NEWSLETTER
of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

Volume 27 Number 4                                                                 August / September 1985

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

By the time you're reading this, the American Scientific Affiliation will have held its 40th Annual Meeting at St. Catherine's College in Oxford, England. Many ASA members will be pondering new insights and relishing new friendships with members of the Research Scientists' Christian Fellowship, our British counterparts with whom we are meeting jointly this year.

As this was being written, though, a TWA planeload of hapless travelers was still locked up in Beirut as political hostages. That added a new dimension to international air travel just as the Newsletter Editor and his Assistant were about to fly to London for two weeks of language study before the conference, to be able to address RSCF members in their own tongue. (If your Oct/Nov Newsletter hasn't come by Christmas, check with the U.S. State Department hotline.-Ed.)

So far, ASA hasn't lost anyone to hijacking, but pregnancy keeps taking its toll. At least that's the excuse managing editor Ruth Herr gave when she skipped from Ipswich this spring. Ruthlessly, Ipswich searched for a replacement, and found her in Ann Woodworth, political science graduate of Mt. Holyoke and a candidate for the M.A. in theological studies at Gordon Conwell Seminary. Ann grew up in Massachusetts, has lived in St. Louis and Canada (cheers from the CSCA!), and is interested in writing, music, nature, boating, and rock-climbing. (Since we're only a few days late with this copy, our new managing editor hasn't started climbing the walls yet.-Ed.)

To the eighty students, the course must have seemed a bewildering array of facts and opinions. Indeed, it's a challenge to anyone's intellect to weigh carefully the physical, cultural, emotional, and spiritual factors in any given case study in medical ethics. To me it was also sobering to see the variety of conclusions bright young college students can arrive at from a given set of data. Frustration was expressed by many-sometimes because they couldn't decide on a solution, more often because others didn't agree with their solution. In such a setting, a lot of learning goes on about oneself and others.

In a sense the course was a microcosm of the ASA experience. We will be examining some of the same issues at the Oxford Conference this summer, and expect to consider them on a continuing basis through ASA's Bioethics Commission. In a wider context, all of us find such issues aired in our classrooms and laboratories and boardrooms. We all need the best of scholarship and the counsel of capable colleagues as we address the problems of our complex technological society.

Beyond the technical aspects of problem-solving, however, we quickly discover that we have something in common with the students in my BY305 class. We are often immobilized by our own biases and insecurities, unable to hear other sides of a question because our own side must be right. Sadly, that situation seems to occur more frequently even within the church. We need to hear again the words of that highly educated and powerful teacher, the apostle Paul, who urged Christians to have a mind like that of Christ Jesus, "having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" (Phil. 2:2).

Paul went on to say, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Those are strong words for a culture in which humility and compassion may be viewed as signs of weakness. But, even if they seem to confront us with paradox, they are the path for us to take as Christ's disciples. -Bob Herrmann

Whether or not that series ever gets to the screen (we're talkin' megabucks here-Ed.), the initial stages of preparation for it continue to generate good publicity and inform more people of ASA and our mission. The May 1985 issue of New England Church Life carried a well written front-page story by associate editor Debra Davis entitled "Planned TV Series Will Explore Theistic Science." A photograph of program-host Owen Gingerich beside a Smithsonian Observatory telescope appeared on the front page, with the continuation page of the story headed " 'Science and Scripture Do Not Conflict,' Says Dr. Gingerich."

At Easter this year the March 1985 JASA paper on "The Date of the Crucifixion" by Oxford University professors Colin J. Humphreys and W. Graeme Waddington was picked up by Religious News Service. The Washington Post religion page for April 3 cited JASA as its source, headlined it "Crucifixion Date Tracked: Two Evangelical Scientists Use Bible, Astronomical Calculations." (Maybe Publications Committee chair Jim Neidhardt had reprints of stories such as these to display at the American Theological Library Association conference at Drew University, June 25-27. Jim set up a book table, we hear, to show copies of JASA, our JASA reprint collections, and other science/faith publications that more people ought to know about.-Ed.)

Our nine most recently elected Fellows are Dennis L. Feucht, research engineer at Tektronix, Inc., in Oregon; D. Gareth Jones, professor of anatomy at the U. of Otago, New Zealand; Donald H. Kobe, professor of physics at North Texas State U. in Denton; Ernst U. Monse, professor of chemistry at Rutgers U. in New Jersey; Martin L. Price, director of ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) in Florida; Norman Shank, professor of chemistry at Messiah College in Pennsylvania; David L. Swift, professor of environmental engineering at John Hopkins U. in Maryland; John B. Van Zytveld, professor of physics at Calvin College in Michigan (temporarily with NSF in Washington, D.C.); and Robert T. Voss, environmental engineer with C.E. Lummus engineering firm in New Jersey.

