Nick Cowan
Nick Cowan is head of the chemistry department at Bluecoat School, Liverpool. By all accounts he is a respected teacher of the subject and has told us that he does not teach creationism in his lessons, although some former pupils of his do not hold certain activities in high regard. Furthermore, John Mackay has appeared twice at Bluecoat, presenting to the school’s Christian Union, and Cowan has told us that he has, through Randall Hardy of Creation Research UK, contributed to funding John Mackay’s costs. Cowan discussed his position on creationism in some depth in our Blackshadow Yahoo email forum in May and June 2006.
Cowan has a degree in chemistry from Cambridge University. He is believed to be in his mid-50s. His wife, who he states is also a young earth creationist, is head of science at Belvedere School (currently private sector) in Liverpool. However, Mackay appears never to have proselytised at that school.
Nick Cowan attends St Peter's Anglican church in Maghull. This is a small church in Maghull on the outskirts of Liverpool. The vicar is Michael Follin. However, it appears to have close links with two other Anglican churches in Maghull, St James (which has a female vicar) and St Andrews. All three churches are understood to be part of the Diocese of Liverpool.
Background Primer
In May 2006 we produced an article which detailed and explained conversations between Nick Cowan and ourselves within the former Blackshadow yahoogroups forum.
Here it is:
Fresh from being ditched by Millfield School in Lancashire, Australian creationist fundamentalist
John Mackay seems also to have lost the plot, again, with a second school in the area.
However, whilst Millfield was a relatively unknown comprehensive school, this time it involves one of the best known and highly regarded state schools in Britain – the Bluecoat School in Liverpool. As befits its reputation, Bluecoat has some serious Old Boys who are publicly opposed to creationism.
Nominally, Mackay has never publicly stated which British schools he is teaching creationism in. It’s all supposed to be a big secret to protect the staff but to the public it looks more like a dishonest cover-up to deceive the parents and the taxpayer.
For some reason, Mackay seems to have let loose to an Australian paper, the Sydney Morning Herald that Bluecoat was one of the schools he was teaching in during his present tour of the UK. The Herald is understood to have a correspondent following his "tour" of the UK. Whilst it is not known if the journalist is a staffer, it has involved actually physically following Mackay.
For some other reason that was not apparent from a report on 7th May, it quoted one
Nick Cowan, apparently, from the report, unconnected with the Mackay tour.
"Nick Cowan, 54, is the head of chemistry at Liverpool's leading public school, Bluecoat. He is a creationist, and while his syllabus generally doesn't tangle with the big issues of where it all began, he says he slips in thought-provoking material whenever he can.
"If we're having a conversation about the old chicken-and-egg conundrum, for example, I'll say, 'Well, I believe God created the chicken, and the chicken laid the egg. What's your answer?"'
Cowan says the school knows where he stands, and he is yet to be challenged on his teaching style.
But he believes the increasing temperature of the debate will inevitably result in an intervention. "Once a parent complains, that will be it," he predicts.
Of course, this was very rapidly picked up upon. Alan Bellis (then Blackshadow forum owner and founder and now BCSE member), who has children of his own and is based in the North East of England, wrote to Nick Cowan complaining about the teaching. Whilst a few comments were made on Blackshadow’s Yahoo email web group on creationism, few that were involved expected much to happen.
However, several of us were surprised to receive personal emails on 13th May from Nick Cowan.
Bellis’s letter was thus:
"I am e-mailing you in response to an Australian press report ('Darwin's evolutionary theory is a tottering nonsense, built on too many suppositions') in, The Sidney Morning Herald, dated 7th May 07. In this, you have openly boasted of preaching creationism to your pupils, even though you are supposed to be teaching them chemistry.
I am interested in how this works. If for example I believed (using an example first described by Richard Dawkins) that the Roman Empire did not exist, then would it be acceptable for me to suggest this to a class full of impressionable children? After all, it is only fair that children get to hear both sides of the Roman Empire controversy, isn't it?
