NEWS
The
American Scientific Affiliation
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 6 December 1971
MERRY NUMBER SiX AND HAPPY VOLUME FOURTEEN
"When 'tis the season to be jolly, then becks the call for bows, by golly." Can it
be that Christmas approacheth and that we completeth another year of editing ASA
News? Well, modestly, we take our bows, while calling the really important people
on stage for recognition: Hazel Fetherhuff of the Mankato office, who types and
proofreads the final stenci (catching most of our goofs in the process), and sees
to the printing and mailing; Alton Everest, for the inspiration of his first 11
volumes of ASA News; and finally all the rest of you who have kept us supplied with
news for Volume 13.
After struggling to meet our deadlines, we seldom have time to thank you individually for a news story, a report of a local or national happening, a postcard item
for PERSONALS, or even a note of appreciation. But those are the things that keep
ASA News alive and in good spirits. So we thank all of you this way and wish you a
Merry Christmas and a year of closeness to the Prince of Peace in 1972.
WE'RE JOURNAL BOOSTERS
We're not modest about the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation. We
think it's already the bes vangelical periodical, and in 1972 it promises to be
bigger and better yet. It will expand from 160 pages a year to 172, and will include a series of dialogues stirred up by editor
Richard H. Bube of Stanford University. Dick has been "pairing off" articulate members of ASA who hold opposite
viewpoints on various issues, inviting them to correspond with each other on these
issues and then let him publish the correspondence.
All of us should be working to publicize ASA and particularly the Journal. Here's
a good idea from Paul Seely: "Why couldn't members who are interested and particularly competent in their fields read the articles in the Journal each quarter, and
then write letters to editors of other journals or magazines mentioning the JASA
articles? These members could keep a file of particularly good articles, and then
as other periodicals got on the same subject, write in and mention the viewpoint or
arguments of the JASA article. For instance, I just sent a letter to an editor
mentioning my own recent articles on "Adam and Anthropology", and intend to keep
track of other articles I am competent to assess, to use in future publicity for
our Journal. If this is a feasible idea, I would be glad to receive names and addresses of ASA members willing to cooperate in this project." Interested? Write
Paul H Seely, 2807 Balfour, Milwaukee, Oregon 97222.
In a recent letter, Elwood B. Stetson of Owosso College (Michigan) ordered a gift
subscription for his father and wrote: "I am impressed with this Journal and suggest that advertisement and sample copies be sent to every clergyman in America.
It's time we faced the issues head-on with some intelligent and rational thought."
It may take a while to get to every clergyman in America, but couldn't we at least
be sure that any minister with whom we come in contact has personal access to the
Journal? Wouldn't it be great if each minister received a personal subscription
and each church library another one?
ANTHROPOLOGIST ELECTED TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Claude E. Stipe, associate professor of anthropology at Marquette University,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been elected to a five-year term on the Executive Council
of the American Scientific Affiliation. Claude has a B.A. from Wheaton College,
M.A. from U.C.L.A., and Ph.D. from,the University of Minnesota, all in anthropology.
He has served the ASA in various capacities in the past and is currently a consulting editor of JASA. He has been a member since 1956 and a Fellow since 1965. He
succeeds Marlin Kreider on the Executive Council.
A NEW OPPORTUNITY IN FILM
The National Film Board of Canada, a Canadian Government institution for the production of films of value to Canada, has begun
preliminary research into two film
topics that concern issues in science and religion. Behind these films is Brian Sutherland's cousin, Wilber Sutherland, who for many years was General
Secretary of the Canadian Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. When Wilber left IVCF about a
year ago, he did intensive work in film making, combining study of technical aspects at an institute in Toronto with
creative aspects at York University Graduate College. He had already helped to produce's prize-winning film on the Canadian
wilds. As a result, he is now a film producer for the National Film Board, with the
assignment of researching and producing films from his own explicitly Christian
viewpoint.
Wilber is not an ASA member, but he has kept in touch with ASA publications and
activities over the years. He feels that the science/religion encounter offers
many possibilities for informative and dramatic films. On a recent trip across the
U. S., he visited ASA News editor Walt Hearn in Iowa and Journal editor Dick Bube
in California, and perhaps others of you as well. One of the films he is
currently
researching deals with scientific criteria for truth, with particular reference to
the violent reaction stirred up in the scientific community in 1950 by publication
of Immanuel Velikovsky's Worlds In Collision. The other deals with the ecological
crisis and the conflicting value systems of those who grapple with it.
Wilber didn't ask us to say so, but I think he might appreciate correspondence
from any of you with ideas to contribute in these two areas. Write to H. W.
Sutherland, 92 Admiral Road, Toronto 180, Ontario, Canada.
