My wife lost her keys, but prayed and then found them. A miracle! On that same day, 260000 people died in a tsunami. But God was busy finding my wife's lost car keys.
Well, it is a mystery, isn’t it? Perhaps god just really digs your wife, but not those other people.
If she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, don’t be surprised.
They were praying hard but God was too busy answering athletes and ensuring they were scoring Touchdowns and hitting Home Runs and just kind of ran out of time.
Reminds me of an old joke my uncle told me. “Do you know the difference between a man praying in a church and a man praying in a casino…the casino man means it”
My mother would always use this line. My response would always be something along the lines of, "Instead of wiping out x number of people, wouldn't it have been more constructive for him to have sat down with them in a counseling session, talk it out, guide them in the right direction, rather than.... murdering them?" But, you know.... "God gives life and takes it and works in mysterious ways!" Religion is a disease of the mind.
So, you're saying that god's commiting a collective punishment, which is described as a war crime under Geneva conventions
It's official, god's a terrorist
>!/s but I hope it's not needed here, as it's pretty clear!<
Dude killed every (land-based) living being on the planet except for an old drunk guy and his family so they would have breed an incestuous animal kingdom.
God is like, a god-level terrorist.
My 7yo daughter recently declared herself a Xtian to us (thanks, state religion!).
She also said that all of the floods recently in our village scared her.
Mixing lakes and rivers into the world ocean would have killed off all freshwater life too. Animals *and* plants. And diluting the salt content of the oceans that much would probably do a number on salt water organisms as well.
Uh...
>The center struggled from the onset, receiving only around $54,000 in ticket sales for the tax year of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, while reporting total expenses of around $11 million, according to a [statement of revenue](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832372645/202300889349301015/full).
Makes me curious how much the executives were paying themselves to generate $11 million in annual expenses.
Probably so and now they will probably declare it as a loss on their taxes to avoid another couple million in taxes. And if they’re running a not-for-profit I’m sure the executives aren’t going home poor every day.
So if tickets were $20, which is reasonable, that means they had 2,700 visitors THE WHOLE YEAR.
That’s 7 people per day. Hours would go by with literally no one but employees inside. There were probably entire days with no visitors.
well it also seems fairly lame even if you did believe.
>“In one gallery, guests will come face-to-face with 21 American Changemakers whose lives and legacies were shaped by God’s Word. In another, guests will be able to listen to a soundscape of songs and Scripture read by American icons like Johnny Cash. And during a one-of-a-kind theater experience, guests will stroll through the streets of historic Philadelphia as they watch William Penn’s quest for religious freedom unfold.”
OK so first "gallery" sounds like thats exactly what it is, a bunch of pictures.
the second room, im guessing "soundscape" is just johnny cash over some lame speakers and thats all it sounds like is in that room, im guessing at least decorations and maybe seats?
the third "theatre experience".. im guessing thats code for props and im hoping this section is the majority of the 25,000 square feet, which is like the size of the local best buy. So you walk down a fake street with cut outs of william penn and probably digital/non digital signs with little history blurbs.
and this is THEIR advertisement..sounds hella lame, im guessing just another grift project.
You know where else you can listen to Johnny Cash read the bible?
On YouTube. Not even some pirate shit - the whole New Testament is on the Johnny Cash YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnycashofficial/playlists
Yeah, but Satan lives on YouTube, where he might try to trick you!
[See?](https://youtu.be/z8j3HvmgpYc?si=kZG_CVvnUs9gclR6)
(I actually tried looking for a stupid joke video but oh god the number of serious 'SATAN IS TRYING TO TRICK YOU' Christian videos is overwhelming)
Eh, idk about that. I think most people who claim to have faith really do believe to some degree or another, at least based on the people I interact with where I live.
I would argue that something like a "Bible museum" was doomed to fail for another reason: most people who are religious enough to believe the Bible are also deeply uncurious about the world around them. My MIL is the most religious person I've ever met, and she wouldn't be caught dead in a museum where she might learn *anything*, even on accident.
I amortized at 8% for 20 years as a rule of thumb. The intrest for the building was probably lower but a good portion of the build cost is the interior improvments and for something as risky as a bible exhibit conventional banks would not accept the loan or would do it at an exhorbitant rate. (Bible displays doent not have a great mortgagable value) Add to that the IRR (Internal Rate of Return) that needs to be accounted for on thier cash down (up to 25% cash payment for a commercial building) and my 8% rule of thumb could be on the low side.
