I nearly forked over the $30 to go to the Holy Land Experience when I was in Florida. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to travel to Florida in order to spend a day at the Wilderness Tabernacle exhibit:
The wondrous and mysterious Wilderness Tabernacle was the heart of worship for the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert following their exodus from Egyptian captivity. Watch the High Priest and experience a live presentation that explains the intricate details of the tabernacle and its prescribed rituals.
Or how about the opportunity to allow your children to view the crucifixion and resurrection at a live presentation done every 30 minutes at the Calvary’s Garden Tomb Exhibit:
Follow the Via Dolorosa, the road on which Christ carried the cross, to Calvary’s Garden Tomb. Spend time resting, praying, or reflecting on the meaning and significance of the empty tomb. Atop the hill stand the crosses of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and died for the sins of the world.
Or, if you’re lucky you can take a picture with Moses and his famous stone tablets!
Ok, so here’s my real thoughts with all the sarcasm taken out. This whole Holy Land Experience theme park really disturbs me. I’m imagining the God who fashioned a whip to kick out those who looked to exploit the temple by turning it into a market place. I’m imagining the God who chose to leave heaven in order to live like a poor, enslaved, and eventually tortured human being. I’m imagining the God who was creative enough to make naked mole rats and giraffes. And, well, none of those things seem to fit with the Holy Land Experience. A market place, turning the crucifixion into an attraction, and creativity that is more like poor mimicry than anything else.
Something seems off. I think I’d take my kids to Disneyworld…even if Disney is The Man.
Hey Ryan!
I understand your point, and I think it's a good one. Exploiting holy things for the sake of a profit is not cool. However, let me defend the defenseless (I assume The Holy Land Experience won't be defending itself on your blog!). I forked out the money and visited the place about 2 years ago with the exact same mentality you had – it was going to be a tourist trap and cheesy to boot. What I discovered was quite the opposite!
They have the 2nd biggest model of the city of Jerusalem in the world (the biggest is in Jerusalem) and the presentation they give with it was eye-opening. I bought the DVD and plan on using it in some Bible studies in the future. It really brought biblical accounts to life.
Their Scriptorium contains the largest collection of ancient biblical artifacts in the United States (if I remember correctly), with Bibles, manuscripts, and even papyrus dating 100s and 1000s of years old. It contains original copies of handwritten Bibles in various languages representing the history of God’s Word. When I was there, a scholar gave an hour long presentation on William Tyndale and how he almost single handedly gave us the English Bible (resulting in his martyrdom). The tour through the Scriptorium is only about an hour long, but I could easily have spent all day oogling over their ancient biblical texts. It’s a very good collection.
While only slightly cheesy, the Wilderness Tabernacle is an actual-size replica of the original Tabernacle and the presentation described every item inside of it and out. It also presented what happened at each item and the symbolism it contained, both in the OT and the NT. I bought the DVD of that presentation as well to use in a Bible study – I think it's one of the best lessons on the Tabernacle that I've come across.
Truth be told, though I first arrived skeptical I ended up staying at The Holy Land Experience all day and was forced to leave when they closed the gates in the evening! I look forward to going back! I learned a ton of stuff, some of which I’ve already used in sermons and Bible studies, and the DVDs I bought will make excellent resources in future lessons. I know more and have a better perspective of some stories in the Bible because of that place.
My recommendation would be to overlook the cheesy-ness (and the cost – write it up as a ministry expense) and give it a visit. Don't think of it as exploitatin, think of it as education. And don’t knock it ‘till you try it.
Thanks Zak! I think what makes it appear instantly cheesy is the fact that it's run by TBN and the fact that it's in Orlando amongst all the other theme parks and attractions.
But I've got to say that while I'm glad to hear that it's actually a valuable place…if I were near you right now I think I'd still try to give you a hard time for forking over the money.
Some ladies from my church visited a few months ago. I asked them to say "Hi!" to Jesus for me. They did as I requested and reported back to me that he seems like a nice man.
I visited Holy land July 12, 2010 along with my daughters' church group. I had the opportunity to see the Women at the Well, partake in the Communion Service of The Last Supper and watch the Crucifixion of Christ. It was all breath taking and just to see what Christ has done for us to have eternal life was awesome. Your actors are well prepared and has committed themselves to their parts. If this place does not speak to the heart of a man than I don't know what else it will take for God to show how much he loves us. Just know that you spoke to my heart loud and clear. I was in a place were I felt as if I was at a stand still and didn't know which way my life was going, but now I am focused again and I love Christ even the more.
Thank you for all you do and may God continue using you in the way to speak to the heart of man.
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