Eight different denominations are represented (two are Presbyterian). The professional accomplishments of our new Fellows are impressive but it is even more inspiring to read the personal statements of faith on their nomination forms. This brief one sums up what many take more words to say:

"I believe that scientific research and practice is a legitimate Christian calling in which we may participate wholeheartedly and through which we may praise God. I accept my responsibility as a Christian in the scientific community to give faithful witness to Jesus Christ to my scientific colleagues and to encourage other believers in their understanding of the scientific endeavor."

We received good reports both from Charlie and from Owen Gingerich (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), from which we've pieced together a blow-byblow account. Evidently Yockey led off wtih his objections to current chemical evolution scenarios based on his expertise in information theory. Thwaites and Doolittle reacted strongly to the kinds of probability calculations used (by Yockey) to argue that there's no way an informational polypeptide the size of a protein could be formed by chance in a billion years.

Dean Kenyon (co-author with Gary Steinman of the 1969 book, Biochemical Predestination) argued that realistic starting mixtures of chemicals do not yield the needed compounds, and that the assumption of a reducing atmosphere is not necessarily sound. Reflections on such problems caused Kenyon to do an about-face in the 1970's and adopt a "creationist" position. In response, Shapiro generally accepted the criticisms but thought the reducing atmosphere was "a small problem;" he argued that a chemistry of replication more elementary than that of the nucleic acids may have been wiped out by a later genetic takeover. But his plea was for sticking to the scientific method: "Let us not flee to a supernaturalistic explanation; let us not retreat from the laboratory."

Clifford Matthews, long a protagonist for a primeval chemistry leading directly to polymers, dramatically produced a bottled sample of such a reaction product based on HCN polymerization but containing real peptide bonds. According to Gingerich, Matthews called The Mystery of Life a brilliant book and summarized its critique of the standard chemical evolution scenario with "1)The evidence is weak, 2) the premises are wrong, and 3) the whole thing is impossible." Bradley could see how energy flow through a chemical system can produce polymers but was skeptical that theremodynamics would allow a generalized energy flow to yield the kind of information content contained in the sequence of biological proteins-without "control by an investigator." Matthews conceded that the thermodynamic arguments in the Thaxton-Bradley-Olsen book are persuasive, but claimed that a quite different pathway overcame the information theory argument.

Gingerich said that his report might "give the flavor of the discussion" but couldn't convey "the richness of the broth." Except for a few ad hominem remarks, "the entire dialogue was conducted with intelligence and good humor, with each side respecting while disagreeing with the philosophical orientation of their opponents." As a Christian participant, Owen said that he was sometimes dismayed to find himself in closer agreement with the atheists' views of science than with the dichotomy between "operation science" and "origin science" proposed in the epilogue of The Mystery of Life's Origin. Here is his response:

"I would say that physics and chemistry have long been experimental sciences in which repeatable events play a significant role, but astronomy, geology, and evolutionary biology have long been observational sciences, but nevertheless important parts of science. It is the duty of astronomers, geologists, and biologists just as much as tor physicists ano chemists to conceive and devise hypotheses for explaining in a coherent manner the world around us. It is part of the rules of this game to use rational but mechanistic procedures, and, in fact, science (as science) gives no program for determining that any part necessarily lies outside this domain; there is, in other words, no way for science to know when it is up against a blank wall where a unique miracle is ultimately the only route to understanding.

"in the Dallas dialogue the theistic biochemists seemed to be saying that there is no way for scientific mechanisms to account for the existence of life, while the atheists answered that, although the scientific explanation is still lacking, the quest is exciting and must go on. Thus, while everyone agreed that the scientific critique by the theists had much validity, the atheists were simply stimulated to work harder on the problems. And with that I found myself in considerable sympathy."

The Coalition is known among Christian students for its American Studies Program operated in Washington, D.C., each summer, and for its Guide to Christian Colleges (Eerdmans). It also publishes a biweekly Christian College News and generally serves as a clearing house for information on Christ-centered higher education. It supports the Referral Service for academic placement operated by Wheaton College and serves the faculty of its colleges in many other ways. In particular the Coalition has coordinated summer conferences dealing with a single academic discipline or taking a multi-disciplinary approach to a particular topic. The National Endowment for the Humanities helped fund CCC workshops in 198384.

