Sir, - I cannot leave Dr William Reville's article in the "Science Today" column (April 1st) without a challenge, where he says: "There is no debate as to whether or not evolution happened. Evolution is a fact."
I accept his point about creationism being dogmatic. I have been puzzled by the style of creationism that doesn't do justice to the observed evidence. But then people would tell me that some scientists are beginning to dispute the theory of evolution on scientific grounds alone. What are we lay people to believe?
So I started reading. First, some of the books propose alternative understandings of the available evidence, which agree with the Genesis story.
But there are also books like Darwin Retried by Norman MacBeth, which challenges evolution from a purely scientific viewpoint. It raises questions like: can natural selection really produce all the innovations ascribed to it?
Either way, evolution still comes over as a theory, not a fact. It may or may not be the best theory, and the same can be said for the work of the Institute of Creation Research.
So it is legitimate to have an open mind on the subject. The evidence for evolution is not totally compelling. But neither are we obliged, as Christians, to be creationists. The threat to Christian beliefs is a more subtle one, such as when evolution is used to bolster up anti Christian philosophies of life. - Yours, etc.,
Mulgrave Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
