NEWSLETTER

of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 5       OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1978

SORTING OUT AND PLUGGING IN

Having heard (and seen) so much about Christian stewardship of resources in just three days, many who attended the 1978 Annual Meeting are probably still trying to sort it all out. The practical dimension of this year's theme added an element of personal challenge absent from most academic discussions. We learned how ASA people feel about ecology, alternate energy sources, deconsumption, recycling, etc., and what can be done about it. But we also saw and heard what people are doing.

Take recycling, for instance. The field trip to the Muskegon County Waste Water Treatment Plant evoked a religious kind of joyful praise from this reporter--to see "high technology," good design, and common sense working together to bring one sensible solution out of two bad situations. The land had become marginally productive and the lake water polluted. John Sheaffer proposed letting corn take the nutrients out of sewage rather than dumping them into the lakes. After primary treatment, sewage from 140,000 residents is now pumped to a 10,000-acre farm, aerated, and stored in two huge lagoons. From early spring through fall that waste water still rich in N, P, and K is sprayed on the leached-out sandy soil by 50 big rotating irrigation rigs. Densely planted corn thrives under the rigs while serving as a kind of "living filter"; water that drains into the lakes is by then no longer capable of supporting algal or bacterial growth. Not only did the Muskegon installation cost less per million gallons than other types of treatment plants, the corn yield rivals that of the area's most productive cornfields No wonder so many public officials from other municipalities visit the Muskegon experiment. Praise God!

One field trip took ASA'ers to see another big recycling project at a somewhat lower level of technology. A played-out gypsum mine near Grand Rapids is being used for controlled-temperature storage. Tons of food are maintained at proper storage temperature in that giant "root cellar." Further, the entrepreneurs recycling the old mine have put big freezers in part of it to warehouse tons of frozen food items at a cost of far less electrical energy than it would take above ground.

A special field trip was arranged to visit Jordan College after its president, DeWayne Coxon, gave a paper describing three solar energy installations on his campus. The technology ranged from a forced-air system with collector surfaces fabricated from thousands of recycled beer cans to a commercial drain-down water system with elaborate controls. Jordan College, growing out of a Wesleyan Bible Institute of the holiness tradition, has become a showplace for alternative energy installations. A wind-generator system was being installed during our visit; a grant request has been submitted for a parabolic tracking reflector, the most sophisticated of all solar collectors. DeWayne told us that Jordan College moved into alternative energy sources to try to save money on heating bills, hoping to supply maybe 30 percent of the heat for their buildings that way. Solar systems now provide more than 30 percent of the heat for some of their buildings--and that's a very cold and cloudy part of the country.

More joy, even some spontaneous laughter, came from Jim Bosscher's low-technology approach to recycling. At Calvin College, Jim gets his engineering students to design and build low-cost machinery to put some efficiency into neighborhood recycling, then combines the whole works into a system that cuts down solid wastes, produces valuable materials, and employs marginal workers for collecting, sorting, and other tasks. It works! Praise God! In fact, recycling works at every level, from household to municipality and from high-powered technology down to simply sorting out our cans and bottles.

Yessir, once you've seen what a "sanctified imagination" can accomplish, you begin to look around you to plug into some of that action yourself. And that's the way things begin to change.

RESOURCES TO PLUG INTO

It wasn't only the field trips. The papers were great, too. We'll try to tell you about some of them. Some you'll eventually see in the Journal. The plenary symposium will be published as a book. Meanwhile, that whole symposium, Clark Pinnock's addresses, and John Sheaffer's banquet address are all available on cassette tape, I believe. Vernon Ehlers had someone from Calvin College taping those sessions, and will duplicate tapes at cost (probably about $3 per tape) on request. Order from: Dr. Vernon J. Ehlers, Dept. of Physics, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

Another offer from Calvin is a packet of practical information for setting up your own neighborhood or community solid-waste management system. You get three or four pages of economic and other considerations to think about, plus three sets of drawings of simple machinery designed and tested by engineering students and proved in years of actual service: The Calvin Bottle Smasher (whirling chain in an old drum that can produce more than 5 tons of marketable glass "cullet" per hour); the Calvin Plastic Shredder (another drum, this time with rotary lawnmover blades whirling in the bottom to turn plastic milk bottles into shreds that can be sold to thermoplastic toy manufacturers--and drastically reduces the volume even if you don't sell the plastic); the Calvin Can Crusher (in which two rotating sand-filled tires flatten cans as fast as you can toss them in the hopper). For these designs write: Dr. James P. Bosscher, Dept. of Engineering, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

Or maybe you'd like to learn more about Jordan College and its curricula in alternate energy. The original rural Jordan Cedar campus we visited, which maintains its strongly Christian liberal arts emphasis, has been supplemented with a separate community college campus in Grand Rapids called Jordan West to serve a larger constituency. Already some 1,500 students have come in daily contact with alternate energy systems and taken courses in the subject. As we understand it, Jordan College is offering a new B.S. program in Alternate Energy/Enironmental Studies, combining hands on experience with theoretical aspects. For information write: Dr. DeWayne Coxon, Jordan College, 360 West Pine St., Cedar Springs, MI 49319.

