by William Trollinger

Ok. Maybe we have been unfair. Maybe we have been one-sided in our discussion of Ark Encounter. It is certainly true that we have made a point of noting that – despite all the emphasis on literally reproducing the Ark described in Genesis – Ken Ham’s Ark is not actually a boat, and the interior of this gigantic not-boat is awash in invented “facts” that are explained as simply artistic license. It is unquestionably the case that we have referred to the Ark as located in the middle of nowhere,  and we have suggested doubts about Ham’s claim that Ark Encounter attendance in the first year will be close to 2.2 million visitors. There is no doubt that we have pointed out that – for all of its emphasis on being a child-friendly place – the Ark’s explicit aim is to teach children that the Noah’s Ark story is really about an angry God drowning all but eight human beings on earth, and we have mentioned that AiG population experts have determined that the death toll may have been twenty billion. And while it is hard to imagine that a place so devoted to telling the story of global genocide could actually be boring, we must confess that we have also reported that the Ark is a deadly dull place to visit, and – yes indeed – we have underscored the amazing fact that Jesus is all-but-absent at what is supposed to be a Christian entertainment site.

Ok. Time for a little balance. Time to hear from one of Ark Encounter’s most enthusiastic supporters, Ray Comfort. Comfort is an evangelical evangelist, founder of Living Waters ministry, and co-host (with actor Kirk Cameron) of The Way of the Master television show. Comfort is best-known for his infamous “banana video,” in which he and Cameron claim that the banana is the atheists’ nightmare because it gives clear evidence that the universe has an intelligent designer.

On October 22 Comfort visited the Ark Encounter for the premiere of his latest film, The Atheist Delusion. As part of this visit Comfort was given a tour of the Ark by Ken Ham. To say that he was awed by the experience is to understate Comfort’s response. As reported on the Ark Encounter blog:

“Many had told me that it is incredible, but they grossly understated it. It is utterly amazing, completely overwhelming, and wonderfully incredible . . . far above anything I was expecting (emphasis in original). I have been through the Smithsonian in DC and the Louvre in Paris, and the Ark is so much better in a hundred different ways. It excels in excellence.”

There you have it. The Ark “excels in excellence.”

And we have now exceeded our quota for balanced reporting.