An A-level in Creationism

Sometimes, I just despair:

The National Recognition Information Centre (Naric) in Cheltenham, which advises universities and employers on the rigour of lesser-known qualifications, has ruled that the International Certificate of Christian Education (ICCE) is comparable to courses such as international A-levels, the Times Education Supplement has found.

What is the ICCE, I hear you ask? It is some sort of creationist, dipshit Christian fundamentalist pile of bullshit. And if you think I am being OTT, take a look at this:

One of the textbooks tells pupils: "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.

"Could a fish have developed into a dinosaur? As astonishing as it may seem, many evolutionists theorize that fish evolved into amphibians and amphibians into reptiles. This gradual change from fish to reptiles has no scientific basis. No transitional fossils have been or ever will be discovered because God created each type of fish, amphibian, and reptile as separate, unique animals. Any similarities that exist among them are due to the fact that one Master Craftsmen fashioned them all."

Ngggh. For fuck's sake. They are using Nessie - a most likely mythical beast - to disprove a misleading reading of evolutionary theory and prove that the fictional character God designed everything. It reads like a Chris Morris spoof of Christian fundamentalism. This is the sort of bollocks that gives the God-botherers and the Sky Fairy worshippers a bad name. It is insulting to everyone with any sort of grounding in reality. And this is meant to the equivalent of an international A-level? Nggh!

It leads me to conclude that either:

• International A-levels are worthless
• Or Naric are insane
• Or the whole world has gone mental and no-one told me. 

Whatever. I despair of this sort of thing, I really do. And I just wish that the people who came up with the ICCE would embrace evolution. If only so they could evolve into more intelligent, less bovine people. 

H/T: link via Asquith on Facebook.