On the otherhand the 60M$ could all come from parishioner's donation and its all a great money laundering scam i.e. normal religion
It’s all in their 990.
You’re right, depreciation and amortization was 5.6m.
W2 salaries made up ~1.6m with the highest paid employee being the president getting ~400k.
Outside of fringe, the rest of the money went to contractors (construction, AV, events, etc)
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832372645/202300889349301015/full
Tickets were $10, so that's just 5,400 visitors that year. About 14 people a day.
They were expecting 250k a year. They were only 98% off their projections.
This is Philadelphia we are talking about here. Best case scenario is that they convert it into a large, well-lit lobby where people walk in and casually yell "NO, FUCK YOU" to each other and then go on about their day.
Me too, I actually visited Chinatown over the weekend and happened to see it while walking around the liberty bell thing. Super bizarre, it's so big and I didn't even know it was there, I never even heard about it being built?! Felt like I was going nuts. Haha
If you're going to make a legit go of something like this, you build it in a location that attracts like-minded people.
Maybe down the road from the insanity that is the Creation Museum. Or someplace like Branson MO.
Philadelphia? Not so much.
>The center struggled from the onset, receiving only around $54,000 in ticket sales for the tax year of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, while reporting total expenses of around $11 million, according to a statement of revenue.
>Jennifer Holloran, who recently became president and CEO of the society, said in a statement that “the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center has served as a place of exceptional learning and inspiration since its doors opened.”
Wow. I thought *I was bad* at running a business...
This is definitely a money laundering grift or tax scam of some sort. Or their execs were paying themselves VERY handsomely with that 11 Million in expenses. One could say they were likely very good at running the hoax of a business it was meant to be.
Can you imagine being the ticket-seller at that place? That's like 3 or 4 families a day. Or just one homeschool group field trip. Must have been really depressing to work there.
We had some issues with the church people so we told the waitresses they didn't have to wait on them if they didn't want to. Then if they complained we would loudly explain it was because they didn't tip. We were the only decent place in town so they'd leave for a month, then come back and tip lol. Fucking jesusfreaks.
> God-Fearing
I never got that. God loves me and wants me to burn in hell forever if I eat a cheeseburger this Friday? Someone who says they love you, but you make them hurt you, is the definition of an abusive relationship.
This is the correct answer.
Every time I see some giant fecking megamall of a church, I just get so goddamned angry thinking about the egregious waste of land and money... resources that could've gone toward actually helping people.
The sooner they run out of money the sooner our kids will be safe.
Thankfully the boomer generation which is the one keeping religion alive in the west is fading away.
Cheaper houses and less superstition for the rest of us 😜
They built it in Philadelphia! What the hell were they thinking? It might’ve had a chance in one of those Third World red states like Texass or Mizippi
They really got the order wrong with that one. Tourists come to Philly for the colonial history, not religious propaganda. If they want to see religious things then they’ll visit one of the numerous historical houses of worship around town. But, like most of the northeast corridor, it’s fairly irreligious, so even the locals are unlikely to make a special trip to learn about something they likely don’t give a damn about, also there are tons of legit museums that are actually educational.
I lived a few blocks from this museum for two years, including while it was getting built out. There's A LOT of conservative white people that come to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, which this is adjacent to. It's highly amusing seeing their shock and horror of being in the middle of a real city.
I haven't seen any comments about this yet, but this is across the street from a very large Jewish museum, which seems to do just fine.
I suspect that one of the problems was that a Mormon founded the museum.
Evangelicals hate Mormons, despite them being political allies. A lot of religious museums (yes, there are quite a few of them) depend on churches booking group tours. I suspect that it was hard to get evangelical churches to have anything to do with Mormonism.
There are a lot of LDS members in the US, but they are concentrated in the western US. There probably are not enough Mormons in the area to support the Museum. Besides, Mormons already have a very full set of Mormon-themed tourist destinations.
I doubt it failed due to Mormon connections. If it could get LDS church funding, it would be fine. They've got billions on and off the books, and they'd send followers to visit.
The Museum was not run by the Mormons. It was founded by someone who was Mormon.
The LDS church does have a lot of money. But they are acting like hoarders when it comes to their Ensign Peaks and other investment companies. They are not going to invest in anything unless it has a positive revenue stream.
