Thank you for your email ________. I do appreciate your taking the time to contact us regarding something that has raised a concern for you.
Please let me reassure you first that we are indeed a Christian, evangelical company. We will never "teach" your children evolution as fact, nor suggest that you do so. Instead, we attempt to present students with varying viewpoints on creation, in an attempt to allow parents the freedom to address the subject with their children.
Sonlight takes a creationist point of view (as opposed to evolutionist). Usborne is a secular publisher. Their books do contain occasional references to evolution or evolutionary concepts. Since we do believe that it is our responsibility as parents to teach our children discernment, these references offer us an excellent opportunity to do so. When I came across these references when teaching my own children, we would stop for a moment ... discuss why we did not agree with the statements espousing evolution ... and even take a few moments to read the creation account from Genesis if we needed the additional reminder of God's part in creation. It was not a complex conversation ... simply an opportunity to begin, at a young age, to make my children aware that not everyone agrees with God's word. It was amazing to me how quick they were to recognize evolutionary thought wherever they encountered it ... and that they were well able to explain *why* they didn't agree with it.
One of our values at Sonlight is to help you raise your children to be ambassadors for Christ, by teaching them as they mature to defend themselves against evil, and to learn even from an early age to contend for that which is good. It is our hope that these books will present you with many opportunities to have meaningful discussions with your children through the years to help them weigh information they encounter in the world, and eventually learn to successfully debate and defend their beliefs in an environment that is safe and not bent on their destruction.