Editorial: Visit the Creation Museum

Of the many interesting places we visited in September, the most interesting was the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati.  My wife thinks shopping malls are equal to museums and she enjoyed this one.  As proof, she bought more stuff in the gift shop than she bought at Prime Outlets the day before.

To my knowledge there is no other museum devoted to presenting Genesis as factual history.  And why shouldn’t there be one?  Detractors say that Genesis is a myth because its assertions cannot be proved by scientific evidence.  The scientific history of our planet and the universe changes generationally based on the latest discoveries.  The scientific theories of the past are in the category of myths today, and that tends to level the playing field versus the creation story.

The Creation Museum is a wonderful presentation of Genesis.  The quality of the exhibits is on par with those in Chicago’s Museum of Natural History.  There are plenty of interactive opportunities for both children and adults.  The walk through Noah’s Ark is fascinating.  After the museum, we took a stroll through the several acres of beautiful gardens filled with plants that don’t look like they belong in this climate, but there they are.

Today a minority percentage of Americans accept Genesis as fact, so the Creation Museum invites controversy.  Probably the most controversial assertion is that dinosaurs and man coexisted.  This goes against everything archeology has discovered in the past 100 years.  But, on the fifth day God created all the fish and animals, and on the sixth day God created man, so there you are.  All creatures great and small coexisted with man.

In my small mind an obvious question popped up in the dinosaur exhibit: Why, in rock strata where dinosaur fossils are found, do we not also find human fossils as well as fossils of dogs, cats, and horses?  The question was not addressed in the exhibit, so the answer becomes one of faith.  I grew up with the Flintstones, so the Creation Museum’s answer is good enough for me.

O’Bannon Reaches Out to Muslims

Mayor O’Bannon gave a speech in the town square yesterday promoting greater understanding of Muslim Americans.  “Islam is a peaceful religion and the vast majority of Muslims in America are real Americans just like you and me,” said the mayor.  “Pearlville has never had any problem with Muslims and they have never had any problem with Pearlville.  America was founded on freedom of religion, and it’s time that we move forward in the great American tradition and give Muslims the same respect as we give Lutherans.”

The Mayor’s speech was an active subject among the lunchtime crowd at the Cozy Corner.  Everyone agreed that it was a stirring speech.  “Almost brought a tear to my eye,” said George Klemmer.  “The mayor really knows how to spin a yarn,” added Elmer Rittman.  “It made me proud to be an American.  But have we ever had a Muslim in Pearlville?” asked Ron Gutwein.  The consensus of the crowd was that Pearlville has never had a Muslim resident.  Bob Radford suggested that “Joe Alfonse kind of looked like a Muslim when he lived here in the 70’s, with the beard and funny clothes.  Maybe he was really Joe Al Fonsi, but he probably was Italian like we thought at the time.”  Ed Ringer summed it up when he said “It doesn’t matter.  We will never have Muslims living in Pearlville because we don’t have a mosque.  But the point of the mayor’s speech is that if we ever have a Muslim passing through, like if they get lost on vacation, we should treat them like any outsiders- roll out the red carpet and sell them as much as we can.”

Charitable Giving Declines in 2009

Reverend Jeepers of the Pearlville Community Church reports that charitable contributions are down 8.5% this year due to the slow economy.  He encourages members to keep up with their annual pledges to the extent possible, reminding us that our donations are tax-deductible and we always get most of it back from the church.  “There is no reason to give a large percentage of your income to the government when the People of Pearlville have figured out a way to keep the fruit of our labors.”  The Wiper concurs.  There is no better system of tax management in the country than right here in Pearlville.