HOW TO START SOMETHING NO. 9. JIM AND JANET NEIDHARDT AND ROY SLINGO
Innovations featured in this series are almost always cooperative efforts, even
when they stem from one person's initiative. This time we describe a project
undertaken by an entire ASA local section. This is the story of how the New York
Metropolitan Section happened to participate in the Ilth Annual Northern New Jerse~
Christian Education Convention, October 15-16. Jim Neidhardt of Newark College of
Engineering is president of the section. We'll let him tell the story:
"My wife Janet had attended several Christian Education Conventions of the Norther
N. J. Sunday School Association and at the 1970 convention had a chance conversation with one of the Association leaders. He commented that they were looking for
new groups to present workshops and have displays, to avoid getting in a rut. On
discussing this conversation later, Janet and I felt this might be a golden opportunity for our local ASA chapter,
"I brought up the suggestion at our next Executive Council meeting and it was agreed
that we should offer our services for the 1971 convention. I drew up a list of ten
possible workshop topics to be included with a letter sent to the convention program
chairman by our secretary, Don Carr. This was back in November 1970, right after
their 10th annual convention. Don explained that we had read the purposes of the
convention in the program and were fully in sympathy with them, and enclosed an ASA
brochure so they'd know about our organization.
"About four months later I received a phone call from the program chairman, in which
he asked me some general questions about ASA membership and its commitment to evangelical Christianity. I assured him of our commitment to Christ and he indicated
he'd like us to do a workshop.
He had chosen
THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN
CHRISTIANITY AND
SCIENCE as an appropriate topic (No. I of my list of 10). But he wondered why ASA
wasn't better known among evangelicals (don't we all?). A week later I received a
letter officially confirming his request. He said he found the copy of our Journal
I sent him quite good.
"In May, after Roy Sling o had agreed to give the workshop presentation, I wrote to
the chairman to spell out some details. I asked about facilities such as a blackboard and tables for book displays, told him a number of ASA members would be on
hand for the workshop, and asked if we might also man a display table in the general
exhibit room to let people know about ASA. He was very cooperative.
"It turned out that 450 people preregistered for the convention and probably 550
were in attendance on Saturday. The 23 exhibitors included Christian colleges,
mission groups, bookstores, etc. I think our ASA exhibit and two bookstore exhibits
were pitched at a somewhat higher level than the others. Two large posters attracted people to our display, manned throughout the convention. We had pleasant contacts at the table (only a few people questioning our orthodoxy), but we seemed to
be on too high an intellectual wavelength for many people.
"For display we had six books authored by ASA members, the last two years of the
Journal (with subscription forms), and programs of past meetings of our local section and of national meetings. To hand out we had ASA brochures and a special
mimeographed fact sheet composed by our local section, a three-page list of good
books on Christianity and science, and copies of the JASA index for anyone with a
special interest. We gave away about 200 of the brochures and fact sheets, about
20 of the book lists, and five indexes. To the six people who showed an interest in
possibly joining the Affiliation, I subsequently wrote a letter enclosing a complimentary copy of JASA and a membership application blank. One pastor ordered the
Journal issue that had several articles on speaking in tongues.
"Our workshop drew 55 people--very successful according to the convention directors.
Participants received the other handouts plus a mimeographed outline of Roy's talk.
Roy Slingo, by the way, is unusually well equipped for this sort of presentation.
He teaches biology at Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, N. Y., including an advanced
seminar course for gifted students. He has an M.S. in biochemistry from N.Y.U.,
and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry at Columbia. He has also taught
Sunday school courses on the relationship between the Biblical and scientific approaches to reality. He managed to communicate difficult concepts in a simple way
with great enthusiasm. He spoke just over an hour and left 25 minutes for questions
There were a number of good questions and the audience seemed genuinely appreciative
of our efforts. We may have tried to cover too much material, but we have learned
a lot from the experience.
"And we must have done something right. I was unofficially told that we would be
invited back next year. Alston Collins, Jack Haynes, Chi-Han Lee. Ken Olson,
Wayne Ault, and Charles Tucek deserve much credit for helping man the exhibit and
for making participants in the workshop feel at ease."
Jim Neidhardt thinks this kind of participation in Sunday school and Christian education conventions by ASA local sections has great potential. A lot of pastors and
lay people learned about ASA for the first time, over 50 got some information and
help they were seeking, and a few may be drawn into membership. This may be one of
the best ways "to get ASA's light out from under that bushel."
We agree with Jim and thank him for describing the project in detail and sending
along documentary material. In return, we're sending Jim (and Janet) a dozen of
the popular "Scientist Psalm" greeting cards, with another dozen to Roy Slingo.
