It sounds contradictory to combine science and their fake, unscientific ark, but that’s what Answers in Genesis plans to do. They are hosting something called the Answers STEM Challenge, a contest where people stand a chance to make some big money. Here are the prizes:
First place prize—$5,000
Second place prize—$2,000
Third place prize—$1,000
That’s pretty good money for what is basically a sort of science fair. I say “sort of” because unlike most science fairs, the students are told exactly what they have to do, so it’s fairly strongly constrained. Participants must build a wind turbine, which must have:
• Generator (provided)
• Housing (Nacelle)
• Blades
• Tower
• Base
It also must fit on a 1.2m x 1.2m base, so it’s basically a small model that will be propped up in front of fans and the power output measured.
OK, so it’s more of an engineering challenge. It’s also somehow tangled up in their version of Biblical literalism. So far, it sounds like something even I could do: assemble some basic stuff with cardboard and duct tape — or if I wanted to be fancy, build it with acrylic or 3D printing, buy some large propellor blades on Amazon, and show up. The only difficult part would be the electronics…but they provide that for everyone? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of scientific/engineering work involved. There is one obstacle for me, though.
This event will equip and encourage participants to hold to the authority of God’s Word while learning about STEM from a biblical worldview! Form your team, register, and get designing today!
One of the requirements in the official rulebook is : Application of biblical worldview to the design task. Participants are required to explain how their design is Biblical.
Team showed the importance of standing on the authority of God’s Word when faced with complex environmental issues.
Uh, where in the Bible does it talk about wind turbines and electricity and wind power? Or about “complex environmental issues”? The Biblical perspective on environmentalism is that humans must subdue and rule the natural world, and AiG has some rather regressive views on that.
While some, like Dr. Michael Nortcott, think — as he expresses it repeatedly in his recent book A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming — that we must choose between people’s rising out of poverty and protecting the environment, as if either prevented the other (a bifurcation fallacy), we believe the two are not exclusive alternatives but mutually interdependent. A clean, healthful, beautiful environment being a costly good, and wealthier people being able to afford more of a costly good than poor people, it follows that growing wealth — accompanied by ethics and values informed by Scripture, and in the context of a just civil social order — can protect and improve our surroundings (the real meaning, by the way, of the word environment) rather than degrade them.
I don’t know whether that’s derived from the prosperity gospel or effective altruism, they can be hard to tell apart. I do know that they’re reading an awful lot into the Bible, and I wouldn’t want to contribute to that.
I will be interested to see what ludicrous lump of propaganda wins the contest — it’ll be held in November 2024.
The wind generator powers a video of Joel Osteen promising riches to the viewer if they send him money to build more wind generators.
Of course the challenge will be held at the Ark Park, meaning that all participants will have to pay the obscene parking rates towards the institute that has an overly sensitive trigger on all obscenities. And how many of these participants won’t be with families who’ll decide to pay more for this “fabulous opportunity” to stare at murals of fundamentalist propaganda, again. The event will likely bring in more than the prize money is worth before the event is over.
HidariMak @2: And that’s assuming that contestants don’t all end up being disqualified for their designs not being biblical enough or some other BS
heavenly hot air, batman, that b.s. ‘contest’ is like trying to show how the story of jebus walking on water can inspire a hovercraft design!
Make sure all the dimensions on the engineering drawing are in cubits? Write all the design documents in Koine Greek?
All kidding aside, this is of course complete nonsense. AFAICT, the bible has nothing to tell about windmills. Which is not surprising, given that the principles of aerodynamics and electromagnetism were unknown when whatever part of the bible was written.
In the Beginning, God accidentally kicked out the extension cord and the universe was created.
Ever since, it was all about damage control.
And well, I don’t drink enough.
And well, motherfucker, you really massively owe me big time…
Ken Ham: “Where’s you entry, mate?”
