstacles and get out of creativity's way, we may need some ritual, meditation, prayer, or way to center in community. Walter Wink in his book Engaging the Powers, writes about creativity and how we can unleash it through prayer: Prayer is rattling God's cage and waking God up and setting God free and giving this famished God water and this starved God food and cutting the ropes off God's hands and the manacles off God's feet and washing the caked sweat from God's eyes and then watching God swell with life and vitality and energy and following God wherever God goes. . . . When we pray we are not sending a letter to a celestial White House where it is sorted among piles of others. We are engaged rather in an act of cocreation, in which one little sector of the Universe rises up and becomes translucent, incandescent, a vibratory center of power that radiates the power of the universe. Pp. 308-9. What we are setting free, of course, is the Divine within.

The bio about the church's minister, Reverend John Andrew Shuck, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, states: "John has been involved in the work of the Westar Institute (the Jesus Seminar)." The Jesus Seminar involves those who reject the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the virgin birth,  and all of the miracles found in the Gospels.

The bio also declares, "One of John's passions is advocacy for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in the church and in society. He is the secretary for PFLAG Tri-Cities and is a member of More Light Presbyterians. He is honored to serve a congregation that is More Light and fully inclusive."

I assume to appease the Gay and Lesbians, he describes his marital status this way: "John sleeps with the choir director, Beverly Shuck, and has two grown children . . . "

On his personal blog, the minister of the church comments on the visit by Dr. Jason Lisle and me this weekend. He states:

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis will be in Johnson City this coming week as part of the Origins Conference . . .

According to Mr. Ham, questions regarding the origins of the Universe, Earth, life on Earth, and homo sapiens have their "answers" in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. He is, of course, wrong. There are no answers in Genesis. There are stories in Genesis. They are stories about what it means to be human. They have absolutely nothing to tell us about how the universe was formed (including our solar system), the formation of Earth, and the evolution of life on Earth including human beings. We go to science for those answers.

The Bible, including the Book of Genesis, contains fascinating stories. They are even more fascinating when we learn how and why the stories came to be. The first chapter of Genesis likely was written during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest is a poem and one of the key points of the poem is to encourage and explain why the Sabbath should be kept. Our resting on the seventh day is in keeping with the way God rested when God created the world. None of that is literal. It was a way in which these storytellers found meaning. It is a creative fiction, a myth.

The story of Adam and Eve is not historical reportage. It is another myth of coming of age and testing limits. If Eve had decided not to eat the fruit, the whole story ends. But she doesn't. She wants to know. She wants to see. That is what human beings do. Our quest, our curiosity, make us both unique and dangerous. We cannot be satisfied living in a gated garden. We live with the thorns. The story of Adam and Eve invites us to reflect on what it means to be human . . . . Finally, our cosmic and evolutionary story that we are uncovering through science is fantastic. It is an amazing story. We are related to all living things. Humanity has a special role in that we are the eyes, ears, and consciousness of the universe. We have the joy and the responsibility to tell the universe's story. We need our children to learn this fantastic story that is unfolding. They will have a part in uncovering more.

Well, the ministry of AiG is certainly needed in Tennessee to help counter this anti-Christian teaching from a pastor. What this church teaches, sadly, is the result of those who accommodate the pagan religion of the age (evolution and millions of years) with God's Word (the Bible) and then become consistent with what they have done.

Please be in prayer for our Tennessee conference this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Does Elizabethon Presbyterian Church in Tennessee Teach Heresy?

This coming weekend, Dr. Jason Lisle and I will be speaking in two churches and at a conference in Johnson City, Tennessee. (Go to our outreach site for more information about the various meetings.) A Presbyterian minister in that state has commented very negatively (on his personal blog) about this visit by AiG. But before I share some of his comments with you, let me offer some quotes from the website of his church, First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethon, Tennessee:

During Winter, we honor the path of Creativity. One dramatic way to put it is that we give birth to God. The incarnation means that God has become one with us. As created in the image of God/dess, we are co-creators with the Divine Spirit. "Creativity," writes Matthew Fox, "Is where the Divine and the Human meet." Creativity is not a special elite project of professional artists and musicians, but it is the essential aspect of humanity itself. We are creativity . . .

