NEWSLETTER

of the

American Scientific Affiliation & Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation

Volume 38 Number 2 MAR/APR 1996

The Newsleffer of the ASA and CSCA is published bi-monthly for its membership by the American Scientific Affiliation, P.O. Box 668, 55 Market St., Ipswich, MA 019380668. Tel. (508) 356-5656, FAX: (508) 3564375, e-mail: asa@newl.com. Send Newsletter information to the Editor: Dennis Feucht, 14554 Maplewood Road, Townville, PA 16360.

Sheldon Joins Council; Wilcox New ASA President

The ballots are in. The new ASA Executive Council member is Dillsburg, PA biologist Joseph K. Sheldon. Joe is a member of ASA's newly formed Global Resources Commission, is on the faculty of Messiah C., and is president of the American Entomological Society. (Entomologists are interested in what most of us prefer to avoid: insects.) He is currently studying the influence of insects on the decomposition of large mammals and also decay rates in homicide cases as part of the growing field of forensic entomology. Joe's other interest is to study and write about the integration of environmental concerns and Christian faith, and to increase awareness among Christians of the grandeur and majesty of the Lord's creation and our consequent stewardship responsibility for it.

Joe's vita is lengthy and impressive' with many awards and honors, professional society memberships and responsibilities, and numerous articles, papers and books, including eleven on the relationship of science and Christianity. Joe has contributed two chapters to a book that the Global Resources Commission is putting together, tentatively titled God and His World. The topics of Joe's sci/Xny writings indicate an interest in God's creation, especially ecology and the church's need to be informed about it. Sheldon's vision for ASA includes completion of the video mini-series, an endowed financial base, and networking with other Christian organizations as a way to attract more young members. He approves of ASA's trend to broaden from a focus on the creation-evolution controversy to "a much more balanced representation of scientific issues." Welcome to the ASA leadership, Joe, and we look forward to your efforts to realize this vision!

Another biologist, David Wilcox, - is ASA's president for 1996 as Ray Brand becomes past-president and Fred Hickernell leaves the Council as past-past-president.  David Wilcox, Soft-spoken but not soft intellectually, Dave is a professor of biology at Eastern C. in St. Davids, PA and a member of the Creation Commission. At last year's Annual Meeting, he gave some well-received advice to the Science Education Commission on how to deal with the creation/Darwinism controversy in California education, and is actively working on the clarification of this issue from a theological perspective.

Specifically, what does "natural process" mean in the Darwinism/creation debate? The key issue, David points out, is natural cause and what the expression means exactly. His approach is to first determine how the Bible views the natural process of reproduction, and after establishing a biblical context, to assess modern theory on that foundation.

As ASA commissions begin to become active and open for new projects, expansion and distribution of our meager amount of ASA popular-level literature is a welcomed activity. To date, one commission has produced and distributed literature: the Science Education Commission, chaired by John L. Wiester. The four-page insert, "A School Board Success Story" of last issue was written largely by Commission member Walt Hearn and refined by Wiester and J. David Price.

How does an organization of limited financial resources begin to bridge the gap between the worlds of science and Christianity? How does it bring to the Church explanations of what is going on in science and its possible wider implications and consequences?

The one-page insert on p. 5 is a poster intended for church (or other) bulletin boards. Though we haven't much popular literature to offer yet, it's a start in letting people know we're here. We can each get the word out by placing one on the bulletin board of our respective churchesand distributing a few to Christian leaders in our locales.

It was a rough winter here in the northeast with heavy snows and floods. What keeps me up and going is that every day there is a new challenge at the office. Sometimes I feel over challenged and think that I will never catch up. God then says that he gives me one day at a time to redeem and that I need not think of tomorrow for he will take care of that.

A part of tomorrow is the goals that the staff set for 1996. We are compiling the new ASA Handbook now that the Council approved the final inclusions at its December meeting. Next we want to complete the move of our data base from Poise to Access. Right now Frances has to maintain both data bases and that is too much extra work. When we finally transfer to Access, we will be able to quickly pull all sorts of lists concerning our membership.

