I WAS pleased to see Rev Graham Hellier endorsing my call for nonbelieving Herefordians to set up their own secularist Humanist group, and to recognise that most atheists/Humanists are thoughtful, caring people.

I don’t think he was being deliberately paternalistic, though it is always difficult for a member of the “establishment”

to express such thoughts and not be seen this way. Perhaps it’s time for the Church of England to disestablish itself, and then he couldn’t be perceived in that way? But that’s a whole other argument, for another time.

I do think Rev Hellier is wrong about Darwin though. Charles Darwin very clearly lost his faith – partly this may be attributed to tragedy in his own family, especially the loss of his favourite daughter, but mainly it was the result of a very clear thinking man realising the implications of what he had discovered.

This is why he took 20 years to publish On the Origin of Species – he realised the implications and had to be absolutely sure he was right before publishing. Even then it took the possible pre-emption of Wallace and coaxing of his friends to get him to go public with his theory.

Rev Hellier mentions Richard Owen, a very eminent natural scientist of the time, who founded the Natural History Museumin Kensington.

Richard Owen became almost violently opposed to Darwin’s theory precisely because he (Owen) was a committed believer in God and an intelligent man – he realised almost instantly the incompatibility of the two.

If the theory of evolution was right then God, as he perceived Him, couldn’t exist. Owen, and a great many other believers since then, couldn’t accept that, and did his utmost to disprove the theory – in vain, as we all know.

It’s not particularly easy or comforting being an atheist, but better than deceiving yourself all your life with the “adult fairy story”.

Time to grow up, face the world as it is, and evaluate how best to live your life.

For most of us, this still means we seek life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – and try to help, not hinder, other people’s attempts to do the same within a caring society.

MALCOLM ROCHEFORT, Leinthall Starkes, Herefordshire