NEWS
The American
Scientific Affiliation
VOLUME 12, NUMBER I February, 1970
A NEW DECADE BEGINS
Members and Fellows of ASA have elected
Gary R. Collins to the Executive Council,
replacing Wayne Ault, whose five-year term expired at the end of 1969. Gary, who
holds the Ph.D. in psychology from Purdue, is Professor of Psychology and Chairman
of the Division of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling, Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School, Bannockburn, Deerfield, Illinois. He is currently Chairman of the Psychology Commission of ASA and a Consulting Editor of the Journal of ASA.
Other members of the Executive Council are Virgil Freed, Charles Hatfield, Donald
Boardman,, and John McIntyre. Newly elected officers for 1970 are:
OXFORD CONFERENCE BOOK AVAILABLE FROM ASA
You'd think ASA Headquarters is pretty brave, too, if you knew what some people
think of the new book they're stocking for sale. This is a trial run to see if it
makes sense for ASA to handle books on science and faith not published under our
auspices. The book came out of that 1965 international conference in Oxford,
England, on a Christian philosophy of science. About a third of the participants
were ASA members, another third were from the Research Scientists Christian Fellowship, and the rest were from eight other countries. The
Scientific Enterprise and
Christian Faith by Malcolm A. Jeeves is published by Inter-Varsity Press (1969) and
is available for $4.50 from the ASA office.
Jim Sire, Editor of IVP, sent us a copy of the review in the current issue of Creation
Research Society Quarterly by former ASA member George F. Howe, of Los
Angeles Baptist College. The review begins: "Although some of the statements and
shorter passages are quite helpful and have a ring of true orthodoxy, all too often
there are assertions which degrade the scientific character of Scripture and direct
the student away from Bible inerrancy." George, a biologist, is disturbed that the
book "presents evolution as a palatable option for Bible-believing Christians",
among other things. In conclusion, George says it would be disturbing enough if
the book represented the opinion of Jeeves alone, but "Unfortunately, it appears to
be a concensus report of papers from 36 Christian men of science. As auch it indicates the development of an unwholesome trend among professed evangelicals to treat
God's Word as less than science and to embrace theistic evolution as God's modus
operandi. These are perilous days for Christendom...."
On the other hand, IVP says "The Scientific Enterprise and Christian Faith is heady
stuff for every thinking person. It opens with a biblical view of the relation of
God to nature and treats some implications, such as miracles; scientific knowledge
and thought forms are carefully related to religious thinking; traditional 'conflicts' between science and faith are discussed, including cosmology, physics, chemistry, and biology, and the problems of determinism presented in psychology, sociology, and cybernetics."
Malcolm Jeeves is Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, by the
way, so this book has an emphasis somewhat different from books by physical scientists, such as Dick Bube's
The Encounter Between Christianity and Science or David
Dye's Faith and the Physical World. Get your own copy and see what you think.
JASA AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM
Volumes 1-17 (January 1949 - December 1965) of the Journal of ASA are now available
on microfilm--but not from ASA Headquarters. The price is $19.50 to ASA members
for the entire edition. Send orders to University Microfilms, Inc. (a subsidiary
of Xerox), 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
(We can see the space-saving advantages of microfilm, but with the ASA Journal so
excellent we like to leave full-size copies lying around where people can see them.
Miniaturizing seems to be a trend, though, with our planet getting so crowded. We
recall a rich man we once saw trying to miniaturize a camel. Wonder why? ASA News
is too ephemeral to preserve and not spicy enough to pickle, but we've thought of
pulling out the humorous parts and engraving them full size on the head of a pin.
We're negotiating with Pinhead, Inc. (a subsidiary of Micrographics).--Ed.)
GET-TOGETHERS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
John W. Haas, Jr., Professor of Chemistry at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts,
informs us that neither rain nor snow nor sleet was able to deter a hardy ASA group
meeting for breakfast at the 137th National Meeting of AAAS in Boston the last week
of December. Volcanic Wayne Ault magnatized the audience as he spoke about moral
responsibilities of scientists and then reported on the Dooyeweerd Conference (see
following story--Ed.). Marie Berg seems to have won the prize for coming the
greatest distance, but all agreed that Marlin Kreider deserved a prize for making
excellent arrangements for the meeting.