It is important to continue to expand our membership. One way to do this is by making a higher profile. In January we spent many hours in an ASA booth at Congress '96 which is sponsored by the Evangelistic Association of New England. It is held in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center and attracts thousands of Christians. Hundreds stopped by the booth to take literature, talk with us, and ask us about the ASA. I was surprised at the open, searching attitude that many displayed and the love for science that they indicated. It continued to convince me of the great need we have for science/faith literature to use in Sunday School, adult Bible studies, and for witnessing. We need to show some of the diversity found among the scientists in our Christian community. Some people took our older Search testimonies to use for home schooling since they felt like they had a lack of science materials. Although it was exhausting, I am so glad that we went. Several organizations at Congress '96 were represented by their local members or Council members. I have a list of people who signed up to do volunteer work for us and for them to take care of a booth or table at similar meetings around the country would be wonderful. Let us keep our eyes open for opportunities.

To enhance the above ideas, we are working to set up ASA Press. If there are no snags, we want that completed early this year. I wished that I had something to give to the many seekers who stopped by the Congress '96 booth. They kept asking if we had anything for children. Our publishing would be modest and carefully screened. Most materials would be invited, so please do not send in that old manuscript that you could not get published. We have to remain solvent on each thing that we produce.

Some expansion of the mentoring system is in the works. The response last year was disappointing but this year we will also include medical and dental students. The latter information will be passed along to the Christian Medical and Dental Society and they will follow it up. I now have an embryonic network in place for graduate mentors and I expect it to grow this year.

We want to increase the number of local section meetings. I will soon be contacting those who expressed an interest in forming a local section in their area' There are several active sections that can serve as models and I want to compile the ideas that they have to help you get started. We hope to have a meeting in the Boston area later this spring.

By the time of our annual meeting in Toronto, we want to have a complete list of the commission board members, a start on commission goals, and some commission activity to report.

Another goal is to schedule the location of our annual meetings through 2001 which is our sixtieth year. The plans for this year's meeting in Toronto are moving along nicely. We signed a contract with Victoria University which is a part of The University of Toronto. It is a nice compact unit with a beautiful dining hall, 300-seat modern plenary room, and several other break-out rooms including a place for the Logos bookstore. The meeting area is air conditioned and so are some of the dormitory rooms. The plenary speakers are confirmed for our Westmont C. meeting in 1997 and we are beginning to work on the details for Cambridge, England in 1998. The 1999 to 2001 meetings are in the works but specific sites are not yet approved.

The last goal to discuss in this letter is a dream that I have. I would like to see a group similar to the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) formed as an umbrella for Christians and Christian groups working in origins. Several members have already shown an enthusiasm for this. It could be called the Evangelical Creation Network (ECN) and would allow us to consolidate our efforts for the edification of the Church and the scientific community. Lone wolves find it difficult and are easy to dismiss as heretical or untruthful. A fairly wide contingent of the evangelical community would command more hearing and serve as a buffer zone between right-wing and left-wing combatants. Member groups would not have to agree on the details and the network would not replace or subsume any of the groups. What comments or suggestions do you have about an ECN?

Finally, I want to clear up some confusion that I may have caused. On the ASA Membership Information sheet I asked people to check their interest in becoming a sustaining donor for the Affiliation and listed the level of contribution as $250. At that time I did not realize that the ASA Bylaws specified a $200 gift for recognition as a sustaining donor. Amounts like that specified in the Bylaws can become a problem as inflation continues. The Council is considering an overhaul of the Bylaws to bring to some annual meeting. Meanwhile, I am happy to say that a $200 gift will remain the level for sustaining donors. The $200 does not include dues since that is not considered a gift. A quick count shows that there were over 100 sustaining donors in 1995. Thank you so much. March and April are often financially dry months for us. Please consider sending a part of your yearly gift now.

Don

Tom Woodward, a Princeton U. graduate and head of the C.S. Lewis Fellowship (2430 Trinity Oaks Blvd., New Port Richey, FL 34655) has completed a two-year project of videotape interviews with Princeton Christian professors. In three half-hour segments on one tape, he interviews: (part I) chemistry prof. Andrew Bocarsley and recently elected National Academy of Sciences geologist John Suppe; (part 11) historian Eugenio Biagini, chemical engineer Robert Prud'homme, and plasma physicist Robert Kaita; and (part III) an edited lecture on the historicity of Jesus' resurrection by ancient Near East historian Edwin Yamauchi.

