An evolving dialogue

I had an interesting conversation with a few HINT employees and regulars yesterday. I was wearing shorts, partly because it's getting warmer, but mostly to air my knee, which I've scraped again (good and proper this time, it's been almost two weeks and it hasn't dried out, there's quite a deep gouge in the middle - yummy...)

They wanted to know how I'd scraped my knee, and I said I'd scraped it playing football. We then got on to how on Sunday morning, Heather goes to church and I go to football. Have established that I don't go to church on Sunday, Beatrice asked me

How will God judge you?

Never mind that" I said, "how will Manny Road judge me if I come back even less fit and incompetent with a football?

So you don't believe in God?" they asked.

No" I replied. At first they thought I was kidding, and there was much laughing. I convinced them that I was serious, Though the general air of levity remained.

How did you come to exist then?" Beatrice asked.

Well" I said, "my mummy and Daddy loved each other very much...

Yes, yes" they said "but what about your grand parents, their parents and so on, how did they come into being?

Evolution" I replied. More good natured laughter.

Stanley, the resident Linux guru, addressed his fellow Cameroonians, saying "yes, I've heard many people believe in evolution" and nodded sagely. At that point our conversation was interrupted, and our burgeoning ontological discussion progressed no further. It was very interesting to hear someone speak of evolution with a mixture of curiosity and surprise in much the same way that I am used to people discussing the non-acceptance of evolution. It's mind-boggling to me that anyone would question the validity of evolution, given the weight of evidence in it's favour, but there you go. Definitely not in Kansas any more.

Big shrug...