Now, what have the rest of you been up to?
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
The rock opera that has sold millions of LP record albums is now a huge success on
Broadway (see Oct. 25 Time cover story). It is also being presented across North
America by several touring companies. When it played in Toronto this summer, virtually all of the 15,000 people who saw the two performances were handed an attractive 12-page brochure by Christians posted at the doors of the auditorium. The
brochure complimented the positive values of the opera but pointed out significant
differences between the musical's picture of Jesus and the Biblical picture of
Jesus.
An ASA member, Jack Richardson of Toronto, was behind all this. In HOW TO START
SOMETHING
next issue you'll learn how it came about and what has happened since, a
truly remarkable story. We mention it now because the brochure Jack sent us is
SO
good, we think it ought to be used in other cities where Superstar is produced. The
brochure is intelligently written, artistically designed, and available.
If Superstar is headed for your vicinity, write to J. E. Richardson, 1362 Lochlin
Trail, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, as far in advance as possible for his suggestions and a copy of the brochure. The copyright holder, Kenmuir Baptist Church,
1640 Carmen Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, wants the brochure to be used, so they will
grant rights to copy it on written request.
Alternatively, copies of the brochure can be ordered directly from the original
printer, Instant Printing Centre Ltd, 653 The Queensway, Toronto 18, Ontario. The
price is $300 for unit quantities of 5,000, with a two-week delivery. (Better
check with somebody about any customs problems getting the brochure into the U.S.
from Canada, says Harold Hartzler, who had problems getting ASA display material
into Canada, if you recall.)
ADVENTURE IN THE (SAN DIEGO?) ALPS
Nicholas E. Brown received his Ph.D. in physics in 1971 from the University of
California, San Diego, and then
spent two
mouths stiidylng at LAbri Fellowship in
Huemoz, Switzerland. Now Nick and his wife Laree are in the process of establishing a study center similar to L'Abri (but not affiliated with it) in Southern
California. We want to get the whole story for you and publish it soon in HOW TO
START SOMETHING. A building was begun in 1970, but there are already temporary
facilities for six students at a time (about $4 a day), a growing library of books
and L'Abri tapes, and Nick and Laree to rap with about Christianity and its implications in the modern world.
We'll have more details later. Meanwhile, the address is De Luz Study Center,
Route 3, Box 41, Fallbrook, California 92028. (On our map, Fallbrook seems to be
about 25 miles NW of Mt. Palomar--which must be in the heart of the San.Diego Alps.
Heidi Ho!)
PENETRACIN
Charles Troutman sent us a copy of the first few papers in a series called Penetraci6n
(of the Student World for Jesus Christ). The papers are being distributed
without charge as they are prepared, in either an English or Spanish edition. The
papers are intended to discuss the theory and practice of effective Christian witness in the student world, through a comprehensive approach involving students,
professors, churches, professionals, missionaries, and others. The focus is primarily on the Latin American scene, but examples from around the world are utilized.
General categories are principles and concepts, methodology, structures supporting
student witness, and analysis and reports.
If you are concerned to reach students with the message of Jesus Christ, I think
Charlie would be glad to put you on the mailing list, wherever you are. If you
have ideas or experiences to share, he'd be glad to hear from you and perhaps encourage you to author a paper. Over 40 papers are now projected in the
Penetration series but there is much more to be said on many themes, such as on the relationship
between the gospel and social action, between evangelicals and believers within the
Roman Catholic Church, etc.
A descriptive index of the whole series is sent with the first batch of papers.
Write to Charles Troutman, Ministry to the Student World, Latin America Mission,
Apdo. 1307, San.tJos6, Costa Rica, Central America.
A LOOK AT MODERN MISSIONARY MDICINE
The Cross and the Scalpel ($4.95. Word Books, Waco, Texas, 1971) seems to be Jim Hefley's
latest book. A professional free-lance writer, Jim can turn out books
almost faster than your amateur editor of ASA News can describe them. In 1971, he
also managed to publish A Dictionary of Illustrations ($6.95. Zondervan, Grand
Rapids, 1971). We still like his 1967 Adventures With God best of all, especially
since it has been available in a 95,,~ paperback edition (Zondervan, 1970), cheap
enough to give away in quantity. That's the one with interviews and stories of 15
scientists, a number of whom are ASA members and all of whom are evangelical
Christians.
The Cross and the Scalpel follows the same pattern as AwG, the subjects this time
being medical missionaries. The interviews for this one took Jim around the world,
where he discovered unity in devotion to Christ and to medicine among his subjects
but great diversity in the way medical mission work is done today. In addition to
14 journalistic accounts of specific individuals or groups, Jim has included a brief
historical introduction, a concluding report on "Medical Missions in the Seventies",
and a scrapbook of medical mission vignettes.
