Among my ten year old son's Christmas gifts this year was a beautifully illustrated and informative 'Book of Amazing Facts'. It was no surprise to me to find under the 'origins of life' section the familiar 'ape-man' pictures and the associated evolutionary doctrine of Charles Darwin.

My question is this:- ought this to be appearing in a book of facts when, in fact, evolution remains only a theory?

It is alarming to realise that during the course of this past century a successful programme of indoctrination has taken place in our society.

Text books, museums, TV and radio all lead us to assume Darwin's theory of evolution is the true record of the origins of life, while there is still very little evidence to support it.

How many people realise for instance that to this day, not a single transitional (in-between) fossil has been found? Evolutionists have great faith that one day they will un-earth some real evidence, but in the meantime evolution remains a theory and a belief system, not scientific fact!

I am a housewife, not a scientist, but I am not alone in finding evolution hard to believe.

The notion that chance processes, given millions of years could produce the incredible variety and intricacies of design that we see in plant and animal life today demands 'faith' of a high order!

There is no evidence in existence today or in the fossil record for any living thing changing into another.

Surely all we know about science and nature teaches us that while there are great possibilities for all kinds of variations within a 'kind' or 'family' of living things there is no possibility of crossing the 'family' boundary - a cat is a cat, an elephant is an elephant, an oak tree is an oak tree and there is no proof that it has ever been any other way!

In fact, the whole scenario of a multitude of living things existing side by side in a 'semi-evolved' state yet still being able to feed, reproduce and survive verges on the ludicrous and comical in many people's thinking.

My plea is this:- allow our children to be taught the whole truth - that there is much that scientists do not yet know about, that there are normal, intelligent people who hold a different, valid viewpoint, that evolution is a theory not yet proven, but a possible explanation of things.

If true science were to be applied, it would have to be acknowledged that the Biblical account of creation, with each living thing being created 'after its own kind' is supported by the facts, whereas the theory of evolution is not.

Finally, belief in creation or evolution might be considered irrelevant and unimportant by some, but I would urge you to think again.

These are systems of belief which are foundational to our whole outlook on life. The powerful system of communism which was responsible for the death of millions of people in the past century, taught evolution as foundational to its beliefs.

Accompanied with that was a suppression of all religious beliefs and in particular anything connected with Biblical doctrine.

Could it be that a belief in the 'survival of the fittest' and in human life as merely a product of chance, and in the non-existence of any creator to whom we should be accountable, could dull the conscience to the value and dignity of every life regardless of their usefulness to society?

It is a sobering thought at the start of a new millennium.

MRS JESSICA WARNE.

Liskeard