Madam, - It is great to see William Reville once again face down the proud and arrogant atheism of Richard Dawkins (Science Today, November 25th); if anything, Prof Reville was too nice to him.
There has certainly been evolution, but belief in Darwin's traditional theory of evolution where the entire creation developed by purely random changes at the genetic level, a doctrine so adhered to by Dawkins, requires more faith than believing that God is behind it all.
Dawkins's god is time. . .everything in Dawkins's eyes is possible, given only time. The mists of Time conjured up the first self-replicating particle, assembled the first cell, an incredibly complex thing in itself. For Dawkins Time allowed for order to come out of disorder, allowed absence of intelligence to beget intelligence, and chaos to produce a vast array of creatures oozing with evidence of incredible design. . . and there was of course no designer, no intelligence behind it all!
We have been beguiled by this unscientific thinking. It is time to call his bluff. The laws of chance working at the genetic level do not in fact allow for the evolution of the range of creatures in this creation within a mere three billion years. Or if they did, the odds are so long that it is an absolute miracle - back to God again!
So whichever way you look at it, we're looking at a designer here. Revel in that, Prof Dawkins. - Yours, etc.,
Dr MICHAEL TELFORD, Morehampton Road, Dublin 4.
A chara, - Surely, the whole point of a public debate is to convince others? But if the average person has a "need" for religion, as suggested by Dr William Reville, why does he bother proselytising?
If he thinks belief is innate (this ignores Christian teaching that God gave freedom not to believe) Dr Reville should chill out and enjoy his status as an à la carte Christian.
But before leaving the scene to the genetic code it would be a matter of interest to some of us if Dr Reville detailed his own religious beliefs. Which, if any, tenets or "fundamentals" - to use a pertinent phrase coined by early 20th century American Christians - does he subscribe to?
It would be especially interesting to know if, as his writings suggest, he agrees with everyone who believes in any god. If so, surely this brings him into conflict with Christianity which, though praised in his article, wears its monotheism as a badge of honour. - Is mise,
JACK GANNON, Ratoath Estate, Cabra, Dublin 7.