I traveled 445 miles, 6 hours, 59 minutes, to Williamstown, KY, (50 miles north of Louisville) to see Noah's Ark and it was mighty impressive since it took 6 years to build the 510-foot vessel, all to scale as given in the Bible. "Huge" is an inadequate use of the language to describe it.
As a matter of fact, there aren't any words to describe the massive thing with its 3 decks including the housing for all the animals in that floating zoo. Since I have no words, I won't try.
As one enters the Ark and walks the decks from top to bottom, he's confronted with information from Genesis 6-9 as well as other texts including the testimony of Christ as to the Ark's historicity. There's an exhibit of silly children's books that show drawings of the Ark in order to demonstrate how such artists' renderings transform the Ark into a cartoon thus damaging its credibility. That was a wise inclusion for folks to see. The Ark does destroy Sunday school depictions of what they built back then.
It is a sight to behold and a wonder to be examined from the inside out and it was worthy of that long trip. Hats off to the designers and builders of the to-scale rendering in Williamstown, KY.
HOWEVER
There is a "however" that we must discuss. Throughout the interior of the Ark there are inscriptions that are evangelistic, which, if the reader is paying attention to them as he moves along, can only be described as confusing and conflicting. On one deck, the tourist reads, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" which is straight out of Acts 16. Then in another area, he'll come upon John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
On another deck, the evangelistic message takes a wrong turn as it pleads with the reader to "turn from sin and believe." Wait. That's not what Acts 16 says. It says "believe." That's not what John 3:16 says. It says "whosoever believes." No mention of trying to get clean. There wasn't a single person admiring the Ark that day who could or has "turned from sin." God is not telling the unbeliever to scrub his life of sin before he trusts Christ. That's an impossible command.
Another evangelistic plea told us to "repent (feel sorry for your sins) and believe." "Repent" is not in a single verse in John, a book written to persuade a person to trust Christ. "Repent" is a "change of mind," not a command to simulate or work up an emotional response. "Repent" doesn't occupy a place in Acts 16 or John 3.
If a person reads those entreaties, one sentence after another on the same wall, he would be asking himself, "Which is it? Is it 'believe?' Is it 'repent and believe?' Is it 'turn from your sins?'" There's a conflict. Those are dueling sentences.
SERIOUS
The gospel is a matter of utmost seriousness; that's what Paul says in Galatians 1:6-9, as he uses the word, "accursed" for those who tamper with the free grace gospel. Then, Paul states the gospel in I Corinthians 15: "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." Where in that text is "repent?" Where is "turn from sin?" Those additions aren't there.
I wonder if anyone has pointed out the conflicting messages on the walls of the Ark. Just to make sure somebody does, I'll give it a try.
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