Bible theme park wins charity status
The Holy Land Experience, a bible-based theme park that is more about Moses than Mickey Mouse, has won its four-year fight to avoid paying taxes.
Set up in 1991, the $16m park tries to take visitors up to 3,000 years back in time, creating an authentic Holy Land full of sand, centurions and the Bible's biggest names.
Visitors to the site in Orlando, Florida, can watch a musical version of the crucifixion, examine a 45 foot model of Jerusalem in AD66, or browse texts and tablets in the Scriptorium....
The Holy Land Experience, which said it does not attract enough visitors to break even, is funded by Zion's Hope Inc, a not-for-profit religious organisation that cites its goal as converting Jews to Christianity.
"Zion's Hope seeks to graciously proclaim to the Jewish people their need for personal salvation through Jesus the Messiah and to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all men regardless of race, religion, gender, education, or national origin," the group's website said.