Li-yang Chang, Paul Chien, Chihang Li, and Pattle Pun were accompanied by psychologist Wei-Ren Huang to a conference on "Humanity, Science and Technology," at Tunghai U. in Taichung. Tunghai was once a Christian school but is now almost completely secular. The meeting was worked out by the chaplain's office, and the ASAers spoke to about 100 students and faculty of Tunghai and other schools in Taipei. Conferees received a bound volume containing the presented papers. The five also gave public lectures at a Catholic school, Fujen (Fu-ren) U. Paul and Pattle were sponsored by the biology dept. while Liyang and Chi-hang spoke to chemistry students, over 100 in all. Chi-hang says the trip was a good one for pre-evangelistic types of meetings; he learned much. Chi-hang and others of the group also spoke in churches and were interviewed on the radio. Chi-hang's assessment of Taiwan's spiritual climate nowadays is that it is very materialistic, and that Buddhism is growing and imitating Christian activities, such as building hospitals and universities, conducting scriptural studies, and holding prayer meetings.

CSCA Annual Meeting in News

Despite the illness of Executive Director Doug Morrison following his successful surgery for the removal of a cancerous lung, the CSCA has been active and met on 28 Oct. 1995 for the CSCA Annual Meeting, held at Wycliffe C. at the U. of Toronto. It was attended by about 40 people, including ASA Executive Director Don Munro, who, along with Dan Osmond, reminded attendees of this year's joint ASA/CSCA Annual Meetings in Toronto. Esther Martin was elected interim assistent executive director. Gary Partlow and Norman Macleod were appointed for another three-year term on the Executive Council. Gary reported that he has received CSCA historical material in response to his request, and that it will be placed in the ASA archives at Wheaton C.

Robert VanderVennen was asked by the national newspaper, Christian Week, to submit a report on the meeting. Coverage was also in the Christian Courier, another Canadian newspaper. Christian Week (Nov. 14, 1995) published Bob's write-up with the attention-getting title, "God is a sleeping giant at Canadian universities." Several speakers addressed the state of Christian faith on university campuses and what could be done to become visible witnesses to informed Christian belief. David Humphreys, a recently retired chemist at McMaster U. "urged professors not to make the same mistake he did by waiting until retirement to become visible as a Christian." The p. 4 article was accompanied by an inset advertising CSCA and offering to the general public audiovisual programs and speakers for churches and schools.

The Nov. 17, 1995 Christian Courier article (p. 6), also written by Vander Vermen, retained the same title and was somewhat longer, though it covered the same highlights of the meeting. In discussing student contributions to the meeting, Bob noted:

Students often give up on churches because they don't find persons interested in the questions they are dealing with as Christians. About half of evangelical churches hold that the earth is no more than 10,000 years old, a recent survey has shown, while less th[a]n one per cent of university scientists hold that view.

The last point of the article was made by Dan Osmond, who said that the ASA, CSCA's U.S. parent, "was started in 1941 'to take scholarship back from unbelievers."' Dan and others started CSCA in 1973, Vander Vermen reports, "in part as a witness against compartmentalization of faith and science."

Finally, as Bob Vander Vennen requests in his meeting follow-up letter, pray for the recovery of Doug Morrison. He needs our continued prayers. Bob Vander Vennen

I was confined for five days ... The doctors never figured out whether I had a heart attack or not, and the local doctors here in Virginia have fared no better. But it was really disappointing to not be able to enjoy the fellowship and rich conversations that flow from an ASA conference. I do want to thank you for your prayers during that time.

Dick has completed a book, The Origins Solution: An Answer to the Creation-Evolution Debate, which has been twelve years in the making. Excerpts from the book have appeared in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF), titled: "In Search of the Historical Adam: Parts I and H." (Dec. 1993,

What is the answer to the origins question? The Roman emperor Julian the Apostate (ca. 331-363) knew it, but he erroneously thought it could be used as a counterpoint to Christianity to restore paganism. Isaac de la Peyrre, a Catholic priest, had the answer in 1656. For his efforts, he was forced to recant and his books were burned. In 1860, one year after Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species, Bible scholar Edward William Lane anonymously published the answer to escape reprisals.