For 1985-86 the Coalition received a major grant from The Maclellan Foundation of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to sponsor a dozen workshops on "Christianity and Teaching in the Liberal Arts." The one-week workshops help faculty relate Christian faith to their particular discipline in a general way, but also stimulate development of specific curricular materials, including new courses and new teaching strategies.

This summer's workshops include one on "Christianity and Psychology" (Eastern College, Aug 10-16) and one on "Christianity and the Philosophy of Science" (Olivet Nazarene College, Aug 10-16). We've already had a report on the workshop held June 1-7 at Calvin College on "Creation Science as an American Cultural Development." Led by historian George Marsden and including formal presentations by members of the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship, the workshop focused on the historical, philosophical, and theological issues sur rounding the "creation science'' movement. Our correspondent (biologist John Wood of Simpson College) called the conference "excellent" and said he found it enlightening to see the creation/evolution issue through the eyes of different academic disciplines: "It certainly reinforces the notion that the proper questions are not merely scientific ones."

Among the thirteen participants, we recognized the names of ASA members Randall Brown (Huntington College, IN), Dick Daake (Bartlesville Wesleyan, OK), Don Munro (Houghton, NY), Ed Olson (Whitworth, WA), Norman Shank (Messiah, PA), and Dave Wilcox (Eastern, PA). Calvin faculty in on some or all of the sessions included Del Ratzsch (philosophy), Robert Snow (history of science), Davis Young (geology), and Howard Van Till (physics). John says the diversity of viewpoints on the scientific understanding of creation made for stimulating discussions, but the high points for many were opportunities to worship together on Sunday and at devotions each morning. (Sounds like a miniature ASA meeting.Ed.)

Participants receive a small stipend and up to $250 in travel costs, part of which comes from their own institution. Any full-time faculty member at a Coalition college is eligible, but each applicant must propose a curricular project to develop during the workshop. John Wood (who was still working on his project when we talked to him) hopes that projects submitted by all participants will be made available in some form, for a further exchange of more fully developed ideas.

One Coal ition-sponsored workshop next summer will be devoted to "Christianity and the History of Science." To be held June 21-27, 1986, at George Fox College (OR), it will be led by U. of Wisconsin historians of science David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers. Deadline for applications is March 15, 1986. Applications must be sent to Dr. Kenneth W. Shipps, CCC Workshop Director, Christian College Coalition, 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. Or call Karen Longman at (202) 2936177 for further information. (Tell her ASA sent you.Ed.)

2. Essex Christian Academy (P.O. Box 39, Wenham, MA 01984) is a new high school opening this fall on Boston's North Shore "to provide high-quality college-prep education solidly integrated with the truths of God's Word. For this we need laboratory equipment, computers, desks, chairs, office equipment, library and text books, etc. We are seeking inexpensive sources or possible donors of such materials, especially from offices or labs upgrading and thus wanting to dispose of usable equipment no longer needed. Any gifts are tax deductible." Contact Dr. Margaret Niehaus at the Academy, tel. (617) 777-3378.

3. Tom Hoshiko of the Dept. of Physiology of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, announces two lectures by emeritus professor Donald M. MacKay of the University of Keele, to be held at Case Western Reserve University in fall 1985. At 4 p.m. on Sept. 26, Prof. MacKay will give a seminar on "Information Processing in the Visual System" sponsored by Tom's department and the Dept. of Psychology (tentative location, School of Medicine, W123). At 8 p.m. on Sept. 27, MacKay will deliver the University Christian Forum Lecture on "Brain, Mind, and Will: Information Theory and the Mystery of Self" (tentative location: Hatch Auditorium, Baker Bldg.).

4. Jeffrey Greenberg, geologist with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey in Madison, announces a public lecture series at the U. of Wisconsin this fall on the application of Christian ethics in various academic and professional disciplines. Participants include the heads of the departments of Journalism, Environmental Studies, and Hebrew & Semitic Languages, plus distinguished professors from Business, Medicine, Philosophy, and Botany. A similar series six years ago became Christianity Confronts the University (IVP). The papers from the 1985 series may be edited by Jeff with a secular publisher in mind.