GOD'S FREE PRESS
That's the name of one of the chapters in The Underground Church, a fascinating 950,
paperback by Edward E. Plowman (David C. Cook Publishing Co., Elgin, Illinois,
1971). The subtitle, "Accounts of Christian Revolutionaries in Action", describes
this up-to-the-minute history of the Jesus movement by an assistant editor of ,Christianity Today.
Plowman was for ten years pastor of Park Presidio Baptist
Church in San Francisco, and helped organize Evangelical Concerns, which opened the
first Christian coffee house in Haight-Ashbury.
"God's Free Press" describes some of the most influential underground Christian
newspapers that have appeared in the last two or three years. I remember seeing
the first issue of Right On! that hit Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley on July 1, 1969,
when we were living on the corner of Telegraph and Haste. It was published by the
Christian World Liberation Front and made effective use of street language and
groovy graphics to present straight-fowardly the message of Jesus Christ.
Recently, while our family was reading through The Underground Church on Sunday
mornings, and thus encountering Right On! once again, a friend in Berkeley sent us
a current issue. We were delighted to see that it had not only survived but matured.
Some other papers, like the Hollywood Free Paper, published by the Hollywood
(California) "Jesus people", seem directed at the high school drop-out and teenybopper set.
Right On!, however, publishes thoughtful articles and analyses of contemporary society side-by side with its clear-cut evangelistic message. For example,
the October issue had a report on disaster relief in the India/Pakistan crisis and
reprinted Lambert Dolphin's newsletter on his recent impressions of India.
Thinking Right On. too good to miss, I wrote a letter of encouragement to CWLF and
sent in my $3 for the next 12 issues. Guess what I discovered. One of the two
editors who has recently taken over major responsibility for Right On! from
founder published Jack Sparks is ASA member David Gill. Dave has an A.B. and
M.A. in history from U. C. Berkeley, which shows the caliber of some of the "elders" in the
Jesus movement. ("Daddy Jack" Sparks himself has a Ph.D. in statistics, according
to Plowman.) Dave is married and has an eight-month-old daughter, so his family is
growing out of the one-bedroom apartment he has occupied as an apartment building
manager since his senior year. He writes that a number of young married couples are
connected with CWLF, so the possibilities for good fellowship are great.
If you're a "straight" Christian who feels out of it, the place to catch up on your
homework is Edward Plowman's ' The Underground Church. But the Jesus movement keeps
changing, and it's hard to keep up with it. The Spirit blows as unpredictably as
the wind, according to John 3:8. The CWLF can help you keep in touch through Right On!
and would appreciate your support, both in prayer and in "bread." For $3
you can get a 12-month subscription. For $6 you also receive Thw CLF newsletters and
are known as "A Friend of Right On!." The address of Christian World Liberation
Front is Box 4307, Berkeley, California 94704.
"THE AXE IS ALREADY AT THE ROOT..."
U
... and the tree that fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into
the fire", said that revolutionary, John the Baptist, in Matthew 3:10. The English
word radical comes from the Latin word for root. Its first meaning is "of or from
the root; going to the center, foundation, or source of something; fundamental;
basic." Many of us feel that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is radical in this sense,
and ought to bring radical consequences when people accept it. For some reason,
evangelical Christians in America have allowed ourselves to become almost totally
identified with "the establishment"--in spite of prophetic utterance against establishment injustices from the Old Testament prophets through John the Baptist and
Jesus Himself to current social critics. Somehow the spiritual destructiveness of
"liberal theology" seemed to drive most of us to irrational rejection of anything
"liberal" or "radical" in political or economic thought.
Of course there have been theologically conservative voices that cried out for
"liberation" from destructive militarism, racism, sexism, and other "isms" American
society is prone to. I suppose my first contact with "peace people" was with the
Mennonites I've met through ASA. I think it was ' Dave Mobera, ASA sociologist, who
introduced me to John F. Alexander's magazine The Other Side, where black Christians
tell us honestly what racial injustice is
like
from "the other side."
A fine analysis of contemporary American was edited by Gary Collins and based on
papers at the 1969 national meeting. Our Society in Turmoil is available at a 20%
discount to members from the $5.95 bookstore price. (To o r, send $5.00 for a
post-free copy to ASA, 324~ South Second St., Mankato, Minnesota 56001). And beyond
analysis are calls to action like Arthur G. Gish's The New Left and Christian Radicalism
($2.45. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1970).
