Lighter

Some replies suggest to me that several of you assume or suspect that I was espousing the "God-guided" evolutionary hypothesis.

While Steve responded in his own inimitable style, I hope that I only commented on what you had said rather than criticising your inner beliefs.

I raised a hypothetical connection between God and evolution simply as a reminder that God and evolutionary change according to scientifically discoverable (and proven) principles are not mutually exclusive ideas.

No, Lighter, they ARE mutually exclusive. As I have already pointed out, Darwin's theory is that evolution is driven by natural selection and natural selection alone. There is nothing in it about guidance by God or any other external force. You can raise whatever hypothetical connection you like and it may help to ease the minds of theologians struggling to accommodate the evidence before them with their faith but it has nothing to do with the Theory of Evolution and is, in fact, incompatible with it.

Steve Shaw

and which is highly probably true (OK, Snail, I bloody know you're watching....).

Progress! "highly probable" is enough. No need for "true".