Comments on: Repeal Science for the Holidays, Just $25.95!

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:06:55 +0000

Understood, your a theist. I must have missed your post on your religious background. Well I don’t really consider your view about the zoo, as an attack on “X-mas” per say. It’s more of a creationism type conflict your have.

So do you believe X-mas (a religious holiday) should be marketed by the zoo as long as it doesn’t team up with the creation museum? Even without the creationist museum, wouldn’t promoting a religious holiday conflict with secular science which is what the zoo promotes most of the year?

Well as far as lawsuit, since the promotion is connected with X-mas between the two. And since X-mas is a federal holiday, the zoo should have no fear in lawsuits. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen down the line. Someone could get all worked up over it, then decides to file a lawsuit for media attention. Some have tried to file a lawsuit to take “In God We Trust” off the coins.

The Zoo is also like a business, to promote good relations among a diversified community which includes the religious community.

By: Ken Smith

Ken Smith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:33:52 +0000

Just what was some administrator thinking of?
After all the lawsuits which have found that creationism, even in its latest alias of “intelligent design”, is nothing more than religion dressed up to sound like science, it seems that there are *still* lots of people who don’t get it.
Withdrawing the ticket offer because of the alleged “distraction” without any mention of the anti-science nature of the so-called “Museum” will only lead to suspicion of other ticket offers.

Ken Smith
Assistant Chaplain
The University of Queensland
Australia

By: Austringer

Austringer — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:09:37 +0000

This is not any “War on Christmas” item. I’m not any sort of atheist, Michael… I’m a United Methodist. I thought we had covered that before. I’ve certainly mentioned it several times here.

The Cincinnati Zoo is “part of the public school system” according to their own website.

Part of the public school system in Cincinnati since 1975, the Zoo hosts a four-year college prepatory program – Zoo Academy. The Cincinnati Zoo is proud to serve as the leading non-formal science educator in Southwest Ohio. Over 300,000 students participate in the Zoo’s educational programs annually.

They can’t claim to be science educators and promote anti-science in the form of young-earth creationism. Beyond that, they may be opening themselves up for a lawsuit under the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Any way you slice it, this shows a clear lack of critical thinking on the part of the administration of the Cincinnati Zoo.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:46:29 +0000

Oh yea, it’s funny when atheists celebrate X-mas but complain when joint marketing happens to promote the very popular worldwide holiday…Are you one of those atheists who like to celebrate X-mas but deny that that it is a religious holiday?

The ad said the museum brings Bible history to life, that is true and this is what they mean by “history!” This ties in with the X-mas story which people think tie in with the holiday. Marketing X-mas is what makes the US economy go round and round…

By: JD

JD — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:29:58 +0000

I read this and was stunned. I sent the following:

To Whom It May Concern-

Is the holiday ticket offer for a Combination Attraction Ticket: of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and Creation Museum meant as some sort of early April Fool’s joke?
To advertise the Creation Museum as a “…walk through history” is a jaw-dropper. Creationists, and the Creation Museum, are anti-science, anti-history, anti-evolution, and anti-education – they stand against everything a good zoo or botanical garden stands for. Do you truly wish to promote their agenda of deliberate ignorance and historical revisionism?
The faint hope that some child might visit the Zoo after the Creation Museum and question what they had been taught about animals being created in kinds, or whether people actually did ride vegetarian dinosaurs (both of which are supported by creationists) is not enough to justify the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden giving these (insert favorite expletive here) a shred of legitimacy.
Creationists have neither science or history to stand on, and so rely on public relations and stealth school board members to try to get their beliefs taught in the public schools. Their association with a reputable entity such as yourselves undermines every parent who is fighting to keep good science standards in the public schools.
Please, for the sake of good science education, reconsider any promotions involving the Creation Museum.

Sincerely,
An embattled parent