A new Christian underground paper, The Post-American, attracted our attention recently. Can it be that these voices are at last getting it together? Calling
themselves "The People's Christlan Coalition", the
publishers
of The Post-Amer rican describes themselves as a group "attracted by our mutual
rejection --
of
the permeating
American ethos and our mutual belief that the alternative lay somewhere in radical
obedience to Jesus Christ. We were a small group of university stroke leaders,
seminarians, whites, blacks, college students, professors, and artists who organized
teach-ins, a free university, and community involvement to develop and execute our
ideas .... We wish to serve the people by proclaiming a gospel of liberation in the
saving work of Christ, by articulation of the ethical implications of that gospel,
by working for peace, justice, and freedom, and by serving you--you who are interested in organizing others in your universities, seminaries, churches, and communities to work for these objectives."
When I sent in my $2 for a year of the quarterly Post-American and P.C.C. newsletter, with some words of encouragement, I received a warm reply from the editor
indicating that the first issue (Fall 1971) is getting wide distribution and drawing increasing support. The address of The People's Christian Coalition is P. 0.
Box 132, Deerfield, Illinois 60015. (They sign their letters: "Serve the Lord,
serve the people." I like that.--Ed.)
BUT CAN THE ESTABLISHMENT BE CHANGED?
You'd better believe it! When you get the proof for your biographical sketch in the
Physical and Biological Sciences Section of the 12th Edition of the traditionbound
American Men of Science, you'll see how effective "Women's Lib" is beginning
to be. Along with my proof and the usual biographer's order form that came the
other day was the info that the 12th ed. will run to six volumes divided alphabetically, containing the biographies of over 147,000 scientists in the U. S. and
Canada. That makes American Men of Science a veritable roll-call of the scientific
and educational establishment, and who would expect it to change its ways?
Well, it has. So welcome, ladies, to the new AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN OF SCIENCE, now in publication.
WANTED: SUMMER FUNDER FOR SOONER FROM DOWN UNDER
Douglas A. Clark, chairman of the Department of Sociology, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, is going to teach three semesters at the Western Australian Institute of Technology in Perth. He'll spend five weeks in the South Pacific on the way,
seeing Tahiti, American Samoa, Western Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Fiji Islands,
and New Zealand. At Sydney, Doug will pick up the car of Robert McKeich to drive to
Perth, where he will occupy McKeich's home and office, and teach his classes.
Itis a complete exchange deal, with Bob McKeich taking over Doug's car, home, office,
and classes in Shawnee. But Bob will need a summer teaching position for the summer
of 1972 and possibly 1973 also, so Doug asked us to put this notice in ASA News.
Robert McKeich is senior lecturer in anthropology-sociology at the Western Australian
Institute of Technology and is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Western
Australia in Perth. Doug recommends him as a dedicated (Baptist) layman, very
active in Christian service in Australia. Write (after Jan. 1, 1972) to Dr. Robert
McKeich, Department of Sociology, Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Oklahoma
74801, if you can suggest a summer job for him.
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIONS
Jonathan E. Hartzler seeks a
zoology
teaching position for fall 1972. His specialty
is animal behavior, with a strong background in ecology and
physiology.
He has a
B.A. from Goshen College and an M.A. from Mankato State in Minnesota (1968). The
substance of his master's thesis on social behavior in winter flocks of blackcapped chickadees was published in Wils '
on Bulletin in 1970. Jonathan expects to receive his Ph.D. from Montana in June 1972 when he completes "An Analysis of Sage
Grouse Reproductive Behavior." He has been a teaching assistant in biology at
Mankato State and a Fellow of the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit.
Jonathan would appreciate any leads on a job, c/o Zoology Department, University of
Montana, Missoula, Montana 59801.
Richard W. Markely is a Christian friend of engineer Charles A. Givier of Geneva
College in Pennsylvania. Dick is seeking either an academic or industrial position
in physics, and has had both teaching and industrial experience. He has a Ph.D. in
low temperature physics from the University of Pittsburgh. If you can help him,
write to Richard W. Markley, 3415 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls, Penna. 15010. Tell
him Chuck (and ASA News) sent you.
POSITIONS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE
Eastern Mennonite College in Virginia is looking for a person with at least a
Master of Social Work degree to become director of their Social Work Program.
Duties would include some teaching as well as administrative work necessary to develop the program. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of
Colleges, has 900 students and expects to graduate about 25 each year from the
Social Work Program. They have a close relationship with the Mennonite Church and
try to integrate the academic enterprise with Christian faith. For more information, write to Dr. John W. Eby, Chairman, Department of Sociology, E. M. C.,
Harrisonburg, Va. 22801.
