Answers for the Ark Scoffers
Editor: I find it ironic that the world scoffed at Noah when he built the ark. The more things change the more they stay the same. Scoffers are back in style as the ark rises.
Now that the construction of the life-size Noah’s Ark is well under way, we thought it time to respond to the scoffers and critics of the project.
Now that the construction of the life-size Noah’s Ark (the first phase of the Ark Encounter project) is well under way, I thought it time to respond to the non-Christian (and even Christian) scoffers and critics.
The Internet and social media places like Facebook allow people to voice most of their opinions on any subject regardless of whether they have really researched the topic or understand it as they should. It seems to me that these days the fruit of Internet is a cesspool of nastiness, immorality, name-calling, ignorance, anti-Christian propaganda, stupidity, illogical statements, fallacies, and foolishness (Matthew 7:15–20). We are grateful for those who wade through this mess and logically stand for the truth of God’s Word (Hebrews 5:14).
To say the least, it’s been interesting to read many of the comments and articles by many Christians and non-Christians pertaining to the construction of our life-size Noah’s Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky, and set to open sometime in 2016. Just as we had scoffers attack the Creation Museum when it was under construction, today we see many scoffers (even more this time) harshly criticizing the Ark Encounter project. Let me deal with just some of what the scoffers and critics claim.
1. Claim: There is no way anyone could build a wooden ship the size of the Ark so it would actually float!
Based on an ancient cubit of 20.4 inches (please read this article about cubits to understand why we chose the one we did), the life-size Ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. Actually, there are documents about ships in antiquity (since the Flood of Noah) that were this order of magnitude in size. I encourage you to read this article. In 1909, the wooden ship the Wyoming (450 feet from jib-boom tip to spanker boom tip) was launched, though it sank 15 years later. Also the Chinese and many other cultures are known to have built large wooden ships.
