“Atheizing”
is the process of inserting an atheistic worldview into a culture. “De-atheizing” would, therefore, mean the
process of removing an atheistic worldview from a culture. Just in case you did not already know: The Universe of Energy exhibit (aka, Ellen’s
Energy Adventure, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye [the science guy]) closed
in 2017. The Universe of Energy
originally opened, along with EPCOT Center in 1982, and was then modified to
Ellen’s Energy Adventure in 1996. In my
book Disneology: Religious Rhetoric at Walt Disney World (Say
Press, 2010, p.3), I write:
“The religion that most strongly influenced Walt Disney
was Christianity. But, Disney was also influenced by Science, and science has historically
had some major rhetorical conflicts with religion, in general. Many, if not most, of the religious issues
lurking in WDW are disagreements between Christianity and an approach to
science that tends to eliminate theological considerations from its
messages. Although not all scientists
who refrain from discussing theological issues are atheists, some are. Atheist
rhetorical issues will, therefore, be found in WDW.”
The premier example of
the atheist perspective in Walt Disney World has been the Universe of
Energy/Ellen’s Energy Adventure. In Disneology, I encourage readers to:
“Visit the attraction “Universe of Energy” at EPCOT. Starting with the ‘Big Bang,’ in a very short
span of time, you will view a sequence of events that many scientists believe
occurred over a period of 13 to 14 billion years. What you are viewing is Disney’s visual interpretation
of the origins of the universe, according to accepted views in physics.”
In the Worksheet for Studying the book, I pose
the following question to readers: “What would change, if God were inserted
into the ‘Universe of Energy’ exhibit?”
Despite multiple references to creation, creator, and God in Walt Disney
World, there has been, for many years, a counter-statement: the assertion that the universe came into existence
without any contribution from or reference to God. On pages 4-5 of Disneology, I comment:
“WDW is
unafraid to present religious rhetoric
in favor of Christian Realism. Born
in the 19th century, Walt Disney was a huge fan of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is the president who receives the
greatest attention in the ‘Hall of Presidents’ at the Magic Kingdom [MK]. Disney could have chosen to highlight purely
secular comments from Lincoln. Nevertheless,
Disney highlights quite religious philosophy, as expressed by Lincoln. His belief in ‘divine providence’ is mentioned in his debates. Lincoln quotes
Jesus from Mark 3:25: ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Lincoln asserts that all men are ‘created’ equal. He identifies the Declaration of Independence
as the ‘truth.’ He states his faith in God: ‘I know there is a God and that he hates injustice
and slavery. I see a storm coming; I
know his hand is in it.’ Mention of the ‘creator’
in the Declaration of Independence is reiterated in the ‘American Adventure’ in
EPCOT. Just outside the ‘American
Adventure,’ between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, annually, multiple daily
presentations of the Candlelight Processional proclaim strong Christian rhetoric concerning the divine
birth of Jesus. Year-round, Ye Olde
Christmas Shoppe, in the MK, celebrates
the Christmas holiday. Indiana Jones
is featured prominently in Disney’s Hollywood Studios [HS]. His most famous quest, the search for lost Ark of the Covenant, presents viewers
with theological concepts of a God who communicates with humans, yet is
invisible. [Although, the physical
depiction of the lost Ark that was prominent in the Great Movie Ride vanished
in 2017 with the closing of the Great Movie Ride. So far, the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, based
on the Lost Ark remains. Perhaps, in the
future, HS will include the Ark as a visual somewhere in that attraction.] Walt also once
remarked, ‘I know drinking and smoking are sins
because you aren't taking care of the body God
gave you.’
On the other hand, WDW
is also unafraid to present nonreligious
rhetoric in favor of Scientific Realism.
The ‘Universe of Energy’ attraction at EPCOT present[ed] the origins of
the universe from a wholly god-less perspective. The perspective of physics inform[ed] riders that originally, there was a ‘big bang’
in which a great amount of energy was converted into huge supplies of
mass. Among the pieces of mass that were
generated by the big bang was a small piece that became the planet Earth. The perspective of Geology (the study of the Earth) then [took] over. This originally very hot planet was a fiery,
molten, and gaseous mixture. The gasses
surrounded the planet until the planet cooled; then, water condensed onto the
surface of the earth and became the seas.
(Not too many years ago--before they replaced it with ‘The Seas with
Nemo & Friends’ ride—WDW had corroborated these views of physics and
geology in a preshow to ‘The Living Seas’ exhibit. Again, no mention of a creator was to be
found.) The perspective of Evolutionary Biology . . . was presented in both the Energy and Seas shows, as
plant life is followed by water life, then amphibian life, etc.”
You may still find
online amateur videos of both the Universe of Energy and The Living Seas
movies. The following script of “The
Living Seas” preshow movie supplies the dialogue (http://www.intercot.com/edc/LivingSeas/lsmovie.html):
“Cast Member: Good
(morning/afternoon/evening), everyone. My name is _________ and welcome to The
Living Seas. Ocean exploration has come a long way. We now have a better
understanding of our involvement with the sea. How did it form, when did it
form, and what possibilities lie ahead? Possible answers to these and many
other questions are about to surface in a dramatic film simply entitled
"The Sea." Please remain seated and refrain from smoking and flash
photography during the show. And now, the beauty and splendor of "The
Sea."
The lights dim and on the screen a galaxy of stars appears. This is
followed by a closer look at planet Earth.
Female Narrator: Try to
imagine, just for a moment, that somewhere in the endless reaches of the
universe ... on the outer edge of a galaxy of a hundred thousand million suns
... deep within a cluster of slowly forming planets, a small sphere of just the
right size lies just the right distance from its mother star ... cooling in the
coldness of space. Try to imagine.