5. Sherm Kanagy, professor of physics at Purdue University North Central, announces a conference which he is coordinating on "THE RELIGION/SCIENCE CONTROVERSY-The Use and Abuse of Science in the Defense of Religion." The conference will be held at Purdue U.N.C. in Westville, IN on Saturday, Oct. 5, 1985. Featured speakers are Dr. Harold 1. Brown, Dept. of Philosophy, Northern Illinois U., author of Perception, Theory, and Commitment: The New Philosophy of Science (1979); Dr. Sherman P. Kanagy, who has published in the Astronomical Journal; Dr. John W. Klotz, professor of theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and author of Genes, Genesis, and Evolution (1970); Mrs. Sara J. Miles of the Department of Biology at Wheaton College (See her article in Sept. issue of JASA), and Dr. Frederick A. Niedner, Jr., professor of theology at Valparaiso U. and co-author of Keeping the Faith: A Guide to the Christian Message (1981). Registration fee is $20, discounted to $17 if you register before Sept. 1. For more information on this humdinger of a conference, contact Sherm Kanagy at (219) 785-2541, x254 or the Office of Continuing Education.

When the Creation Research Society (CRS) was established in 1963, it wrote into its constitution that the statement of faith could not be changed. Although that statement mandates a conservative, even fundamentalist, reading of Genesis, it worried Morris. He reveals how disappointed he and Flood coauthor John Whitcomb were that CRS did not "take a clear and firm stand on the recent literal six-day creation of all things, as well as flood geology." The board's "unwritten understanding" that no CRS publication can advocate an "old-earth" geological-ages position, Morris fears, may not keep "accommodationist interpretations" from eroding "doctrinal integrity." To Henry Morris, no "true creationist" can acknowledge that the earth might be more than a few thousand years old. (Comments by the editor.)

2. King Family History is privately published by H. Harold Hartzler and available from him (1311 Warren St., Mankato, MN 56001) at $35 per two-volume set postpaid. That's a bargain price for a monumental work of about a thousand pages (plus 241 index pages), tracing the descendants of the immigrant Samuel King (Koenig) who arrived in North America in 1744. Harold, whose father and mother were both King descendants, has been work

Ing on this labor of love for over 40 years. He says he had 3000 sets printed, has sold 700 already, and is continuing to receive orders.

zoom it to the top or bottom of the screen or even to the beginning or end of the whole document we're writing or editing. (Only about a third of a page fits on most screens at one time, but it's easy to "scroll" up or down from one end of a document to the other.) It gives one a feeling of power.

"Moving text around" was what WP users talked about most excitedly when we were pondering our own move. "But we hardly ever do that," we argued. A typewriter (even the zootiest IBM Selectric) can't do such things; moving text around on "hard copy" takes scissors and rubber cement-and a copying machine. But electronic text can be moved around as easily as it can be written. In fact "saving" a file to print it means moving it from the computer's RAM (random access memory) to a disk, done with simple CNTRL commands. The files on a disk can also be copied to other disks, via the computer's RAM.

In a file called NEWSFORM we store the proper commands to set the margins for the Newsletter copy, a reminder to type in the Volume number, and so on. When we open a file to begin the next issue we first tell the computer to "Read NEWSFORM," and Bingo, all that stuff is on the screen already. The same procedure works for correspondence. To write to Bob Herrmann on June 15, we open a file called HRMN0615 (eight characters is the maximum for a file name) and tell the computer to "Read HRMN0601." Immediately our letter of June 1 is on the screen; we change the date, leave the heading down through "Dear Bob," zap the rest with a couple of strokes, and we're ready to go-without having to set margins or type a heading.

Newsletter copy frequently runs over our limit of twenty double-spaced pages. (A "status line" at the top of the screen tells us the page, line, and column the cursor is in, and a dotted line shows up to mark each page break.) If we have to bump some items from BULLETIN BOARD to a later issue to make room, for example, we block them off and tell the computer to "Write to BULL," which saves them in that file. And so on with other chunks of material, until the status line tells us that the end of PERSONALS now comes on p. 20.

We're probably pushing our limit now, so we'll "save to disk" and push "P" (for "Print"). Thanks, WordStar. Thank you, God. (To be continued.)

PERSONALS

Marion D. Barnes is now 72, his wife Vera 67, but they are starting their second year in Nairobi, Kenya, helping to establish Daystar University College. In the early days of ASA Marion was a stalwart member of the Executive Council. ASA's first president, F. Alton Everest, used to call him "Brimstone Barnes" when Marion was a chemist with the Sulphur Institute. He replied to archivist Everest's request recently by saying that he might have a file of ASA memorabilia somewhere, but it would be pretty hard to lay his hands on it at the moment.

William W. Cobern is now in the Dept. of Education of Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He was formerly at Judson Baptist College in The Dalles, Oregon. (Try telling those Texans that Dallas is spelled with an e!-Ed.)