Russ Mixter of Wheaton College has passed along a notice he received of a position
open for a seasoned Ph.D. in any field of science or in mathematics to replace the
retiring division chairman at Shepherd College in West Virginia. The college is a
state-supported liberal arts and teaching education institution on the western
shore of the Potomac River, 65 miles from Washington, D. C. It has about 2,000
students. The position involves administration of the 16-man division plus teaching freshman courses in the chairman's field of specialization. Publications, excellent credentials as a college or university teacher, and administrative experience would all be desirable. Application deadline is February 1, 1972. Please
send a curriculum vitae only to Dr. Eugene J. Volker, Division of Science and Mathematics, Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443.
North Dakota State University is searching for a Ph.D. to teach a two-term course
(with lab session) in human anatomy and physiology at the freshman level, as well as
to develop advanced courses. An interest in ion transport is preferred. Write to
Dr. J. Frank Cassel, Chairman, Zoology Department, NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota 58102
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
John Amoore sent us a good report of the meeting held in his home in El Cerrito on
October 8. The topic was THE NATURE OF EVIDENCE and the speaker, Kenneth L. Stevens,
was described by John as "a one-man ASA" because of his background and interests.
Stevens is employed at the USDA Western Regional Lab at Albany, isolating and synthesizing naturally occurring antimicrobial agents. But in addition to holding a
Ph.D. in organic chemistry (U. of Washington, 1963), he has also recently graduated
from the Bay Area School of Preaching in Oakland, where he currently teaches two
courses: the synoptic Gospels and Christian evidences. He is a member of the
Church of Christ, Walnut Creek, and a member of the Board of Directors of Costa
Christian School, Marinez, California.
Dr. Stevens explored the meaning of "evidence" for exponents of three major human
endeavors: philosophy, science, and Christianity. He outlined the
presuppositions
and goals of each system, procedures and methods of critique, and the conclusions
from the evidence. It became obvious that the three disciplines diverge right from
the start because their goals are different. Philosophy aims to achieve "the good
life"; science seeks explanation and technological triumph; Christianity searches
for forgiveness of man's sins by God. Even what each accepts as "evidence" would
hardly be recognized by the others. Philosophy stands on abstract logic; science
demands its famous "method"; Christianity insists on faith but is not above accepting historical or archeological evidence. Many historical evidences, e.g., four
contemporary accounts of Tiberius Caesar, diverge in factual matters even more than
the four Gospels do about Jesus.
John adds in summary: "Our speaker left us with the conclusion that evidence has
many meanings. Each meaning has its undisputed value to the discipline it serves,
but the different meanings are complementary rather than comparable."
NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE
1. Progress Report on Campaign for Full-time Executive Secretary. Since the Annual
Convention at Whitworth College an additional $1,000 has been received, making
total contributions and pledges so far $8,000. That's more than halfway to our
goal of $15,000. The possibility of requesting funds from foundations is also
being investigated by the Executive Council. Contributions from the U. S. go
to the Mankato office; contributions from Canada should be sent to:
Dr. John F. H. Stewart
Canadian Scientific Affiliation
P. 0. Box 2000
Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada
Meanwhile, applications from two individuals for the post of Executive Secretary
have been received. Members are asked to encourage other qualified persons to
apply.
2. Annual Conventions (Oops!). In order to allow Canadians to claim tax deduction
for attendance, the Executive Council has changed the name of our Annual Convention to "Annual Meeting." Effectiveness of the 1971 Annual Meeting was discussed at the October 7 Executive Council meeting at Wheaton College. Plans for
the 1972 Annual Meeting at York University in Toronto are underway. Russell Heddendorf
has agreed to serve as program chairman and Doug Morrison has been
asked to serve as local arrangements chairman, with the help of other members in
the Toronto area. Planning far ahead, the Council voted to hold the 1975 Annual
Meeting in California. (We go west every fourth year, and to Texas postmillennially, explains
Jack McIntyre.)
3. Back Copies of ASA News Still Needed. To complete three bound sets of ASA News
for the national office, please send Mankato any of these issues you have and
would be willing to contribute:
Volume 1: 3, 4, 5, and 6
Volume 2: 1 and 5. (The office has no copy of No. 5).
Volume 3: 4 and 5.
4. Harold Hartzler at Large. By October 7, the Executive Secretary had visited at
least eight local sections and had spoken to meetings of from 10 to 60 members
at each visit. (However, when last heard from in December, Harold was in Disney
World in sunny Florida and not about to resume his visits to the mid-west.)
Executive Council to Meet in January. The Executive Council plans to meet again
in Wheaton on January 14-15. Items for the agenda should be sent to president Don
Boardman, 311 East Franklin St., Wheaton, Illinois 60187.
PERSONALS
Alan R. Andrews has accepted a position as counselor and instructor in psychology at
North Shore Community College, Beverly, Massachusetts. He was formerly a state government reporter for the Raleigh (North Carolina)
News and Observer.
