Long after losing the Anglican faith of my childhood, I still believed in a creator. "Because nature is all so beautiful" is a remark I remember making to a bemused zoologist drinking buddy. He neither attacked nor laughed at my naivete, instead he lent me his copy of The Selfish Gene. That's not an easy book for somebody with attention problems who left school at 16 and had stopped regularly attending well before that. But, with his encouragement, I persevered. And when I finally got it, my faith had gone and my love of nature had grown.

I don't mean to suggest that it's going to be as simple as that in your case. Firstly, my questioning mind had already led me to dump my childhood faith. And my love of nature, combined with my lack of a formal education, meant that I was hungry for answers. And Sir David had already prepared the ground for growth.

I have three suggestions. Firstly, do not attack or sneer in the superior fashion of many on this forum, as this will only entrench their position. Instead, try to plant seeds. Secondly, it's not worth losing a good friend over. Since my conversion I've managed to alienate some religious friends, while not making one single convert. You don't have to back down but know when to back off. On this point, I'm suggesting that you do as I say and not as I do. And lastly, never say never.

Chris