Regarding the recent letter criticising the teaching of evolution as a fact, and the promotion of the Biblical 'account' of Creation, I feel it worthwhile to point out that far from lacking fossil evidence for evolution there is plenty of fossil evidence for the slow adaptation of one species into another (Such as the Micraster beds in the Middle Chalk, the succession of graptolites throughout the Silurian Llandovery strata, and of course Archaeopteryx, neither wholly bird nor wholly reptile but possessing the oldest fossil feathers) although current evolutionary research tends to involve the application of Cladistic analysis to mitochondrial DNA at the molecular level.
As for the Biblical story of a six day creation, that is the work of probably three or more scribes adapting oral and written traditions that were themselves based on a far more ancient Mesopotamian creation myth.
This version of the creation myth dating from at least two thousand BC and found inscribed on tablets excavated in Nineveh had a series of gods vying with each other over a six day period:
The authors of Genesis merely transcribed the actions of the chief protagonists to single god known as Yahweh (Literally the LORD) who himself evolved from an archaic Sumerian fertility deity known as Yah. The Bible is a fascinating book, easily comparable with other classical works such as the Iliad, and contains much that is thought provoking and insightful.
But it is not truth in the literal meaning of the word, and to interpret its mass of contradictions and erroneous statements as such rightly invites ridicule. Education should remain the domain of facts and certainty, rather than religious dogma and ignorance.
ANDREW FIELD
Liskeard.