Ross G. Donovan, 17 Markland Drive, Etobicoke, Ontario, is Second Vice Chairman of
the Toronto Section of the Chemical Institute of Canada. Ross is looking forward
to the joint meeting of CIC with the American Chemical Society, May 24-29. He hopes
enough ASA members will attend this joint meeting in Toronto to make it worthwhile
to arrange a get-together. If you plan to attend, why don't you drop him a line
now? ASA News will carry an announcement in the next issue if something comes of
Ross's idea by our April press time.
DOOYEWEERD CONFERENCE HELD AT WHEATON COLLEGE
A group of invited ASA members met at Wheaton College December 15-19 for an "Intensive Seminar" on a Christian philosophy of science as set forth in recent years by
the Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd. The conference, organized and conducted
by Robert Knudsen and Charles Hatfield with support of many others, was an experiment in the tolerance level of scientists for hard-core philosophy presented by some
of its skilled representatives. Main papers were by Bob Knudsen, Hendrik Hart
(Toronto), Calvin Seerveld (Trinity Christian College), and H. Van Riessen (Free
University of Amsterdam). William Young and David Freeman (both from the University
of Rhode Island and translators of Dooyeweerd's ' New Critique of Theoretical Thought
into English in 1953, Harry Leith (York University, Toronto), and Arthur Holmes
(Wheaton College).
Discussed at great length were some of the key ideas of Dooyeweerd: "Meaning is the
being of all that has been created." "The cosmos is a law-structure." "Everything
in the universe points beyond itself." "Diffusion of meaning in the universe comes
to focus in the human heart." "Man is constantly trying to relate himself to a.
source, either true (God) or false (idol)." "Immanence thinking seeks the origin
of thought in thought itself and thereby absolutizes it." "The human heart is a
'dynamic posture' before the origin of all things." "The heart is the 'hidden
persuader' in man."
William Y2!jnA, who has written of Dooyeweerd's work in Creative Minds in Contemporarx
Theology, said at the conference: "The importance of Dooyeweerd to
Christian thought can scarcely be overestimated. He has forged a powerful weapon
in his transcendental critique of theoretical thought, by which the strongholds of
unbelief may be assailed at their very foundations .... The massiveness of the systematic construction is matched by the relentless insistence that every thought must be
brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (See II Cor. 10:5) Even at
their best, however, Dooyeweerd's proposals "should be considered as a program to be
undertaken rather than as an achievement to be accepted in its finality." There are
gaps in reasoning, apparent circularities in procedure, and unclear statements that
invite further study (--from a report for ASA News by Charles Hatfield).
NUMBERING THE TRIBES--THE FOURTH BOOK OF MOBERG?
The "religious information explosion" probably had its beginning back there when the
Lord told Moses to "take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel",
and Numbers, the fourth Book of Moses, was the result. It's been hard to keep up,
ever since. Now David 0. Moberg, Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, is directing a study to
determine the feasibility of establishing a Consortium of Religious Data Systems.
He has hopes of linking up various existing religious and academic data systems such
as the computerized inventory of the H. Paul Douglass Collection of Religious
Studies, the World Religions Data Bank, etc., to pool their resources for scholars
doing religious research.
One of the tangible results of the preliminary study will be a directory of religious groups in the Consortium, and measures would be taken to protect the autonomy
of each cooperating system and safeguard any confidential material. Dave would appreciate hearing from ASA members who have participated in other data systems and
who may have ideas about administrative procedures, technical problems, methods of
establishing cooperative relationships, or other helpful information to contribute.
Dave's
concern
for research as a tool in the work of Christian churches was expressed in an
editorial
in Christianiq Today for December 5, 1969, by the way. The
editorial was based on a paper presented to the Research Commission of the National
Sunday School Association.