MEMORIES THAT KEEP RECYCLING

We keep thinking about points made by Clark Pinnock at Hope College and about the arguments over some of the papers. Yet considering the strong feelings of "hard path" and "soft path" energy supporters and the many other matters to disagree about, the spirit of unity in Christ at the 1978 Annual Meeting was remarkable. As usual, group devotions contributed to that unity.

NEW TEST OF BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE

Paul C. Davis, emeritus professor of psychology at Chapman College in Orange, CA, collaborated with Joseph L. Davis, professor of religion at Seattle Pacific University in Washington, to produce a "Test of Biblical Background" designed to help colleges and seminaries assess the preparation of students in biblical studies. Emphasis of the test is on biblical content, with effort made to avoid sectarian or controversial issues.

Pretesting and standardization are now underway. When standardization is completed, probably in 1980, the test will be distributed and scored by Seattle Pacific as a service comparable to that of Educational Testing Service in academic areas. (one might say that the Davis Bros. will help catechists catalyze the categorizing of catechumens--or would that be catachresis?--Ed.)

At any rate, during the standardization phase, any institution desiring to participate without charge should request details from: Dr. Joseph L. Davis, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA 98119.

DORDT COLLEGE PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Russell Maatman, professor of chemistry at Dordt College in Iowa, brought us up to date at the 1978 Annual Meeting on his college's publication activities. The Dordt College faculty quarterly, Pro Rege, is sent free of charge to anyone interested in receiving it. Recent articles have included an evaluation of Francis Schaeffer's philosophy, thoughts on the biological challenges to the Christian, an analysis of Napoleon's Spanish campaign, and a review of "bumper sticker ethics." Book reviews also appear. To get on the mailing list, write a note to: Lyle Gritters, Managing Editor, PRO REGE, Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA 51250.

The Dordt College Press has also been established to publish scholarly works in the Reformed Christian tradition. Several books are in process and one has come off the Press, Russ Maatman's own 140-page paperback, The Unity in Creation. It attempts to answer the question, "How should Christians approach physical science?" The book can be ordered at $3.75 from the Dordt College Bookstore, Sioux Center, IA 51250 (quantity discounts to bookstores), or from the ASA office in Elgin.

HOW TO RECYCLE SOMETHING. No. 21

Audiovisual aids from old film. Here's a quickie for professors, Bible study leaders, or anyone else who uses an overhead projector, from Curtis C. Goodman, missionary communicator in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Curtis makes his acetate transparencies for overhead projection from old X-ray film. He says almost any doctor or lab will give you more sheets than you can use. To remove the emulsion, use full-strength Clorox and after a few minutes of soaking, remove with a sponge. After thoroughly rinsing off the alkali you have a heavy piece of acetate suitable for use and reuse.

HOW TO START SOMETHING No. 32. Vernon Ehlers; Merlyn Bilhorn; Mark Swanson

After the plenary symposium at the 1978 Annual Meeting, several people said they wished the ASA would "do something" to influence public policy decisions about the stewardship of natural resources. Agreeing both with that sentiment and with the response to it that a scientific study organization is not the best medium for political action, we're bringing you some ASA members who have found effective ways of "doing something."

Vernon J. Ehlers, who presented one of the symposium papers, comes to mind immediately. The Calvin College physicist got himself elected as a county commissioner and is now trying to move his fellow commissioners toward an ecologically sound solid-waste-management system.

Last month Vern called ASA News from San Francisco. He was attending a "garbage convention, where both politics and technology were being dumped on him. The durable Vern came up smiling like a Republican if not smelling like a rose. Rapid change in garbage technology is one thing that makes the nitty so gritty at the political level, he says. No politician wants to make a mistake, by spending huge sums of public money on a new system that may have "bugs" in it or that may be obsolete by the time the installation is built. To a politician, any mistake looks like a fatal mistake. So the tendency is to keep on bulldozing those millions of tons of garbage into landfills. That "works" and it's cheap--at least in the short run.

Most of us couldn't swing running for public office, but there are other things we can do. Write letters, for instance. About a year ago we were impressed by a letter J. Merlyn Bilhorn sent to the President of the U.S., to the two U.S. Senators from his state (CT), and to the president of his professional society, the American Institute, of Chemical Engineers.

