“Evangelism Ark” embraces double standard
When does education become indoctrination?
When does education become indoctrination? The question emerges after a June 2018 field trip by public high school students to the evangelistic Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky, criticized in an October op-ed by local scientist Dan Phelps. Patrick Moran, frequent defender of the Answers In Genesis organization behind both attractions, believes that the trip was an “educational experience” which supplemented student exposure to “world religions, literature, [and] an interpretation of history.” Reality tells another story.
At the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, public high school students made their way through a lengthy trail of placards, dioramas, and exhibits promoting the idea that mainstream science is a global conspiracy designed to attack “biblical Christianity” and hide the supposed truth that humans coexisted with dinosaurs only dozens of centuries ago. Students were told that Christian faith is incompatible with biology, astronomy, and geology, and urged to reject mainstream science or face an eternity of punishment in hell.
Patrick, like Answers In Genesis, insists that this is a useful and valid supplement to high school education. He believes that detractors to the Ark Encounter are motivated by animosity to Christianity, writing:
…the Bible may be used in the classroom objectively as part of a secular program of education. As long as the teacher doesn’t express a personal opinion about the Bible, there is no issue whatsoever. But people blinded by their disdain for biblical Christianity refuse to acknowledge what is commonsense and legal, and instead seek censorship.
Patrick echoes the stance of Answers In Genesis president and provocateur Ken Ham, who has consistently claimed religious persecution whenever his organization is challenged. If Ken and Patrick are to be believed, the Ark Encounter is being unfairly targeted for simply mentioning Christian faith in the context of origins. Detractors, they contend, are promoting censorship and religious discrimination in an organized assault that Christians everywhere should resist.
Of course, this is nonsense. Answers In Genesis does not promote “Biblical Christianity” in any legitimate sense. Rather, in opposition to the vast majority of Christians around the world, Answers In Genesis and its attractions present a narrow, sectarian interpretation of the Bible. The Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum use the trappings of sincere scientific skepticism to aggressively attack science and the scientific method in pursuit of their own specific version of Christian evangelical fundamentalism.
Ken Ham makes no apology for his organization’s open promotion of sectarian Christianity through the vehicle of pseudoscience. In explaining the mission of the Ark Encounter, he stated:
“Our motive is to do the King’s business until He comes. And that means preaching the gospel and defending the faith.”
Ken has been unmistakably clear about what exactly, he means by “the faith”:
“…the increasing push by leaders in Christianity to indoctrinate God’s people with the religion of millions of years…is a major tactic by Satan to undermine biblical authority.”
There is nothing ambiguous or unclear about the mission of Answers In Genesis or the teachings promulgated by the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. Anything short of young-earth creationism is anathema.
Open science denial has no place in a “college preparatory” experience, as the June 2018 trip was described. Ken Ham (and Patrick Moran) cannot claim religious privilege while simultaneously maintaining allusions of validity as an “educational experience” that enriches college preparation for public high school students.
David MacMillan is a freelance writer, paralegal, and law student in Washington, DC and features in the 2019 independent documentary We Believe In Dinosaurs, now streaming on demand. His upcoming book explores the impact of science denial in America and what it took for him to leave it behind.
