Snart jubileum

Det er også andre som debatterer.

We are all, increasingly, in a Darwin frame of mind with the bicentenary coming up in 2009. Richard Dawkins' Channel 4 series does him great and due honour (though my own ranted reservations about the anti-religious tone are published here, the Times leader here). Prof. Dawkins has just written us a somewhat furious letter about my article - read it here - to which I can only reply that both of us at home watching his fine programme felt, sorrowfully, that he was hammering the evolution-or-God choice very hard indeed, spoiling an otherwise lovely presentation on Darwin. As a scientist he should stop pretending that there are hard and reliable figures showing that a majority of Christians are creationists; and might also admit that it is unseemly for a senior academic to go around - without research or sensible reservation - making up imaginary lives for people who dare to criticize him (he snipes that I eat canapes in Islington and "Hampstead Garden Suburb", for God's sake, how petulant can you get?)

By the way, if you want the actual poll figures on creationism in the UK (I assume he means the 2006 Horizon poll asking 2000 respondents) here they are. Note that only 22 per cent chose creationism and 17 per cent 'intelligent design"(few people know what that means, I suspect, and some will simply think it means that if there is a Creator he is intelligent). Asked what should be taught in school science, 69 per cent went for evolution. Better if it was 100 per cent, of course, but it hardly suggests an overwhelming scepticism shared by the entire population outside of - er - Hampstead Garden suburb.

Det er liten fare for at denne debatten vil avta i månedene fremover. Så får vi se hvem som er den sterkeste.