Ken Ham is upset. He’s upset that the library carries books that are LGBT+ positive. So he tweeted “Increasingly (sadly) so, but public libraries are becoming dangerous places for kids (of all ages). And sadly, the majority of kids from church homes have already had their hearts & minds captured by the enemy through public schools, TV, etc. Christian parents need to be reminded: “You shall teach them [God’s Word] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7)”
The article he links to explains how Andrée Seu Peterson went to her library and couldn’t find a book by Max Lucado. However, she did find a book display of pro-LGBT books. She and Ham are horrified.
They are horrified that the shelves aren’t filled exclusively with books that agree with their political and religious viewpoints. They are horrified that the library offers a diverse collection of books that serves the diversity of the public. They are especially horrified children might be exposed to ideas.
Fundagelicals live in highly controlled bubbles. Pastors discourage their parishioners from entering the marketplace of ideas. I was raised in a Fundagelical bubble. I attended Church-run schools until I went to College; I was encouraged to go to an approved Christian University but chose not to. I was warned that lurking around every ivy-covered column of academia was a liberal atheist professor ready to destroy my faith.
Ken Ham is a fundamentalist who believes the stories in the Bible must be interpreted literally. The ancient Israelites who wrote what is now known as the Old Testament didn’t interpret the stories literally. Early Christians didn’t interpret the Bible literally. It wasn’t until the early twentieth century that Fundamentalist started demanding that the Bible be read literally. Ken Ham believes the earth is only about 6,000 years old, Jonah was swallowed by a whale, and Noah built an ark.
Ham has built the Creation Museum and the much beleaguered Ark Encounter. Ark Encounter is supposedly a life-size replica of Noah’s ark, which includes exhibits showing complex Flintstone’s like machines to help care for the animals, and a diorama showing gladiators fighting dinosaurs. It also suffered damage from- – – wait for it – – – rain!
It takes a lot of denial and mental gymnastics to believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old. Ken Ham is famous for his “Were you there” defense of a literal six-day creation. Since scientists weren’t there at creation, they can’t possibly know what happened. Ken argues that since God was there, and He wrote it down, the Genesis account is true.
This is why Ken Ham believes that Libraries are a dangerous place. Libraries are full of competing ideas. Some poor Fundamentalist child may wander away from their homeschooled bubble and encounter the most dangerous thing in the world- – – Facts. Even worse, reading stories that humanize the LGBT community may help that child develop empathy toward a marginalized community. It’s hard to maintain an irrational, rabid hatred of people different than you if you have a sudden outbreak of compassion.
Ken Hamm teaches a version of “truth” that quickly crumbles when it is questioned. So, he has to issue a warning about how dangerous libraries are. If your faith is so fragile you must protect people from ideas, is it really a faith worth having?
Thanks for reading! Please take a moment and share this post. Don’t forget to like the post and subscribe if you haven’t already. You can watch my vlog at Rev’s Reels on YouTube. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Join me and a bunch of other former Fundagelicals at Open Door Ministries in Westminster at the Westminster Mall.