What is the answer? Signed copies of Dick's version of it may be obtained from him at: P.O. Box 50111, Arlington, VA 22205. Enclose a total of $21.95. Then, as Dick says, "prepare for a mindchanging experience." Dick also has a Web page for ordering and promotion of the book: http://www.orisol.com

ASA's tie to the Christian Foundation in Honor of Vladimir Soloviev (CFS), a "Russian ASA," is Sergei Grib, CFS president, from the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. On Sept. 22, 1995, they held a workshop at the St. Petersburg Orthodox Theological Academy and also (Sept. 23) at the State U. of St. Petersburg. Participants came not only from Russia, but from Western Europe and the USA. Of its three sessions, the last was "Science and Theology: Russian and Western Aspects." Sergei gave the first of six talks in this session, drawing comparisons between V. Soloviev's ideas about elementary particles and modern quantum mechanics. Other "reports" argued for the necessity of morality and spirituality in science and its need of religious ethics. Grib also reported that conflict between science and theology in principle is not peculiar to Orthodoxy because of their different spheres of applicability. He concluded that there is no real conflict between scientific and theological work, citing Russian scientists and theologians working in each other's fields. Prolonged discussion followed at the hall of Peter the Great. The workshop ended with a memorial meeting in honor of Vladimir Soloviev, the "greatest Russian religious philosopher," whose funeral service was conducted in this same hall at the turn of the century.  Sergei Grib

Van Till Heads Templeton Award Program

Howard Van Till of Calvin C. is Program Director for the Templeton Foundation's annual call for papers in "humility theology," a term coined by John Templeton to direct attention to the value of scholarship performed in the spirit of intellectual humility. Such humility recognizes "the limits and tentativeness of human knowledge about God and the world of ultimate issues as well as about the natural world that is accessible to the sciences." (Howard's wording). Humility also is an attitude open to new ideas and ways of viewing both spiritual and physical reality, shows a "non-dogmatic" manner of presenting ideas, a noncontentious spirit around those who differ and an openness to falsification in the light of evidence. Over the last three years of the Awards program, more than 94 prizes were given, as reported in the Foundation's Progress t . n Theology newsletter, nicely edited by former ASAN Managing Editor Patsy Ames.

This year, the program is somewhat different. A paper will be eligible if it is about the interaction of theology/religion and the (1) natural sciences, (2) medical sciences, or (3) human behavioral sciences. Subject-matter of particular interest includes epistemological, empirical, methological, historical or cultural concerns and constructive exploration. Deadline for submission is June 15, 1996.

Winners, who are to receive $2000 for each paper, will be announced in November. Papers must have been published or accepted for publication within the three years prior to the deadline in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal and be 3 to 10 thousand words in length, accompanied by a 600-word pr6cis. For more information, contact: Exemplary Papers Award Program, The John Templeton Foundation, P.O. Box 8322, Radnor, PA 19087-8322.

And as for the Templeton Science & Religion Course Program, ASA winners include Larry Martin, Stephen C. Meyer, and George L. Murphy. ASA Project Idea: Convert one or more of these courses into a form that can be offered to churches and Christian schools by the ASA, especially if the course(s) were audio or videotaped.

One of the most active ASA local sections invited historian of the ancient Near-East, Edwin Yamauchi, to give his talk on "Biblical Archaeology: Fiction or Fact?" at Colorado Christian U. on Feb. 17 in Lakewood, CO. Ed has explored excavations at Jerusalem. Four other papers were given in the seminar discussion sessions. ASA Project Idea: Perhaps a videotape of Ed's talk should be added to ASA's fledgling literature offering. Anyone interested in working on this?

The Coalition for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) Global Stewardship Project is being funded by a $200,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to enable selected CCCU faculty to complete either (1) research projects on global stewardship issues, resulting in dissemination of results in articles or book chapters that will, preferably, impact the Church and/or the larger academy; or (2) develop new curricular programming with the goal of implementing it at the faculty member's college. Half of the 18 grants will be awarded in these categories. Interdisciplinary and collaborative projects are encouraged, especially those that integrate theology and Bible with the humanities, natural and social sciences, and the fine arts.

Twelve colleges or universities are directly involved. So are ASA members Robert Kistler (Bethel), new Executive Council member Joe Sheldon (Messiah), Fred Van Dyke (Northwestern), and Ray Grizzle (Taylor). Cal De Witt is slated to speak at the Project Seminar, to be held March 13-16 at Azusa Pacific U. For more information, contact: Harold Heie, Center for Christian Studies, Gordon College, (508) 927-2306 ext 4361; or Karen Longman, (202) 546-8713.

