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Sir Isaac Newton's Christian view of science is still well worth defending on the 5th anniversary of his death (Diary, THES , March 22). The traditional Christian view of science was mainly Aristotelian - that scientific claims have to be demonstrable by inductive or deductive reasoning. The same should apply to our understanding of evolution.

Despite his conviction, Darwin admits in On the Origin of Species that geology had been less supportive of his theory than he had expected. "Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely organic chainI the most serious objection to the theory of evolution."

Genetics has created another gigantic problem for the view that all changes that have taken place in every species can be explained on the basis of random mutation. Some may believe there are such things as "jumping genes" but we mostly see each species reproducing "after its kind".

Malcolm MacRae
Stirling