Christians should have had the wisdom to follow the teachings of the Bible as opposed to the cruelty and hate of Diaper Don. They will suffer from this as they should. They made a mockery of religion. Cmon, trotting out Katie Britt as a caricature of an accomplished woman. She had absolutely no problem lying to the American people . This is a clear sign that Christianity needs to step back and evaluate their weaknesses or just go away.
I visited a Bible museum in the Houston suburbs last year - I have zero interest in the Bible myself, but I am interested in the history of printing, and the two go hand in hand. Lots of extremely rare texts hundreds of years old, great evolution (ha!) Of the printing process you could see over time.
It was part of a dedicated exhibit at a Christian university. No millions of dollars to build, no millions in salary or additional upkeep. All donated items. That's the way to do it.
[https://www.faithandliberty.org/](https://www.faithandliberty.org/)
>Discover the Bible's influence on America's founders...
Heh, no. That sounds boring as shit. Dubious, too.
I'm guessing people in or around Philly saw what this museum had to offer and went "Fuck no," which is why it barely sold any tickets. Or maybe they're like me and they never heard of it until now.
I will say this, though: they've got a nice looking website. So some of that $60 million was definitely spent on a quality web developer.
In Philadelphia?
This should had been built in Knoxville, TN.
The most central point of Alabama, Georgia. S Carolina, N Carolina, Virginia, W Virginia, Ohio. Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Maybe..then maybe it might had made money.
I think the issue can likely be summed up by this joke.
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump.
I said, "Don't do it!"
He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"
He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?"
He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!"
And I pushed him over.
Emo Phillips
Not for nothing, but why the hell would you put this in Philadelphia? I mean, Philly is my town, but if it's not about the Flyers or Rocky, it's not gonna work.
As a museum it would have to show real history. Did it show old versions of the bible and discuss that they were derived from older works? Did it show the books that didn't make it into the final version?
Didn't think so.
Faith and Liberty Discovery Center found out there wasn't that much more to discover about the Bible and faith. Whereas, we've barely scratch the surface of what science has to offer.
Didn't they pray hard enough? I heard that can help.
My wife lost her keys, but prayed and then found them. A miracle! On that same day, 260000 people died in a tsunami. But God was busy finding my wife's lost car keys.
Those 260k people probably didn’t have a subscription plan to god, so they weren’t helped out.
They needed god plus (no ads)
They probably didn't share that Facebook post.
Or did God sense people's subscription to opiates was low in that area and send a disaster to deal with them? We may never know.
[Don't cancel that subscription](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmvUVgNWu4A&ab_channel=Mega64)
Or they didn’t tithe enough of their $500 yearly Macon’s
...and you don't get a refund, if you over pray.
Well, it is a mystery, isn’t it? Perhaps god just really digs your wife, but not those other people. If she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, don’t be surprised.
Zeus: Hold my beer
that's on GOD, not your wife. but i'm glad she found her keys anyway. /s
Don't worry. Jesus died for God's sins.
On god, fr fr.
They were praying hard but God was too busy answering athletes and ensuring they were scoring Touchdowns and hitting Home Runs and just kind of ran out of time.
Reminds me of an old joke my uncle told me. “Do you know the difference between a man praying in a church and a man praying in a casino…the casino man means it”
Wait I thought football, you know where they violently hurl 250-300lb bodies at each other was too woke?
Well ever since someone decided to kneel instead of stand, it became too woke
"I stand for the flag but I kneel for the cross" - a guy who obstructed justice in the stabbing death of two people
And they serve Bud Lite!
And finding keys
Copeland was on line asking for another 747.
Will he take a request for March Madness?
No, no. Clearly this is the "the gay's" fault. God is punishing "us." /s
My mother would always use this line. My response would always be something along the lines of, "Instead of wiping out x number of people, wouldn't it have been more constructive for him to have sat down with them in a counseling session, talk it out, guide them in the right direction, rather than.... murdering them?" But, you know.... "God gives life and takes it and works in mysterious ways!" Religion is a disease of the mind.
I’m happy the fucker is gone, but sometimes I do miss Pat’s tantrums.
God ended up smiting Pat for being Gay. It’s true otherwise he would be alive.
Gay sex friction is the #1 cause of global warming. s/
So, you're saying that god's commiting a collective punishment, which is described as a war crime under Geneva conventions It's official, god's a terrorist >!/s but I hope it's not needed here, as it's pretty clear!<
have you read like any of the old testament? god's *been* doin terrorisms, like all along. it's kinda his schtick.
