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New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 811, 11 February 1955, Page 5

Sir-In the current discussion on evolution and Christianity all your correspondents except "Naturalist" (Winton) apparently asstime that the two are antithetic. A scientific formula and a transcendental one are incommensurables. The real antithesis to a scientific explanation is maintaining that it is impossible to. give one; and antithetic to the transcendental Christian revelation is each, or all, of the other dozen the transcendental Christian fevelations. Furthermore, the genéral insistence on "unproven" evolution is loosely placed. It is the doctrine of descent for which there is no logical proof. The principle of evolution is the most outstanding fact of nature; the entire cosmos testifies to its truth. Worlds in every stage of evolution are everywhere visible. The principle of inorganic evolution was accepted by the 300 Protestant bishops at the Lambeth Conference way back in 1930, and quite recently the Pope announced that the universe was created out of nothing by God some thousands of millions of years ago, and that from the moment of creation there has been gradual evolution. He stated.

that science has established beyond all possible doubt the explicit mutability of the inorganic world, As for organic evolution it is almost as certainly true in principle, even though so much necessary evidence is lacking. The thoroughbred racehorse, cattle, sheep, dogs, plants, etc., have been produced in a few short years by what is nothing less than organic transformation speeded up and supervised by man. It seems to me that the derision directed at organic evolution is born of fervent hope, not calm thought; there is no known biological fact inconsistent

with evolution.

L.

S.

(Wellington).