             American Scientific Affiliation

The ASA offers resources to those: wanting to better integrate their Christian faith with their profession. seeking to be more effective in relating Christianity to a technically oriented society. interested in issues of science and religion.

tells how a California school board set policy on teaching science that ousted "Isms" from the biology classroom. A key excerpt is reprinted from their science instruction regulation that can be used as a model. for other districts wanting to establish an improved policy.

A thinking person living in today's world can hardly avoid developing some kind of a pattern within which to express a view of both scientific and theological information. This book describes possible patterns for relating science and Christian faith and provides a balanced critique of each. Such an understanding is essential for an effective witness to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in a world dominated by the ideas and results of science.

Order the above items from:

American Scientific Affiliation

P.O. Box 668

Ipswich, MA 01938

(508) 356-5656

Hugh Ross's organization, Reasons to Believe (P.O. Box 5978, Pasadena, CA 91117), publishes Facts & Faith. In the Fourth Quarter 1995 issue, Hugh's expertise in cosmology is put to good use describing how "A Super Theory of Super Strings Reveals a Super Creator." Recent mathematical advances have led to a single theory that subsumes the many string theories and resolves major conflicts in existing theory. The result? The universe is ten-dimensional, with six unexpanded dimensions plus the familiar four - three of space and one of time. Hugh posits the Creator as operating "in at least as many dimensions as are needed to explain the existence of the cosmos plus one." The last section of the article was entitled: "Strings: The Cutting Edge of Missions." It offered a forceful view of why science should not be divorced from an interest in Christian missionary work. Hugh says:

Two years ago I interviewed one of Caltech's most brilliant graduate students, Gerald Cleaver, on my television program. I asked him why he, as an evangelical Christian with a strong interest in missions, decided to pursue a career as a string theorist. He replied that after very seriously and prayerfully considering full-time ministry, he concluded that he could have a much greater impact for the advance of the Gospel by advancing string theory,

What if every Bible college and missionary training school in the country incorporated relativity theory and string theory into the curriculum, along with other courses in the sciences? "Dream on," you might say. Yet every Bible college and missionary training school with which I've had contact in the past ten years has been receptive to the idea - once the leaders glimpsed what's taking place at the frontiers of science.

Martin Price's ECHO in Ft. Myers, FL was featured in an article by Mindy BeIz, "Seeds for the sower," in World (Nov. 25, 1995, P. 20). ECHO applies the sciences of agriculture to develop crop plants (and seeds) to meet the varied conditions of the developing world. 

The Institute for Creation Research's Acts & Facts reports the retirement of its founder and president, Henry Morris, after over 25 years as ICR's leader. Henry was also a past ASA member and a civil engineer, specializing in hydraulic engineering. His book, Applied Hydraulics in Engineering, is still in use. His son, John Morris, a geological engineer, will succeed him, and wants to encourage more research and additional helps for parents and teachers.

Here's another Annual Meeting paper topic: Is sexology science? "The Children of Table 34" is a Family Research Council documentary video that unravels the claims of renowned sex researcher Alfred Kinsey and his ground breaking Kinsey Report of the late 1940s. A study in faulty research offered as science, this report is still the basis of sex education programs, such as SIECUS, used widely in government education. Parental guidance is advised for this 30-minute videotape, obtainable from: FRC, 700 Thirteenth St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005.

The ASA's newsletter and journal, PSCF, were blasted in Review, (Fall, 1995, Vol. 20, No. 1) a quarterly of Evangelicals Concerned, Inc., edited by Ralph Blair. His organization seeks to integrate homosexual intimacy and evangelical Christian faith. Cited therein was the JUL/AUG 1995 ASAN quote from Christianity Today that removal of homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was motivated more by sociopolitical activism than science. The psychiatrist, Socarides, mentioned in the ASAN article is claimed by Review as being "the loudest sociopolitical activist fighting the DSM revision and he's the father of a sociopolitically active gay son."