Merlyn began, "I am writing to express my opinion on several specific subjects all relating to the energy field in the hope of helping you, and through you our government, better proceed in its course of action in this area of vital concern." Then he wrote a short paragraph about his qualifications, mentioning not only his education and practice in the energy field but also his extensive pastoral work, Meryl has theological degrees as well as engineering degrees). Currently program manager of a Connecticut corporation developing a nickel-zinc battery in order to put an electric vehicle into production, Merl is also pastor at the old Road Meetinghouse in Stonington. Then he said he was trying to be objective about energy questions, balancing technical, economic, environmental, and ethical aspects in the interest of the overall welfare of U.S. citizens.

Merl devoted one clearly stated paragraph to each of the topics he was writing about. (1) On the B-1 bomber, he applauded President Carter's courage for making a logical decision to stop production, arguing that it had been a cost/effective decision. (2) On the decision not to develop the breeder reactor, he thought the President neither objective nor courageous; with so many other ways to produce weapons material, he argued, "it is obviously no deterrent to non-nuclear nations for the United States to curtail breeder reactor and plutonium fuel reprocessing and recycling." Recognizing that energy is vital to American life, Merl said that "not by energy alone does man live," urged that a way of life be created that correlates with responsible energy usage, and made some practical suggestions on conservation and alternative energy sources.

Finally, (3) on the neutron bomb, he said that "to make the decision to perfect a bomb 'to protect property while cleanly annihilating people' is an abysmal inconsistency, both scientifically and ethically. Scientifically it doesn't square with the breeder reactor and recycling decision, and ethically it puts down human rights at the expense of the material." The final decision had not yet come at that time, so he urged his Senators to push for a decision favorable to safe use of nuclear power. His concluding sentence: "Let us pray that the decision will be made for a contribution to human needs in quality of life, rather than.to our potential destruction under the guise that such 'security' improves the quality of life."

Were his-opinions heard? Well, President Carter didn't reply but both Senators did. Senator Abraham Ribicoff thanked him, agreed with him on energy conservation and alternative energy sources, generally supported Carter's energy policy, and ignored the nuclear issues. Senator Lowell Weicker, Jr., noted all his comments, said he supported the B-1 bomber (preferring a human being in control "until the last possible moment"), said he had voted to fund the Clinch River breeder reactor project, and (with some political tiptoing) did seem to come out against the neutron bomb. The AICHE president was pleased to see Merl's personal political action, believing that "it is critical that engineers stand up and be heard in the public arena as a service to the American people and for the advancement of our profession."

Merlyn says his letter did give him opportunity to continue the dialogue with some of Weicker's supporters, such as the Republican Committeewoman in the area and one of the Senator's neighbors who exerts influence on him. Merl Bilhorn likes to think that the subsequent announcement of Carter's delay in neutron bomb development was in part influenced by the kinds of reasoning he had cited.

Of course to exert political influence about even technical matters, one doesn't need heavy-duty professional credentials: a housewife has one vote just like a professor. A more recent story comes from Mark B. Swanson, a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry at the U. of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Mark, who was a charter member and the first chair of the Northwest Suburban Prayer Breakfast Committee, feels that he's found an exciting way to change the course of his community.

Instead of complaining about corruption and spiraling taxes or pressuring battle-worn officials to vote one way or the other, Mark's committee has found a more constructive way to touch those in authority. The committee, based in Arlington Heights, is nondenominational and non-political but committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of God's Word. Its concern for public officials is based directly on I Timothy 2:1,2.

The committee's avenue for influence is a quarterly prayer breakfast. At a big breakfast in the fall, scores of local, county, and state officials are invited to hear God's Word spoken to them and to witness sincere Christians praying that God will guide them in their work and help them with the pressures and responsibilities of their offices. Elected officials are scattered at tables among their Christian constituents, to whom they often feel free to express their accomplishments and needs. At the Annual Fall Breakfast to be held this October 14, close to 500 persons are expected. The speaker will be Charles Gill, an official from the state of Oregon who is a keen Christian.

At the three smaller breakfasts during the year, the Christian body gathers to pray for their officials in general and especially for the one public official invited to speak to the group concerning his or her public responsibilities. The consciousness raising seems to work in both directions as Christians get to know personally the men and women whose decisions affect their everyday lives, and as various officials who attend acknowledge that they need "all the help we can get."

The North Suburban committee had its beginnings only about two years ago when some Christians thought they ought to "do something" about the deteriorating moral condition of the country. Picking up some specific ideas from the already established DuPage County (Illinois) Prayer Breakfast Committee, they decided to follow the example of Jesus, who ate with the local representatives of Roman government.

