Ham said a high-profile evolution debate he had with "Science Guy" Bill Nye on Feb. 4 helped boost support for the project.
Creation Museum founder Ken Ham announced Thursday that a municipal bond offering has raised enough money to begin construction on the Ark Encounter project, estimated to cost about $73 million. Groundbreaking is planned for May and the ark is expected to be finished by the summer of 2016.
Ham said a high-profile evolution debate he had with "Science Guy" Bill Nye on Feb. 4 helped boost support for the project.
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A recent poll finds that Christians are concerned that directors of a faith-based film hitting the big screen soon have fundamentally changed the core message of a Bible story.
During 2014, studios are targeting the 46 million Christian consumers who spend $1.75 trillion annually, and Faith Driven Consumer is tracking the commercial viability of Hollywood's effort. With the impending release in March of the Paramount Pictures film Noah, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Darren Aronofsky, Faith Driven Consumer has questioned members of the film's target audience about whether they are concerned about the controversial deviation from the actual biblical narrative. Respected Christian leader and author James Dobson makes it clear his pro-family ministry puts the issue of life first and foremost – even if it means shutting down. Dr. Dobson didn't hold back Thursday during an interview regarding his organization, Family Talk, and its challenge of a federal mandate for employers to cover abortifacients. Bill Nye "The Science Guy" is set to visit Kentucky next month for a debate on science and creation with the man who founded the Creation Museum. Founder Ken Ham says the museum will host Nye, the former host of a popular youth science show, on February 4 (see details). Nye has been critical of creationists for their opposition to evolution and asserting that the Old Testament is a literal account of the Earth's beginnings. Last year in an online video that drew nearly 6 million views, Nye said teaching creationism was bad for children. The American Family Association is calling on the U.S. military to stop labeling it as a "domestic hate group" – a label one conservative journalist contends is part of an effort by the Obama administration to plant seeds of doubt about Christians and several prominent ministries in America. Fox News reported Monday that during a recent briefing, several dozen active duty and reserve Army troops were told the Mississippi-based American Family Association (AFA) should be classified as a “hate group” because it advocates for traditional family values. The briefing was held at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and listed AFA alongside groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, the Black Panthers, and the Nation of Islam. Bryan Fischer, director of issues analysis at AFA, says a soldier attending the briefing tipped off both AFA and Fox News. Four large blasts rocked Kenya's Westgate Mall on Monday, sending large plumes of smoke over an upscale suburb as Kenyan military forces sought to rescue an unknown number of hostages held by al-Qaida-linked militants. The explosions were followed by volleys of gunfire, then a thick, dark column of smoke. Military and police helicopters and one plane circled over the Nairobi mall, giving the upscale Westlands neighborhood the feel of a war zone. Security forces' efforts the previous day to rescue the unknown number of hostages inside failed despite the military announcing that "most" hostages had been saved. Kenyan officials have said preserving the hostages' lives is a top priority, greatly complicating the rescue effort. As many as three gunmen opened fire Monday inside one of the Navy's oldest buildings, attacking office workers at a heavily guarded military facility in the heart of the nation's capital. At least 12 people were killed, according to the latest announcement by authorities. One of the gunmen was dead, and police were searching for two other men believed to have joined in the attack at the Washington Navy Yard. The suspects were reportedly dressed in military-style clothing, including one who had on a beret. In all, more than a dozen people were shot, at least half of them fatally. It was not immediately clear whether that number included the dead gunman. The United States found itself with only one major partner — France — in its plans to strike Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons, after its staunchest ally Britain had to beg off following a stunning rejection of military force by Parliament. The collapse of support puts pressure on President Barack Obama as resistance to the mission grows at home — and comes with the irony that Paris was the most vocal critic of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. French President Francois Hollande pledged backing Friday for Obama's plans to hit the Damascus regime. "The chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished," Hollande said in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, published Friday, as U.N. experts in Damascus began what is expected to be the last day of their probe into the alleged attack. House Speaker John Boehner called on President Barack Obama on Wednesday to deliver a specific rationale for using U.S. military force against Syria as a growing number of congressional Republicans and Democrats expressed concerns about war with a Mideast nation roiled by civil conflict. In a letter to the president, the Ohio Republican underscored that he has been supportive of administration policy to date as Obama has called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign and insisted that the use of deadly chemical weapons would be a gross violation of international norms. A family expert believes the recent murder of a young Australian man in Oklahoma is a wakeup call for the entire country. Three teenagers in Duncan, 80 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, are accused of gunning down 22-year-old Christopher Lane last week while he was jogging, reportedly stating afterwards they did it just for “the fun of it” and because they were “bored and didn’t have anything to do.” Prosecutors are calling the murder of the East Central University baseball player a “thrill killing.” Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America told reporters it's a statement about the moral decline and breakdown of the family in America. “We don't have good role models for boys today and we have far too many young men who do not have the kind of stable home life that enables them to have a right perspective on life,” she offers. “They don't have a father image. They don't have a male role model in their lives.” |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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