Perhaps you’ve heard of the Creation Museum, the horrifying Kentucky institution that teaches children and anyone else willing to listen all sorts of Bible-based creationist inaccuracies. Like that humans walked the earth with dinosaurs, which would only makes sense given the indisputable fact that the earth is 6,000 years old.
Well one whack-job museum just isn’t enough for the Creation Museum’s creators. Now they’re planning a second Kentucky outpost, The Ark Encounters, dedicated to educating the masses on the Biblical Great Flood, and specifically the totally real story of Noah’s Ark.
But here’s the kicker. Answers in Genesis, the group building the new park set to open in 2016, is seeking $18 million in tax incentives from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority while barring gays, lesbians and anyone else who doesn’t prescribe to their creationist dogma from applying for a job.
A job ad posted on their website (which has since been removed) states that applicants must adhere to a “Statement of Faith” that would disqualify anyone but creationist fundamentalist Christians from doing everything from operating attractions to washing dishes at the park.
It reads:
“In order to preserve the function and integrity of the ministry in its mission to proclaim the absolute truth and authority of Scripture and to provide a biblical role model to our employees, and to the Church, the community, and society at large, it is imperative that all persons employed by the ministry in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to our Statement of Faith, to include the statement on marriage and sexuality, and conduct themselves accordingly.”
The public funding conflict was first pointed out by Kentucky Paleontological Society president Daniel Phelps in an op-ed for the Lexington Herald-Leader, titled “Non-Christians need not apply” in which he wrote:
“The tax incentive, along with the city tax breaks, and the parcel of land sold to the project at a discount by Williamstown, plus $200,000 cash given by the Grant County Economic Development Commission is clearly a case of government entanglement with religion.”
Amen.
h/t Gay Star News
tricky ricky
they’ll claim deeply held religious belief and cite the birth control ruling just like the other religious groups will cite it in regards to the presidential order to government contractors on hiring gays.
Ottoman
Thanks to the Hobby Lobby decision there is no longer a court recognized separation of church and state.
Cam
However, the issue isn’t their not hiring gays, but in that while doing that they are also asking for money from the govt. opening up either a fast decision to deny them the funding, or if not, a great lawsuit chance for gays and not fundamentalists to sue based upon the fact that their tax dollars are apparently funding this place.
lykeitiz
Real question: Won’t the recently signed “government contractors” law cover this?
PARKAVMAN
This is money from the state, but I think KY could refuse it. It is KY, so it might go through. I think they might run into a problem with the Same Sex Marriage ban that is on appeal right now. If the marriage is legal, I don’t see how they could include it in the Pledge.
DickieJohnson
OK, now, let me get this….There were dinosaurs around with Adam and Eve…BUT, Noah forgot about them, and they missed the Ark, and then, they all drowned in the Flood. Sure, Yeah, that makes perfect sense!
Vartan X.
@DickieJohnson:
Another “theory” states that dinosaurs were haunted to extinction by humans. This makes perfect sense, since we are yet to discover a single dinosaur bone with human teeth marks or fractures induced by man-made tools. LOL.