Creation Controversy At The Tulsa Zoo

KOTV.com ^ | 6/7/05

[BipolarBob]

"The Tulsa Zoo says the belief that God created the animals has no scientific merit"

Well folks, you heard it from the experts.

/sarcasm off

[mnehring]

I'm not sure I agree with them trying to make a big creation versus evolution issue about this.. it is simply about a name..<br.
The zoo should just name an elephant "Jesus" or "Moses". Just like Ganesh (sp?), it is just a name.. (The name "Jesus" is a mistranslation anyway.)

[okstate]

Good grief

The Tulsa Zoo is still my favorite (and America's favorite) zoo

[dangus]

The belief that God created the animals, while true, does lack scientific merit. As for me, I think it's quite appropriate for an Indian elephant exhibit to include a statue reflecting Indian attitudes towards what an elephant is. And Noah's Ark is a magnificently appropriate theme for zoo art, since Noah's Ark is the ancient precursor to the form and function of modern zoos.

[dangus]

>> Dan Hicks... frequent[s] the Tulsa Zoo with [his] children. <<
Great. A bunch of Hicks. :^)

[BipolarBob]

Yeah, I go to it too.

[savedbygrace]

Brett Fidler: “we display things that have been proven through the scientific method . . . "

Not exactly:

I. The scientific method has four steps

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.

2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation.

3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.

4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

from http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html

[Manic_Episode]

"Please do not offer my god a peanut. "

[savedbygrace]

The Tulsa Zoo is filled from one end to the other with pro-evolution statements on their exhibits. They should stick with what they can know from "the scientific method", as curator Fidler likes to brag.

[tumblindice]

This rich guy was disappointed in the size of his manhood so he arranged to have an elephant's trunk transplanted down under. After recovering he's takes date to a dark, candle-lit restaurant, and he has to show off. The waiter leaves a basket of fresh dinner rolls. The guy casually picks up a roll with his new member.
She gasped and said, "Is that what I think it is? Can you do that again?"
And he replied, "I suppose so . . but I don't think I can take another roll up my rear."

[highball]

Yes, actually.

[Ichneumon]

The Tulsa Zoo is filled from one end to the other with pro-evolution statements on their exhibits. They should stick with what they can know from "the scientific method", as curator Fidler likes to brag.

They do. That's why they educate the visitors on the findings of evolutionary biology, which are the result of the application of the scientific method.

[ApplegateRanch]

The zoo should just name an elephant "Jesus" or "Moses". Just like Ganesh (sp?), it is just a name.. (The name "Jesus" is a mistranslation anyway.)

That's what I thought, too...at first.

Then, I read it again. It is a statue of the Hindu elepahnt god, Ganesha.

This is compounded by the fatuous "...the big globe by the entrance, evokes religion through the saying "the earth is our mother, the sky is our father". Zoo staff says it's there to add a Native American flair,"...

[savedbygrace]

You've never been to the Tulsa Zoo, have you?

[ShadowAce]

The Tulsa Zoo is still my favorite (and America's favorite) zoo

I'd have to take issue with that statement. :)

St. Louis' zoo is still free admission. Always will be.

[bethelgrad]

Mistranslation? Lots of names have alternate corolaries when translated from language to language. It's not a "mistranslation" but one of several options. The name James is similiar in that there are many other alternatives that have evolved from Greek to Latin to our modern languages.

[mnehring]

Yeshua (YHSWH) in Hebrew actually translates to Joshua, the name 'Jesus' came from early translators who tried to apply Greek language rules to Hebrew. Leasus is Greek for Joshua, and Leasus evolved to Jesus as the translations were passed on.
'Jesus' didn't even exist as a proper name until after this error. This is not limited to the Bible, this error was also duplicated in many translations of writings of the time including Josephus' Contra Apion.

No, I'm not one of those who think it is a big deal, just kind of funny.. I can imagine Jesus upstairs listening to prayers asking "Who are they talking to?"

[GSlob]

"Dan Hicks... frequent[s] the Tulsa Zoo with [his] children. "
"Great. A bunch of Hicks. :^)"
The zoo should demonstrate proper inclusiveness and include them in the exhibit. A large cage with a simulated habitat ought to be reserved for them. I could envision the warning posted on the cage: "do not feed, do not taunt..."

[streetpreacher]

So I'll just explain to my son, "Son, the animals here are smarter than the people taking care of them."