CONCERNED ABOUT DOCTRINAL EROSION
Jeremiah L. Bizonet writes that in September he began studies at Faith Evangelical
Lutheran Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, a new seminary whose aim is "to arrest
erosion from biblical doctrine in various synods of Lutheranism." The six faculty
members are unpaid volunteers except for the Dean, Rev. Kent E. Spaulding (not the
Spalding we were looking for last issue--Ed.). The parent organization is called
Lutherans Alert, according to Jeremiah.
This reminded me that 0. Carroll Karkalits is a Trustee and Secretary of a Southern
Baptist group in Houston called The Evangelical Christian Education Foundation. The
ECEF seeks to influence the theological stance of New Orleans Baptist Seminary by
providing financial grants to selected students there--but only so long as the
seminary maintains its traditional doctrinal purity. The ECEF Newsletter comes
from P. 0. Box 53207, Houston, Texas 77052. In a recent issue attention is called
to similar conservative groups formed in other major denominations. Within the
United Presbyterian Church is the Presbyterian Lay Committee, which has a circulation of 200,000 for its monthly newspaper. The Foundation for Christian Theology
seeks to reverse liberal trends within the Episcopal Church, and the Forum for
Spiritual Christianity strives for evangelical theology within the United Methodist
Church.
A CHANCE TO DOUBLE YOUR MONEY
Many ASAers participated in the early years of DATA International (Development and
Technical Assistance) and continued their interest after DATA was absorbed into VITA
(Volunteers for International Technical Assistance, Inc.), an organization with
similar goals. VITA now has a domestic program in "underdeveloped areas of the
U. S." in addition to its overseas projects. Last summer VITA almost ran out of
operating funds because of this expansion, but they are still in business. In fact,
the Ford Foundation has awarded VITA a $50,000 grant on a matching basis, giving you
an unusual opportunity to double your investment in technical assistance to disadvantaged people over the world. Send.your contribution to VITA, Inc., College Campus,
Schenectady, New York 12308, and/or volunteer your services as a technical consultant in your own special field. VITA is already having a catalytic effect as
counterpart organizations come into being in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. So your
dollars are multiplied first by two, and then by a factor of who-knows-what?
CROSSING RACIAL BOUNDARIES
An exciting thing about editing ASA News (and about reading it, too, we hope) is the
realization that ASA people are involved in many of the great contemporary human
struggles. Peace-makers probably have to live in combat areas to do anybody any
good and our present world looks like one big combat area. We have ASA members tending school in the middle east and tending orphans in Vietnam, but there is still
plenty of reconciliation to do right here at home. Have we done all we can to recruit minority group members into ASA and make them feel welcome, for example?
Several ASA members we know of have managed to cross racial barriers in their professional life.
Lynn Stewart, having returned from an adventurous tour of duty as a
biochemist in Afghanistan, is teaching in the Biochemistry Department at Meharry
Medical College, a predominantly black school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Charles Beal, an M. D. who left Kaiser Foundation International this summer to work
in the East Palo Alto Neighborhood Health Center, is doing what he can professionally to help blacks help themselves. He has formed two biracial groups: Health
Development Corporation (Hedeco) for the manufacture of medical devices; and International Health Services (IHS), a non-profit group to provide health services on
the domestic and international front and to provide training and employment for minority groups in the health field. Charles says he has had great help from dedicated
godly people.
ASA News would like to hear from others who have something going along these lines,
in hopes of inspiring the rest of us to effective action.
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIONS
David Barnes is a doctoral student seeking employment in the biology department of
a Christian college. He is interested in teaching introductory biology, vertebrate
physiology, genetics, or plant physiology; and participating in interdisciplinary
seminars attempting the synthesis of a Christian view of science (both in classical
problems of revelation and evolution, and in modern problems of eugenics and pollution). Dave should complete his Ph.D. during August and would like to start teaching in September. Write him at Center for Science Education, 410 Lyman Hall,
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13210.