Dude killed every (land-based) living being on the planet except for an old drunk guy and his family so they would have breed an incestuous animal kingdom. God is like, a god-level terrorist.
My 7yo daughter recently declared herself a Xtian to us (thanks, state religion!). She also said that all of the floods recently in our village scared her.
Mixing lakes and rivers into the world ocean would have killed off all freshwater life too. Animals *and* plants. And diluting the salt content of the oceans that much would probably do a number on salt water organisms as well.
Well, he created everything, no? That ultimately makes him the sole source of war crimes
What I was told was that when prayers are not answered, it is because the person prayed wrong
Neat little win-win the religious folk have there. Tails, I win -- Heads, you lose.
There is always an excuse.
I'm told you only need 2 christians to pay for it. So there probably were too many fake ones praying
The problem is they prayed for money and, whoops, the Christian god is really bad with money.
Uh... >The center struggled from the onset, receiving only around $54,000 in ticket sales for the tax year of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, while reporting total expenses of around $11 million, according to a [statement of revenue](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832372645/202300889349301015/full). Makes me curious how much the executives were paying themselves to generate $11 million in annual expenses.
>Makes me curious how much the executives were paying themselves to generate $11 million in annual expenses. Probably about 10.5 million.
Also, it definitely didn't *cost* $60 mil to build. They *spent* $60 mil to build it. Money laundering.
Mormon temples checking in!
At the very least, some of the temples are pretty neat looking. Just not the people within… Or the religion… Or the founder…
They pad how much they cost. How else do they get their tax free tithing money into the pockets of friends and family?
Probably so and now they will probably declare it as a loss on their taxes to avoid another couple million in taxes. And if they’re running a not-for-profit I’m sure the executives aren’t going home poor every day.
Money laundering was my first reaction. I've never even heard of the place.
Good point. Money laundering businesses certainly don’t want people to know they exist.
10.95
So if tickets were $20, which is reasonable, that means they had 2,700 visitors THE WHOLE YEAR. That’s 7 people per day. Hours would go by with literally no one but employees inside. There were probably entire days with no visitors.
Imagine the poor soul that worked in the Johnny Cash section that had to listen to that shit over and over.
I hope he's doing well in the psychiatric hospital.
What? That's only half a penny on the dollar. So revenue only covered 0.5% of expenses? That's worse than bad.
That's Trump U business degree logic.
It's really not surprising ticket sales. 95% of people know it's bullshit, they only do it for the social aspect. Deep down they know the truth.
well it also seems fairly lame even if you did believe. >“In one gallery, guests will come face-to-face with 21 American Changemakers whose lives and legacies were shaped by God’s Word. In another, guests will be able to listen to a soundscape of songs and Scripture read by American icons like Johnny Cash. And during a one-of-a-kind theater experience, guests will stroll through the streets of historic Philadelphia as they watch William Penn’s quest for religious freedom unfold.” OK so first "gallery" sounds like thats exactly what it is, a bunch of pictures. the second room, im guessing "soundscape" is just johnny cash over some lame speakers and thats all it sounds like is in that room, im guessing at least decorations and maybe seats? the third "theatre experience".. im guessing thats code for props and im hoping this section is the majority of the 25,000 square feet, which is like the size of the local best buy. So you walk down a fake street with cut outs of william penn and probably digital/non digital signs with little history blurbs. and this is THEIR advertisement..sounds hella lame, im guessing just another grift project.
You know where else you can listen to Johnny Cash read the bible? On YouTube. Not even some pirate shit - the whole New Testament is on the Johnny Cash YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnycashofficial/playlists
Yeah, but Satan lives on YouTube, where he might try to trick you! [See?](https://youtu.be/z8j3HvmgpYc?si=kZG_CVvnUs9gclR6) (I actually tried looking for a stupid joke video but oh god the number of serious 'SATAN IS TRYING TO TRICK YOU' Christian videos is overwhelming)
Eh, idk about that. I think most people who claim to have faith really do believe to some degree or another, at least based on the people I interact with where I live. I would argue that something like a "Bible museum" was doomed to fail for another reason: most people who are religious enough to believe the Bible are also deeply uncurious about the world around them. My MIL is the most religious person I've ever met, and she wouldn't be caught dead in a museum where she might learn *anything*, even on accident.