After all, Mark says, "in an age when authority is ridiculed, we need to reassure our officials that authority is of God, and that God is sovereign over the affairs of nations, communities, and individuals."

Both the Northwest Suburban and the DuPage County committees seem to be offshoots of a Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast and the Plymouth Foundation of Chicago. The NSPBC letterhead lists a number of political figures as a Board of Reference, a number of church leaders as a Board of Advisors, and a number of ordinary folk (including Mark) as a Board of Directors. Their address is 418 So. Vail, Arlington Heights, IL 60005, if you'd like more information or some encouragement to set up a similar enterprise in your community.

"...AND THAT'S (PUFF, PUFF) GRANT'S TOMB..."

We've heard of people getting the run-around in the nation's capital, but Rodney Johnson is offering one that some of us might benefit from. Rod, who has an M.S. in civil engineering from Minnesota and a Ph.D. from Purdue, has spent a dozen years or so at NASA's Washington headquarters as a program planner for post-Apollo lunar missions. We don't know how "senior" he is, but he's also vice-president of the Potomac Valley Seniors Track Club. The PERSONALS squib in the Aug/Sept issue about Jerry Albert training for an American Heart Association marathon prompted Rod to extend an open invitation to ASA/CSCA members to come run with him.

Rod has run 14 marathons in the past three years, including Boston this year (finishing in 3:21). He says he has a great one-to-two-hour "run-of-the-monuments" for sightseers in the caoital--with no parking problems. To match Glenn Kirkland's offer of a good church to visit in the area, Rod offers good running fellowship. If you plan to be in the Washington area and want to do some running, either work-outs or competition, give Rodney Johnson a call at his office (755-3740) or home (596-4565), or drop him a line at 5531 Green Mountain Circle No. 5, Columbia, MD 21044.

TRACKING DOWN POTENTIAL CARCINOGENS

Nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines continue to make news. Nitrates and nitrites have long been added to meats, fish, and poultry by food processors to improve color and retard the growth of spores that cause fatal botulism in humans. But interaction with amines naturally present in such foods can produce nitrosamines, compounds which have been shown to cause cancers in laboratory animals. Now an FDA-sponsored study at MIT seems to show that nitrites can be carcinogenic on their own in rats (Science, 8 Sept 1978), pushing the Food & Drug Administration "ever so cautiously" toward banning nitrites in cured meats and poultry (a 12.5 billion dollar industry).

Meanwhile, analytical chemist Dennis C. Johnson at Iowa State University and Bob G. Snider of Upjohn Co. have been working out a new method to detect nitrosamines in foods at concentrations as low as 0.2 parts per billion. According to Chemical & Engineering News, their technique was described at the,Septenber'meetings of the American Chemical Society in Miami Beach. The problem in detecting anything at such low levels in usually that other substances present in larger amounts can interfere. The two chemists remove interfering substances (such as nitrite ions) by ion exchange chromatography. Then the nitrosamines are converted to HN02 by HC104, eluted from a second column and determined amperometrically as nitrite ion at a platinum electrode. The analysis is carried out on a flow basis and calibrated by comparison with standards.

EMERITUS AND EXTRAORDINARY

Howard W. Post received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins in 1927 and went on to a distinguished career at the University of Buffalo, from which he retired some years ago as professor emeritus. Always interested in international good will, Howard has become an "ambassador extraordinaire", partly by maintaining contact with fellow scientists in other countries. One of his "extra mile" gestures of friendship was recently reported in a Buffalo newspaper.

Back in 1958-59, Dr. Isao Shiihara, a chemist at the Industrial (National) Research Center at Ikeda City (near Osaka), Japan, spent a postdoctoral year with Howard Post on a Fulbright grant. Over the years, as Shiihara rose to become director of his institute, Post continued to correspond with him and the two even collaborated at a distance on research projects. Besides publishing four joint papers from that work, Post wrote a chapter for a book edited by Shiihara and helped edit the English of a number of institute manuscripts written in English. Within the past year Post's friend resigned to take a VIP position with a Japanese chemical manufacturing company in Tokyo.

Howard Post is a history buff. Digging through old archives saved by his father, from whom Howard got his interest in history, he found a Syracuse newspaper dated May 29, 1905. It carried an account, with drawings, of the battle of Tsu-Shime on that date, in which Admiral Togo destroyed almost all of what was left of the navy of Imperial Russia. The Czar had sent his Baltic squadron around western Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, and through the Indian Ocean in hopes of turning the tide in the Russo-Japanese War.

