Today's dinosaurs walk with tourists

I don't have any problem with the taxpayer-supported Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site listing the Creation Museum as a local attraction. One thing is for sure about the museum -- it's an attraction that draws tourists.

But I also understand why scientists, taxpayers and others who don't accept the fundamental premise of the Creation Museum have a problem with the way the attraction is portrayed on the site. (Here's a link.) That premise, you'll recall, is that dinosaurs and humans were together on the Earth only a few thousand years ago. This is, at best, a controversial belief that even many Christian skeptics of evolution reject.

What stirred Daniel Phelps, head of the Kentucky Paleontological Society, was the statement on the site that "this 'walk through history' museum will counter evolutionary natural history museums that turn countless minds against Christ and Scripture."

Pat Frew of the convention bureau countered that content comes from the attractions themselves since they know best what is at their venues. Here's a link to our story, which also contains links to comments from both sides.

Frew's point makes sense probably 99 percent of the time. But this isn't just any attraction either. Because there is no attribution, the wording makes it sound as though this is the position of the convention bureau on this controversial subject. And it's hard to imagine the Cincinnati Museum Center having a promotional paragraph attacking another museum.

The answer seems pretty simple. The bureau should say on its Web pages and in its other promotional materials that venue descriptions are provided by the attractions.

I've met some of the Creation Museum leaders. They're bright people who feel genuinely called to do what they do. They respond openly to criticism and obviously are savvy marketers. They've earned some grudging respect from their critics. And, because this is America, I definitely appreciate having the right not to accept all the Creationist views.