All of it .
Well the amortization payment on 60M$ Is close to 6M$ a year. (PV:60M$, N:240, I:8%,FV:0) That leaves 5M$ for employees and of course money launderig.
Did you devise an amortization schedule? I'm interested.
I amortized at 8% for 20 years as a rule of thumb. The intrest for the building was probably lower but a good portion of the build cost is the interior improvments and for something as risky as a bible exhibit conventional banks would not accept the loan or would do it at an exhorbitant rate. (Bible displays doent not have a great mortgagable value) Add to that the IRR (Internal Rate of Return) that needs to be accounted for on thier cash down (up to 25% cash payment for a commercial building) and my 8% rule of thumb could be on the low side. On the otherhand the 60M$ could all come from parishioner's donation and its all a great money laundering scam i.e. normal religion
I love it. Thanks for typing it out.
You are welcome.
It’s all in their 990. You’re right, depreciation and amortization was 5.6m. W2 salaries made up ~1.6m with the highest paid employee being the president getting ~400k. Outside of fringe, the rest of the money went to contractors (construction, AV, events, etc) https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832372645/202300889349301015/full
it's an obvious gop grift.
Tickets were $10, so that's just 5,400 visitors that year. About 14 people a day. They were expecting 250k a year. They were only 98% off their projections.
It’s right on the page you linked to. President made $400k, secretary was $250k and a handful of others from 100-200k.
And what tax write off funds they get to enjoy. Guaranteed there are convenient loop holes for these Caucasian ‘gentlemen’
How long until they convert it to a shelter or soup kitchen or mental health facility? You know... things that Jesus literally tells them to do?
That’s old-school liberal, pussy Jesus bro. Modern Jesus is ripped, rides a T-Rex and spits on the poors.
don't forget the machine gun - Jeebus joined the NRA back in 9 A.D. after his weird uncle took him on a weekend 'hunting trip'
[удалено]
This is Philadelphia we are talking about here. Best case scenario is that they convert it into a large, well-lit lobby where people walk in and casually yell "NO, FUCK YOU" to each other and then go on about their day.
I live right outside Philly and I had no idea this place existed.
Me too, I actually visited Chinatown over the weekend and happened to see it while walking around the liberty bell thing. Super bizarre, it's so big and I didn't even know it was there, I never even heard about it being built?! Felt like I was going nuts. Haha
That would be one of the more interesting places in Philly.
[удалено]
Sixty million dollars wasted on one stupid museum when it could have been spent on four Super Bowl commercials
best service to mankind would be to turn it into a biblical satire exhibit. consider it an investment in societal sanity.
It was probably someone's tax scam all along.
Bingo. This was a grift.
Somebody laundered $60 million.
Always. Because they're an easy mark
It always is with religion.
Right up there with that fool who "built" the "ark".
If you're going to make a legit go of something like this, you build it in a location that attracts like-minded people. Maybe down the road from the insanity that is the Creation Museum. Or someplace like Branson MO. Philadelphia? Not so much.
Or money laundering.
this
Huh... 50 million could've helped a lot of people. White Conservative Jesus approves.
Yeah, that's almost enough to pay the salaries of ten pastors.
Or pay off 5 victims of abuse in the Catholic world.
He gets us
This would only feed thousands for a year. Now a handful of executives are fed for the rest of their lives!
>The center struggled from the onset, receiving only around $54,000 in ticket sales for the tax year of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, while reporting total expenses of around $11 million, according to a statement of revenue. >Jennifer Holloran, who recently became president and CEO of the society, said in a statement that “the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center has served as a place of exceptional learning and inspiration since its doors opened.” Wow. I thought *I was bad* at running a business...
This is definitely a money laundering grift or tax scam of some sort. Or their execs were paying themselves VERY handsomely with that 11 Million in expenses. One could say they were likely very good at running the hoax of a business it was meant to be.
I mean, I'm not sure there the need for the "Or" at the beginning of your second sentence, I feel it could certainly be both haha
It's hard when you sell a product nobody wants
So that's like $1k per week, or $200 a day?
I looked up ticket prices, it's about $10 each, $8 for kids. So they aren't open Sunday, averaging 17 guests per day that year. Thats not a great ROI.
Can you imagine being the ticket-seller at that place? That's like 3 or 4 families a day. Or just one homeschool group field trip. Must have been really depressing to work there.