Lincoln S. Handford has recently returned from an assignment with the U. S. Geological Survey in Saudi Arabia and is seeking a managerial position in design, development, or production where his scientific knowledge and technological skills can be
utilized. He prefers the northeastern U. S. but would consider the west coast or a
foreign assignment. Lincoln received an M. A. in geology with studies in crystallography and mineralogy from Boston University in 1966 and has had experience in geochronology, mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, and general
laboratory design,
operation, and maintenance. Write to him at his home, 53 Knoll
Avenue, Keene,
New
Hampshire 03431.
Leo Setian has teaching and research experience in electrical engineering and is
seeking a college or university position in that field. His specialty is electromagnetics and he will be completing his Ph.D. this year at
Montana State University. Write to Leo at his home, 107 H Julia Martin Drive,
Bozeman, Montana
59715.
POSITIONS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE
Beaver College, a four-year college for women located in a residential area northeast of Philadelphia, has two vacancies it is trying to fill for next year, preferably with people who have completed their doctoral programs. Their new $3,500,000
science-classroom center will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 1970. An inorganic-analytical chemist is needed to teach some combination of general chemistry,
quantitative, and instrumental analysis. An interest in biochemistry would be a
valuable asset, as well as an interest in carrying out student-faculty research
under an NSF grant. Write to Dr. Arthur C. Breyer, Chairman, Department of Chemistry, Beaver College, Glenside Pa. 19038. A molecular biologist is also needed for
courses in genetics, developmental biology, and general biology. Write to Dr. Frank
Sturges, Chairman, Department of Biology, Beaver College, Glenside, Pa. 19038.
Grinnell College in Iowa has a temporary two-year opening in inorganic chemistry
for someone to teach freshman and advanced inorganic and help with a physical science
course for non-science majors. Normal teaching load is 12 contact hours plus involvement with undergraduate research projects. The department has six full-time
Ph.D.s and is well equipped. For example, they have a Varian A-60 nmr spectrometer
and direct access to the University of Iowa Computer Center via a campus terminal.
Write to Dr. Jack S. Swenson, Chairman, Department of Chemistry, Grinnell College,
Grinnell, Iowa 50112.
Wheaton College in Illinois has a position open for 1970-1 in the Biology Department. A person with recent graduate courses or research work in one of the following areas is desired: molecular or cell biology, microbiology, molecular genetics,
or cell or plant physiology. Responsibilities include teaching one advanced course
each quarter as well as cooperating in the introductory course. Write to Dr. Russell
L. Mixter, Chairman, Biology Department, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois 60187.
NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE
STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
For the Year Ended December 31, 1969
Joseph H. Boutwell, Jr., Deputy Chief of the Medical Laboratory Section of the
National Communicable Disease Center of the U. S. Public Health Service in Atlanta,
Georgia, has been elected Vice-President of the Christian Medical Society. Joe is
an M. D. who also holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry.
Jack Buss has moved from North Dakota to the University of Minnesota to finish up a
Ph.D. program in zoology. He hopes to have course work and prelims out of the way
by the end of summer so he can concentrate on research on cell movements and proliferation patterns in the early chick embryo (and enjoy the ASA annual convention,
August 17-20). Jack feels he's really in ASA Country: last summer he rented Jim
Rodgers' home on Lake Johanna; his present apartment is directly below Oscar Lund's;
and he bumps into Elving Anderson at church and the university all the time.
Roger Dejmal finished up his Ph.D. work in insect physiology at Oregon State University in June 1969 and is now teaching biology at Sioux Falls College in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota.
Stuart Harverson, M. D., when last heard from, had deposited his large collection of
Vietnamese orphans in a beach barracks but within the U. S. military base at Chu-Lai
after evacuating the children from Ha-Bac. That was back in October, when he was
hoping to establish a more permanent home for his little "sub-marines" in the nearby
Vietnamese town of Tam-Ky. (What Stu goes through with those kids makes it pretty
hard to complain about the food in the student union, or about anything else.--Ed.)
