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A Trip to the Creation Museum
Posted by Andrew Wencl in IMPACT Features
While many of you in SBC land were off to Orlando last week, my wife and I celebrated our second anniversary in Ohio/Kentucky. The highlight of the trip was our day-long adventure at the Creation Museum. I’m sure everyone is anxious to be blogging about the annual meeting, but it is also good to take our focus elsewhere, if for nothing else than to remind ourselves that more is going on in the world than what’s happening at our annual gatherings.
A Quick Note on Cheesy
If you’ve never been to the Creation Museum, you must be wondering, “Is it cheesy?” That was my question and fear, since I was taking my wife there on our anniversary. I wasn’t sure if I was taking a big risk or not. Though I personally felt some things were cheesy (such as the animatronic girl feeding a carrot to a squirrel in a pre-diluvian world), I think the museum itself was a great place to visit, especially the planetarium and the Men in White show. And even if some things come off as cheesy, the people at the Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis take their work seriously because they take the Bible seriously.
Noah’s Ark
By far the best exhibit was Noah’s ark. It covered two large areas and featured a life-size section of the boat as well as many scaled-down models (none of which, I might add, had two goofy-looking giraffe heads popping out the top). I’m more of a historian than a geologist, so I was more enamored with the models than the subsequent exhibits dealing with the geological effects of the flood.
As a kid I remember wishing that Indiana Jones had gone on a quest for the ark, but as an adult I’m kind of glad he didn’t. Hollywood rarely depicts biblical history correctly because it starts from the worldview that the Bible is just a bunch of fairy tales. When the VeggieTales movie Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella came out, I was tickled pink.
But unlike our childhood depictions of Noah and the ark, the Creation Museum takes the story seriously, since Noah really was a historical person and the flood was a historical event. The Noah’s ark exhibit showed workbenches and a believable expression of what the ark may have looked like. Sure, there’s some conjecture since no one has seen the ark and the Bible doesn’t say how all the animals were loaded onto it. But secular museums have to make educated guesses about early civilizations too.
The creators of the ark exhibits didn’t just stick to science and history though. They presented the spiritual element as well. The world was utterly sinful. God was wiping out his creation and doing something new. And that is really the key, isn’t it? Although a museum based on a biblical worldview is a new concept, it did make me think. Is this what a Creation Museum should look like? How about a museum of the Bible? Or a modern-day museum? Though our tax-subsidized museums in Washington D.C. may be more high-tech and offer much more to see than the Creation Museum, they don’t offer us a biblical worldview. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but the Creation Museum does offer something I’ve never had at a secular institution.
Your Thoughts
One aspect they tried to hammer home was the importance of how we interpret not only Genesis 1 and 2, but the first 11 chapters of the book. I can’t really ever remember doubting that the flood was world-wide or that God created man instead of evolving him. So the museum didn’t challenge my beliefs in that area. Instead, it challenged me to remember the importance of creation, the fall, the flood, and Babel within the context of salvation history. I’m not one to demand that Christians hold to my belief in a literal six-day creation or a worldwide flood, but I think it will prove to be harmful in the long run to hold to a quasi-evolutionary theory or a localized flood.
Do you think a non-literal interpretation of Genesis 1-11 is harmful, helpful, or ambivalent?
Have you ever been to the Creation Museum? What are your thoughts?
What are the pros and cons of museums espousing a biblical worldview?
What challenges would a museum based on a biblical worldview have?
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Our pastor is going through Genesis on Wednesday evenings. We have recently passed the flood. In the past, I read over the fact that Noah had brothers and sisters. They did not come into the Ark. Neither did the relitives of Noah’s wife or the son’s wives. I’m interested in the reruns we get to watch in heaven to see why.
I believe creation, the flood, Moses & Pharoh and Jonah & the Great Fish because of my salvation and nothing else. From what took place within me, I can easily believe these things literally. Even Peter walking on the water. It all makes sense when we are in the kingdom.
1. A non literal view of Gen. 1:1-11 is harmful. First of all, there’s really no need to not take it literal. We do not have to bow down to secular science, nor to the Darwinians. The true, scientific facts fit better into the first 11 chapters of Genesis, than they do Darwinian evolution. And, if you dont take a literal view of Gen. 1-11, then there are big, big problems with the rest of the Bible. If you dont take Genesis 3 literally, then Romans 3 is not understandable. If you dont hold to a literal view of these chapters, then other verses in the Bible must be either lying, or deceived, or being purposefully deceitful. Because, other places in the Bible mention Adam, and the Garden of Eden, the first sin, etc.
2. My wife and I went to the Creation Museum and absolutely loved it. It was great. I have been highly recommending it to a lot of people.
