Ran across an interesting story about a new museum being built near Covington, a suburb of Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky. The museum is being built by Answers in Genesis, a Christian ministry whose goal is to promote a “Young Earth” creationist account of the Earth’s origins as an alternative to the narrative of evolution that reigns in prettymuch all other museums of natural history. Young Earth Creationism is the view that the seven days described in the creation account of Genesis 1 were literal 24-hour days. Many believers, like those at AIG, take this as a fundamental of the faith. Many others, however, believe that the biblical account does not necessarily prescribe 7 literal days and could be compatible with a longer period of time (a view called, appopriately enough, “Old Earth Creationism.” Those on both side of the intramural debate would argue that Darwinian evolution (macro-evolution) is inconsistent with Scripture and happens also to be bad science (all truth is God’s truth, after all.) Of course most Naturalists will hold to Darwinian evolution as a matter of first principle – every religion and worldview must have a story of origins and theirs comes from Darwin. That’s why they get so agitated when other scientists challenge Darwin.
Anyway, with that background, I just thought it was worth mentioning that the controversial museum is slated to open up the road from here in early 2007. I’m sure it will get a lot of negative press from the usual sources, but that it will be fairly successful anyway. Wherever a Christian falls in the debate between old and young earth creation, it is nice to have some educational alternative that seeks to present natural history in the framework of a Christian worldview.