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The Creation Museum, located in Petersburg, Kentucky, is operated by the Christian Creationist apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG) to promote a Young Earth creationist explanation of the origins of the universe based on a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative. The museum cost $27 million—raised entirely through private donations to AiG—and opened on May 28, 2007. In addition to the museum proper, the facility also houses a special effects theater, a planetarium, and a gift shop, and serves as the headquarters of AiG. The museum employs approximately 300 people; all permanent employees must sign a statement of faith affirming their belief in AiG's principles. In August 2013, AiG officials estimated that almost 1.9 million people had visited the museum, with yearly attendance surpassing 250,000 in each year of the museum's operation. Since its opening, the museum has added a petting zoo, a zip line and sky bridge course, an ''Allosaurus'' skeleton, and an insect collection. Consistent with a Young Earth creationist worldview, the museum exhibits depict the coexistence of humans and non-avian dinosaurs, say that the Earth is approximately 6,000 years old, and dispute the idea that life evolved into its current forms. The principles of the museum contradict the scientific consensus that evolution is a scientific fact. Scientists and educators have expressed concerns that the museum misrepresents science and could have a negative impact on science education. Proponents of other religious beliefs about the universe's origins—including Old Earth creationism, theistic evolution, and intelligent design—have been critical of the museum, saying its rejection of scientific consensus damages the credibility of Christianity and its adherents. Tenets of Young Earth creationism nevertheless enjoy substantial support among the general population in the United States, contributing to the museum's popularity. Both supporters and opponents of the museum have generally praised the aesthetic quality of its displays—which include representations of biblical people and events, animatronic dinosaurs, videos, and explanatory signage. Some critics have noted significant discrepancies between the museum's models and presentations and the geological and fossil record. Museum professionals like Gretchen Jennings have said that, because of its "lack of valid connection with current worldwide thinking", the Creation Museum does not fit the formal definition of a museum and should not be referred to as such. ==Beliefs== The Creation Museum's displays and exhibits portray a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative, the Young Earth creationist viewpoint advocated by Answers in Genesis (AiG), the creationist apologetics ministry that owns and operates the museum.〔(Museum Claims Earth is 6,000 Years Old ) AP Press release, May 23, 2005〕 It says that God created the universe and everything in it in six 24-hour days, approximately 6,000–10,000 years ago. This contradicts the current scientific consensus that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old and that living organisms descended from a common ancestor through evolution.〔 According to the AiG web site, the purpose of the museum is to "exalt Jesus Christ as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer", to "equip Christians to better evangelize the lost", and to "challenge visitors to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord".〔Creation Museum: about us. Creation Museum official web site. Retrieved on 2007-06-05 from http://www.creationmuseum.org/about.〕 While the museum's displays contradict scientific consensus, a ''Sunday Independent'' columnist said in 2007 that "there are plenty of Americans ready to embrace Ham and support his museum", citing the fact that the $27 million museum was entirely privately funded, and a Gallup public opinion poll showing that almost half of Americans agreed with the statement "God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years." AiG Executive Director Ken Ham said, "I want to make it clear that we don't want to be known primarily as Young Earth Creationists. AiG's main thrust is on biblical authority. Believing in a relatively young Earth is a consequence of accepting the word of God as an infallible revelation from our Creator." While the intelligent design movement is often associated with creationism, in a 2005 interview with ''The Kentucky Post'', Ham said of the movement, "They are not a Christian movement, they are not about the Bible. It's not even against evolution, not really, because they don't tell you what that intelligence is. It could open a door for Muslim belief, for Hindus, for New Age. We are telling you unashamedly that the word of the Bible is the way." In 2006, AiG Communications Director Mark Looy told the ''Post'' that intelligent design advocates "want nothing to do with us". Robert C. Newman, a member of the American Scientific Affiliation and co-author of ''What's Darwin Got to do with It? A Friendly Conversation about Evolution'', identified three major creationist positions: Young Earth creationism, Old Earth creationism, and theistic evolution. According to Newman, Young Earth creationists "hold to a literal view of Genesis 1, interpreting the days as 24-hour days and putting the age of the earth only in thousands of years", while Old Earth creationists "hold that the earth, created by God, is billions of years old and that God intervened at various times to guide the process of creation" and theistic evolutionists "() that God guided the process of evolution without miraculous interventions".〔 AiG's stance in favor of Young Earth creationism has garnered criticism from individuals who adhere to Old Earth creationism or theistic evolution. In a press kit released in connection with the Creation Museum's opening, geologist Greg Neyman, founder of the Old Earth creationist organization Old Earth Ministries, wrote: "Those who will benefit least from the museum are the non-Christians, who are firmly grounded in their belief through modern science that the Earth is billions of years old. They will see the museum, and recognize its faulty science, and will be turned away from the church. This will increase the already widening gap between the unchurched and the churched. This gap is the direct result of young Earth creationism."〔 Neyman also wrote that "today, the church is many individuals who accept an old Earth" and "is already moving away from young Earth creationism".〔Greg Neyman, "(Creation Museum Media Mania )," Answers in Creation, March 30, 2007.〕 Roman Catholic theologian John F. Haught, a theistic evolutionist, claimed the museum would cause an "impoverishment" of religion, adding, "It's hard for me to come up with a single reason why we should be doing this... It's theologically problematic to me, as well as scientifically problematic."〔Adelle M. Banks. "(New Museum Says Creation, Science Go Hand-in-Hand )". Accessed June 1, 2007.〕 Theistic evolutionist Michael Patrick Leahy, editor of the online magazine ''Christian Faith and Reason'', argued that the museum "makes all Christians who don't accept evolution look stupid", "undermines the credibility of all Christians", and "gives the growing movement of militant atheism... an easy opportunity to misrepresent all Christians as 'irrational'".〔(''The Trouble with Fred and Wilma: Why the Creation Museum is Bad for Christians'' ), Michael Patrick Leahy, Christian Faith and Reason, May 24, 2007.〕 Lisa Park, a professor of paleontology at University of Akron was particularly disturbed by the museum's depiction that war, famine and natural disasters are the result of a belief in evolution. She said: "I think it's very bad science and even worse theology... and the theology is far more offensive to me. I think there's a lot of focus on fear, and I don't think that's a very Christian message... I find it a malicious manipulation of the public." Before the museum's opening, about 2,000 educators signed a statement written by the Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) calling the museum part of a "campaign by the religious right to inject creationist teachings into science education". The National Center for Science Education collected over 800 signatures from scientists in the three states closest to the museum (Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio) on a statement calling the museum's exhibits "scientifically inaccurate materials" and expressing concerns that students who accept its premises as scientifically valid would be "unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level" and "need remedial instruction in the nature of science, as well as in the specific areas of science misrepresented by Answers in Genesis".〔(Reactions to creation "museum" ). Accessed November 4, 2008.〕 Lawrence M. Krauss, who signed the DefCon statement; Eugenie Scott, executive director of NCSE; and Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, each told the Associated Press that AiG was within its rights to open the museum, but expressed concerns about its effects on science education.〔 "We're not talking about free speech. We would not protest the museum. However, we are concerned that we not mislead young people inadvertently or intentionally about what science is showing," Leshner said.〔 Krauss has called on media, educators, and government officials to shun the museum and says that its view is based on falsehoods.〔Lawrence Krauss. "(The creationist museum of misinformation )". ''NewScientist.com''. May 23, 2007.〕 Krauss cited science's ability to make testable predictions and its requirement that the results of those tests be accepted as fact, regardless of previous beliefs.〔"(Misinformation museum )". ''Columbus Dispatch''. May 27, 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Creation Museum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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