Stanley M. Block is back at Illinois Institute of Technology as professor of in
dustrial engineering. He is concentrating his research on the design of management
controls and information systems for the health care field. Stan had an article on
"Motivating Hospital Employees to Cut Costs" in the Nov. I issue of Hospitals
(J. Amer. Hospital Assoc.), and spoke on this topic Nov. 23 at an A.H.A. Institute
in Wiami h, Florida.
Neal 0. Brace, associate professor of chemistry at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill.,
has been awarded a Frederick Gardner Cottrell grant from Research Corporation for
work in synthetic free radical chemistry. According to a recent issue of the
Wheaton College Bulletin, Neal's studies on free radical chemistry have already led
to 27 articles and 17 patents.
Jack T. Buss is now assistant professor of biology at William Jewell College,
Liberty, Missouri, currently developing research programs for undergraduate biology
majors. Jack says he went back to the U. of Minnesota in October for final orals
and emerged with his Ph.D. and "only a minimum of psychological scars." His thesis
was on "Mitotic and Metabolic Patterns in the Early Chick Embryo."
0. Norman Carlson, with colleague F. A. Schmidt at the Ames Laboratory of the Atomic
Energy Commission, Ames, Iowa, has developed a method for preparing pure molybdenum
metal in massive form. Aluminum reduction of the oxide is combined with reduction
in a sealed crucible, followed by high-vacuum heating to remove excess Al and impurities. The method has given 90% yields of metal of 99.98% purity. (Who said
"there ain't gonna be no Mo"?)
,Howard H. Claassen, after working at Argonne National Lab, is back full-time at
Wheaton College, Illinois, as professor of. physics.
Gary R. Collins is in Geneva, Switzerland, on leave from Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School, Deerfield, Illinois. He went to Geneva to write a book on Paul Tournier,
but when we heard from Gary the trunks with all his Tournier material were six weeks
late in arriving from the U. S. The delay has given him a chance to speak at a
missionary conference in Vienna, and to travel in Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, and
even Czechoslovakia.
Vernon J. Ehlers is on leave from the Physics Department of Calvin College, Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Vern will spend the year at the Joint Institute for Laboratory
Astrophysics at the U. of Colorado in Boulder under an NSF Science Faculty Fellowship and a JILA Visiting Fellowship. He is working on excitation functions for
electron-atom collisions, photodetachment of electrons from negative ions using dye
lasers, and elementary school science programs, "in that order."
Craig W. Ellison is now assistant professor at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, where he teaches social and developmental psychology and directs the offcampus practicum program. He was formerly director of Central City Conference of
Evangelicals in Detroit, an interracial and interdenominational effort to bring the
Good News to people in the city in a comprehensive way. In Detroit Craig was also
working on a Ph.D. in social psych at Wayne State. He's now writing his dissertation.
.Charles A. Givler teaches engineering from a Christian perspective at Geneva College
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. During the past three years, Chuck finished his Cornell
Ph.D. thesis while teaching in the Civil Engineering Department at Montana State
University.
0. Carroll Karkalits, chemical engineer in Houston ' Texas, has been elected to the
Corporation of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. A number of other ASA members
also serve on either the IVCF Corporation or Board.
David A. Lewis will take time out from his Bible conference ministry to co-direct
another Bible Lands Tour, April 4-20. Lectures, Bible studies "on the spot", and
17 days in five Mid-East countries (while they last?) for $839 is a great bargain$
Dave says. His address is P. 0. Box 1051, Fairmont, W. Va. 26554.
Donald M. Logan has completed his internship at the Institute of Rehabilitation
Medicine of the N. Y. U. Medical Center and has accepted a position as staff psychologist at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital of the same center.
Robert N. McDougal received his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from the U. of
Nebraska in July 1971. Now he is associate professor of mechanical engineering at
North Dakota State University, Fargo, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses,
studying stresses in concrete bridge structures, and investigating heat conduction
through composite materials. (Gosh, Bob, is there enough heat in North Dakota this
time of year to conduct through anything?)
David 0. 14oberg's chairmanship of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hasn't seemed to slow him down. In August Dave lectured at Bethesda Community Mental Health Center in Denver on "Is
The Institutional Church Incurably III?" and in October he presented a paper on
evaluation research in religious institutions at the Society for the Scientific
Study of Religion's annual meeting in Chicago. That's in addition to serving on
various task forces, national committees, etc.--and writing a book for Lippincott's
Evangelical Perspectives series.
Robert C. Newman, whose field was originally astrophysics, is associate professor
of New Testament at newly formed Biblical School of Theology, Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
Bob is doing thesis research on "Biblical Teaching of the Firmament" for his S.T.M.
and also speaking "here and there" at colleges, churches, and coffee houses on
"Astronomy and the Bible."
