Owners of Noah’s Ark replica sue insurers for ‘rain damage’

In a bit of ironic news out of Northern Kentucky, the owners of the Noah’s Ark replica that sits at the “Ark Encounter” exhibit are suing their insurers for rain damage, of all things.

According to the Courier Journal, Ark Encounter officials say heavy rains over the past 2 years incurred nearly $2 million in damages to the exhibit, which insurers refused to cover. The majority of the damage was to a road that leads to the structure, which was caused by a landslide.

The replica was conceived by young earth creationist and Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham, who spent around $101 million on the project with the help of taxpayer subsidies. He says the Ark was built using the exact same dimensions cited in the Old Testament.

Ham and his followers see the bible as a historical record and interpret it literally. His ministry has led him to become one of the most widely recognized proponents of the idea that the earth is only around 6,000 years old. In order to make this dogma consistent with the known natural world, he’s had to extrapolate theories (from astoundingly juvenile logic) to maintain his core belief that dinosaurs actually lived alongside humans while key events in the bible were taking place.

Via Ken Ham (Facebook)

Ham made headlines in June of 2016 when it was revealed that he forced Ark Encounter employees to sign pledges stating they believed the Bible to be literally true and they would not engage in premarital sex. That same year, the Courier Journal reported that the Kentucky State Board approved $18 million in tax incentives to go towards the Ark’s construction.

In order to spread his message of a young earth where dinosaurs and humans co-existed in biblical times, Ham dropped the exhibit’s price of admission in 2016, making it almost free for public schools to plan field trips to the Ark. “If coming as a public school class, students pay only $1 each and their supervising public school teachers come free,” Ham wrote on his website. The exhibit’s tour teaches kids how they’re all direct descendants of Noah, and shows them places such as the Ark’s dinosaur wing — where Noah allegedly kept the dinosaurs.

While rain damage on a public structure isn’t out of the ordinary, some of Ham’s critics couldn’t resist pointing out the irony of the circumstances.

“Noah thought ahead. But not Ken Ham, apparently,” the Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta wrote.

Featured image: Ken Ham/Facebook 

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.