3. I cant think of any cons…only pros.
David
Vol,
I should have phrased “pros and cons” differently. I was thinking more along the lines of “What challenges would a museum based on a biblical worldview have?”
Personally, I think some challenges include:
1) higher scrutiny (not only of the facts, but of presentation and everything else)
2) funding (think how easy the Smithsonian has it)
3) new exhibits (other museums share and have revolving exhibits, but who can the Creation Museum share with and borrow from?)
Any others?
I agree with David; a non-literal interpretation of Genesis 1-11 is harmful. If the days of creation are understood as ages and one takes a “quasi-evolutionary theory”, then a person ends up with major problems.
For example… Those who insist that the days of creation are in fact “ages” and millions of years, often forget that these ages are represented by layers of fossils. These fossils are not interpreted as the result of a biblical flood, but as creatures having lived and died before anyone called Adam could have appeared. There were 5 Genesis “days” before man appeared. If you read the days as “ages”, you have just put death and bloodshed before Adam and the fall! The Bible teaches us that sin causes death. This is a major problem.
One clarification I think I should add regarding my post:
I said, “I’m not one to demand that Christians hold to my belief in a literal six-day creation or a worldwide flood, but I think it will prove to be harmful in the long run to hold to a quasi-evolutionary theory or a localized flood.”
By that I mean the “literal view” is not my litmus test for fellowship with other believers.
I’d also like to expand on a though I had while at the Creation Museum. I said, “Is this what a Creation Museum should look like? How about a museum of the Bible? Or a modern-day museum?”
Imagine going into an art museum with works from Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, etc., and the information stands talked about the artists’ spiritual beliefs and their paintings in light of Scripture.
Imagine visiting an archeological museum with swords, pots, jewelry, and architecture from medieval Europe, Jerusalem, and other places, with displays explaining the impact and spread of Christianity, Just War theory applied to the Peloponnesian Wars, pagan beliefs about God compared with Biblical revelation, etc.
I think we’ve let Science, Art, and History become dominated by the secular mindset. Though I don’t see a Christian Art Museum or a Christian History Museum coming out in the near future, I think we would do much better to look at these subjects through the lens of Scripture when we go to museums or watch the History Channel.
I for one get tired of the Christian trinkets we sell–Testamints and the like–but what would a Christian museum look like? I’m intrigued by the idea.
Andrew,
I believe that a literal understanding of Genesis is imperative,… and, it is also dependent upon how one may look at the days given by Moses, more specifically the way Moses gave us a good system of understanding as he penned the groupings of days in relation to the explanation of those days. In other words,…. Day 1,4; Day 2,5; and Day 3,6 help explain more fully these themes in creation and some insight into the purposes as Moses was explaining to the God’s people concerning their creator. The audience of the day would have certainly understood the implications of Moses depiction of creation when compared to the mystic and mythological backdrop that these people had learned from previous generations….since they were emerging from pagan worship of the creation instead of the creator. When we consider the audience and the purpose of Moses instruction, then the meaning of the text tends to become more clear.
So what Moses is teaching us “is clearly literal”. God created all these things. We tend to get off track with the theme of Moses when we tie minutes and seconds to the time of creation. In America we tend to think in a different frame of reference than Moses (aka..minutes and seconds in scientific relationship), where Moses was explaining to the people that God is the creator…. He is not the created. Moses made a clear case to all that were caught up in the Exodus…that God is the creator and is to be worshipped; not the other “gods” . He was not trying to prove young earth or old earth as we might today. The young earth vs. older earth discussion is interesting though.
Blessings,
Chris
Chris,
One aspect that is largely ignored is the parallelism in Genesis 1 & 2. When parallel structures are used, the object that breaks the parallelism is clearly superior or more important.
And God said … And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
And God said … And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
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And God said … And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Now comes the break in parallel structure:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
I’ve heard plenty of sermons about the pinnacle of God’s creation, but hardly any on the pinnacle of God’s creative act-the day of rest.
Brother Andrew,
Yes,…. in fact, the parallelism of Moses teaching concerning God’s ways is very important in order for us to understand who God is,…and as you have stated the importance and why he also provided, in a sense commands rest as a great benefit to His creatures. Moses audience did not have so much trouble with trying to fit millions of perceived years into one day, as we might struggle with in our current culture. The emphasis of the words written by Moses was on the recognition of a creator, who is not like us….. but has placed man in the world for His purposes…. and for those coming out of Egypt, it was important for them to understand that distinction as they looked forward in Christ and his fulfilling of the Law that was just being revealed.
After all Christ followed them in the desert…..
Hebrews 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, (25) choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, (26) considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. (27) By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (3) and all ate the same spiritual food; (4) and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
Blessings,
Chris