Truths so profound they cannot be told in ordinary language

CON HAYES (Letters, November 26) should realise that the Catholic Church does not consider the Genesis account to be a work of science. Rather it considers it to be a work of mythic history, ie, it depicts real, historical events in the language of myth.

This does not mean that it contains less truth but, on the contrary, that it contains more truth. These truths are so profound they cannot be expressed in ordinary language, less still the languages of science or mathematics. Such reductive discourses, while valid in their limited respective spheres, are totally inadequate for disclosing the deepest mysteries of human existence.

Mr Hayes also neglects to mention the very features in the Genesis narrative that point to its uniqueness and divine inspiration.