Is the creation museum doing Christianity more harm than good?

Question

I get the impression that at least 50% of Christians either wouldn’t take their children there at all or if they did, they wouldn’t allow them to have the impression that the “facts” being presented are truth beyond doubt. Could this type of fundamentalism be driving a wedge between Christians? Would some of them start listening to or at least not rejecting outright the words of atheists like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris?

Answer 1

The creation museum is an embarassment to our nation. It is a monument to idiocy. It would be great if it would back-fire and help turn people away from religion and toward logic and rational thought.

Answer 2

I understand what they are trying to accomplish, having an alternative museum to the museums dominated by atheistic evolution.

The problem is, that museum advertises young-earth creationism (YEC), the teaching that the six creative days in Genesis 1-2 are solar days. However, contrary to that claim, the events in the creation week cannot be restricted to solar days of twenty-four hours, specifically the growth of vegetation in Day 3 and the garden of Eden in Day 6. (Genesis 1:11-12; 2:8-9) Vegetation, especially the fruit trees in the garden of Eden, takes time to grow to maturity—time that greatly exceeds twelve-hours of daylight allowed for in YEC. Also, the claim that Adam would have had enough time to settle in the garden, name the animals, and get married after his “deep sleep” in a period of some hours less than twelve is strained to absurdity. (Genesis 2:15, 19-22) A plain reading of the Genesis account leaves no room for YEC.

Also, YEC holds that the sun and moon were created on Day 4, as opposed to merely appearing then to an earthly observer. Creating the sun in Day 4 would mean that God was micromanaging earth by placing and maintaining temporary light and heat sources for the first three days. This would not reflect wisdom. The Creator does not micromanage his creation, but establishes physical laws for it to function in.

So to answer your question, YEC causes people to view the Bible superficially. It also stumbles others into regarding the Bible as mythological. The later ones may become agnostic or atheistic. However, when these see that the creative works are not being confined to six solar days, it can help them see how reasonable the Bible really is.

Answer 3

Historiclly, Christianity began to splinter off into a variety of differing sects almost from its beginning. There is and always has been a "wdge" between various Christian sects.

If what you are reporting herre is accurate (and I have no reason to believe that it is not) then the divisions may be becoming more pronounced.

Many main stream and thereby more moderate Christains have long been at odds with the more radical evangelical and fundmentalist groups, realizing that many person are put off by the antics of the later group.

I can not say that I think that these moderate Christians should be listening to the avowed atheist you have named as they seem to be as radical as the radical Christains and are also putting people off by their rantings and public behaviors.

Perhaps if we all listened to scientist for scientific information and to the moderate and oft times more reasonable religious authorities of all religious denominations and faiths for religious information, trying to see how both might work together for the mutual benefit of everyone, this country and the world might be a better place to live and to raise one's children.

Moderation, the middle path, avoiding excesses on either side accompanied by a level of consciousness that aproves of individuals thinking and promotes education might be a good way to go. At the very least, it might be wortha a try.

May it all be well with you.

Answer 4

I happen to be a very educated Christian who was very skeptical the first time I heard about creation science, but after I took the time to learn about what these scientists are preaching, I realized there is a lot of truth behind what they say.

For instance consider this:
If we have been on earth as long as scientists say we have, then why are we so dumb? Think about all the advances of the last 104 years: cars, planes, computers, medicine, just to name a few, did it really take us millions of years to finally figure that stuff out? We must be really dumb creatures if that's the case. From a creationists point of view, its taken us about 4000 years to get where we are today. Give a few extra thousand years, and I can buy into it.

Visit www.DrDino.com and read some of his materials. There are a lot of credible scientists who agree there is something behind what the Bible has to say. These people are not nuts, they are just doing what we should always do - Question what you are told. No matter what you are taught you should always do your own study to make sure you're being taught the truth. Don't believe me? Just take a look at whats happening with radical Muslims who are not searching for the truth. And what happened in Germany during the WWII era. We must always question the facts and explore other options. Closing out other options because a few people say that option is stupid, is a bad decision. What if the creation scientists are right and their views could lead us to unexplored theories that open up the cure for cancer. You just never know.

Answer 5

I find it very sad that you define Dawkins simply as an atheist instead of as one of the highest ranking professors of evolutionary biology and ethology.

Sam Harris has a graduate degree in Philosophy from Stanford and is a candidate in Neuroscience for his Doctors(professor) Degree.

Christopher Hitchens' credentials are like this.
"The author of books and essay collection too numerous to list, he has held faculty positions at Stanford
University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California at Berkeley, among others,
and he is currently Visiting Professor of Liberal Studies at the Graduate Faculty, New School for
Social Research, New York. His achievements include consecutive nominations for the National Magazine Award in 2003
and 2004, and his credits include more than a dozen films. Born and educated in England, now a resident of the United
States, Hitchens holds honours degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University." (http://www.fcpp.org/pdf/073ConversationfromtheFrontierChristopherHitchens,formatted.pdf)

I think smart people deserve some attention when they feel a need to speak out about something.

EDIT Dr Dino. (Kent Hovind) is serving a ten year jail sentence for tax fraud. His degrees are questionable too. He only has a degree in Christian Evangelism from a dubious Baptist religious college.

Answer 6

Yes. The type of thinking that created the creation museum is starting to split christianity. The more moderate christians do not endorse it and they are even moving away from them socially and politically because they don't want the same label as the more ultra-conservative fundamentalists.

Answer 7

God is perfect, He is never wrong, and being the source of intelligence and wisdom, He's able to communicate clearly. Why should we doubt what the Bible says, indeed, the first thing it speaks on, when God is perfectly capable of clearly speaking to us? If God says He created in six days as we know them today, then why shouldn't be believe that? Old-earth interpretations are based on man's assumptions about the past, assuming the rate of decay in isotopes, assuming the rate of deposition of rocks and soil, etc. No one was there in the past to measure the time it took for things to happen, except God. God says He created in six days, why shouldn't I believe that?

Psalms says the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. How can I fear God and revere Him when I doubt the first thing He speaks about and His ability to communicate clearly? Therefore, if I don't fear God, how can I ever be wise or think that my conclusions are better than the Bible's? You either must accept everything, or nothing. Understand what is allegory and what is history. Creation is history, it happened.

Answer 8

The Word of God is a living word and not a museum artifact... the Spirit of God quickens our spirit, it does preserve it to be seen in a museum... We are to be a living testimony in the world and not on display in a museum. Beloved, go out into the world but do not be of the world!

Jesus would not have housed the truth in a museum, would he??

REV

Answer 9

Well, if the point of the Creation Museum is to bring more credibility to the Christian faith in the eyes of non-Christians, then yes it's doing enormous and irreparable harm.

Answer 10

if I'd really care about Christianity I'd either want to crawl under my bed out of embarrassment or be in furious opposition. If they are on a mission for god, god sends them to help out the atheist team in a roundabout manner...