Courtesy BBC
Some students in Louisiana state will be receiving state-funded vouchers to attend private schools - and perhaps learn about the truth behind Nessie?
According to "Herald Scotland" (via io9), some schools such as the Eternity Christian Academy, in Westlake, Louisiana teach from the Accelerated Christian Education Inc. (A.C.E.) Curriculum Program which encourages students to "see life from God's point of view."
That point of view includes teaching that Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is proof positive that evolution never happened, and substantiates Creationism (because if dinos existed at the same time as man, then Darwinism is a fatally flawed concept).
The article quotes from the ACE Biology 1099 textbook:
"Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the 'Loch Ness Monster' in Scotland? 'Nessie' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur."
The book also teaches a claim that a Japanese whaling boat once caught a dino.
The "Herald" also interviews former student of the ACE teaching, Jonny Scaramanga, who now "campaigns against Christian fundamentalism." Scaramanga said the Nessie claim was presented as "evidence that evolution couldn't have happened. The reason for that is they're saying if Noah's flood only happened 4000 years ago, which they believe literally happened, then possibly a sea monster survived... It's a common thing among creationists to believe in sea monsters."
So what's the response from the Nessie-believer community around the loch? Tony Drummond, a tour guide with Cruise Loch Ness, encouraged students - and all tourists - to go and check out the claims for themselves, while playing with the tour's hi-tech gadgets. He's a booster for Nessie but says of the ACE text books, "That's Christian propaganda... And ridiculous."
"-Aaron Sagers"
