Pearl at Greer Park

Pearl at Greer Park
Originally uploaded by thane

Bibletainment

From an article in today's NYT, Cool Reception for Bible Park in Bible Belt:

The park, described in promotional material as "edutainment," would cost $150 million to $200 million. With a Galilean village as its centerpiece, one side of the park would present Old Testament stories like the Exodus; the other side would have New Testament stories like Jesus' birth and crucifixion. The only displays in writing would be excerpts from Scripture, and parts of the park would be reserved for Bible study.

This article had me wondering—surely someone has built something like this already? Also, is that a correct usage of the word "Galilean"? [yes]. Going to get another cup of coffee, I considered the question: If I wanted to build a Bible Edutainment Park, where would I put it? Orlando seemed to be a natural choice—but maybe the land is too expensive? A good first step would be to identify like-minded people and form an Association of Bible Edutainment Boosters, or something, you know, to promote the idea. Returning to the article I found this:

The only comparable Bible-themed destination in the United States is the 15-acre Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Fla., said Reagan Hillier, president of the Faith Based Amusement Association, though he said dozens of traditional theme parks incorporated faith-based themes...

Nothing new under the sun.

[And now, looking for my Bible in its usual place on the shelf with other frequently-consulted references such as the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, various dictionaries, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Otto Erich Deutsch's Mozart: A Documentary Biography (highly recommended), I can't find it. Ach—I put in an archive box, according to librarything. Why would would I do that? And now I remember—I convinced myself there was no point in keeping it since there are so many online searchable Bible sites. Bad decision, but perhaps not leading to my damnation I hope. But what did I want to look up, you ask? The surrounding text from that from bit of Ecclesiastes. Here it is (1:9) What has been will be again / what has been done will be done again / there is nothing new under the sun.]