Robert L. Rasera left the U. of Pennsylvania in September to become associate professor of physics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County Campus in Catonsville. The campus opened in 1966, now has over 4,000 undergraduates and the beginnings of a graduate program in a few departments. Bob is continuing research on
hyperfine fields in solids, using nuclear radiation as a probe.
T. Norton Sterrett is back at the Union of Evangelical Students of India, Madras,
after a year's furlough in Philadelphia, mostly spent writing a book on Bible study
and interpretation for laymen. Norton expects the book to be published in India
next year and hopes its practical, nontechnical approach will help Indian Christians
become pillars of the church through better knowledge of the Scriptures.
Claude E.-Stipe, associate professor of anthropology at Marquette University,
Milwaukee, was a participant in the program of dedication of the new science building at Wheaton College in Illinois in October. We had already mentioned that
Dick Bube and Roger Voskuyl would be on the program, but nobody sent us a final
report. Probably a lot of ASA members were there besides the Executive Council,
which held its meeting to coincide with the dedication.
Peter A. Weller should have gotten together with ' Craig Ellison while he had the
chance. He says he spent 12 years in Detroit without meeting another ASA member,
but now that he's moved to Durham, New Hampshire, he's already met several (including peripatetic
Harold Hartzler). Pete is manager of design engineering for
Davidson Rubber Division of McCord Corporation in Dover, N. H., heavily involved
in design and development of automotive safety components.
Richard H. Greene, 126 Maryland Ave. S. E., Washington D. C. 20028. Research Foundation of Childrenis Hospital of the District of Columbia. Administrative Assistant
BS Wheaton College in Zoology. Rank: Member
Orville Selkirk Walters, 815 West
Northerest,
Peoria, 111. 61614. Asst. Medical
Director for Psychiatry; Clinical Prof. of Psychiatry, Peoria School of Medicine -
Methodist Hospital of Central Illinois. Ph.D. at Univ. of Kansas in Physiology;
M. D. St. Louis University. Rank: Member
Arthur L. Harrison, 515 24th Street, Ames, Iowa 500-10. President, Harrison Associates, Inc. BS in L. A., Geology. Rank: Member BS at Iowa State.
G. Henry Veldhuis, 1610 East 8th St., Sheldon, Iowa 51201. Physics and chemistry
teacher in Sheldon Community High School. BA at Northwestern College in Scien.
Human.; MNS Univ. of Idaho in Physics, Math. Rank: Member
Lindley J. Reimer, 418~ W. lst, Junction City, Kansas 66441. Grad. student in
Geology at Kansas State Univ. BS at Kansas State Univ. in Geology, Chemistry.
Rank: Member
John Hiben, 2321 Clark, Par§ons, Kansas 67357 (Reinstatement) BA Bethel College
in Phil., Psych.; BD Bethel Seminary in Theology. Rank: Member
Albert D. Fraser, 675 Commonwealth Ave., Chemistry Dept., Boston University, Boston,
Mass. 02215. Student. Rank: Associate
Mrs- MaYm-e--S. Chumbler, 1157 Peterson Avenue, Union Lake, Michigan 48085. Assoc.
Prof. in Bus. Educ., 6~7acretarial Science at Oakland Community College. BS at
Campbellsville College in Sec. Sci., Eng.; MA at Western Kentucky Univ. in Ed., Eng.
Rank: Associate
Mildred V. Carlson, 107 Sandra Drive, Troy, New York 12180. Asst. Prof. at Russell
Sage College. BA at State College of Iowa in Chem., Math.; PhD at Univ. of Minn.
in Bioch., Org. Chem. Rank: Member
Robert E. Sanders, 335 Kathron, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44221. Headmaster Cuyahoga
Valley Christian Academy. BA, MA, M.Ed. all at Whitworth College in Bible, Chr.
Educ.; Ed., School Admin. M. R. E. at Western Baptist Seminary in Chr. Educ.
Rank: Associate
David H. Ives, 1580 Cardiff Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43221. Prof. of Biochemistry at
Ohio State Univ., Dept. of Biochem. BA at Cornell in Chemistry, Math.; PhD Univ.
of Minnesota in Physiological Chem., Organic Chem. Rank: Member
Mrs. Pauline Eunice Williams, 4316 Swiss Avenue #B, Dallas, Texas 75204. High
School Biology teacher at
Highland Park Independent School
District, Dallas. Rank:
Member
Virginia
Sam Chapman Pascoe, 6542 Cedarwood Ct., Falls Church, Virginia 22041. No degrees.
Staff, Young Life. Rank: Associate