Buyers of Bible Bonds Must Take Them on Faith

Considering the sorry history of unrated municipal debt, investors who buy bonds being sold to build a replica of Noah’s ark may have to pray for their money. Williamstown, in northern Kentucky, plans to offer $62 million of bonds in December to help build a 510-foot wooden ship, the centerpiece of a planned Biblical theme park called Ark Encounter. The town is offering the securities on behalf of Answers in Genesis, a Christian nonprofit that operates the Creation Museum 48 miles away in Petersburg. Bond documents project the Williamstown venue will attract at least 1.2 million visitors in its first year.