Posted on 04/17/2006 7:55:11 AM PDT by jasoncann
The steel skeleton occupies a sun-drenched hillside along Interstate 68 in the mountains of western Maryland.
Reaching three stories high, its concrete foundation stretching the length of one-and-a-half football fields, the structure is an oddity -- as incongruous as, well, a boat on a mountaintop.
Yet despite its titanic scale, a high-visibility perch, a pithy, unambiguous sign -- "Noah's Ark Being Rebuilt Here!" -- and a grindingly slow construction eked out over 30 years, the structure remains a mystery to the thousands of motorists who drive by it each day.
In Frostburg, the Ark is a long-standing source of both amusement and irritation, a kooky roadside landmark that over the years has come to be closely identified with the former coal mining town of 8,000 people -- now better known as home to Frostburg State University, the only four-year institution of higher learning in Maryland located west of Baltimore.
To Richard Greene, the man who has made it his mission in life to complete the Ark, its purpose is clear. Someday, these red girders will be part of the framework for a Biblical-scale replica of the boat which Noah is said to have constructed in order to escape the cataclysmic floods unleashed by God. It is a sign of the End of Days, the second coming of Christ, a warning for sinners to repent before it's too late.
The Ark is not functional; it will not float, and Pastor Greene will not be taking it to the sea. He is waiting for the sea to come to him.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Didn't God promise never again to flood the earth? That money WOULD be better spent on Christian schools and outreaches. A "spiritual" arc.
Arc=Ark :-o
I TOLD you I saw an ark getting built!!!!
I smell a new cable show coming...
"Flip this Ark"
LOL!!! That's funny!
It'll still be finished before the Big Dig is
Exactly. I don't remember Jesus telling us to build themeparks tourist attractions.
Churchanity strikes again.
I don't think Noah had any steel girders. And that gopher wood is getting hard to find these days. Silly man.
Shouldn't he be building this in *Ark*ansas?
OTOH, I think God wants us to be building spaceships instead of arks these days. We'll need them to deflect asteroids, and escape when the sun burns up.
Pimp this Ark?
I agree. A waste of money by a kook.
True, I thought it was supposed to be fire next time.
This may come in handy. You know - global warming, rising seas, etc.
No. Old Testement in the Prophits: Book of Barnum
Pastor Greene, who is 69 years old, says God instructed him in a series of disturbing night visions to build the Ark...
From the article:
Where, then, is the humanity or the sense in raising over $1 million to build an Ark that doesn't float? Many years ago, said Pastor Greene, a British evangelist said to him, "Building an Ark? Only a crazy American would do that!" Another pastor friend of his, upset that donations were being spent on steel, concrete and construction wages, rather than hospitals and orphanages, pressed him for an explanation.
The Ark is just a tool to draw in the curious. Curiosity makes people stop, look, and wonder; it also gives Pastor Greene the chance to counsel these "lost souls." Hundreds of people have stopped to meet with him over the years, said Pastor Greene.
As for the incredibly slow progress, Pastor Greene is patient, and shrugs off the jokes and rumors.
"There's nothing in the Bible that says how long it took [Noah] to build it," he said.
Keep in mind, the original ark was built by an amateur. The Titanic was built by professionals...
"Keep in mind, the original ark was built by an amateur. "
Yahbut it had an intelligent designer, right? [insert smiley here]
A Dutchman has him beat.
Click pic for link to article.
Well, if they used wood this time they couldn't use their Ark welder.
Well, if they used wood this time they couldn't use their Ark welder.
Now thats funny!!!!
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