Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

[public hermit]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

ETA: The quote is from the article and is not necessarily indicative of public hermit's opinions, except in this case it is.

 

[MehGuy]

What? Will it be like the space needle?

 

[GallagherM]

A guy once asked a worker working at the top of the space needle. "After looking out of these windows, where is the needle at?" - the worker baffled.

 

[mala]

as long as they don't receive any tax payer dollars towards it i don't care what useless self serving shrine this conman builds.

 

[Strathos]

Bonus irony points if it ends up collapsing.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

... oh boy, just what we need! Yet another public erection of biblical proportions.


Wait a minute! For some reason, that doesn't sound right.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Ah yes, good ol Ken Ham...

They guy who spent tens of millions of dollars and used modern construction technology and full construction teams (and still took 6 years) to construct something to be a depiction of an ark that was supposedly built by a 500 year old man and 7 of his family members using bronze age tools.

Am I the only one who sees the slightest bit of irony here?

If he really wanted to prove the Noah's Ark was possible as depicted in scripture, he and 7 of his family members should've built it using only tools that would've been common during the time period...I'll even give him a pass and waive the requirement that he wait until he's 500 years old to start the project.

 

[Crwth]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

I agree. I like Ken Ham, but this doesn't make any sense to me. First, it wouldn't even be an "educated guess" about the construction of the tower - we have no reference material upon which to make any such guesses. We don't know how high they made it before God intervened. We don't know what shape it was - was it circular, pyramidal? What were its dimensions? All we know is they made it of brick and tar and that it was part of a city they were also building; beyond that, we're told nothing.

We're not told God destroyed it though. He merely put a stop to its construction, and that of the city they were building at the same time - which size we don't know either.

We know the dimensions of the ark. We know the materials Noah used to build it; given that, the rest is "artistic license" which is certainly forgiveable - much like the tabernacle and temple reconstructions. We get they're not 100% accurate. "Close enough" works.

But the tower? Given the above, and if ever built, visitors could only say it's 100% inaccurate. There would be no "close enough" to justify any critique of it.

 

[Occams Barber]

Ah yes, good ol Ken Ham...

They guy who spent tens of millions of dollars and used modern construction technology and full construction teams (and still took 6 years) to construct something to be a depiction of an ark that was supposedly built by a 500 year old man and 7 of his family members using bronze age tools.

Am I the only one who sees the slightest bit of irony here?

If he really wanted to prove the Noah's Ark was possible as depicted in scripture, he and 7 of his family members should've built it using only tools that would've been common during the time period...I'll even give him a pass and waive the requirement that he wait until he's 500 years old to start the project.

Ham's Ark is not actually an Ark. It's a boat shaped building. It can't, and was never meant to, float.

OB

 

[Lazarus Short]

The Book of Jasher stated that it took a full year for a brick at the bottom to reach the top, where construction was going on. It also said that if a man fell to his death, it was no big deal, but the workers wept if a brick fell.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

I think the parabolic message of the tower far outweighs the tower itself. He can bring the moral of that story without any structure.

 

[Sabertooth]

God's assessment of the ToB was,
“Indeed the people are one and they all have one language,

and this is what they begin to do;
now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.​

Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language,
that they may not understand one another’s speech.” Genesis 11:6-7 NKJV

OTOH, God does not seem to be put off by conventional skyscrapers.

That leads me to believe that the ToB probably had some spiritual features that Mr. Ham would be well-advised to avoid reproducing. (edit: ...nor does he have the unanimity required to build the thing...)

Related...

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Ham's Ark is not actually an Ark. It's a boat shaped building. It can't, and was never meant to, float.

OB

So would building a boat of that size be easier or harder than making a building that doesn't need to float or withstand an epic storm?

 

[Occams Barber]

So would building a boat of that size be easier or harder than making a building that doesn't need to float or withstand an epic storm?

The boat would be more difficult to build.

(I'm agreeing with you. The Ark is misrepresented).

OB

 

[d taylor]

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I like Ken Ham, but this doesn't make any sense to me.

The explanation that would make sense would make you not like Ken Ham anymore...

That being, he's found a cash cow in monetizing people's faith to rake in a boatload of cash (in the case of his replica ark, a literal and figurative boatload of cash)

He charges $49.95 a pop to get in (or $79.95 if you want to get a day pass that also grants admission to his creation museum), and it attracts nearly 1 million visitors per year.

There's a certain subset of the religious crowd who will patronize any attraction that reaffirms their beliefs.

To clarify, I'm not picking on religious people in particular here... People of all stripes will pay good money for confirmation bias on their deeply held beliefs.

I have two family members who are vegan, and they'll drive 30 miles & pay to get into events like "VegFest" and other vegan "educational conferences" to listen to speakers talk about & promote something they already believe.

It's no different than an ardent atheist who would pay money to go see Richard Dawkins give a speech...they're already atheist, they already know going into it that they agree with Dawkins, they know they're not going to hear anything new (and probably already memorized the talking points he typically uses), but will still pay to go to it.

There's some sort of drawing power associated with someone (who speaks from a "position of authority") telling people what they want to hear.

 

[The Narrow Way]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

I couldn't agree with you more.... It's a big mistake to build a replica of the tower of Babel, something that God Himself DESTROYED.

 

[Clare73]

... oh boy, just what we need! Yet another public erection of biblical proportions.


Wait a minute! For some reason, that doesn't sound right.

Tsk, tsk. . .

 

[Clare73]

The man behind the world famous Noah’s Ark Replica, Ken Ham appears poised to outdo himself with an impending erection of the Tower of Babel. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis. He is a renown Creationism apologist instrumental in the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which cost $27 million and $100 million respectively. Set to be the next perhaps nine figure project is the Tower of Babel

While Noah’s Ark is something that can be replicated with greater accuracy, the Tower of Babel is an educated guess at best with any approach they take.

Moreover, one cannot ignore how counterintuitive is seems to attempt to build that which God destroyed and separated mankind over.

Ken Ham’s Tower of Babel: Brilliant or Misguided?

I wonder why he thinks there is any demand for it.

 

[public hermit]

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

What does this mean in relation to Ken's tower? I'm thinking it could relate as an affirmation or a critique, depending. What do you mean by quoting that passage from John's Apocalypse?