Here is part of their Mission Statement:

Honor our Christian heritage while we explore the knowledge and wisdom of multiple religions, science, philosophy, humanities and psychology to deepen and enrich our spiritual journeys. Nurture one another through fellowship and compassion in a community that seeks to offer wholeness. Embody our faith through local ministries and in actions that promote environmental sustainability, peace, and justice for all people and Earth. In awe and gratitude for the Divine Mystery that dwells within each of us and pervades our Universe, we seek to create a Christian community that honors our past, is vitally connected to our present, and looks with hope and vision to the generations after us.

Their website also states:

We will also use some texts from other traditions, such as the teachings of the Buddha in the Dhammapada, creation mythologies from different cultures, and we will explore our new creation story, the 14 billion year creation extravaganza that finally produced you and me. In order to remove the obstacles and get out of creativity's way, we may need some ritual, meditation, prayer, or way to center in community. Walter Wink in his book Engaging the Powers, writes about creativity and how we can unleash it through prayer: Prayer is rattling God's cage and waking God up and setting God free and giving this famished God water and this starved God food and cutting the ropes off God's hands and the manacles off God's feet and washing the caked sweat from God's eyes and then watching God swell with life and vitality and energy and following God wherever God goes. . . . When we pray we are not sending a letter to a celestial White House where it is sorted among piles of others. We are engaged rather in an act of cocreation, in which one little sector of the Universe rises up and becomes translucent, incandescent, a vibratory center of power that radiates the power of the universe. Pp. 308-9. What we are setting free, of course, is the Divine within.

The bio about the church's minister, Reverend John Andrew Shuck, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, states: "John has been involved in the work of the Westar Institute (the Jesus Seminar)." The Jesus Seminar involves those who reject the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the virgin birth,  and all of the miracles found in the Gospels.

The bio also declares, "One of John's passions is advocacy for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in the church and in society. He is the secretary for PFLAG Tri-Cities and is a member of More Light Presbyterians. He is honored to serve a congregation that is More Light and fully inclusive."

I assume to appease the Gay and Lesbians, he describes his marital status this way: "John sleeps with the choir director, Beverly Shuck, and has two grown children . . . "

On his personal blog, the minister of the church comments on the visit by Dr. Jason Lisle and me this weekend. He states:

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis will be in Johnson City this coming week as part of the Origins Conference . . .

According to Mr. Ham, questions regarding the origins of the Universe, Earth, life on Earth, and homo sapiens have their "answers" in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. He is, of course, wrong. There are no answers in Genesis. There are stories in Genesis. They are stories about what it means to be human. They have absolutely nothing to tell us about how the universe was formed (including our solar system), the formation of Earth, and the evolution of life on Earth including human beings. We go to science for those answers.

The Bible, including the Book of Genesis, contains fascinating stories. They are even more fascinating when we learn how and why the stories came to be. The first chapter of Genesis likely was written during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest is a poem and one of the key points of the poem is to encourage and explain why the Sabbath should be kept. Our resting on the seventh day is in keeping with the way God rested when God created the world. None of that is literal. It was a way in which these storytellers found meaning. It is a creative fiction, a myth.

The story of Adam and Eve is not historical reportage. It is another myth of coming of age and testing limits. If Eve had decided not to eat the fruit, the whole story ends. But she doesn't. She wants to know. She wants to see. That is what human beings do. Our quest, our curiosity, make us both unique and dangerous. We cannot be satisfied living in a gated garden. We live with the thorns. The story of Adam and Eve invites us to reflect on what it means to be human . . . . Finally, our cosmic and evolutionary story that we are uncovering through science is fantastic. It is an amazing story. We are related to all living things. Humanity has a special role in that we are the eyes, ears, and consciousness of the universe. We have the joy and the responsibility to tell the universe's story. We need our children to learn this fantastic story that is unfolding. They will have a part in uncovering more.

Well, the ministry of AiG is certainly needed in Tennessee to help counter this anti-Christian teaching from a pastor. What this church teaches, sadly, is the result of those who accommodate the pagan religion of the age (evolution and millions of years) with God's Word (the Bible) and then become consistent with what they have done.

