Is Ken Ham Going to Reopen the Ark Early?
This post is a concatenation, with permission and light editing for consistency, of a handful of e-mails broadcasted by Dan Phelps last week. Matt Young will serve as moderator.
This Tweet by was posted on April 25. He is becoming more strident in complaining about the shutdown every day. He keeps mentioning places that are allowed to be open in contrast to his “Ark” and fake museum. He doesn’t seem to notice the differences in numbers and social distancing possible between the “Ark” and, for example, a liquor store. He is also using this as a way to rage at Governor Beshear over abortion. I hope the press will follow up, because I think he may try to open in the not too distant future against public health advice. Considering the age demographics for many of the people who would attend, opening prematurely would be disastrous.
[Mr. Phelps’s suspicions had been aroused when on April 24 he received the following e-mail from Mr. Ham.] They are really wanting to reopen and it just isn’t possible. They are bound to start screaming loudly about “persecution” soon.
Help us plan our reopening!
As you may be aware, both the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum have been closed since March 17 due to the public health efforts to contain COVID-19 (coronavirus). We have already started planning for when we will be able to reopen. Even though we don’t know yet what the government and health agency requirements might be for us when we reopen, we would greatly value your input through a short survey as we plan for many possible modifications in our operations.
[Following that text, we were invited to take a survey.]
Mr. Ham tweeted on “extreme shutdown measures” on April 25.
So we have politicians publicly claiming they want to protect & save lives and that’s why the extreme shutdown measures (that are now destroying lives and businesses), yet they keep abortion clinics (child killing machines) open and veto bills like [Gov. Beshear’s veto of an abortion bill]. And when Planned Parenthood (known for terrible wickedness) praises a politician for vetoing a bill, you know what that means!
Here is more evidence that Mr. Ham is hoping his followers will support him if he eventually tries to open early.
I’m not saying Covid19 is not a serious disease or it’s not contagious–I’m not saying we shouldn’t do what we can to treat people, & as best we can, to deal with this virus. However, I think a lot of the media hype can make us lose perspective. The death toll globally from this virus is 200,000 to date. But do you realize 150,000 people died in this world yesterday, & another 150,000 will die to day [sic]. In fact it’s estimated 18+ million people have died in the world this year to date & about 50 million people will die this year. And they die from all sorts of causes as we live in a fallen world. Yes, we use our medical advances to treat diseases and their spread as best we can–but we can’t ultimately stop people from dying. In a fallen world we are not going to cure every disease or stop every virus. And there’s choices as to which diseases have the greatest investment of time & money. And there are many other factors to consider such as food, economic factors etc. It’s all a very complicated web as finite man tries to deal with a world ravaged by the effects of sin. But the reality is that everyone will ultimately die. And even though as part of man taking dominion we do what we can to help mitigate the effects of the curse–the greatest need for everyone is spiritual. Where will you spend eternity is the most important question of all. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” Hebrews 9:27. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9. Today, read the genealogies in Genesis chapter 5 for a reality check. “and he died…and he died…and he died…and he died…and he died…and he died[.]” Are you ready for the inevitable?
He is making similar posts almost daily and no one seems to be paying attention. I predict he will try to open his “attractions” early, against public health advice. People will die from the virus if he opens early.
Finally, here are some of the questions from the survey:
1. Have you visited the Ark Encounter or Creation Museum?
Did you have plans to visit in the next 6 months? ...
4. How do you feel about the restrictions implemented in your area (i.e. "stay-at-home" orders, etc.) during the coronavirus situation?
Grossly inadequate Inadequate Reasonable Not reasonable Too extreme
5. As restrictions are eased and in-person activities begin to resume, how ready are you to participate in the type of activities below?
Not ready at all Hesitant Neutral Ready Very Ready
Attend church services in-person
Visit restaurants for dine-in service
See a movie or performance at a theater or auditorium
Attend an event at a large arena or convention hall
Stay in a hotel
Go in a group on a charter bus to an attraction or event
Fly on a commercial plane
6. How long do you think it will be before you are more willing to attend church services in person?
1 month
2 - 3 months
4 - 6 months
7 - 11 months
1 year or more
Never
Not sure
Other - Write In
[These choices are repeated in the following. Mr. Phelps chose Other and wrote in that they should follow CDC recommendations or wait until a vaccine is developed, as appropriate.]
7. How long do you think it will be before you are more willing to visit restaurants for dine-in service?
8. How long do you think it will be before you're more willing to see a movie or performance in a theater or auditorium?
9. How long do you think it will be until you're more willing to attend an event in a large arena or convention hall?
10. How long do you think it will be until you're more willing to stay in a hotel?
11. How long do you think it will be until you're more willing to go in a group on a charter bus to an attraction or event?
12. How long do you think it will be until you're more willing to fly on a commercial plane?
13. If the government and health agencies issued the following requirements or recommendations for the Ark and Creation Museum to reopen, please select your level of agreement with each below.
All staff at the Ark or Creation Museum would be wearing masks
All guests would be expected to wear masks to enter
Daily infrared temperature checks required for all staff at the Ark or Creation Museum
Infrared temperature checks required for all Ark/Creation Museum guests to enter
Ability for guests to "social distance" along with capacity monitoring or seat/table spacing where needed.
...
Thank you for your valuable feedback on the reopening of the Answers in Genesis attractions! We appreciate it so much!