Louisiana School Uses Loch Ness Monster As Proof Against Evolution

While there are many competing views on the validity of teaching creationism in schools receiving taxpayer dollars, most will likely agree that using a mythical creature such as Nessie, the monster of Loch Ness lake in Scotland, is probably a mistake when crafting a biology lesson.

Eternity Christian Academy in Westlake, Louisiana, however, would disagree, saying scientists may believe the Loch Ness Monster is real. The school uses the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum.

Yahoo News reports that schoolchildren in Louisiana can receive publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools, some of which are religious.

Scottish newspaper The Herald likens the concept to an episode of “South Park.” The Herald reported the following except from ACE textbook Biology 1099.

“Are dinosaurs alive today?” the book asks. “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.”

Bruce Wilson, a Boston-based researcher who specialises in the American political religious right said, “They are being brought up to believe that they’re at war with secular society. The only valid government would be a Christian fundamentalist government. Obviously some comparisons could be made to Islamic Fundamentalists in schools. One of these texts from Bob Jones University Press claims that dinosaurs were fire-breathing dragons. It has little to do with science as we currently understand. It’s more like medieval scholasticism.”

Marie Carrier, principal of Eternity Christian said her students, grades 1 through 8, learn at their own pace and that evolution is not taught.

“We try to stay away from all those things that might confuse our children,” Carrier told Yahoo News.

The reports failed to mention if Bigfoot, The Abominable Snowman or the Chupacabra had any comment on Nessie’s promotion from myth to reality.