Following this line of reasoning a little further: what if I suggested to them (against the wishes of their parents) that the moon was made of cheese or that fairies exist, or that there is a flotilla of alien spacecraft flying around in the night & abducting sleeping people from their beds. Would these be acceptable? Most scientists consider creationism to be nonsense on par with stories about fairies & alien abductions. Not only is it bad science but also bad theology, which is why it is rejected by both the Church of England & the Vatican.
I cannot see that there is any excuse for abusing your position as a teacher. You should not be targeting impressionable & vulnerable children with your extreme fundamentalist views. Not only am I appalled by what you are doing, but I feel sure that the parents of the affected children will be also. Surely if your views on the subject were that compelling then they should be able to stand up in the real world of science & peer review...."
Cowan bit, it appears, with the agreement of the head teacher of the school as Alan Bellis’s email was originally sent to the later for forwarding to Cowan.
Replying to another member of Bellis’s anti-creationism group, Cowan confirmed that Mackay had, indeed, been teaching at the school:
"Dear Brian, A simple phone-call to this school (0151-733-1407 - ask for Mr. Cowan) would have confirmed to you that John Mackay has in fact spoken here twice in the last 5 years. Indeed he was so popular that he has been invited back when he next tours the UK. You would be most welcome to attend. Nick Cowan."
The letter the author of this report received was in response to an email Roger Stanyard had posted to Bellis’ own website:
I extend to you an open invitation to come here to Blue Coat and talk to me, or to any of the young men and women I teach, ideally at the same time. Most are non-Christians but I don't believe that they would back your wild assertion that I am causing them "damage". In 2002 we were England's top school in the annual Chemistry "Olympiad", with 3 Gold Medals and 2 Silver. Only one of these five is, like myself, a young earth creationist. She is at Trinity College, Cambridge (I was at Downing) and is set to start her Ph.D. in Physical Geology in October.
It's good that you aren't my Head teacher, alongside whom I have taught amicably for 33 years, and who is keen for the students here to be taught the virtues of a liberal education where all views are considered. The only thing that is "deeply wrong" is your bigotry and narrow-mindedness. I pray God will open your eyes. Nick."
The astonishment here is that Trinity College Cambridge is turning out geology PhDs for people that believe that world is only 6,000-10,000 years old and that the story of Genesis is literally true. It places Trinity on a par with unaccredited obscure bible colleges in the deep south of the USA.
And here is the latter Alan Bellis received:
I have been alerted to your comments by one of an increasing army of "Young Earth Creationist" science teacher friends here in the north-west. (My wife, for example, is Head of Science at Liverpool's top independent girls' school.)
Yes, it's time to "come out of the playpen". Perhaps you'd like to come to Liverpool to debate me on this issue, in front of the young men and women I teach (mostly non-Christians aged 16-18 - hardly "children") in this non-denominational school. Or are you afraid - like Professor Dawkins (an evangelical atheist whose views are admirably demolished by Alister McGrath in a recent book) - to actually engage with the scientific issues involved, in a head-to- head debate.
Maybe you can provide a justification for the spontaneous generation of life from non-living matter - a theory I thought had been refuted in the late 17th century as superstitious nonsense! Perhaps you can convince my students that (Neo-)/Darwinism fits all the accepted categories of scientific proof viz: observability, measurability, repeatability - and falsifiability. You might even be able to give them a plausible model for the biogenesis of a DNA molecule - we teachers here rather struggle to do so.
So let's talk science, as I do in my classroom - and in my C. of E. church, where the vicar (as he, like most of our parents with secondary schoolchildren, has no science credentials himself) wisely leaves me to teach the church about the harmonisation of Scripture and Science. Even Prof. Roger Penrose is happy to accept the notion of "the Creator"! I will check out the Debunk website - I'll even recommend it to my students as long as it seems open to honest truth-seeking and not to atheistic faith-centred brainwashing. Time to come out of the play-pen Alan! Nick Cowan (0151-733-1407)
PS. I'm not a historian, but I'm intrigued by the controversy about the Roman Empire to which you allude. Please amplify. PPS. I've just read the "Sidney" (sic) Morning Herald article. Can't find the words "preach" and "boasted". Have I missed something?
