(August 27, 2014 at 5:12 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote:

(August 27, 2014 at 3:34 pm)Zidneya Wrote: A Noah's Ark theme park created by famous evolution-denier Ken Ham has just received an $18 million tax break from the citizens of Kentucky, many of whom will be prohibited from being employed there.

This is intentionally misleading. The tax incentives are available to all tourist attractions in the state and are only given if the Ark meets attendance-performance standards and tourism dollars flow into the state. They are not given to help build the attraction. Denying the Ark exhibit such incentives would be a violation of their religious freedom.

“We have held that the guarantee of neutrality is respected, not offended, when the government, following neutral criteria and evenhanded policies, extends benefits to recipients whose ideologies and viewpoints, including religious ones, are broad and diverse.”- The US Supreme Court

Quote: What Ham doesn't say much about is a reported donation worth $1 million from the leader of a certified white supremacist hate group.

False, which is precisely why no link or source is given.

Quote: But Daniel Phelps, the president of the Kentucky Paleontological Society and vice president of Kentuckians for Science Education, isn't pleased.

Of course he is not; he’d much prefer that contrary ideas were censored from the public.

Quote: In an op-ed at the Lexington Herald-Leader, "Non-Christians need not apply," Phelps explains his concerns.

Why would a non-Christian want to work at the Ark exhibit?

Quote: Phelps writes. "According to that organization, the Earth is only approximately 6,000 years old,

Yup.

Quote: Noah's flood was in 2350 B.C.

2348 BC.

Quote: and there were dinosaurs on the ark (some of which were fire-breathing dragons).

No, the belief is that the modern day conception of a fire-breathing dragon is a corrupted characterization of a dinosaur.

Quote: That organization, by the way, calls itself a "ministry."

Irrelevant. They do a broad scope of work.

Quote: The job description included this statement: "Our work at Ark Encounter is not just a job, it is also a ministry. Our employees work together as a team to serve each other to produce the best solutions for our design requirements. Our purpose through the Ark Encounter is to serve and glorify the Lord with our God-given talents with the goal of edifying believers and evangelizing the lost."

No problem there.

Quote: All job postings at Answers in Genesis include this statement: "All job applicants for the non-profit ministry of AiG/Creation Museum need to supply a written statement of their testimony, a statement of what they believe regarding creation, and a statement that they have read and can support the AiG Statement of Faith."

Again, no problem there. A creation museum wants creationists to work for them, imagine that.

Quote: The AiG Statement of Faith claims "it is imperative that all persons employed by the ministry in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to our Statement of Faith, to include the statement on marriage and sexuality, and conduct themselves accordingly."

Again, no problem there.

Quote: It also requires all employees to believe and support "the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ as Sovereign, Creator, Redeemer, and Judge," and the "66 books of the Bible are the written Word of God. The Bible is divinely inspired and inerrant throughout. Its assertions are factually true in all the original autographs. It is the supreme authority in everything it teaches. Its authority is not limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes but includes its assertions in such fields as history and science."

Amen.

Quote: "The only legitimate marriage sanctioned by God is the joining of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other, and has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one’s gender, or disagreement with one’s biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God."

True.

Quote: In other words, LGBT people and most Christians need not apply.

People who do not take the mission of AIG seriously need not apply. If they are such a terrible group and so hateful then why would a LGBT person want to work for them? That’s funny.

Quote: Given Ham's strict devotion to an extremist form of religion where everyone must believe as he does -- something it's safe to say even most Christians do not -- how can any other entity of his creation toss those tenets aside and abide by the laws of man?

Also irrelevant and untrue. I disagree with Ken on several things (as do several of his own employees) but I could get a job there because I believe the core tenets of the faith.