Also "not getting it" or "refusing to get it" were PSCF authors Pattison (no reference cited), whose claims about 11 religiously mediated change" were discounted, and Jay Hollman, who referred to (among others) work by E. M. and M. L. Pattison (in the Am J Psychiatry) and concluded that "homosexual orientation could be a spiritual disease" ("The Future of Medical Science: Ethical and Theological Implications, Part II," PSCF, March 1995, p. 23). Another reference to Pattisons' work is in an article by Wheaton C. prof. Stanton Jones and his student, Mark Yarhouse ("Homosexuality: What we know for sure" in Christian Counseling Today, Summer 1994), also refuted by Blair. The message from Blair is clear: homosexuals cannot be converted to heterosexuals because they are inherently homosexual. Even Masters and Johnson got it wrong, according to Blair, in claiming a conversion rate of 50 to 60%. Furthermore, Blair states that "Johnson was, from its beginnings, a Board member ... of the pro-gay counseling center I founded in 1972." ASA Project Idea: A brochure explaining what science does and does not say about homosexuality and other popular beliefs about sex. (See previous bullet item.) Perhaps Hollman's paper in PSCF would be a place to start. Anyone interested in such a project? Contact the Editor.

*Ever get mail soliciting money for a political cause marked "urgent"? The American Policy Center sent one to the Editor, deploring the ban on some CFCs starting in 1996. Now there's a public policy issue involving science (and a possible paper topic for the Annual Meeting.) The Telexgram states: "There is no reason for ban - except Al Gore's politics. New scientific evidence shows no Freon danger to ozone." ASA Project Idea: This topic would make a nice ASAN insert, providing the scientific background for the issue - a project for the Global Resources and Environment Commission?

The newly-formed Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies (2424 East Hagert St., Philadelphia, PA 19125) Dec. 1995 newsletter briefly suggests that the "star" of Bethlehem was a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC. It also reports on discovery of a Samaritan copy of the Jerusalem temple at Mt. Gerazim, with an order form for various items. Vice-president and treasurer is Stephen C. Meyers; president is Arlton C. Murray.

Long ago, creative biochemist and previous ASAN Editor Walter R. Hearn showed that scientists can be artistic when he wrote his "Scientist's Psalm."

Little did Walt know that before Betty Zipf would give her comments at a morning devotion of the 1995 Annual Meeting, Ken Van Dellen would have passed around copies of it set to the tune of an existing hymn which fit the poem. Walt noted in a letter to the Editor that he's not sure whether Ken or Larry Martin did the actual arranging, but it was Ken's idea. Walt said in a letter written later to Ken:

What was so funny about it was that I was sitting up on the platform, thinking about what I was going to say during the opening "hymn" and not thinking at all about the music. Then Ken Carter saw that I didn't have a sheet with the words on it and came over to hand me one. I saw the poem at the top but I was looking for words to a hymn, and I kept searching for words that seemed to match the words everybody else was singing - which I wasn't listening to carefully enough to recognize as my own! When everybody stopped singing, I still hadn't recognized the words! How out of it can you get?

Next morning, Walt joined in singing the second half of the Psalm "with great joy and gusto. But being almost totally tone deaf, I'd never even thought of the poem fitting a hymn tune."

This isn't the first time the poem attracted the interest of the musically inclined. In the 1960s, a professor of music at, perhaps, Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville "set some of the stanzas to heavy-duty original music and made a choral work out of it." The poem also was heard to have been translated into Chinese and sung at an Easter service on Taiwan. At this point in the letter, Walt was lost in blissful nostalgic reverie:

Did I ever tell you [Van Dellen] that I once composed a Metabolic Opera, performed in one of my biochemistry classes when all else failed to get their attention? I called it "Carbon" and stole the music from Bizet's "Carmen ... ... I remember that I set the Krebs cycle to the music of the Toreador Song, and glycolysis to another aria from Carmen. "Carbon" had a short run but was acclaimed a critical success by the home ec[onomics] majors.

At one time, the ASA office had printed a quantity of the Scientist's Psalm for distribution. E Walter Hearn

Positions Looking for People

Geography: tenure-track position beginning Fall, 1996. Contact: Davis A. Young, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49546; (616) 957-6374; youn@calvin.edu

Geology: one-year term position, 1996-7. Contact: Davis Young. (See previous posting.)

Chemistry: faculty position beginning Fall '96. Must have teaching and rsch guidance abilities in organic chemistry; commitment to evangelical orientation of college. Contact: Dr. Tricia Brownlee, Dean of Academic Programs, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN 55112.

Biology: faculty position beginning Fall '96. Ph.D. with ecology/environmental science emphasis to teach biology, environ. sci., ecology, undergrad rsch; commitment to evangelical orientation of college. Contact: Dr. Tricia Brownlee. (See previous posting.)