Now here is an admission that Cowan’s wife, head of science at the leading private girls’ school in Liverpool is a young earth creationist and that Cowan is part of a growing group of young earth creationist science teachers in the North West. It also appears to be in connivance with the Local Anglican denomination.
(The girls’ school is Belvedere School – see http://www.gdst.net/belvedere/. It is due to become a city academy. Given the huge public rows over the Vardy schools, it seems that creationism in the school is likely to attract similar bad publicity.)
Even more surprising is that Cowan issued these emails given the record of the school’s old boys.
One of the most notable of these is the Member of Parliament, Evan Harris. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic party (known as LibDem) who is also active in the National Secular Society and is publicly opposed to teaching religion in schools at all, let alone in science lessons.
The National Secular Society is a highly vocal and influential lobbying group that wants religion taken out of schools.
Worse still, the LibDems have another influential figure who is a Bluecoat old boy - Chris Rennard, the highly successful chief executive of the LibDems and now a peer.
Rennard, early in his career, was also agent for former Liverpool LibDem MP David Alton, now Lord Alton of Liverpool. Alton is a staunch Catholic and appears to have no time for creationism whatsoever. It’s against his religious beliefs. He retains a high profile in Liverpool.
Well, as luck would have it, Alton is a governor of the Liverpool Bluecoat school where Nick Cowan is head of chemistry.
It seems that the creationists didn’t learn the lesson of Millfield. The latter ditched Mackay because of the fears of adverse publicity and therefore avoided the problem. Cowan has now given Bluecoat the publicity AFTER the event, guaranteeing problems all round for the school. It’s too late to ditch Mackay.
Moreover, to add insult to injury Cowan started mocking and insulting the very members of the public that raised questions about his conduct in the classroom. That is not how you handle public relations. It doesn’t take much brainpower to work out what the response will be.
Nick Cowan made a sudden and unexpected appearance in Lenny Flank's Debunk Creation group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DebunkCreation) on 3rd October 2006 (He was quickly moderated for preaching against the list's rules). Cowan bragged that Truth in Science material was not only going to be used in his own chemistry lessons but also throughout science in Bluecoat school.
This is what Cowan had to say in full:
Hello again Lenny et al! Pleased to hear from me? For those who don't know me, please check me out: www.blackshadow.me.uk/index.php/Main/NickCowan. You'll need to ignore the lies - I'm not even technically a member of that forum, as my attempts to post recently have been blocked. My request for reinstatement has been ignored - I've been "pending" for what seems like millions of years now (slight exaggeration but I'm in good company with you guys), so I CANNOT participate. Neither can I find the "forum archives [that] are open for public viewing". (sigh)
I've been a lurker on this site since May but I've never posted here, primarily because this is a US-based group and most of the posts have little to do with the UK (or with science for that matter!)
I'm not good at answering questions - silence usually means "I don't know" (although I know a Man Who does -the Creator!) - although I do now have a simple answer as to why human and dinosaur fossils haven't (yet!) been found together in the post-flood
sediments. They didn't live near each other! Easy really - I mean, would any of you choose to live next door to a T-Rex even if it was a veggie! (snicker)
Enough asides. I feel I have a duty to post on this topic as a UK science (Chemistry) teacher who was delighted to receive the mailout from
Truth in Science this week. Wonderful material for the kids here, as our Heads of Science & Biology agree. The 2 DVD's will be well-used!
Cowan then went on to a general discussion about recent press coverage of Truth in Science and, in particular, an article which appeared in the Observer newspaper on 1st October. The article was written by Nick Cohen.
Lloyd Davidson (A Debunk Creation member) wrote: I can barely Adam and Eve it, but creationism's catching on over here...