Thinking that his Japanese friend might be interested in the newspaper, Post sent it to him and received "a veritable outburst of thanks", also learing that Shiihara was a captain in the Japanese Naval Reserve, having served with the scientific sector in WWII. Shiihara took the old newspaper to the official Museum of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the naval base of Maizuru, where it was mounted permanently along with a Japanese translation of the account. Howard Post's own album now contains several photographs of the museum exhibit he contributed, the naval base and its commandant, Admiral Kato, and of course, his friend Isao Shiihara.

Howard has worked with the U.S. government in various ways to build better relations with other countries. Of his 20-year friendship with a now-prominent Japanese scientist he says, "I think it's an excellent example of the ties we could set up if we were willing to try hard enough, both personally and nationally, to develop international good will."

WORD FROM THE CREATION-SCIENCE CONFERENCE

This summer, after putting another notch in his record of attending more ASA meetings than anyone else has, Harold Hartzler went on to Wichita, Kansas, to attend the sixth national Creation-Science Conference sponsored by the Bible-Science Association (Box 1016, Caldwell, Idaho 83605). Echoing ASA president Jim Buswell's letter in the last Newsletter, Harold wants Affiliation members to take note of what recent-creationist organizations are doing to present the biblical message to the world. Harold just wishes the ASA could "make them understand that we believe in creation as much as they do."

The 1978 Creation-Science Conference on "The Challenge of Design" included two papers by ASA member Marvin L. Lubenow of Fort Collins, Colorado. One was the same paper he gave at Hope College on the recently appearing island of Surtsey off the coast of Iceland; Surtsey's rapidly developing landscape makes it a "Micro-Laboratory for Flood Geology," according to Marvin. (We first wrote "the recently created island," but note that in Marvin's text the statement, "a whole island had been created," was in a quote from one oflis primary sources; he seems to avoid using that phrase, saying several times that the island "was born" following an underwater volcanic eruption on November 14, 1963.--Ed.)

In a longer Creation-Science paper on "The Invasion of Science by Philosophy: Problems Tfi Reconciliation with Scripture," Lubenow shows much sensitivity for the philosophical issues at the science/faith interface. To a working scientist who suspects that interpreting Scripture may have some of the same inherent philosophical problems, Marvin's overall picture might seem a bit tilted. (After all, some scientists do take evolution seriously without making a religion out of it, just as some Christians take the creation account in the Bible seriously without making a science out of it--Ed.)

Besides the set of conference papers, Harold sent a couple of recent issues of the Association's monthly Bible-Science Newsletter (subscription, $5 a year, $5.50 in Canada), edited by Lutheran pastor Walter Lang, BSA's founder. The masthead says the paper is dedicated to: "Special creation; literal Bible interpretation; divine design and purpose in nature; a young earth; a universal Noachian flood; Christ as God and man--our Savior; Christ-centered scientific research." Editor Lang seems to do a lotdof the writing himself, although inclusion of many notes and clippings on science/faith sent in by readers sometimes gives the paper a scrapbook effect clearly devoid of "uniformitarianism."

In the August 1978 issue the editor of Bible-Science Newsletter reports on a conference on "Geocentricity" held in June at Cleveland State University, saying: "An evidence of the creationist movement's vitality is that its scientists are not afraid to venture into areas of research which promise to open new vistas. This challenges the opinion that religion tends to retard scientific research. Today the truly active research is being done by creationists and this in spite of the fact that evolutionists control most research facilities." So far, the relatively small group of creationists who "are, in fact, challenging the whole scientific world with the revolutionary idea of going back to geocentricity" haven't convinced Lang that they're right, but he's "intrigued." He participated in the conference himself, on a day devoted to a study of dates in Scripture: "It was agreed that Bible genealogies ought to be taken as consecutive with no gaps allowed. This would give an age for the earth of about 6,000 years."

The pioneering scientists "admit there are no clear statements in Scripture supporting either the geocentric theory or the heliocentric theory," but "their mathematical calculations operate more easily with the model of the sun orbiting the earth." This concept "is so new to the modern world that their battle has just begun." Not yet convinced, the editor of the Bible-Science Newsletter concludes that "we need not make this issue a necessary part of the creationist movement, but we ought not stifle this vitality."

Well, we're for vitality, and for not writing off our brothers and sisters in Christ just because they don't agree with our crazy ideas. Maybe more of us should interact with these folks so they can get used to us, since they'll have to put up with us in heaven. That should be easy next year. In the third week of August (dates not yet set), after our 1979 ASA ANNUAL MEETING at STANFORD UNIVERSITY, AUGUST 10-13, the Bible-Science Association will celebrate its 15th year at a convention at Anaheim, California.

