GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Religious Theme Park Suing Kentucky For State Funds

Ark Encounter is a "Biblical" theme park being built by Answers in Genesis, the people who brought you the Creation Museum which features humans and dinosaurs frolicking together. AIG has decided to sue the state of Kentucky in federal court for denying previously announced tax rebates to the Ark Encounter theme park because AIG refuses to follow state and federal laws against discriminating on the basis of religious belief. In order to be able to work at Ark Encounter you must attest to the "biblical truth" that the great flood happened and that humanity continued only because there were humans in an Ark. Godless or believers in other religion need not apply for employment there. Needless to say, Kentucky realized it could not use state funds to support such a project. But AIG is suing anyway:

Answers in Genesis (AiG), developer of the Ark Encounter theme park in Northern Kentucky, confirmed today it is filing a federal lawsuit against state officials for denying the park participation in the state’s tax rebate incentive program. Although the program is available to all qualifying tourist attractions seeking to build in the state, AiG’s application was rejected solely because of the religious identity and message of AiG. The lawsuit explains how this action by Kentucky officials, including Gov. Steve Beshear, violates federal and state law and amounts to unlawful viewpoint discrimination.
[...]
After Kentucky granted preliminary approval in 2014 for AiG to receive a rebate of some of the new state sales taxes the Ark will generate after it opens in 2016, secularist organizations exerted tremendous pressure on state officials to rescind the approval. Anti-Christian groups objected to AiG’s statutory right to limit its hiring to people of the Christian faith, and to the content of the messages that will be presented at the Bible-themed park. Bowing to this pressure, state officials (including Gov. Beshear) announced a reversal on December 10, 2014. Included as defendants in the lawsuit are Gov. Beshear and Robert Stewart, Kentucky’s Secretary of the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Creationist Says "Aliens Going To Hell (So We Should Stop LookIng)"

*sigh* Creationist Ken Ham is the religious fundamentalist nut behind The Creation Museum (where humans and dinosaurs are shown frolicking together!). He debated Bill Nye on the topic of "creation versus evolution" this spring and issued numerous cringeworthy logic-free lines.

Recently Ham made headlines responding to NASA head Charles Bolden saying "It's highly improbable in the limitless vastness of the universe that we humans stand alone" by declaring:

"You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam’s sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam’s sin, but because they are not Adam’s descendants, they can’t have salvation."

So basically Ham is saying the search for extraterrestrial life should cease "because Bible." Umm, no. What if taxpayers don't agree with what you say your religious text says? Why should we make public policy reflective of what religious fundamentalists think about anything? Especially since they are willing to make statements that countermand demonstrable scientific fact.

Hat/tip to Huffington Post.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Bill Maher calls God "Psychotic Mass Murderer"

Bill Maher lambasted the new movie Noah on his show last Friday, in the process ridiculing the people who believe in the literal truth of the biblical story of Noah.

Here's a transcript of an excerpt from his closing show rant (via Daily Kos):

Now, I don't know about the elephants on Noah's Ark, but the elephant in the room in 2014 is that we are now a full four centuries removed from the scientific revolution.  Four centuries after Copernicus, after the time humans realized that through science, we could actually get a real answer to almost every question about our world, like where does the sun go at night?  And why does disease spread so quickly on a cruise ship?  (audience laughter)

And speaking of cruise ships, you know I don't mind that the Noah story is impossibly childish.  OK, I do mind.  What am I saying?  I mind very much.  I mean, seriously people?  You believe a man Noah lived to be 900 years old — that's what the Bible says — and when he was 500, he decided to have three kids, just like Clint Eastwood.  (audience laughter)

And when he was 600, he and his three 100-year-old sons built a boat onto which in one day, they loaded over 3 million animals, all of which were apparently indigenous to within 5 miles of the boat.  (audience laughter)

But get this.  What the Christians who are now protesting this movie are upset about is that it doesn't take the Biblical story literally enough.  They're mad because this made up story doesn't stay true to their made up story.

But the thing that's really disturbing about Noah isn't the silly.  It's that's it's immoral.  It's about a psychotic mass murderer who gets away with it, and his name is God. 

I think it is very useful to confront people who believe that every word in the Bible is true with the implications of that belief and to point out how at odds it is with everything science tells us. It literally does not make any sense and much of the stuff in the Bible is really a collection of "old Jewish fairy tales."

GODLESSS WEDNESDAY: The Bible Put In Costco's Fiction Section; Controversy Ensues

Just in time for Godless Wednesday, this story is hitting the news today:

A California pastor says he found the Bible filed under “fiction” at a Costco store near his home. 

Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach said he made the discovery Friday while shopping for a present for his wife in Simi Valley. 

“All the Bibles were labeled as fiction,” said Kaltenbach, pastor at the nondenominational Discovery Church. 

“It seemed bizarre to me.” 

The pastor said he checked the shelf for other Bibles, and he told Fox News’ Todd Starnes that each copy had a sticker that said: “$14.99 Fiction.” 

Kaltenbach said none of the Costco employees he found would answer his question about the Bibles, so he took a photo of one and posted it on Twitter.

“People are pretty shocked and upset,” Kaltenbach said. “We are supposed to be living in an era of tolerance, but what Costco did doesn’t seem too tolerant.” 

The pastor said he doubted the Washington-based company would have labeled a Koran as fiction and took the label personally. 

“If they don’t believe in the Bible, that’s fine – but at least label it as ‘religion’ as some bookstores do, or ‘inspiration,’” he said. “On the one hand Christians should not yell out.’ We aren’t living in Iraq or Iran. But on the other hand, I believe that we do need to stand up for our faith and we need to be vocal about our concerns.” 

A spokeswoman for Costco told Starnes the Bible was mislabeled as the result of human error at a warehouse,” and that the issue had been resolved.

It doesn't seem surprising to me that the Bible should be labeled as fiction. Where did he want it to be put, Biography? Of course, Costco should have just labeled it as "religion" but I wanted to blog about the story, which of course is now being picked up by Faux News and the conservative blogosphere, as an example of how controversy is manufactured in this country.

And, yeah, it's sorta funny, too.