Nick Cowan: Yes - great news. No doubt you latter-day King Canutes will try to halt the inevitable though (grin)
Cowan then goes on to comment on the Observer report:
Observer newspaper: Nick Cohen
Nick Cowan: (no relation!)
Observer newspaper: Sunday October 1, 2006
Nick Cowan: (Were you there? Not much of an observer then!)
Observer newspaper: To be told that it is easier for creationists to get at children in Britain than the US is as shockingly incongruous as opening a paper and reading that more prisoners are executed in Devon than Texas.
Nick Cowan: The only "incongruous" thing is the gratuitously emotive comparison. Little wonder that no-one I know reads The Observer!
Observer newspaper: Yet British scientists trying to uphold basic intellectual standards are starting to believe just that.
Nick Cowan: Good. More and more of them are realising the weak intellectual basis of the faith called Darwinism!
Observer newspaper: It isn't that Britain has anything comparable with the US creationist lobby. The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches accept evolution,
Nick Cowan: More fool them, I say. Most of the people concerned are not science-trained. In any case all Christians are, by definition, "creationist". We only differ on when and how the Creator intervened!
Observer newspaper: 1,000 will have heard of
Truth in Science,
Answers in Genesis, the
Emmanuel Schools Foundation or the
Creation Science Movement. Typical activists describe themselves as 'street proselytisers', and tour the country giving lectures in nonconformists chapels and preaching from soap boxes in shopping centres. They look like living fossils, but researchers for the British Centre for Science Education show that they can be surprisingly effective.
Nick Cowan: Possibly because they're right!
Observer newspaper:
Truth in Science has established a website and sent information packs to every school. Its suggested coursework for teachers to base lessons around is very slick and includes powerpoint presentations, video clips and arguments questioning that life could have emerged without a creator. If the group is to be believed, more teachers have thanked it for their help than phoned to say they had thrown their packs in the bin.
Nick Cowan: Because it's excellent material.
Observer newspaper: As in the United States, old-time creationism is dressed up in the pseudo-scientific garb of intelligent design. Instead of appealing to the literal truth of Genesis, smart creationists point to the complexity of molecular structures as evidence that only an omnipotent creator could have conjured life into being.
Nick Cowan: Maybe it just "conjured" itself into being! Clearly we have a man of great faith here.
Observer newspaper: Stephen Layfield (see
Infiltration), head of science at the fundamentalist Emmanuel College near Middlesbrough, explained that teachers who say the 'Genesis account may be actually historical and true stand to meet with a barrage of criticism and scorn'. Talking about molecular structures or gaps in the fossil record, however, deflects the derision. More important, it appeals to teachers who have no religion but suffer from what you could call the BBC fallacy. 'We teach the theory of evolution,' they say to themselves, 'so we should balance that by also teaching the theory of intelligent design.' They don't understand that you can't have balance between truth and falsehood.
Nick Cowan: You're certain it's falsehood but you give no evidence. Very reasonable; very scientific.
Observer newspaper: Those who claim you can are putting themselves in the same camp as Holocaust-deniers from the far right or deniers of the Bosnian concentration camps from the far left
Nick Cowan: I know of no creationist who denies either. The analogy is odious.
Observer newspaper: Andrew Copson of the British Humanist Association
Nick Cowan: Now here's an impartial voice!
Observer newspaper: is emphatic that the infiltration of British schools would be impossible in the United States. Because we don't separate church and state, he says, we can't simply say that it is illegal to bring God into the classroom. We therefore condemn ourselves to fighting endless minor science wars in the school labs.
Nick Cowan: To define science in any way that excludes God is itself to bring God into the science classroom. To suppress reasonable discussion is intellectual fascism. Like it or not folks, ID is here in the classrooms of the UK. Time for BlackShadow to fold - I see the moderator is already trying to quit (giggle)
[And, no, the moderator was not trying to quit Blackshadow]