A FEW SECONDS FOR THE MINUTES

The ASA Executive Council voted some time ago that official minutes of their meetings should appear in the Newsletter to keep all members informed. But it takes months for the minutes to be corrected and approved; before that they aren't official and after that they're hardly news. Besides, printing them in toto leaves little room for other news. It looks like the membership will have to trust the editor's mill to grind the gist out of all that grist, and the Council to shake its fist if anything is mist.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ASA ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING (Hope College, August 12, 1978)

President.Buswell opened with prayer, introduced executive council member Carpenter, Claassen, Herrmann, and Weiss, executive secretary Sisterson. Claassen, chair of the nominating committee (Ed Olson, Wayne Ault), reported nominees for next 5-year term on the council: Chi-Hang Lee (chemist, NY) and Frank Roberts (paleontologist, PA); ballots to be mailed to membership this fall.

Sisterson's report included encouraging signs of growth in members and Journal subscribers, and of increasing financial stability. Providing $5 membership scholarships to students is proving effective; other Christian colleges are encouraged to follow Wbeaton's example in presenting such a scholarship to every student graduating in the sciences. Current total membership is 2,874. Contributions are needed particularly ior the Reserve Fund for new projects (an offering was taken); sales of the JASA reprint collection edited by David Willis, Origins and Change will also return money to the Reserve Fund.

The 1979 ANNUAL MEETING will be held at STANFORD UNIVERSITY, AUGUST 10-13. Arrangements for the 1980 Annual Meeting- are still indefinite because of scheduling difficulties in early August at Oral Roberts University.

From the floor: Charles Hatfield (MO) invited individuals ready to write on the relationship of their field of study to Christian faith to submit grant proposals to Institute for Advanced Christian Studies; IFACS is particularly seeking a physicist. Jim Neidhardt (NJ) suggested advertising Origins and Change in Christianity Today. Walter Hearn (CA) invited all to Stanford in 1979, suggesting that a Christian evaluation of nuclear energy would probably be part of the program, continuing the 1978 theme. Adrian Clark (AL) requested information on manner of choosing papers for the Annual Meeting, noting that his had been rejected; Buswell explained that the referee system requires a decision by more than one individual to reject a submitted paper. Invitations to hold future Annual Meetings were extended by Frank Roberts on behalf of the Delaware Valley section and by John Vayhinger for Taylor University, Upland, Indiana.

HIGHLIGHTS OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETINGS (Hope College, August 11 and 14, 1978)

President Buswell presided. Entire council was present, plus Sisterson. For parts of the meetings, Newsletter editor Hearn, former presidents Elving Anderson (MN) and John Haas (MA) were also present. Meeting began with Proverbs 8, comments, and prayer. Minutes of the Mlarch 3-4 council meetings at Wheaton College were corrected and approved.

Emeritus status was voted for Kenneth Hoover of Messiah College on request; member since 1962.  Elving Anderson proposed exploring the feasibility of a joint meeting of organizations of Christian scholars and professionals to promote interaction and interdisciplinary cooperation while witnessing to the alertness and concern of Christians. Regarding AAAS as a prototype, Anderson proposed calling representatives of appropriate organizations to a planning session during an AAAS meeting (as in Houston in February 1979). Much discussion followed, with questions about impact on regular annual meetings and alternative uses of resources to accomplish the same purposes (such as visiting lectureships as sponsored by Sigma Xi). Council gave basic support to Anderson's proposal, encouraging him to sound out other organizations.

1978 Annual Meeting review: Program and local arrangements outstanding. To begin future meetings with a good symposium again was recommended. It was not clear why only three churches chose to invite ASA speakers for Sunday services. Voted that guests invited by program committee for a specific contribution to the program will be exempt in the future from paying the registration fee.

1979 Annual Meeting plans: In response to letter from Richard Bube (CA), council requested Bube and Hearn to proceed with plans to organize a symposium on "Christian evaluation of nuclear energy," using more than one session if necessary but allowing sufficient time for papers on other topics. Council appointed Bube and Hearn and chair of the San Francisco Bay section to serve as program committee, the whole section as local arrangements committee, but requested designation of a local arrangements chair and a program chair. A number of names were discussed as potential main speakers; the program committee was authorized to select and invite the main speaker.

Meetings beyond 1979: For 1980, Oral Roberts University cannot guarantee the dates requested for the ASA meeting; council voted to accept the invitation from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana,if the dates August 8-11, 1980, are possible; if not, negotiations with Oral Roberts would be reopened. For 1981, council voted to negotiate with Eastern College or other colleges in the Philadelphia area, or with Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. For 1982, ASA would go back to Oral Roberts in Tulsa if not meeting there in 1980.

