Kent Hovind created the Dinosaur Adventure Land in Florida to try to teach people that dinosaurs roamed the earth just a few thousand years ago, alongside humans, but in the process he tried to get around local laws. The government didn't buy creative legal arguments that it's against Hovind's religion to get building permits; now, the place has been locked up and may be torn down.

The Pensacola News-Journal reports:

The judge ... fined two church leaders $500 each per day for every day the building is used or occupied. If church officials continue to refuse to comply with local ordinances, the judge may decide that the building can be razed, Allen’s ruling said. ... “Scripture also says ‘Render unto Caesar what Caesar demands.’ And right now, Caesar demands a building permit,” County Commission Chairman Mike Whitehead said.

Requiring building permits is not some sort of sneaky way to infringe on Christians’ religious liberties. Building permits are necessary to ensure that structures are constructed according to building codes, and those codes exist to ensure that people’s safety is protected. Given how many thousands of visitors the museum and park were designed/expected to bring in, safety is a serious issue. The creationists’ argument, though, sounds like they are saying that public safety is against their religion.

And, yes, they are claiming that this is nothing more than a matter of “religious persecution,” as if no non-religious organizations are expected to follow building codes and get building permits. The same is true about being expected to follow the tax laws, something else that Hovind is fighting. There is something disturbingly consistent about the fact that creationists, who are usually fighting or ignoring the reality of evolution and biology, are now fighting or ignoring the reality of basic laws.

 

Quick Poll: Should religious organizations be forced to follow the same building and tax laws as everyone else?

1. Of course, they are part of the community and have to uphold certain standards.
2. No, it's an imposition on their religious liberty.
3. I don't know.
4. I don't care.

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Read More:

• Evolution vs. Creationism
• Science vs. Religion
• What is Creationism?
• What is Science?