The only god that could possibly exist is some sort of
deistic creator god, and I'm quite sure such a god doesn't listen to prayers and couldn't care less what a bunch of bugs like us are praying for.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Mr McEwan would seem to be right (i) in his depiction of Professor Ayala's somewhat
deistic leanings concerning the role of the
creator (see our Cutting Edge column July 2010), (ii) that we, with Ayala, affirm that physical, chemical and biological evolution is a well attested fact, and (Hi) that the idea that this process is a chance one does not work.