Olympic Village gets worship center
BEIJING — Beijing Games organizers say they plan to build a multi-faith worship center in the Olympic Village, a striking move in a country that restricts religious activity.
“All will be arranged in accordance with the practices … adopted by other Olympic host cities,” Liu Bainian, vice president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, said in the official China Daily newspaper.
The Communist Party-controlled association governs China’s Catholic churches, while other state-controlled bodies keep watch over the country’s Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims and Protestants.
– – –
Naturalists to visit Creation Museum
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The chief state naturalist is planning a group field trip to the new Creation Museum because of a growing number of park visitors challenging naturalists with what they learned at the museum.
“Visitors are asking, ‘Well, it said this at the Creation Museum, but you all are saying something different,'” Carey Tichenor said.
The Creation Museum in Petersburg was built by the Answers in Genesis Christian ministry and presents the Bible’s creation story as fact supported by science.
“The theory of creationism is that the world is only 6,000 years old,” Tichenor said. Park naturalists interpret geologic history based on science and talk about history that dates back millions of years, Tichenor said.
Park naturalists are planning to visit the museum to better understand what visitors are asking, not to challenge religious beliefs, Tichenor said.