Allan G. Hedberg completed a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Queen's University in
Kingston, Ontario, last spring and has moved to Minnesota. He serves as clinical
psychologist at Sioux Trails Mental Health Center in New Ulm, and part-time as an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Mankato State College.
E. K. Huddlestun has been with the Community Services Division of the State Department of Social Welfare, Fresno, California, for over a year as a professional Psychiatric Social Worker in the Family Service Program. He provides assistance to
patients and relatives of mental retardates in casewort services and community services, and works with certified caretakers in behalf of the patients.
E. James Kennedy writes that he and Ralph Lowell have switched responsibilities in
the Biology Department at North Park College in Chicago. Jim has taken on administrative functions as Chairman of the Division of Science and Mathematics, leaving
Ralph with more time for teaching and directing st4dent research. And notwithstanding the report in the last issue of ASA News, Jim missed the December Chicago Local
Section meeting, grounded by an injury in a faculty badminton game. (Injured at
badminton? Good thing they don't play anything really rough, like tiddelywinks!-Ed.)
Tom Key now has an Ed.D. in Science Education (Biology) from Ball State University
in Indiana, and a position as Assistant Professor of Biology at Oglethorpe College
in Atlanta, Georgia.
J. L. Kroon left Dow Chemical Co. in July to become Associate Professor of Chemistry
at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. He started out teaching general and analytical but figures his repertoire will soon include organic, physical, and everything
else in the catalog. He finds much satisfaction in his new academic role.
David 0. Moberg's recent publications include "Theological Self-Classification and
Ethical-Moral Positions of Church Congregations: An Exploratory Study", Actes de la
X Conference Internationale (Rome: Conference Internationale de Sociologie Religieuse, 1969), pp. 257-285. A strong current interest of Dave's is evaluation research, especially with reference to religious programs and institutions. He would
like to correspond with others who have engaged in such evaluative studies. (See
separate story for Moberg's address.)
Roy Olson's picture appeared in the October issue of East Asia Millions in a story
about witnessing to young people through Christian hospitals in Thailand. Roy
trains lab technicians for hospitals in Manorom, Nongbua, and Saiburi. The photo
shows him with one of his Thai students. The expanding Manorom hospital, by the
way, still needs a pathologist as well as another medical technologist from the
States--or from anywhere.
George K. Schweitzer, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, is
heading up a project on photoelectron spectroscopy, a new technique which has the
potential of assigning precise energies to all atomic and molecular orbitals in
molecules. Working with George are two other UT profs, two scientists from Oak
Ridge National Lab, a post-doc, and eleven grad. students.
G. Douglas
Young president of the American Institute of Holy Land Studies in
Jerusalem, reports a record enrollment this fall on their new Mount Zion campus.
Some of us occasionally get caught in a little cross-fire between the regents and
state legislature, but the Institute operates where the cross-fire is more deadly.
In fact, the building they occupy has been vacant for 20 years because of its
proximity to no-~man's-land! Much renovation still needs to be done, and contributions would be welcome at the U. S. office of AIHLS: 460 Central Ave., Highland
Park, Illinois 60035.
C. T. Youngberg, Professor of Forest Soils at Oregon State University, is Visiting
Professor of Forest Soils at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, for the 196970 academic year.
NEW MEMBERS
Stanley A. Rampey, Rt. 5, Box 6, Piedmont, South Carolina 29673. Student at Central Wesleyan College. Rank: Associate
Molly Wishart, Shorecrest Apts., #19, Shorecrest Drive, Clemson, South,Carolina
29631. Asst. Prof. at Central Wesleyan College. BS in Gen. Sci., Zool., Sec. Ed.;
MEd in Science Education. Rank: Member
Tommy Ray McBride, 1910 McCown Drive, Florence, South Carolina 29501. Student at
Central Wesleyan College. Rank: Associate
Betty Buchanan, Rt. 5, Seneca, South Carolina 29678. Student at Central Wesleyan
College. Rank: Associate
C. Robert Moffit, II, P. 0. Box 463, Central Wesleyan College, Central, South
Carolina. Student. Rank: Associate