A volcano loudly erupts and the lava quickly flows down its sides.
Female Narrator: Now that
sphere's creation continues as countless volcanoes spew clouds of gas and steam
into the sky of melted mineral formations.
Steam rises from the hardened lava on the ground.
Female Narrator: And then
that cloud covered planet waits ... and waits .... and waits ... until finally
those clouds of gas and steam condense and rain upon that planet.
Lightning strikes, thunder roars, and the rain pours. It hits the hot
ground and more steam rises.
Female Narrator: Rain upon
that planet Earth. And they rain ... and rain ... and rain. The deluge.
Rain continues to pour and then we see large amounts of water falling off
a large waterfall (most likely Niagara Falls).
Female Narrator: A deluge of
such magnitude that the world's greatest waterfalls flowing together for more
than a million years would only just begin to approach its results. For when it
finally stopped, ... the seas had been born.
The water stops, a few drips fall into a puddle, and then the camera pans
up to see the ocean with the sun setting in the background.
Female Narrator: Seas that
would make this planet unlike any other within the realm of our knowledge. For
it was there, sheltered from cosmic radiation that the means to support life on
Earth was able to emerge. Tiny single celled plants – [phyto]plankton [pictures
of the organisms appear on-screen]. They capture the energy of the sun and
convert it into the most basic of life sustaining elements, oxygen, creating
more than half the Earth's supply. But more than that, those same seas interact
with that same solar energy and the Earth's rotation to serve as the engine
that drives all the world's weather.
We see a blue sky and a palm tree followed by a beachfront. Then, using
time-lapse photography, dark clouds quickly move into the beach area and then
disappear.
Female Narrator: Yet these phenomen[a]
occur at only the first few hundred feet of seas that average greater than two
miles in depth [shot of choppy water]. And it is there in those depths in an
endless night, darker than the darkest light on land, that we are just now
beginning to explore an amazing world. There, amid raging underwater storms and
[fiery] underwater volcanoes, mountain ranges that dwarf the Himalayas and
gorges four times deeper than the Grand Canyon. There two miles deep in that
darkness - an amazing world.
At this point, the screen goes completely black and every few seconds it
lights up showing a new shot of the deep ocean floor. Each time it lights up, a
sound similar to that heard on a submarine is heard. We see strange organisms
and plants, rocky formations, and vents that erupt gas and steam.
Female Narrator: A world
where the cold sea pours deep into the mountains' warm core through immense
cracks in its surface and then rises back to the ocean floor as a super-heated,
mineral-laden fluid emitting what to us would be lethal concentrations of
poisonous chemicals. Yet, incredibly, around these strange vents, exotic life
forms flourish.
Life forms that have astonished biologists by
finding the needs for their survival, ... not in photosynthesis and the sun,
but in the chemicals of the earth itself. Chemosynthesis. An ecosystem like
none other on earth. Until now, scientifically inconceivable. Yet there,
nevertheless, deep beneath the sea waiting for our discovery. Waiting in a
world where we've spent less time than on the surface of the moon. A world
we've only just begun to explore with tools we've only just begun to imagine.”
The Living Seas preshow
ceased operations in 1999. And it, now,
appears that Walt Disney World has ELIMINATED BOTH of the exhibits that
presented “the origins of the universe from a wholly god-less perspective,” as
the Universe of Energy/Ellen’s Energy Adventure closed in 2017. These two shows that presented a “god-less
perspective” of the beginnings of the universe were/are being replaced by much
less controversial exhibits. The Living
Seas was replaced by ‘The Seas with Nemo & Friends’ ride. The Universe of Energy will, apparently, be
replaced by an attraction based on the Guardians of the Galaxy movie/s.
One might infer that the
Living Seas and the Universe of Energy were replaced because the attractions
were “dated.” Certainly, there is little
dispute that events occurring at the dawn of the universe are “dated.” [It’s a joke!] But, it is also true that some of the
commentary by Ellen and Bill Nye regarding energy sources (at the end of the
attraction) are clearly out of date, given the massive discoveries of natural
gas and petroleum in the United States in recent years. Nevertheless, since both Ellen DeGeneres and
Bill Nye are still living, one would presume that such inaccuracies could be
quickly corrected with some movie editing.
Finally, the technologically-dated “radio” broadcast portion of the ride
could be eliminated or shortened.
Perhaps, the Universe of
Energy simply took too long to experience.
Counting the preshow, the audience had to invest 45 minutes. However, the queue lines alone at other
attractions will often dwarf that amount of time investment, and much of the
final “radio” broadcast could be shortened.
Throughout my many years of visiting Disney, I often found the 45 minute
ride in the dark to be a great way to rest, or even take a nap!
Whether intentional or
not, the elimination of the two major “god-less perspectives” of the origins of
the universe in Walt Disney World amounts to a de-atheizing of Walt Disney
World. Along with the elimination of the
“Wishes” fireworks display in the Magic Kingdom in 2017, which offered various
forms of secularized prayer and the incredible doctrine that simply “wishing”
for something would make it come true, Walt Disney World has made major strides
to de-secularize, as well as, de-atheize the parks.
In an ironic twist, the
year before Walt Disney World closed the Universe of Energy attraction, featuring
popularist atheist Bill Nye, a creationist Christian who has publicly debated
Bill Nye on issues of world origins—Ken Ham—opened his (Noah’s) Ark Encounter
in Kentucky, to go along with his Creation Museum. (Bill Nye has already visited the Ark—and argued
with Ham about its message.) My wife and
I visited the Ark Encounter during the same month in which the Universe of
Energy closed. Very interesting
argumentation, there! An abundance of
scientific data and reasoning to support his positions, as well as a unique
experience in encountering a full-scale model of the Ark, as described in
Genesis. I highly recommend it!
