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CONCEPT

1. Christian Culture Park

The culture park is intended to highlight the connections between Christianity, science, and cultural history. The Christian faith is a key foundation of our Western culture. It is based on the Bible, which is presented here to anyone interested in a factual and objective manner.
The sole basis of faith for the association “Christlicher Kulturpark e. V.” is the Bible alone (Old and New Testaments, without Apocrypha), without denominational or confessional special doctrines. The “walk-in Bible” will be exhibited in a replica of Noah’s Ark. The dimensions of the Ark are based on the biblical specifications—approximately 155 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 15 meters high—so that the scale of the ship can be grasped.
The interior area has been redesigned from 3 floors (interior height approx. 4.50 meters) to 4 floors (interior height approx. 3–3.5 meters) to accommodate additional exhibition exhibits.
The core basis for the presentations are the following Bible translations: Schlachter 2000, Luther Bible 1912, and the Elberfelder Bible.
An additional miniature Ark with information panels provides many necessary answers, such as regarding the biblical loading of animals, animal sizes, caging, food supplies, and buoyancy. The additional lower basement level is very important and necessary due to German building regulations and operational management. This avoids the need to equip the wooden hull of the Ark with additional entrances and escape routes, which would significantly detract from its external appearance.

Individual theological or political views will not be given space for representation here. We limit the project to biblical and scientific information presentations and naturally respect other opinions, as should be a matter of course. In various cases, we will present contrary views as well, as they are important for forming one’s own opinion.

In the personal discussions with other park operators (Marc Looy, https://arkencounter.com/ (Kentucky); Aad Peters, Biblical Stories in Sand, https://zandverhalen.nl/ (Holland) and Johan Huibers, who built a full-scale Ark (Holland), repeatedly emphasized that every park should offer something new at regular intervals to maintain high levels of attraction. In principle, this can be achieved through theme-related special exhibitions. A separate exhibition area is permanently provided for this purpose.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

The park offers:

Biblical stories

in the Ark, approx. 10,000 sqm, the “walk-in Bible” on the highway.

Scientific findings

on the statements of the Bible

Cultural-historical experiences and values

based on biblical statements

Themed exhibitions

changing, e.g. “Personalities of Church History”

Art for 'special presentations'

Artistic visualizations will repeatedly be given creative space for expression.

Park of Encounters

Special meeting points; also suitable for individuals

Arena

For lectures, music, and discussions (integrated into the exhibition)

Accommodation & Catering

Holiday apartments and a hotel with a restaurant

2. CONTENT

There is a business plan which covers the points 2.1 Motives, 2.2 Concept, 2.3 Legal Form, 2.4 Investment Plan, 2.5 Marketing, 2.6 Financing, 2.7 Distribution, and 2.8 Appendices.

The following table only reflects point “2.1 Motives”:

The project aims to offer an alternative to progressive changes in values. The origin of Western culture is predominantly shaped by Christian values. Unfortunately, these values and their origins are often unknown or not consciously recognized. This becomes particularly clear in current discussions, events in our schools/country, or various film reports documenting the hours of daily engagement many students have with digital technology. (Ref. TV program MONITOR from March 16, 2006: “many young people play active murder games on the PC for at least 5 hours every day”; regarding linguistic culture, it should be noted that the expressions students use to insult each other have now reached an extremely contemptuous level of expression)
The shaping of values is of high importance for human coexistence in practice, as we treat our fellow human beings according to our values. One goal of this project is to make people aware of the high significance of Christian history, culture, and values through pictorial and experiential presentation, and to encourage and call for discussion.

Knowledge of history, Christianity, and biblical content is to be deepened. PISA studies, conversations with trainees and decision-makers, and our own experiences clearly show that there is a significant deficit in historical knowledge.

The increasing spread of various religions in Germany clearly indicates that people are actively searching and have a distinct interest in orientation and spiritual experiences. Many parents, teachers, and politicians are often overwhelmed with conveying and distinguishing these from other teachings due to their own daily challenges. This project is intended to be a haven of orientation. Which characteristics define Christianity? A clear profile is important. The “culture of values” of a nation has an impact on the quality of coexistence.

The project enhances the region with a globally unique attraction. This “biblical structure” (approx. 150 m long, 25 m wide, 15 m high, with an area of approx. 11,000 sqm across several levels) plus supplementary buildings will achieve a very high level of attention on its own. The ‘walk-in Bible’ (content of the 66 biblical books) will create high attraction value in addition to the Ark. We assume that several television stations will report on it and are certain that this novelty will significantly increase tourism for the region concerned. (FN “The tourism industry discovers religious travel”, Internet publication of the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics 2004) Many school classes will use this location for religious and history lessons. It is particularly noteworthy that, unlike “fun parks” which lose significant attraction after a few years, the “Christian Culture |Park” is not subject to any temporal decay.

Additional jobs will be created both directly and indirectly. At the current time, a reliable assessment of the number of additional jobs is not yet possible. A distinction is made between direct jobs belonging to the cultural project and indirect ones associated with, for example, the catering, a hotel, the “Park of Encounter,” and a souvenir shop.

Many people are unaware of or unfamiliar with the hope contained in the biblical message that extends beyond death. A particular strength of the Christian message is the hope of resurrection: “If I knew that the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant a small apple tree today.” (WIKIPEDIA: presumed Luther quote)

A serious and binding assessment is not yet possible, as it depends on many different factors. For the willingness to donate, it is important that our association’s purpose has been recognized as non-profit. Our basis is the following assessment: we are initially cautiously assuming an average of approx. 500 park visitors/day . (see also Reiter: COSTS; the Essehof Zoo near Braunschweig already reaches approx. 90,000 visitors p. a.; the number of visitors to the Creation Park in Kentucky was stated during Dr. Gassmann’s visit in April 2024 in the video about the visit there as over 1 million visitors p. a. (with an adult admission price of approx. $60): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OI4wPtakgc; Website for the park in Kentucky: https://arkencounter.com/about/ or https://creationmuseum.org/bible-history/noahs-ark/)

Due to our many positive experiences with the statements of the Bible, we would like to honor and thank God with this project. Our thanks also go to all those who live Christian values in an exemplary and credible way . “Last but not least” we would like to thank all those who encourage us to stick to this important and oversized project. (Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible.)

3. JOINT APPROACH

We want to realize this project together with many Christians. Our main unifying characteristic (= 1) is a firm faith in Jesus Christ, in his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection and ascension; in him, God became man.
    The graphic represents not only this core connection in the white center, but also the many different Christian denominations (= 2), which are characterized by various doctrinal expressions; we aim to avoid addressing these as much as possible during the implementation of our project.
    Our goal is to visualize the most important biblical statements in order to present the essential main messages of the Bible to visitors in an understandable and well-founded manner. For this purpose, theological disputes regarding the many different interpretations are counterproductive. In the realization of this project, we want to focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us (= 1) to the glory of our Lord; for our joint project work, we strive for the following goal:

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35