Author and blogger John Scalzi has posted an amusing report of his visit to the Creation Museum.
Some time ago he said that he’d visit the museum, which was built near his home, on the condition that his readers donated $250, with the added incentive that any extra money would be given to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. His readers came through and donated over $5000.
So he went, took a bunch of pictures, and posted a very thorough report.
An excerpt:
Here’s how to understand the Creation Museum:
Imagine, if you will, a load of horseshit. And we’re not talking just your average load of horseshit; no, we’re talking colossal load of horsehit. An epic load of horseshit. The kind of load of horseshit that has accreted over decades and has developed its own sort of ecosystem, from the flyblown chunks at the perimeter, down into the heated and decomposing center, generating explosive levels of methane as bacteria feast merrily on vintage, liquified crap. This is a Herculean load of horseshit, friends, the likes of which has not been seen since the days of Augeas.
You can read his entire report here.
He was a nice enough kid, apart from the blind obedience to his parents’ faith part, and I suspect it would probably need to be something major in a bad kind of way, which I wouldn’t want him to have to go through. Unless he ends up marrying some scientist who manages to convince him otherwise.
But would his parents allow him to marry a heathen without blind faith?
Highly unlikely. Also, as above - his social life is completely centred on religion, so where’s he going to meet said heathen
Mind you, it has certain possibilities for a conversion campaign. Teams of science students going door to door on a bible college campus…
Jenny. It’s much more likely to have the right effect if he were to fall in love with some Hari Krishna girl who busts his balls about reincanation or Karma! This internal conflict what really gets the ball (or in this case balls) rolling. It’s probably better for this major thing to start a reaction to something rahter than for him just to be convinced by some scientist. I would imagine that’s why he didn’t catch on the first time. He needs a mind opener, not just a mind changer. Oops getting a bit ‘on the couch with Sigmund’ there…
CC
Or perhaps a Pastafarian wench?
CC - that’s pretty similar to what I had in mind, but I was hoping to bypass a step and just have him wanting to learn about the science stuff to understand what makes this hypothetical scientist-wife tick.
I saw one of these programs about a god box town. They had this farther talking about his daughter and her fiancé. He decided that after they had been engaged for 3 years they could hold hands! But he said he was aware of were this kind of behaviour can lead. LOL. How do you think the poor boy will cope with his marriage night? Or maybe the dad will tell him he has to wait another 3 years after marriage before he can fuck his own wife! I wonder if they will use one of those sheets with a hole in it.
. The thing that got me the most was that a guy in the town hand made paddles to spank the kids with! Each one had “every time with love” written on it! There was a recommendation list of how many whacks the kid should get for what. Disobeying your parents and questioning gods will were both on the list!
So that poor kid you were trying to educate was probably beaten to shit by his parents when he asked questions after talking to you! Probably got extra for failing to convert you.
I got t’ get me one o’ them paddles!
Aarrrrrr!
Why do you need a special paddle? You’ve got a whole ship full of suitable objects. Just take up some of the wooden planks.
“Remember that god loves you honey and wants you to love him too. He gave you free will so you can choose not to, however he will send you to a pit of eternal hell fire is you don’t. And if that’s not enough we will paddle your ass black and blue too!
But remember god loves you and so do we! Now bend over… Oh the lever straps me and mommy are wearing? They are ceremonial. And when my man thing goes all hard it’s to point the way to god and has nothing to do with any sort of perverse sexual pleasure I might get from hitting a defenceless child with a big piece of wood!”
Oh - retrospective edit of my last point - and maybe cut them down to a slightly less scary size, before you do someone an injury.
By the way, I’m still looking at those photos instead of doing some work, which could be a problem, but just had to add a link to this one, for the sign alone. http://www.flickr.com/photos/scalzi/1970012300/in/set-72157603091357751/ - just ignore me if you already saw it.
lala!
you there?
Just finished them all. Can recommend the slow tour with all the comments, if you’ve got the time, but my brain hurts. Think I need a cup of tea. Well, only because I can’t drink something stronger when at work.
bosses around
http://www.naijarita.com/2006/god-blocking-tv-miracles
Thought this would go down well here.
Hmm. I enjoyed the story, but made the mistake of reading the comments too. Those people get it evebn less than some of the hate mailers here.
i was laughing so hard at the ‘adam’ picture, with his lamb loincloth and his penguin friend!!
i wonder what the prophet of their religion would say if he was still alive and he had found out that 27 million dollars had been spent on a pile of horseshit, instead of on, oh, say….umm….helping the destitue, needy and less fortunate? Nice to know which parts of their holy book they take seriously.