Ark Encounter

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Not long ago, my wife and I stopped in at the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. Creationist Ken Hamm is the CEO of the organization that bought the land, and built a life-size replica of what he believes Noah’s Ark could have looked like. The ark on display is huge as seen in the photo. It’s very possible it could have looked similar to what was built in Kentucky; a large, barge-like ship built solely to say afloat in rising flood waters. There was no way to steer it and according to the Scriptures, when the rains receded, the ark simply came to rest somewhere in the mountains of Ararat.

There are a number of things I enjoyed about the ark, and at least a few things were sort of off-putting. It is not my intention to simply slam something that others may see as really good and beneficial, but I want to be faithful in pointing things out that I did not necessarily see as good. Others will agree or disagree with me and of course, that is their right.

First the good things. The gospel was presented throughout. Clearly, extremely talented artists had been hired to create murals and life-size story boards that presented stories in graphic novel format about certain individuals and situations. Usually one character stands out calling the others to God in Christ for salvation. Unless someone ignores everything at the Ark Encounter, it is impossible to leave without reading the gospel leading to salvation. Nicely done. Very impressive as this type of presentation relates well to adults as well as children. Even though younger children wouldn’t be able to read, they would still be drawn to the artwork and ask parents and older siblings to explain, as we heard many doing while we were there.

The displays of animals was also very well done. The creators of the Ark Encounter took the time to present classifications of animals, rather than necessarily trying to replicate all or many animals in a particular species.

The Ark also included models of how Noah and the others might have stored food for the long journey and how they could have fed smaller reptiles or amphibians. In one display, jars were seen that were said to have housed moths and flying insects. These moths/flying insects were situated so that when they hatched, they would eventually fly down a tube to another large jar where certain reptiles were kept. These moths then became food for the reptiles and because of the way it was set up, the moths would’ve continued to be born and then become food.

Many displays on walls also explained and compared the Creation model with the Evolutionary model. This was done with the fossil record, the strata of rocks and mountains, and other areas as well. History was a big portion of the Ark Encounter.

Overall, the Ark was very well-built. It is impossible not to stand next to it (under it really), and not feel the tremendous size of the ship. Beyond this, the many resources produced for the venue – both in graphic novel and audio/video format – are tremendous. The gift shop itself has numerous books and DVDs that I was not personally aware of and it was difficult to keep my spending under $100. I’m glad to have added these things to my personal library.

Now for the things that I did not necessarily appreciate or felt that things could’ve been done a better way. First and foremost, it is not cheap to get into the Ark Encounter. Parking is $10 per vehicle and there is nowhere to park except in the huge parking lot that is part of the Ark Encounter complex. I suppose if a person stayed at the nearest hotel, they could certainly leave their car there and walk over to the Ark Encounter, but it’s a bit of a distance.

The cost to get into the Ark Encounter for the day is $48 for each adult, $38 for seniors over 60, $25 for ages 13-17, $15 for ages 5-12, and children 4 and under are free. Since I’m 61, I was only $38 while my lovely wife had to pay full price. The only discount they provide is for military. This is for one day, by the way. As you can see in the image, you can purchase an annual pass that allows you to get into the Creation Museum and the Ark for $100. Seeing the Ark for just one day (and not the Creation Museum) costs nearly half of that. While we were waiting in line to pay, we heard at least one family say, “Wow, these prices are really high.” Because of it, their family of five chose to leave.

While I realize it cost a great deal of money to buy the land and build this Ark, it likely won’t be too long before the builders are accused of trying to sell the Gospel. I don’t believe they are doing that, but I understand people who might become frustrated with the cost and balk at it. It seems to me that reducing the entrance price would bring more people through the doors, but I could be wrong.

Another thing I did not appreciate is the inclusion of a zip line and other areas. It appears that the builders want to create a type of theme park, where ostensibly Christians can go to have fun, sort of separate place for believers. That’s my guess and since so much land was originally purchased and the promise that visitors should return to the park because they will always be adding new things makes me think that the whole venture had this plan from the beginning.

I’ve mentioned the displays and models inside the Ark. They are well done, but I was really hoping to see wall to wall, end to end displays of animals. They have a few cages and some of them are right out in the main path, but they don’t really have enough. I’m sure the displays were very expensive to create, but when I think of Noah’s Ark, I think of wall to wall animals. They also included apartments for Noah and his family, with each person having their own area, which looked like medium-sized apartments or condos. They had separate areas for the kitchen, the woodworking room and the metal working or blacksmith’s shop. These seemed almost ostentatious compared to the living quarters of the animals. It’s difficult to believe – but I certainly could be wrong – that Noah would have carved out such valuable space for himself and his family. There was also a garden off the kitchen, which received light from the windows above the kitchen, several stories up.

In fact, some of the displays were created to simply suggest ways Noah and family may have gotten light into the Ark as well as how they might’ve gotten fresh water into it as well. These were simply conjecture, but made sense.

I find it fascinating that numerous reviews on the Internet slam the Ark Encounter and some are written by confessed Christians. They don’t like the fact that sin is discussed. Certain sins are pointed out to show how corrupt, carnal and spiritually vapid humanity became, which brought God to the point of choosing the only option He felt was just – to destroy the entire world with a flood.

Whenever I read of or hear of Christians who become upset because of what they believe is a “homophobic” or “hateful” position from other Christians, I shake my head. Too many Christians today are infatuated with love and love only. They make no note of or refer to God’s holiness and justice. It’s all about love. God is love. He loves us, therefore He would not do anything that would seem to discipline us. Biblically speaking, there are those who push against God continuously. It’s what they’re all about. God knows whether or not they will ever come to Him in repentance and He has every right to remove them from this world and give them what they ask for – eternal damnation.

This is part of the Gospel message. We need a Savior because we cannot save ourselves. We are born into this world condemned and there is only one path that will lead us to God and His righteousness and that path is through faith in Jesus and His redemptive work on our behalf.

The Ark Encounter gets it right and the world (along with so-called Christians who really seem to have no clue), is offended by the mention of sin that has separated us from God. We will forever remain there unless and until we recognize our own sinfulness that keeps us away from God.

I am grateful that the Ark Encounter spells it out and makes it plainly easy for all to see. I only wish they would/could lower the price so that more could go through.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective