The Biblical Creation Society
The Biblical Creation Society, which has a postal address in Rugby in Warwickshire, was founded in 1976 and appears to be the second largest of the UK's dedicated creationist organisations. It has one full time employee, Paul Garner, one of the signatories to the 2002 Estelle Morris letter.
Contributors to the BCS's publications and members of the organisation include 13 of the other signatories to the letter. In effect, the BCS has some very highly educated members and associates in the educational establishment. That is why it should be taken as so threatening to the teaching of science.
The BCS appears to be nothing like as strident and forceful as Truth in Science, although membership and so on between the two organisations overlaps. Indeed, the BCS has been heavily criticised by Answers in Genesis for promoting differences in "creationist science". AiG has described BCS members as "compromisers". Now this really is a dirty word in AiG's lexicon.
The specific criticism relates to some nuttiness called recolonisation.
The BCS is actually active in directly teaching its pseudo-science in state schools.
The following article appeared in The Guernsey Press and Star on 9th October 2003. It clearly shows that Garner is aiming to get creationism taught in schools.
A CREATIONIST has been banned from preaching in States schools
Scientist
Paul Garner yesterday accused the States of religious indoctrination against children. He claimed that the Education Council used a law dating back to 1970 to prevent him from speaking at school assemblies.
Mr Garner, who works for a Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company, rejects the theory of evolution. He believes that the creatures that exist on Earth now, including humans, were put here fully formed. Mr Garner said that the council seemed to want children to learn only the theory of evolution. The council would not comment yesterday. But Mr Garner and the local Biblical Creation Society said they had been told it would invoke a law, which was designed to protect children from being taught only one religious theory, to stop Mr Garner preaching.
The Education (Guernsey) Law of 1970 states: 'Religious instruction [in schools] shall be given in accordance with a syllabus approved by the council and shall not include any catechism or formulary which is distinctive of any particular religious denomination'. Mr Garner said that his ban was in contravention of the spirit of the law.
In making that law, quite rightly there was concern that children would be taught a narrow and distinctive religious view to the exclusion of other views. But by not allowing creationism in schools, the Education Council is doing exactly that, said Mr Garner.
They seem prepared for children to lean only towards evolution. But theories and views should be taught with critical analysis.
There must be a worry that evolution is becoming a sort of religious dogma in schools here. If this is an attempt to close down debate, which is exactly what it seems, I would think it is concerning. Mr Garner said that he was a little surprised by the Education Council's ruling. He said he was able to go into schools in the UK
without any problems. Despite the council's stance, Elizabeth and the Ladies' Colleges have allowed Mr Garner to speak to pupils.
Robert Yerby, general secretary of the Guernsey Biblical Creation Society, was angered by the Education Council's edict. Head teachers must be free to decline any offered speaker if they so wish, but that prohibition by law of creationist scientists seems a worrying turn of events, said Mr Yerby. Our understanding is that teaching about creation is a part of the school syllabus, but it would appear that such is only the case as long as one doesn't actually believe it. We believe the council's stance on this is very worrying, not least in that enforcing an evolution-only view of life and the universe stifles the young, enquiring mind.
More evidence of the Biblical Creation Society's teaching of creationism in schools can be seen in Paul Garner's intinerary for November 2005 when he toured Northern Ireland. This shows that he was presenting creationism within a science lesson (biology) for 14 year-olds, not as part of religious education.
The school involved is Omagh Academy which has been a state-sector school since 1934. Education in Northern Ireland is currently the responsibility of London because devolved government is suspended. Martin McGuinness, a hard line Sinn Féin Republican is due to take over the education portfolio once devolved government is re-introduced.
Itinerary
Thursday 24 November
9.30 - 10.00 am Assembly or RE lesson (5-8 years),
Model Primary School, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
1.45 - 2.20 pm RE lesson (Year 10)
Omagh Academy, Co. Tyrone
2.20 - 2.55 pm RE lesson (Year 11)
Omagh Academy, Co. Tyrone
2.55 - 3.30 pm Biology lesson (Year 13)Omagh Academy, Co. Tyrone
7.45 - 9.45 pm Public Lecture: "Is Evolution True?"
Devenish Room, Lakeland Forum Leisure Centre, Enniskillen,
Co. Fermanagh
Friday 25 November
11.45 am - 12.45 pm Sixth Form Enrichment Programme,
Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
7.00 pm Public Lecture: "Walking With Dinosaurs" Youth Fellowship,
Stonepark Baptist Church, Brookeborough, Co. Fermanagh
Saturday 26 November
7.30 pm Youth meeting (10-15 years),
Sion Mills Baptist Church, Co. Tyrone
Sunday 27 November
11.30 am "The Genesis Foundation", Morning service,
Mullaghmeen Baptist Church, near Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
6.30 pm "The Genesis Foundation", Evening service,
Ballymoney Baptist Church, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim
Monday 28 November
8.00 pm "Mt St Helens: Monument to Catastrophe"
Ballycraigy Congregational Church, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim
Contact: Henry Montgomery (02890 833267)
Tuesday 29 November
12.00 - 2.00 pm Student café,
Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Belfast, Co.
Antrim
Contact: Gareth Burke (02890 450900)
3.45 pm Sixth-form Christian Union
Methodist College, Belfast, Co. Antrim
8.00 pm "Is Evolution True?"
Groomsport Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Donaghadee Road,
Groomsport, Co. Antrim
Contact: Jeff Ballantine (02891 450198)
Here are some notes on the BCS:
This is from the Free Church of Scotland (see http://www.freechurch.org/robbo/robbobu.htm – it’s apparently St Peter’s Church in Dundee):
Another time I asked someone from the Biblical Creation Society to come and speak at St Peter’s. It was a total disaster. I had asked the person concerned to concentrate on the main things and not to discuss in-house debates such as the age of the earth. Over 150 people came (triple our normal congregation at that time) – the vast majority of whom were scientists. The speaker was awful. He concentrated on attacking and ridiculing science and modern science and then, despite my request, launched into a diatribe against Christians who did not accept a young earth. In the question and answer session afterwards he was destroyed by a young French atheistic scientist. It was a PR disaster for the Church and the gospel. As a result we had to hold a congregational meeting the next night to try and undo some of the damage. Never again!
We do not know the name of the speaker from BCS.
Note that the conservative Rev Jonathan Stephen, who is past President of Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), is on the council of reference of Biblical Creation Ministries. He is now President of the Evangelical Theological College of Wales in Bridgend. He also heads up Affinity (formerly the British Evangelical Council), a hard line evangelical organisation (as distinct from the Evangelical Alliance which is seen as more liberal). Affinity has long been linked to FIEC. The ETCW incorporates the old South Wales Bible College (Barry) where Ian Paisley began his theological training.
