This is in reference to an article by Trevor Thomas of May 9. His opening sentence would be considered totally absurd by most middle-school or lower students. He states that Tyrannosaurus Rex and a bird domesticated by humans, the chicken, were created on the same day, Day Six, according to Israelite mythology.

Can you imagine a chicken surviving millions of years with T-Rex and myriad other carnivorous dinosaurs of various sizes and all of the other carnivorous creatures which appeared during the last 65 million years? He feels that the concept of evolution "leads to many ridiculous scenarios," but I cannot think of a more ridiculous scenario than his first sentence.

T- Rex lived during the late Cretaceous period or about 65 to 70 million years ago, while the chicken is believed to have descended from the wild jungle fowl of southwest Asia, which were domesticated only 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

If Mr. Thomas were correct, this would set the stage for another ridiculous scenario concerning the flood. If all the animals which ever lived on Earth, past and present, had been created on Day Six, this would have been one crowded planet. Consider two each of the billions of fauna which live and have lived on Earth, plus enough food to last 40 days and nights, fitting into a boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high (paraphrased from The Living Bible, 1971).

Also, where would enough water come from to cover Mount Everest "twenty-two feet and more?" There is no geological or other evidence that there was ever a flood of such gigantic proportions which would have killed back most of the existing flora and all terrestrial prey species, leaving little sustenance for the survivors for some time.

It has already been well documented by paleontologists that the dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds. So the T-Rex/chicken connection is merely a further refinement of these findings.

Since Mr. Thomas, has such a disdain for science because it contradicts his religious beliefs, it would not surprise me if he still believes the Earth is flat and at the center of the universe.

Jim Scharnagel
Gainesville