Local Student Advocates Intolerance of Christianity

Most people in these churches agree with the theologically conservative Christian message of Answers in Genesis and how it is taught at our well-attended Creation Museum. And that’s not true of only our area; there are several thousand churches across the USA, with millions of church attendees, that support the evangelistic outreach of Answers in Genesis. Thousands of churches use AiG’s three-year Bible curriculum and VBS program as well as many other faith-affirming resources.

We have been seeing an increasing number of intolerant secularists who oppose the religious freedoms we have all enjoyed in this nation.

Now as we get close to the opening of the Ark Encounter on July 7 (just as when we built the Creation Museum), we have been seeing an increasing number of intolerant secularists who oppose the religious freedoms we have all enjoyed in this nation.

Recently, a resident of Northern Kentucky, Carlos Ramirez, who is a sophomore at Columbia University (New York), wrote an anti-Ark opinion piece that appeared in today’s Cincinnati Enquirer (and it was posted to the paper’s website yesterday).

The student makes a number of unfounded, false statements about what we as Christians believe and how the Ark is being funded. He ended his piece with this very alarming, highly intolerant comment:

It is in our best interest as a society to disallow the existence of institutions such as this and collectively decide to not tolerate ignorance of the natural world.

This college student is essentially calling for the culture to abandon the First Amendment guarantee of the freedom of religion and its free exercise because he disagrees with our beliefs about origins based on the Bible.

Obviously influenced by evolution, this young man states:

When the United States is already lagging behind many prominent nations in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the creation of the ark can only be detrimental to our nation’s standing because of the false information it presents.

Carlos, I have a few things for you to consider:

1. Name one thing that your belief about origins has had to do with developing technology,
2. Come up with one way a person’s belief about origins has anything to do with engineering,
3. And name one way your belief concerning origins has anything to do with mathematics.

Now I would say there actually is a connection of sorts, and it’s this: the reason we can develop technology, gain engineering skills, and do math is because we accept the laws of nature, the uniformity of nature, and laws of logic that just cannot be explained by natural processes. They only make sense within a biblical worldview of a Creator God who brought those laws into existence.

Does Carlos really understand what he’s saying when he declares that the Ark will somehow contribute to a decline in society’s advancement? For one, he does not understand the difference between belief (historical science, like origins) and empirical science (observational science, that helps develop technology). Actually, his thinking is typical of the millennial generation that has been brainwashed in evolutionary thinking. He’s advocating that the culture stop Christians, who believe God’s Word beginning in Genesis, from being able to freely proclaim their beliefs in the culture. Is he also making similar claims about Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Orthodox Jews (and the list could go on)? Or is he only fighting against Bible-believing Christians?

Sadly, young men like Carlos are representative of the millennials who have been indoctrinated in the religion of secularism and brainwashed into thinking that anyone who disagrees with their “enlightened” beliefs is a hindrance to the culture, and that people must “disallow the existence of” the Ark so they can impose their own secular worldview on the population.

His beliefs and intolerance are a consequence of a secular education and a lack of understanding the nature of science.

Christians, please wake up! This young man represents the next generation. His beliefs and intolerance are a consequence of a secular education and a lack of understanding the nature of science. Such thinking has even entered Christian homes and churches. This new generation by and large doesn’t just want their views tolerated, but they also want opposing views to be eliminated.

The freedoms the West once enjoyed are being lost as the culture becomes unhinged with increasing numbers of people building their foundation on man’s fallible opinions instead of God’s infallible Word.

Oh, and Carlos: please get your facts right. The Ark is totally privately funded and no (zero) state taxes were used in its construction, as you falsely claimed when you wrote: “When state taxes are paying for an institution that preaches false information threatening our understanding of the natural world, it is necessary to decide the extent of our toleration.”

At least Carlos admits that ultimately his debate with us is about a conflict of beliefs—his beliefs (presumably evolutionary) about the natural world versus the account of origins given in Scripture. And yes, his blatant intolerance of a belief that is differing to his own is very telling. I trust he will see his hypocrisy and will be tolerant enough to allow Christians to exercise the liberties afforded them by the US Constitution and to enjoy the same freedoms he does.

You can read his entire opinion piece.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken