The Events of Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Today, our last full day with the wonderful Wells family, we woke up and had a marvelous breakfast of cereal, fruit and grain bars, bananas, juice and casserole. Then we loaded up all six Taylors and four of the five Wells (Mr. Wells had to be at work) and drove off in Harvey to visit the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

Our first stop at the Creation Museum was the theatrical show “Men in White”. It was a satire, but it was also an informative persuasive film. We experienced the whole of creation, down to the wetness of the flood, when the seats in front of us spurted water at us. Also, the Men in White – Mike and Gabe (for Michael and Gabriel) – answered many a question of mine.


Next, we took in the main museum experience, starting with a dark passageway in which ultraviolet lights made our t-shirts and teeth glow violet, as well as the ordinary rocks that lined the path. Though I had always thought that God created the universe not in six 24-hour days, but in six long periods of time, we were informed that God really did do all that in just six 24-hour days. In retrospect, it is even more mind-boggling than it was to me in the museum. Could it possibly be that God created the whole entire universe in just six days?

The museum also explained the concept of evolution. Instead of Darwinism, it taught us that God created all things to adapt to their environment, or else disappear. This explained the evolution of the horse from the dog-sized eohippus to equus, the modern horse. It also explained dinosaurs. Because the bible says that man and land animals were created on the last day of creation, the sixth day, that means that dinosaur and man were once on the earth at the same time. There is even biblical evidence for this in Job, when God tells Job about a “behemoth creature”:

 

 15 "Look at the behemoth,
       which I made along with you 
       and which feeds on grass like an ox.

 16 What strength he has in his loins, 
       what power in the muscles of his belly!

 17 His tail sways like a cedar; 
       the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, 
       his limbs like rods of iron.

 19 He ranks first among the works of God, 
       yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

 20 The hills bring him their produce, 
       and all the wild animals play nearby.

 21 Under the lotus plants he lies, 
       hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

 22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; 
       the poplars by the stream surround him.

 23 When the river rages, he is not alarmed; 
       he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.

 24 Can anyone capture him by the eyes,
       or trap him and pierce his nose?

That’s Job 40:15-24, New International Version. Doesn’t that sound like the description of a dinosaur? And in the exhibit about Noah, there was a question station. Lindsey, being the intellectual questioner that she is, asked the mannequin whether or not there were dinosaurs on the ark. His answer: Yes. Though some were huge, the average dinosaur was only about waist-high, and there was plenty of room on the boat, as Daddy later discovered at Carl Kerby’s talk (Double-Mindedness: Its Impact and How to Overcome It!) that afternoon.

While parts of the museum answered some of our questions, and other questions I hadn’t even thought of, other parts also raised some huge questions. The exhibits told us that the process of radioisotope dating is so incorrect, that it might actually have been only a few thousand years, rather than millions and billions of years since “The Big Bang”. So we wonder why that apparently incorrect process is still being used. Also, we wonder what happened to freshwater creatures during the flood, whether they adapted to salt water or perished or were kept on the ark in freshwater tanks or perhaps in the drinking water. Or maybe the saltwater fish adapted to fresh water after the flood? And where does Lucy (the Australopithecus aphaeresis skeleton found in Afar Depression, Ethiopia) fit into all of this?

Then we watched the Last Adam show, which was about the last three of the seven C’s of history (Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, and Christ, Cross, Consummation). It began with Jesus’ special birth, and then his extraordinary death on the cross, the whole enchilada! (I stole that line from Mike, one of the Men in White.)

In the midst of experiencing the Creation Museum, we left for lunch back in Harvey. Lunch was very fun, but very interesting, with ten people crowded around three tables which comfortably fit six, or eight. What made this adventure easier was the fact that Rebekah and David are travel-size for convenience. Just kidding! It was superbly fun passing around all the food and eating each other’s elbows. With our special butterscotch brownies for dessert, it was truly a fantastic experience.

After lunch, we visited the planetarium. While all the adults fell asleep in those especially comfortable reclining chairs, we kids found it fascinating. We saw a view of the earth from billions of miles away, as well as the view of the entire universe, at least the part that we know today. I was absolutely flabbergasted that, out of the multitudes of planets in this universe, God chose this galaxy, this solar system, this planet to create just right for life to live and to thrive.

After the planetarium, we walked along a cute little winding path through the botanical gardens and over a quaint little bridge and visited the petting zoo, where we met a zorse (zebra + horse), a zonkey (zebra + donkey), a munkey (mule + donkey), a strange-looking cow, chickens, rabbits, coatimundi (skinny, feisty little raccoon-monkey like creatures from Southern Africa), Japanese koi fish, tortoises, and sheep. Gomer the camel was also available to visit with and pet, but we didn’t have time.

We drove back to Liberty Township and watched Rebekah score an amazing touchdown at her co-ed flag football practice scrimmage. Then we ate dinner of rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and green salad and walked over to watch Sam tackle his teammate in his practice.

By the time we left, everyone was hot and sweaty – I got sweaty just watching them – so we loaded up in Harvey and the Wells’ minivan and drove to “The Cone”, the famous local soft serve ice cream place – the building is actually shaped like a giant soft-serve ice cream cone. We tried pumpkin ice cream and caramel cappuccino macadamia something-or-other and orange and vanilla swirl, their specialty. Mom had chocolate dipped in chocolate – go figure. Full and satisfied, and a few of us somewhat sticky, we headed back to the Wells’ house and went to bed.