Holy Land PA -- A Proposal
© 1996, 2000, 2008 G. Edwin Lint, MA
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A Proposal
This proposal was born in the fictional account in Parsonage of the development of a major destination resort known as The Holy Land USA, made possible through the benevolence of a major donor from Saudi Arabia
The Holy Land of Pennsylvania will be a major inspirational destination resort located in central Pennsylvania, USA. It will be within a two hour drive of Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, Hershey, PA, the Pennsylvania Dutch Region of Lancaster County, PA, and Gettysburg, PA It will be within a four-hour drive of New York City and Pittsburgh, PA. Funding for building and operating The Holy Land PA will be made through major contributions to a nonprofit foundation managed by DiskBooks Electronic Publishing.
The primary focus of The Holy Land PA will be the education and spiritual edification of the guests. Shopping, sit-down dining, fast-food refreshments, and rides will remain available but will be secondary to the primary focus of telling the world the truth about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, God's Plan for our Salvation, and the lands in which all related events took place.
General admission and parking will be free to all visitors. Access to major attractions and rides will be via "ride tickets" to be purchased by visitors, in the style of the Knobels Grove Amusement Park of Elysburg, PA. However, Holy Land PA tickets that are unused at the end of a visit may be redeemed for a cash refund equal to 90% of the face value of the tickets.
All guests will enter the park through the Gates of Heaven Concert Hall where they may receive a 30-minute multimedia orientation to The Holy Land PA experience, as well as an overview of God's plan for our salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The orientation presentations will run on the half hours from 9:00 A.M. through 6:00 P.M.
Guests who do not care to sit through the orientation presentation or who have already seen it may enter the park directly. The visit will be a self-guided tour of The Holy Land PA but will be assisted by numerous information stations equipped with DVD depictions of the specific point in the tour where the information is activated. All DVD stations will be multilingual: Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, as well as English.
Guided Tours can be arranged for special groups. There will be a booking fee for all guided tours; the fee will be refunded when the group arrives at the scheduled time.
Automatic ticket dispensing machines will be situated throughout the park and at all major attractions and rides.
General
Information
All attractions
will be constructed to actual scale with full attention to detail as specified
in the Bible. Where the Bible does not provide sufficient specific relevant information,
archeological data, classic art, and history will be used to authenticate the
settings. Although all buildings will be built full size, the distances between
attractions will not be Biblical.
At no time will overall guest safety or access for guests with disabilities be sacrificed in the interest of authentic settings and activities.
All persons working in scenes involving simulated violence will work according to specifications provided by OSHA. When actors are involved in theatrically simulated actions of violence, simulated blood will be used according to the latest theatrical techniques. At no time, will planned physical interaction be more dangerous than that in a closely supervised high school varsity soccer match.
All animals used in the attractions will be treated humanely and according to guidelines provided by the International Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. For example, scenes portraying animals being sacrificed on the altar of God in the temple will use simulated blood and bloodletting. The same lambs and bullocks will be recycled and used over and over via camouflaged underground passageways.
Simulcasts Will Augment English
Although English will be the primary language of the Holy Land of Pa., all written information on wall plaques and brochures will appear in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, as well as English. Guests who are non-readers or who prefer to receive new information auditorially will be provided an iPod-style receiver and ear-buds with a selector switch for choosing the preferred language from in-house simulcasts.
God ordered Moses to build a Tabernacle in the Wilderness according to His specifications:
Exodus 25:9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
The prominence of this attraction within the Holy Land complex is based on the fact that this is where God's plan for our salvation was born. Animals would die a sacrificial death for our sins so we wouldn't have to die, first in the Wilderness Tabernacle, and then in the ornate Temple of Solomon. [Although Solomon's Temple was rebuilt by Herod, only the Solomon version is shown in the Holy Land.]
This attraction shows the complete, exact-size tabernacle built according to God's specifications as detailed in Exodus Chapters 25 through 40.
Via
Dolorosa and Calvary
Background music
provided by Sandi Patti, singing Via Dolorosa
Christ's journey through
the narrow, winding streets of Jerusalem from Pilate's judgment hall to Mount
Calvary will be reenacted in vivid detail. Guests will view this panorama from
tiered seating along one side of the street; the "crowd" will occupy
the other side of the street. The processional to the cross will run every hour
on the hour. Costumed volunteer extras who serve in exchange for free ride tickets
will augment the "crowds" of Jewish citizens who clamored for Christ's
execution or pleaded for mercy. The crucifixion scene will be viewed from a distance
by guests. A detailed crucifixion scene will be included as one of the Bible Alive
Theater presentations.