Executive secretary reported on his activities, generally reaching or exceeding goals set for 1978. Sisterson attended the Christian Booksellers Convention and engaged in other public relations activities for ASA. An advertisement in Christianity Today
more than paid its $120 cost, drawing in 11 new members and 11 new subscribers. A mailing to the Sojourners list on an exchange basis produced 102 new subscribers from a mailing of 3,400. Each local section will receive a free copy of Origins and Change for publicity purposes. A proposal to use a professional direct mail firm soliciting new members and subscribers, estimated by Sisterson to cost $2,800, was reviewed by the council and decided against. Sisterson was authorized to use additional workers in the office to maintain vigorous recruitment efforts. An exchange of mailing lists with Henry Soles Associates of Wheaton was approved; that organization wishes to advertise the Francis Schaeffer film, "How Should We Then Live?"

Headquarters and incorporation: Headquarters remain at 5 Douglas Ave. in Elgin (IL) but in a larger suite of offices. On advice of legal counsel, incorporation of ASA in Illinois is almost complete, at a cost of $100 legal fees and $25 filing fee.

Dues and subscription increases for 1979: Council voted to increase dues for Students from $5 to $7.50; for Associates from $14 to $15; for Members from $19 to $20; and for Fellows from $26 to $27. Library subscriptions to JASA go up from $15 to $25 and charge to libraries for back issues goes to $5. Free 1-year scholarships to graduating seniors, especially those entering Waduate or professional school, to continue.

Slide shows: Group from Wheaton College science faculty is working on revision of the show on creation/evolution, hoping to complete it this fall. Council expressed interest in using or modifying show on modern astronomy prepared by Paul Arveson         

Buswell offered to write to Victoria Institute of Great Britain to establish friendly relations, such as an exchange of Journals. ASA Newsletter and Journal were reviewed favorably, with questions raised about changing frequency of publication of the Newsletter and length of the Journal; appreciation was expressed for editors Bube and Hearn, also for fine work of Sisterson. A number of other matters were discussed but no action taken (awards for Fellows; west coast representative; scholarships for study programs; better registration procedures for annual meetings). Several other matters are reported elsewhere in the Newsletter (report of nominating committee; statistics from Sisterson's report; price and quantity discount for Origins and Change).

PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIONS

Lynn Braband (2112 E. 27th St., Des Moines, IA 50317) is expecting to receive an M.S. in wildlife biology from Iowa State University in November 1978. Before attending grad school, Lynn worked for over three years for an environmental consulting firm preparing environmental impact reports on the effects of power plant construction on avifauna. Interested in: research and management of non-game avifauna; wildlife/ public i~elations interface; ecological aspects of agricultural develQpment.

Gary Gray (1513 Colonial Terrace, Arlington, VA 22209) is looking for a job to make use of his B.S. in biology from Georgetown University and the fact that he is bilingual in English and Japanese. Gary is bicultural, having lived in Japan for 17 years, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Navy. Gary has a strong desire for evangelical outreach for Japan.

Ward Wilson (Dept. of Psychology, Viterbo College, La Crosse, WI 54601) stayed on this year when a colleague resigned (for Ward's story, see Dec 77/Jan 78 issue, p. 12). Now he is looking for a job teaching psychology, especially social psychology, for fall 1979. Ward has Master's degrees from Wheaton and Eastern Michigan and a Ph.D. from Florida, five years of experience on IVCF staff, and a number of research interests.

POSITIONS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE

Taylor University in Indiana is seeking a chemist to replace Professor Gordon Krueger who will retire in May 1979. Needed is a Ph.D. in organic chemistry able also to teach at least one course in biochemistry. Candidates should have sufficient research interest to direct undergraduate research projects. Teaching and research experience both desirable but not mandatory. Rank and salary dependent on experience. Contact: Dr. Robert D. Pitts, Dean of the University, Taylor University, Upland, IN 46989. Tel. 317-998-2751. (Received 30 September 1978.)

PERSONALS

Earl Godfrey received his Ph.D. in biology from Johns Hopkins in May, based on research done at NIH in Bethesda under direction of ASA member Bruce Schrier. Earl investigated a factor likely to be important in the development of cholinergic neurons. Now he and wife Dianne have moved to Menlo Park, California, for Earl to do postdoctoral work on nerve growth factors at Stanford.

William F. Harley, Jr., after teaching psychology for five years at Bethel College, has formed a mental health clinic in Minneapolis. The Harley & Nelson Clinic provides both residential and outpatient treatment by a staff of 17 therapists, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, chemical dependency specialists, nurses, and behavior analysis.