Please be in prayer for our Tennessee conference this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

A New Take on "Continental Drift"

At our conferences (or through correspondence we receive) people often ask us if we believe in "continental drift," or Pangea, etc. Well, we certainly have a lot to say about those subjects, and I was reminded of this topic when I recently came across this 2.5 minute video clip.

Well, that's a different take on "continental drift!" However, for detailed articles dealing with this topic, go to this page.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

A Million Thanks

A pastor from a church we have ministered in sent this email that I wanted to share with you:

Tell your board a huge thanks from all of us little guys. You and your team were a shot in the arm of spiritual energy, hope, and confidence in the authority of the Word and the sheer power and awesome glory of the gospel. You and your board have launched out with God-sized vision that demands God-sized faith. We all need it but often the rest of us are content to be in the  kiddie pool of life.  Actually we are fearful and have grown comfortable with our little safe visions that don't demand much courage or faith.

Your unbelievable boldness (and that of the board) is going to build an ark that may do as much to rescue the church from ourselves as it will to reach the Lost.   Tell them again that all of us no-name guys out there are counting on them and have been strengthened to greater faith and courage.  For churches that get it all the time, maybe it isn't as big a deal. But for little guys like us who pastor churches that are constantly getting beat up it breathed new life and gospel energy into us.

Tell your board a million thanks for their support of your vision and their enablement of it rather than forcing you to  … stay safe.

Pray for us as we do continue to step out in faith—and pray for the church in America and around the world.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Demolishing Contradictions

AiG's new book Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions is already very popular. We are also thrilled to see some news reports about it in the Christian media. Recently the Christian Post ran an article about this book. It began with the following:

Does God change His mind? Can all sins be forgiven or are there some that are unforgivable? Why was Rahab praised for lying, when lying is forbidden in the Ten Commandments?

Ken Ham, founder of the Creation Museum, and a team of contributors respond to these questions and more in the new book, Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, which seeks to defend the word of God against faith critics who claim the Bible is contradictory.

"When we think there are contradictions present, we look carefully and understand what Scripture is telling us in light of other passages," said Roger Patterson, a contributor to the book, to The Christian Post. "Then we can resolve those conflicts very easily."

Claims of supposed inconsistencies in the Bible, mostly pushed by atheists, have contributed to a rise in the number of young people leaving the faith.  Ham and his team hope that their easy-to-read book will help Christians to refute any alleged Bible contradictions.

You can read the entire report on the Christian Post's website:

Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions is an exciting, lay-friendly resource designed to give quick yet thorough answers to questions about more than 40 of the most common supposed mistakes in the Bible. I was privileged to be the editor, and the book was co-written by ten leading apologetics speakers and authors. A few of the dozens of supposed contradictions we tackle include the following:

In the Old Testament, God wipes out entire cities and unleashes great suffering. Yet the Bible teaches that God is all-loving.
God warned Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit or he would die. But when Adam disobeyed and ate, he lived a full life.
Scripture claims that pi equals three; any high-school math student knows that's not true.
A prostitute is praised for lying in James 2, yet the Ten Commandments forbid it.

You can find out more about this book (the first in a series that will be produced over time), and how to obtain it on the online store.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Genesis and Christian Colleges/Universities

In April, Master Books, in conjunction with AiG, will be releasing a new book that deals with compromise in Christian colleges. This is going to be a very eye-opening publication, which will challenge parents concerning where they send their students to college.

At Northland International University in Wisconsin on Tuesday evening, I spoke for two and a half hours on challenging the American church to repent of adopting (by and large) the idea that one can be "neutral" in the culture war. This is a major reason why Christians have lost so many battles in the abortion and "gay" marriage issues, nativity scenes and crosses in public places, creation/evolution and public schools, and so on. A big part of the problem is that there is such rife compromise regarding God's Word in our churches—and such compromise in many ways stems from the colleges/seminaries that train Christian leaders. I'll tell you more about the book as the time approaches, but I believe people are going to be shocked at what we reveal to them.

For the first time at a major public meeting, I released this past Tuesday evening at Northland International University in Wisconsin some of the research results that were used to put this new publication together.