Child: “ I didn’t build one. Dear Leader Donald Trump says windmills are woke! Wokeness is communism. Communism is atheist. Therefore windmills are contrary to The Bible!”
Ham: “FIRST PLACE!!!”
I think the key tenet of Biblical Engineering is that pi = 3. Should make for quite a challenge.
The nonsense about making everyone rich (well, almost everyone, not the poor people of course) by completely trashing the planet so that they can afford to fix it up again is the same self-serving nonsense that right wing politicians, big corporations, and the right wing media spew out constantly. Religion as always in the service of capitalism and environmental destruction.
“So, Timmy, how is your windmill Biblically-inspired?”
“Well, Reverend, it works best in an environment with a lot of hot air blowing around.”
I will not bother to go down that rabbit hole. Let’s just say it is hard to amass resources and get food for all if the biosphere is collapsing around you.
The idiots will reply that after the flood Zod promised to not do shit like that again, and they will point at the goddamn rainbow as evidence. Because stoopid.
I may need to show this to my daughter; she’s a student at Ga Tech and both non-religious and non-binary. I would think her and her really smart friends could have a lot of fun with this, in a Boaty McBoatface sort of way.
I’ll base mine on Hosea 8:7: They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
It’s in November 2024. I predict the winner will be Donald Trump.
One of the requirements in the official rulebook is : Application of biblical worldview to the design task.
That’s easy: “God makes all things happen. This happened. Therefore God made it happen.”
Just wait. That contest will end up a disastrous failure.
Guarenteed winner….make it out of gopher wood.
Isn’t building stuff from base matter something that is closer to Melek Taus than El/Jaweh (I recommend reading the graphic novel Top Ten) ?
The Bible saying that pi = 3.0 might make some aspects of the engineering a bit tricky…
I note there;s an entry fee of $99 and that there are age & team requirements –
Huh. Pass & oddly specific.
That they chose wind turbines tro build seems odd & that they even mention “Critical thinking ” there likewise. Pretence I guess.
This is of course a trick question. Trump famously hates wind power (for example, https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-technology-dd10b705845e945c4c33f62640ccd246)
So in the current political climate, the winning entry will consist of all of the components, still in their original packaging, placed inside a trash can.
Let’s see, we need a Bible passage to go with it… The “Parable of the Ten Virgins” in Matthew 25 will work, the wise virgins carried oil (representing fossil fuel) in jars to light their lamps, while the foolish ones did not bring oil and presumably were relying on wind power to keep their lamps burning.
I hereby release this idea into the public domain, all I ask is that you send me the $5,000 if you use it and win.
Naah what they need to build is a fast neutron breeder reactor.
Radiation was never mentioned in the bible, so no shielding.
My strategy for achieving victory and total domination over all the other contestants would be to hit the fire alarm and hide, then once the building is empty set light to all the other model turbines. Once those have burned down to ash and it’s safe for everyone to return, it’ll be obvious that I am God’s Chosen One and they will surely proclaim it a miracle that the building itself remains undamaged.
And will there be a mighty wind?
https://youtu.be/tjEtB3rJB9o?feature=shared
Trivial. Just use any combination of: “No man can find out the work that God maketh”; “Lean not on thine own understanding”; “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him”; “All things are possible to him that believeth”; and “behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words”.
Put simply, stop asking so many questions. It works for any high school antiscience fair project.
YE Creationism shouldn’t be mentioned with science in the same sentence 🙄
@brightmoon #26:
…except for laughs.
rsmith @ # 5: … the bible has nothing to tell about windmills. … the principles of aerodynamics and electromagnetism were unknown when whatever part of the bible was written.
Putting dates on biblical verses gets controversial real quick, but the Holy Wiki indicates windmills must predate a lot of them:
Knowledge of the principles of electrodynamics goes back to the first explanation of some sinner getting hit by lightning (Accurate knowledge, you say? Well, we still have some doubts about what electrons get up to in the dark, don’t we?).