Harold Hartzler reports on his first trip to Europe, which he hopes to repeat next summer, taking Dorothy along. Harold says traveling with a group of college students was somewhat strenuous for a retired professor, "but I was able to keep up with the group and was often ahead of them." Finding where some of his ancestors lived has produced a great interest in his "roots." Harold's grandparents on both sides changed from Amish to Mennonite; all four were descendants of one Samuel King, Harold's great-great-great-great-grandfather, who immigrated from Europe in 1744.

George J. Jennings, professor of anthropology at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, led a seminar this summer for missionaries working among Muslims; after that two-week seminar in Limassol, Cyprus, for Middle East Christian Outreach, George consulted with missionary personnel in Beirut, Lebanon. George has a heavy schedule of speaking engagements this fall, including a paper on the religious dimension in Arab culture before a joint conference on the Third World and convention of returned Peace Corps Volunteers sponsored by the u. of Nebraska in Omaha, Nov. 16-18. December and January will find George and wife June off to lecture in England; return to Cyprus for consultations; give a paper at the 10th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences at New Delhi, India, and another at Madras; and consult with missionary personnel in Thailand, Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Whew!

Masaki Kakitani is back in Tokyo after receiving his Th.M. (Sluma Cum Laude) from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Illinois) in December 1977. Masaki has published Japanese translations of Jay Adam's Competent to Counsel and of James. D. Mallory's The Kink and I; produced a book of his own, Balanced Emotions (in Japanese); become a clinical member of AAMFC: spoken on such topics as "The Christian and Emotions" and "Children and their Self-Image"19 and organized Japan ISI, an affiliate organization of International Students, Inc. Masaki teaches at Chuo University and the Tokyo College of Pharmacy while heading up the Kakitani Counseling Center.

Richard Lane and his wife Rosemary are both physicians now living in DeKalb, Illinois, where they would like to meet other ASA members in the area. Formerly they worked as medical missionaries for nine years in Cameroon, Africa, under the United Presbyterian Church. Dick is now in private practice of general surgery; Rosemary is a physician at the Northern Illinois University Health Service.

Michael V. McCabe of Ruckersville, Virginia, is a doctoral candidate at the U. of VA School of Education, studying faculty attitudes toward criteria used to evaluate faculty for advancement. In July Mike gave a paper on his work at the 4th International Conference on Improving University Teaching in Aachen, Germany. In August he gave a paper and chaired a session at the 13th Annual Conference of the Society for College and University Planning in Hollywood, Florida. News that another paper, on identifying gifted children, was accepted into ERIC completed a very rewarding summer. Mike is on the lookout for a position in college or university administration, by the way.

Steven P. McNeel has moved from Southern Illinois University and is now professor and chair of psych~llogy and director of evaluation and testing at Bethel College in Minnesota. Steve would like to correspond with other Christians engaged in evaluation research, as in evaluation of the effectiveness of various college programs. He also has strong interests in world hunger; he is examining value differences between the concerned and the unconcerned, wants to develop an attitude scale and a value change procedure for use in schools and community groups. Are others interested in research in these areas? Steve's address is Psychology Dept., Bethel College, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112.

John W. Miller is currently working in a biological capacity for the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife. He says he is learning how the theme of the 1978 ASA Annual Meeting applies in practical ways to today's American society. John would like to correspond with others in similar work, especially in relating Christian concepts to fish/wildlife management objectives. John's address is 501 - 13th St., Hood River, OR 97031.

Robert E. Stover, Jr., of Remsen, New York, recently accepted a position as a systems analyst for Northern Communications Area at Griffiss Air Force Base, NY. Bob will be responsible for computer software developed and maintained by NCA and their parent organization, Air Force Communications Service, Scott AFB, Illinois.

Charles Thaxton is on the staff of Probe Ministries International in Dallas, Texas. Lecturing on university campuses in the hope of opening up evangelistic opportunities is always a challenge, but responses of students who find Christ or who are encouraged in their faith provide "positive feedback" to the Probers. Charlie, a Ph.D. chemist, is at work co-authoring a book on the origin of life to be called Life: the Crisis in Chemistry.

Jon R. Westa was finishing up his M.A. in zoology at Southern Illinois U. at Carbondale this summer, with an emphasis on wildlife ecology, specifically on observations of a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) population. The Westas' first child, a daughter, was also born early this summer. On completion of graduate work, Jon and family move to Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire, where Jon hopes to develop a nature study program as coordinator of overnight camping for children at Monadnock Bible Conference.

David Yee of Brighton, Massachusetts, has accepted a postdoctoral position in organic chemistry at the Max Planck Institut fur experimentelle Medizin in Gottingen, Germany, on completion of his Ph.D. at Cornell U. in New York.

NEW MEMBERS