There are a handful of Christian institutions like Northland who embrace the stand on biblical authority that Answers in Genesis takes. I am also thrilled that this college has partnered with AiG to ensure all their students and faculty are equipped by the AiG team. Recently Dr. Terry Mortenson and Dr. Jason Lisle of AiG ran a course for this college for its graduate students. Maybe you could ask your college when they are planning to ask AiG to partner with them, and if they are not doing this, ask them why not!

Here are some photographs taken at Northland International University this past Tuesday evening:

The President of the University, Dr. Matt Olson, and me

Our volunteers that helped with the resources

The Northern Lights Choir

The Choir and Orchestra as they sang and played for the audience

I am speaking from the podium

The auditorium

The auditorium (a gym)

Pastors and students were appreciative of the resources we offered them at extra-special prices

Pray for our Christian colleges throughout the nation. And praise the Lord for the few Christian institutions like Northland that do take an uncompromising stand on Genesis.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

The Feel for an AiG Conference

As we try to make our way around the blizzard to get home today, I wanted to include a series of photographs that will give you a feel for what it is like being at an AiG conference. Rather than give each photo a caption, just look at each one and get a feel for what was going on at Brookside Baptist Church in Wisconsin (Milwaukee).

Yesterday I spoke at a conference of around 300 pastors plus the students at Northland International University; I will tell you more about that great opportunity later.

Please pray we get home safely. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Who's Watching the Watchdog?

Recently, community newspapers in northern Kentucky—collectively called the Recorder papers—carried a column by Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Institute that was totally misleading (with incorrect information and claims) concerning the Ark Encounter project. We are thankful that the papers agreed to run a column by AiG's Chief Communications Officer to answer this misleading column. Mark's column appeared in three of the Recorder community newspapers in Northern Kentucky.

Here is what Mark wrote:

A totally misinformed guest column (January 20) by Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Institute has led your readers to the wrong conclusion.  Kentucky taxpayers, contrary to what was stated in the column, will not see their money used to build or operate the proposed Ark Encounter in Grant County. The writer's most basic argument has it turned around, for rather than taking taxpayer money, the Ark Encounter will actually add tax money to the state's coffers!

The only people who will pay taxes related to the construction and operation of the Ark Encounter will be those who visit the future Ark and pay sales tax there on tickets, food, and merchandise.  The state will rebate a portion of that sales tax to the Ark Encounter LLC based on meeting attendance-performance marks. The incentives are not a grant from Kentucky.

It's unfortunate that Mr. Waters did not do his homework. He obviously hasn't read the state's Tourism Development Act, which is what's in play here; the Act clearly explains the nature of the incentives.

It's also unfortunate that Mr. Waters ignored previous attempts to correct him when he completely misrepresented the Ark project in a web article he posted in December. I pointed out the errors to him in my comment, which still appears on his webpage and is there for all to see (read the Dec. 18 comment at http://www.bipps.org/article.php/2421). Here is what I wrote about the full-size Ark:

"No money will be taken out of the state budget to fund its construction or to operate it when it opens, yet certain outlets – such as the Bluegrass Institute – have made this false charge. Have you read the Tourism Development Act? The only people to pay any taxes related to the project, contrary to your claim, will be the Ark Encounter visitors, who will pay sales tax at the attraction, and the state will rebate a portion of the sales tax back to the Ark Encounter LLC (based on meeting attendance-performance standards)."

In addition, a senior executive with the Chamber of Commerce sent Mr. Waters an email last month to correct the misinformation in his article.

While all of us appreciate the work of serious watchdog groups that monitor how the government spends our tax dollars, this particular writer for the Bluegrass Institute did not do his research and continues to ignore those who correct him. Sadly, his column has it completely turned around – not only will the Ark project not use taxpayer money, it will add hundreds of millions of dollars into the state economy. Plus the state treasury will benefit through sales tax generated by the Ark and associated businesses that will spring up. In addition, new payroll taxes will be collected from added workers in the region. See www.ArkEncounter.com for more information.

In fact, the burden on Kentucky taxpayers can be lessened with a new infusion of tax money that can be used to help the state provide essential services for its citizens.

How could this columnist get it so wrong?

Slowly but surely, people are beginning to wake up to the truth of this matter as we continue to work hard to correct a plethora of misleading articles about the full-size, all-wood Ark in northern Kentucky and south of Cincinnati.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken