As I stood in line, I looked around at everyone in line. Science T-shirts abounded with sayings like, "Stand Back, I'm about to do Science," "Evolve" and "Teach the Controversy." Hardly earth shattering worldview statements. I didn't see any T-shirts like, "God sucks" or "Ham blows." In truth, while standing in line, I didn't even hear any real snickers. All the Pirate Atheists looked curiously about them, pointing out certain features and marveling at museum grounds. No one seemed to be brandishing their intellectual swords or sneering at the Christians who entered the museum.
I felt sorry for the Christians going to the museum. Many of them had driven long distances to come to the museum, some from as far away as Florida. In fact, one family had built their whole vacation around the trip to the museum. I don't think any of them knew there would be 300 atheists raiding the museum during the visit.
I loved some of the Christians who came up and started engaging the atheists. Some of them even went with our group all the way through the museum.
I wish I could say the same for others and some of the museum staff.
Here is the thing: I realize it had to be a tense moment for the museum folks. You have a world famous atheist blogger, who can be a jackass, visiting your museum with three hundred Pirate Atheists. It can't have been easy to deal with all of that. I get it.
However, the whole time we went through the museum, I felt watchful eyes on us. I soon realized why. Since I was hanging out with Ashley and her boyfriend, I was also attached to the PZ contingent moving through the museum. All eyes were on us, including a couple of unidentified suits. I had no idea (and still don't) who these guys might have been. They didn't engage the group and watched with an obvious hostile eye. I mean, I'm a Christian, and I felt the hostility. Instead of walking with PZ and the group, they chose to stay removed from us.
I could understand all of that, maybe, but I couldn't understand the guard dogs. Yes, you heard right, guard dogs.
Apparently, the Creation Museum has had to deal with a few bomb threats, most likely from 13 year olds taking a break from their World of Warcraft games. From whom the threats were actually made has never been stated, but they have used these threats to instill a first class security force. In fact, the director of the security force gives seminars on how to train churches on "Security for Faith Based Organizations."
There just seems to be something wrong with that picture.
Anyway, part of this security entails training bomb sniffing dogs. These dogs and their handlers were in full force that day. Later, I talked to a Christian who organized security for traveling Smithsonian exhibits about bomb sniffing dogs. He pointed out that there could be two possible reasons. One, they had received a credible threat, but in that case they should have cleared the building. In the second case scenario, the dogs, even though not especially aggressive, where often used as an intimidation factor to keep tense situations under control.
As the Creation Museum hadn't been evacuated, I assumed the second.
I can't tell you how much this bothered me and how contrary to the Gospel it seemed to be. I realize that in this post-9/11 world we are all a little paranoid. However, the last time I checked, there are no atheist terrorist groups. In fact, despite all of their in-your-face rhetoric, Pirate Atheists are some of the least likely people to commit physical violence or deface someone's property. They might sneer. They might use cutting sarcasm. They might wear silly T-shirts. They might go over the line in their rhetorical flourishes, but they aren't going to bomb anybody. So I'm not sure who prepared the risk assessment at the Creation Museum that day, but they didn't do their homework.
Unfortunately, they did a severe discredit to the Gospel. Instead of really going the extra mile to make the atheists feel welcome and answer their questions, they treated the atheists with passive aggressive fear.
I can't excuse Christians acting like the slightest atheist objection or presence will cause the whole truth of the Gospel to come crashing down. I can't excuse Christians giving fearful looks, whispering to their children about disruptive atheists, or avoiding atheists like the plague.
Let's get back to our walk through of the museum.
As you enter the museum, you walk through a narrow pathway boarded with animatronic dinosaurs. Tucked away in the plants, you see human statues, which is a subtle way of telling everyone that Young Earth Creationists think humans interacted with dinosaurs.
The path funnels you into a box canyon pathway, inviting you to contemplate the nature of geology. As you follow this path, you enter an exhibit about the forming of the Grand Canyon by the flood along with two geologists, one Christian, one atheist talking about the same facts, but different interpretations. I know atheists critiqued this, but there is an interesting point in this exhibit. That is, the way we interpret the world around us depends greatly on our worldview.
The exhibit that drove me crazy began with two large posters, one with the books of "man" and one with the scrolls of the Torah on one side. The lettering on the posters is spelled out for you in case you didn't get the point. God's wisdom against man's wisdom, and the implication is obvious: God's wisdom is Young Earth Creationism, a statement that leaves no alternatives.
Part three to come in a few days.
Follow Rev. Jonathan Weyer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/spookypastor
Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.: Improving Science Education by Ignoring Evolution? Absurd!
Creation Museum - Creation, Evolution, Science, Dinosaurs, Family ...
Creation Museum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rev. Jonathan Weyer: A Ministry of Dialoguing about Doubt
This "museum" is nothing more than a carney show - it's about getting the "rubes" and "marks" in and taking their money.
Foolishness.
What I don't understand from reading this or the Reverend's previous essay is, why did the "pirate atheists" visit the museum? I imagine that's what the people at the museum were wondering.
I participate in gay pride events, where the arrival of a large group of evangelical Christians triggers immediate security issues. Our Columbus parade has been visited by Fred Phelps' brood from WBC as well as faith-based bigots from several local churches. We keep a close eye on them, with security forces always close by.
We know they didn't come to be supportive or just to observe and learn. If we're lucky, they're just trying to spoil our fun by annoying a people. If we're unlucky they might do something physical, e.g. form a human chain to block the parade route. They might say something that makes someone mad enough to throw a punch at them, so they can act like they're the innocent victims.
The creation museum staff had all these concerns, plus this: They run a business and they don't want people annoying their paying customers. Maybe they were watching you to make sure you didn't annoy anyone else.
Overall, I can't see any reason to blame them for stepping up security. Frankly, I'm glad. At $25/head for admission, your group donated $7500 to their cause. I hope they spent it *all* on security.
To me, this place is just about a church. I think nearly all their visitors are people looking for a religious experience, not scientific enlightenment. So it seems inappropriate to me to go there to be amused by their silliness, just as it would be rude to go to a church service because you find it funny.
Both are OK if you remain quiet and respectful of what other people are there to experience. I don't think you can take a group of a dozen atheists into such a place without someone letting loose a snigger or groan or something else that spoils the occasion for the regular clientele, and according to this story Myers took 300.
So I'm inclined to see this as a provocative act by my fellow atheists, and I can't really blame the creation museum for assuming they were up to no good. I'm just not agreeing with the Reverend's argument that the museum was being "unchristian" by taking these precautions.
It is often suggested that you can't be moral without a belief in god. Add in to that every 20th century atrocity was caused by atheists (nazi's, commies, etc), then it seems only fair to assume all atheists are itching to do violence at all times?
And that's all she wrote....
Hitler once stated, "We do not want any other god than Germany itself. It is essential to have fanatical faith and hope and love in and for Germany.” Heiden, Konrad (1935). A History of National Socialism, p. 100, A.A. Knopf
Hitler was taken to church as a child. How many atheists commenting here were taken to church as children? Hmmm? He certainly used elements when it suited him, but his ultimate goal was to eliminate Christianity.
They have nothing to do with today's atheists who are only promoting REASON -- something the three monsters mentioned above were obviously not capable of.
The problem is that they are sort of like the serving tray or the bed of lettuce to the ideologically driven entree. They create an atmosphere of cultural acceptance for the fundamentalists.
I urge you to be loud and proud about your variety of religious experience, and don't be afraid to criticize those coreligionists with whom you disagree. Believe me, they criticize you and are more than likely to consider you not actually Christian.
Great observation. Why do you think that so many Christians these days feel under attack? Because we atheists/agnostics are not being politely silent anymore and letting them get away with with their delusions. Mainly because they are trying to change laws and school ciriculums to fit their world view.
1. Encouraging one's flock to feel under attack builds reinforces herd instinct
2. Reality is constantly tapping them on the shoulder and refuting huge quantities of their truth claims
3. Christianity started as a religion of the persecuted, so it's in their liturgical genome
Unfortunately, they did a severe discredit to the Gospel. Instead of really going the extra mile to make the atheists feel welcome and answer their questions, they treated the atheists with passive aggressive fear.
Yep, this is why im an ex christian. I saw through christian arrogance, and frankly ive seen more and more of it the older I get.
It's some kind of reductio ad absurdum of "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."
It's total proof that humans aren't as clever as they think they are. Some combination of psychology and genetics forever mires most of us in this backwards thought process.
I admire you for taking off the blinders. I know it's not easy if they last into adulthood. Luckily I lost mine in Sunday school.
So instead of exposing their children to a national park, an historic city like Philadelphia, or even just some fun on the beach, they feel the need to take them to this cartoonish propaganda exhibit patrolled by guard dogs. And people wonder why American kids are falling behind the rest of the world...
Wow, guard dogs that sat and looked. And, two guys that looked at them from a distance. Talk about an overblown criticism. Can't get much more over dramatic than that to make a non-spectacular point.
I think it called "over acting".