The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality - International Voices in ...

Betwixt Text and Nature, God and Evolution 157
(creation/ist) science and art meet. Multi-media presentations are
used, because people do not read much, he indicates. Therefore a
visual drama is created “through each one of the spaces, to bring
thought to the message.” Taking great pleasure in and care with his
art, he wants to satisfy the senses, for him here though in a more
meaningful way than in Hollywood, he says, because it brings
greater and deeper happiness.
It is to the way in which Mr. Marsh does this that we turn next.
6.3 Interior architecture of the Creation Museum
Mr. Marsh deliberately creates at the Museum settings and
experiences which “support the Bible,” as a service to the
churches, namely to help them “defend their message.” “The
spaces must do something; affect the people,” and his hope is that
“each space conveys the message.” Drawing on eleven years of
studying Zen gardens and temples in Japan, a meandering flow of
corridors leading to exhibition rooms have been installed within
the space of the 6,500 square meters of museum building. The
corridors first lead downhill, symbolising society going downhill.
From sin, in the nether regions of the building, the corridors lead
upwards, with aspects of traditional Christian salvation history
exhibited next to the walkways and in dedicated exhibition rooms.
The corridors end at the highest point in exhibits calling for the
glorification of God, since it is God who is the inspiration of all
greatness.
Next, brief descriptions are given of the displays along this
(what may be called) symbolic salvation history walkway, and of
some of the presentations on offer.
6.4 Displays and presentations in the Creation Museum
A clear juxtaposition is created in the displays between “God’s
word” and “human reason,” with the implicit subtext being: which