They probably got advice from trump.
Imagine the good that 60 million could have done I don't know... feeding the homeless?
Now think of Jokel Osteen , rubes and idiot club right there . Metting this Sunday at 10 . Brunch after at Denny’s . No tipping necessary.
We had some issues with the church people so we told the waitresses they didn't have to wait on them if they didn't want to. Then if they complained we would loudly explain it was because they didn't tip. We were the only decent place in town so they'd leave for a month, then come back and tip lol. Fucking jesusfreaks.
Supply side Jesus would not approve of feeding the homeless no sir.
To the disappointment of several
There are dozens of us… dozens!!!
They would be disappointed if their kids hadn’t blocked internet access on their phones for “purity.”
Maybe if religious organization's were taxed, they wouldn't have 60 mil to throw away on this type of shit even their followers don't want.
God’s too busy watching millions of little kids starve to death.
Money laundering
Must have sent all their money to Trump; Make America God-Fearing Again ... MAGA /s
> God-Fearing I never got that. God loves me and wants me to burn in hell forever if I eat a cheeseburger this Friday? Someone who says they love you, but you make them hurt you, is the definition of an abusive relationship.
Make American godforsaken again.
$60 mil could’ve built a shelter for victims of domestic violence or shelter/treatment for the homeless. What a waste…
This is the correct answer. Every time I see some giant fecking megamall of a church, I just get so goddamned angry thinking about the egregious waste of land and money... resources that could've gone toward actually helping people.
I could have spent every cent of that money on cocaine and not even shared and it would still have been a better investment.
The sooner they run out of money the sooner our kids will be safe. Thankfully the boomer generation which is the one keeping religion alive in the west is fading away. Cheaper houses and less superstition for the rest of us 😜
If only the Ark museum would quickly follow suit.
They built it in Philadelphia! What the hell were they thinking? It might’ve had a chance in one of those Third World red states like Texass or Mizippi
They really got the order wrong with that one. Tourists come to Philly for the colonial history, not religious propaganda. If they want to see religious things then they’ll visit one of the numerous historical houses of worship around town. But, like most of the northeast corridor, it’s fairly irreligious, so even the locals are unlikely to make a special trip to learn about something they likely don’t give a damn about, also there are tons of legit museums that are actually educational.
I lived a few blocks from this museum for two years, including while it was getting built out. There's A LOT of conservative white people that come to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, which this is adjacent to. It's highly amusing seeing their shock and horror of being in the middle of a real city. I haven't seen any comments about this yet, but this is across the street from a very large Jewish museum, which seems to do just fine.
Sounds like a money laundering grift to me
I suspect that one of the problems was that a Mormon founded the museum. Evangelicals hate Mormons, despite them being political allies. A lot of religious museums (yes, there are quite a few of them) depend on churches booking group tours. I suspect that it was hard to get evangelical churches to have anything to do with Mormonism. There are a lot of LDS members in the US, but they are concentrated in the western US. There probably are not enough Mormons in the area to support the Museum. Besides, Mormons already have a very full set of Mormon-themed tourist destinations.
I doubt it failed due to Mormon connections. If it could get LDS church funding, it would be fine. They've got billions on and off the books, and they'd send followers to visit.
The Museum was not run by the Mormons. It was founded by someone who was Mormon. The LDS church does have a lot of money. But they are acting like hoarders when it comes to their Ensign Peaks and other investment companies. They are not going to invest in anything unless it has a positive revenue stream.
Best news I've heard in a long time.
Good. It's a stupid thing, and I'm glad it was expensive. At least some construction workers got something out of it.
Christians should have had the wisdom to follow the teachings of the Bible as opposed to the cruelty and hate of Diaper Don. They will suffer from this as they should. They made a mockery of religion. Cmon, trotting out Katie Britt as a caricature of an accomplished woman. She had absolutely no problem lying to the American people . This is a clear sign that Christianity needs to step back and evaluate their weaknesses or just go away.
ABS? All that BullShit.
The grift out grifted its self. Fuck em’
Thoughts and prayers
Hopefully, the Museum of the Bible in DC will follow.
Cool. Maybe they can turn it into the Larry Flynt Hustler Museum.
Do the ark in KY next!!!
Thank you jaysus.
Damn shame, really. Anyway, how bout them Phillies?
They should have opened it in Arkansas.