Solomon's
Temple
The full-scale
glory of the Temple will be captured through an artful combination of sprayed
foam, fiberglass, papier mache, anodized aluminum, and gold paint. The sights
will be augmented by the recorded sounds of the shofar, trumpets, cymbals, and
singers. The smells will include incense and a controlled amount of the odor of
burnt offerings.
| Sallman's
Chapel
Warner Sallman's contemporary Christian art masterpieces will be presented in full-size backlighted transparencies in a colonial-style chapel, with the interior illuminated primarily by light from the transparencies. The paintings will include such classic favorites as Head of Christ, Christ at Dawn, He Careth for You, In His Presence, Jesus the Children's Friend, The Nativity, Portrait of Jesus, The Lord Is My Shepherd, Christ at Heart's Door, Christ in Gethsemane, The Good Shepherd, and Christ Our Pilot. The Sallman Chapel exhibits will be presented courtesy of Kribel and Bates, copyright owners. |
|
Bible
Alive Theater
Eight film shorts
showing major Bible stories will be projected in an I-Max style rotating theater
that revolves to a different auditorium every 20 minutes. The Old Testament scenes
will include Adam and Eve's fall at the hands of Satan, Abraham offering to sacrifice
Isaac to God on the mountain, David slaying Goliath, Elisha praying down fire
on the altar, and Daniel in the lion's den. [Although Adam and Eve wore no
clothes in the Garden of Eden, their depiction here will show them artfully clothed
in garments of vines and leaves.]
New Testament scenes will include
The last supper, Christ's trial, before Pilate, The Crucifixion,The Resurrection,
the Acts-Two gift of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, and the Ascension. The
resurrection scene will feature hand-to-hand combat between holy angels and Satan's
demons.
Noah's
Ark
The ark will be created according to Biblical specifications and
floating on an outdoor lake. Guides representing Noah and his family will conduct
tours. However, the live residents of the ark will be limited to domestic animals
and herbivore creatures, in the interest of guest safety. Wild animals such as
lions, tigers, and bears will be shown as animated life-size models.
A visit to Noah's Ark will include gentle wave movements and views portraying how the earth looked as the rain came down and the fountains of the deep opened up. The inundation of the earth will be viewed via large projection screens located strategically around the ark during the "ride".
Christian
Concerts
Gospel and contemporary recording and concert artists will
be featured in nightly two-hour concerts in the Gates of Heaven Concert Hall.
Guests who have paid the full admission via ride tickets will have reserved seats.
Any remaining seats will be open to the general public at no charge on a space-available
basis.
The
Upper Room Dinner Theater
The
Upper Room Dinner Theater will feature excellent sit-down dining with a dramatic
depiction of the Last Supper featuring Jesus and His disciples as they appeared
at the last Passover and the First Communion the Thursday night before Christ
died Friday morning. Reservations are required.
Food
Courts
Guests
are welcome to use the services of a food court featuring some of America's favorite
franchises. Venues include MacDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, Long John Silver's, KFC Express,
Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Dairy Queen.
Higher
Education [Internships and Seminars]
The
Holy Land of Pa. cooperates with major evangelical universities in providing internship
and seminars in Bible history and architecture. Cooperating institutions of higher
education include: Liberty University, Regent University, Oral Roberts University,
and Bob Jones University.
Day
Care Center
A day care center is available for families with preschool
children. Infants must be at least 60 days old.
| Sample
Price List for Rides and Major Attractions, | Adults |
Seniors |
Children,
up to 12 years |
| 7 |
6 |
Free | |
| 3 |
2 |
Free | |
| 3 |
2 |
Free | |
| 7 |
6 |
Free | |
|
7 |
6 |
Free | |
| 3 |
2 |
Free | |
| 12 |
10 |
5 |
Warning: Parents of young children should read the general information brochure very carefully before taking their entire families into activities that depict Biblically-accurate violence.
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Teachers--
and parents who are homeschooling--
Download the PennSTAR Master Curriculum
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