Ekklesia reports on a new project by an anti-evolutionist organisation in the UK:
Creationists and anti-evolutionists in the United Kingdom have established a new website, called ‘Truth in Science’, to try to persuade school parents to lobby for their ideas within the British education system.
…The new group catalogues among its supporters ‘young earth creationists’ such as the Rev George Curry, chair of the hard-line Church Society, and Andy McIntosh, a combustion theorist from Leeds.
…Geologist and Anglican vicar Michael Roberts [see his own article] told Ekklesia: “The material on the website is carefully packaged, and its YEC roots, and thus its scientific worthlessness, may not be immediately apparent to the undiscerning.”
He added: “It is a concern that the authors are sure that OFSTED [The Office for Standards in Education] will not object to their ideas. The result will be to confuse students”.
Truth in Science have actually been around for a while, although their website was apparently password-protected until very recently. Back in June, anti-creationist blogger Roger Stanyard noted some information about the group on an evangelical website, which he fortunately archived:
…a group of professional and business people are meeting under the heading TRUTH IN SCIENCE [TIS]. As citizens with a concern for the family we seek to encourage Christians to be confident that God’s spoken command in space-time history resulted in supra-natural creation. Non-believers must be challenged in such a way that they can no longer hide behind the delusion that science has disproved the existence of God. TIS seeks to encourage scientists to present the truth fairly and to expose as charlatans those who deliberately mislead. Our aim is to compliment the work of existing Creation groups by targeting education in particular.
Do you share this vision? We believe that as children of the Lord Jesus Christ, bought at the price of His own shed blood, we cannot sit back and allow this situation to continue unchallenged. Do you wish to see our children being taught the truth rather than having their moral and spiritual lives undermined? Although TIS have ways and means in mind, at this early stage we are flexible about the best approach. If finance is made available have you the time and ability and commitment to be the driving force, co-operating with us, in this venture to effect the education of young people in our land. If so, we wish to hear from you.
The non-scientist/engineering figures involved appear to be exclusively from the Reformed tradition. George Curry’s Church Society can be seen here; other individuals include Gerard A. Chrispin, who runs Daylight Christian Prison Trust, and Maurice Roberts of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), a group that split from the Free Church of Scotland in 2000 (although they maintain that they are the real Free Church of Scotland). There’s also David Harding, whose Milnrow Evangelical Church got into a free speech controversy after its habit of distributing “thoughtful Christian literature to Muslim homes” near Rochdale caught the attention of the police.
Of particular interest, and noted by Ekklesia, is Stephen Layfield, the notorious creationist science teacher at Emmanuel College in Gateshead. As has been widely reported (and blogged by me here), Emmanuel College is a privately-run state school funded by a millionaire creationist businessman named Peter Vardy, under a model the Labour government has been keen to develop.
I’ve blogged some more about Creationist education in the UK here and here.
(Hat tip: The Pagan Prattle)
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