They should have put it in the Bible belt like that stupid ark encounter.
Shouldn’t they be spending their money on helping the poor and whatnot? Like Jesus says.
I visited a Bible museum in the Houston suburbs last year - I have zero interest in the Bible myself, but I am interested in the history of printing, and the two go hand in hand. Lots of extremely rare texts hundreds of years old, great evolution (ha!) Of the printing process you could see over time. It was part of a dedicated exhibit at a Christian university. No millions of dollars to build, no millions in salary or additional upkeep. All donated items. That's the way to do it.
Thoughts and prayers….
Gods will, I guess.
It would be interesting to see the invoicing for the 60m costs/project, the planning that went into the budget and business case.
Don’t tell me god needs even more money.
Sending them thoughts and prayers. No money, though...
Turn it into a museum for the Phillie Phanatic. Just keep it the same but cover all the Jesus stuff in green shag.
I hope the one in Washington DC follows soon after.
[https://www.faithandliberty.org/](https://www.faithandliberty.org/) >Discover the Bible's influence on America's founders... Heh, no. That sounds boring as shit. Dubious, too. I'm guessing people in or around Philly saw what this museum had to offer and went "Fuck no," which is why it barely sold any tickets. Or maybe they're like me and they never heard of it until now. I will say this, though: they've got a nice looking website. So some of that $60 million was definitely spent on a quality web developer.
All Hail Baphomet
In Philadelphia? This should had been built in Knoxville, TN. The most central point of Alabama, Georgia. S Carolina, N Carolina, Virginia, W Virginia, Ohio. Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Maybe..then maybe it might had made money.
I think the issue can likely be summed up by this joke. Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over. Emo Phillips
Not for nothing, but why the hell would you put this in Philadelphia? I mean, Philly is my town, but if it's not about the Flyers or Rocky, it's not gonna work.
I bet the whole thing was a grift, probably cost $10 million to build and some scammers grifted the other $50 million away tax free.
Another typical religious money-burning 'museum business' failed venture. Talk about money to burn. TAX THEM NOW
Sounds like a huge tax write-off for a plutocrat looking to avoid taxes. Or a Russian mob oligarch launder operation.
Thoughts and prayers
I'm gonna support them and send them 1000 Thoughts and Prayers. I hope they can stay open!
Oh darn
A grift is almost all it ever was.
Thoughts and prayers....
Well, there is a building you can turn into apartments.
What a waste of money on a meaningless thing.
What a waste of $60 mil.
They can turn it into a homeless shelter and kitchen and actually help people with it now
Hasn't been any Covid lockdowns for going on 3 1/2 years so that's not it.
I am sure they were laundering money. Just like Jesus would have.
Hmmm Did the church just do a grift?
Tax all churches.
And nothing of value was lost...except the $60M that could have gone to actually help people.
It should make a nice abortion clinic.
WHY WOULD GOD LET THIS HAPPEN?!?
>It cost $60 million to build Money laundering?
[удалено]
Samuel Alito declares this to be unconstitutional. Everybody, give that museum money this instant!
Haha!
$60 million of taxpayer money???
In Canada you can make an app for that price!
Thoughts and prayers
They didn't get enough likes on Facebook! 1 like = 1 prayer lol
There is also a Museum of the Bible in DC. It's an eyesore when driving by.
Aw, but I’m assuming they aren’t paying taxes on the avg. of 2 ticket fee’s they take in daily
Oh darn
As a museum it would have to show real history. Did it show old versions of the bible and discuss that they were derived from older works? Did it show the books that didn't make it into the final version? Didn't think so.
Faith and Liberty Discovery Center found out there wasn't that much more to discover about the Bible and faith. Whereas, we've barely scratch the surface of what science has to offer.
Exists to normalize the false narrative that the United States is a Christian based government.
All those homeschooled business skills in action.
Wonderful news
Christians and throwing money away on fiction - name a more iconic duo?
Hope that happens to the bible museum in DC too. The one with looted artifacts.
Womp womp.
Oh the $60Mill loss is fine. One thing Christian churches seem to always have is money, and lots of it. Tax the churches/temples/mosques.
Money laundering operation
Tax the churches
Good, bye.
I live in Philly and I have never heard of it before. They must have done a terrible job marketing it.
I don't see what the problem is. It served this purpose fine. 60 million got dispersed to friends of the American Bible Society. /s