Sociology: tenure-track, beginning Fall '96; experience in undergrad. teaching rsch. methods and statistics, gender, popular culture, social psych. , the en

ironment. Contact: Dr. Ann Palkovich, Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, MSN 3G5, George Mason U., Fairfax, VA 22030.

Human Physiology & Anatomy: full-time, one-year faculty position; Ph.D., teaching, rsch experience preferred; starts Fall '96. Contact: Dr. Lee F. Snyder, VF . Academic Dean, Eastern Mennonite C., Harrisonburg, VA 22801; (540) 432-4000

Physics: Ph.D. in experimental solid-state or materials-, begins Sep. '96 or Jan. '97; Dr. Roger Griffioen, Dept. of Physics, Calvin C., 3201 Burton SE, Grand Rapids, Ml 49546;* grif@calvin.edu

Somewhat further north, in Bend, OR, Neil Elsheimer also retired, leaving the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA shortly before his lab was abolished. In Bend, he has built a new home on a butte with a great view of eight Cascade mountain peaks. Neil likes central Oregon and has gotten involved in local politics, edits the local right-to-life newsletter, and is a volunteer for ACMC, a church-nurturing mission agency.

Pamela Veltcamp is now teaching chemistry at McMurry U. in Abilene, Texas. Previously, she taught chemistry for five years at Dordt C. in Sioux Center, Iowa, and is wondering if there are any ASAers in "the Big Country" of panhandle Texas.

Former JASA Editor Richard Bube continues his fourth year of retirement, with his book, Putting It All Together: Seven Patterns for the Interaction between Science and Christian Faith. It's off to a good start. (Dick's book is available from the ASA office; call (508) 356-5656.) He also taught a course last October based on his book at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. Gareth and Beryl Jones from New Zealand visited Betty and Dick last February. ASA Project Idea: create a brochure-length (1-4 page) handout for the ASAN summarizing Dick's book, to be used to introduce Bible classes to its subject-matter. If the class wants more, order copies of his book from the ASA office for a more detailed study. Develop a study guide to accompany the book. Any takers for such a project? Dick, any further ideas or leads?

Linskin Swint-Kruse had a busy year, In March '95, she married Joel and in the summer she completed her Ph.D. thesis, "A Microscopic Examination of Protein Stability Using Hydrogen Exchange." In August, they moved from Iowa City to Houston where she is now a post-doc at Rice U., at the Keck Center for Computational Biology.

1996 Annual Meeting Plans & Papers: Now's the Time!

The theme of the plenary session is "Science, Christianity and the Urbanization of Planet Earth." The issue is that the rapid growth of large cities in all regions of the earth brings with it poverty, starvation, crime, value conflicts, and other evils. People crowd into large cities seeking opportunity, yet often fail to find it. The countryside is also invaded by urban lifestyles, transportation, and media. Science and technology not only help to relieve some of these problems, but also exacerbate them.

In view of this, how can we as Christians and scientists respond to the effects of urbanization and the human suffering that accompanies demographic, political, social, and technological change? What are the interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and transoccupational issues to which Christian values and scientific research can be applied? Can ASA help? How do chaos theory, deconstructionism, postmodernism, and other movements sweeping across all disciplines relate to Christian faith and action? Send your proposal and abstract before March 31 to the ASA office, or address inquiries about presentations to David 0. Moberg, ASA Program Chairman, 7120 W. Dove Court, Milwaukee, WI 53223; tel. (414) 3577247; fax: (414) 357-6672.

In addition to the plenary session, one or two other sessions will offer biblical principles that are related to the methods of research used in the natural and social sciences - to examine research methods and interesting parallels to biblical principles. Don Ratcliff is coordinating these sessions and hopes to develop a book on the subject. Some topic ideas are: ways of knowing in research and the Bible, research and biblical understandings as social constructions, key historic Christian contributors to research methods, the biblical appropriateness of using natural science methods for the social sciences, the Bible and ecology, post-modernism, research ethics, reporting, and limitations.

Send inquiries and manuscripts to Donald E. Ratcliff, Box 800840, Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa Falls, GA 30598; tel. (706) 866-7299 ext 5297; e-mail: donr@iclnet93.iclnet.org.

1996 ASA

Annual Meeting

Science, Christianity, and the Urbanization of Planet Earth

Keynote Speaker:

Robert C. Linthicum
Dir. of Office of Urban Advance
World Vision
Victoria University

in the University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario

July 26-29, 1996