H. Harold Hartzler is famous in ASA circles for many accomplishments, from having taught astronomy to Owen Gingerich at Goshen College to becoming ASA's first executive secretary in the 1960's-but especially for attending every Annual Meeting since he joined ASA in 1944 (if you include one by videotape after a heart attack). "H-cubed" and wife Dorothy, who've been married 50 years, live in Glendale, Arizona, but try to spend part of each summer in Mankato, Minnesota (where Harold retired from teaching physics at Mankato State). Harold says that he used to watch several prominent evangelists on television but has been turned off by their "showmanship" and by reading Robert McNeil's article on "The Trouble With Television" in the March 1985 Reader's Digest. Since watching fast-moving TV discourages concentration and clear thinking, Harold wonders if ASA should have anything to do with that medium. Should we put huge amounts of money into a TV series, he asks, even if ASA's production is extremely well done? (Any carefully thought-out rebuttals by fast-moving TV-watchers out there?-Ed.)

Carey Johnson becomes assistant professor of physical chemistry at the U. of Kansas in Lawrence this fall, where he plans to start a research program in laser spectroscopy. Wife Jean will teach math. They did their graduate work at Iowa State, followed by three years of postdoctoral work for Carey at the U. of Pennsylvania. They're looking forward to joining the Lawrence Mennonite Fellowship.

Christopher Kaiiala recently joined Polysar Inc. Resins Division in Leominster, Massachusetts, as a process engineer. That division makes polystyrene resin for injection molding into such products as clear throw-away drinking cups and utensils. Chris is responsible for defining and installing equipment for any one of the division's three polystyrene plants in North America. Chris is grateful for the Lord's provision of a job near his family and for selling his house and finding an ideal one in a relatively short time. "The Lord's gracious care was a witness to my new employer and those of us who prayed for these things."

Thomas Key of Bainbridge, Georgia, recently received his Th.D. at Antioch Seminary. Tom, who has managed to combine science teaching with a pastoral ministry also has an Ed.D. in biology from Ball State University in Indiana.

Paul Leiffer, associate professor at LeTourneau College in Longview, Texas, serves on the board of Bridges East, an organization whose goal is to help place qualified engineering students from the People's Republic of China in American Graduate Schools. The need is great because only eighteen doctorates were awarded in all of China in 1983; Bridges East scholarship applicants must agree to go back to the PCR to teach engineering. Although bridges East is not a specifically Christian organization, it was begun by a Christian couple from Kansas (Norman and Beverly Holmskog) who saw the need while teaching English at Northeast University of Technology in Shenyang. Address: Bridges East, Box 1, Elbing, KS 67041.

Clark Lindgren received his Ph.D. in physiology at Wisconsin and is now doing postdoctoral research in the Dept. of Physiology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is working with John W. Moore on the regulation of synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction. In June, Clark and Jan were expecting their second child.

Larry Martin of Carrboro, North Carolina, has kindly supplied additional information on James H. Crawford, Jr., whose obituary appeared in the June/July issue. Jim Crawford was trained not in chemistry (as we reported), but in physics (Ph.D., UNC, Chapel Hill, 1949), and from 1949 through 1966 was at Oak Ridge National Lab, where he became associate director of the Solid State Division. In 1967 he became a professor of physics and chair of the department at Chapel Hill, where in October 1984 he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 62. Crawford edited Journal of Applied Physics (1960-64) and published some 150 papers, mostly on radiation damage to materials. He was very active in the University United Methodist Church of Chapel Hill and was a faculty sponsor of IVCF on campus. Larry Martin says Jim "was known for his quiet and humble one-on-one witness" and his sense of concern for all people. Larry recalls that Prof. Crawford personally encouraged him to attend UNC, and that "it was comforting for me to know that there was at least one Christian on the faculty."

Robert McAllister lost his left leg below the knee in January to the diabetes that earlier caused his blindness. He wrote us from the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver, B.C., where he was training for a prosthesis. The McAllisters feel that they must give up their home in Rossland and move to Vancouver. Bob (call letters VE7ERQ) says the ASA amateur radio net (ASA News., Apr/May 1984) hasn't amounted to much because "short wave bands have faded during the period of low sunspot activity."

William Monsma, director of the Maclaurin Institute at the U. of Minnesota, was profiled in the "Chosen People" section of the January 1985 issue of Eternity magazine. Under the heading "Faith Meets Reason," Doug Trouten, editor of a newspaper called Twin Cities Christian, described the work of the Institute as "pre-evangelism" among faculty and graduate students. ASA wasn't mentioned (nuts!-Ed.) but Institute board member Elving Anderson, professor of genetics at Minnesota (and former ASA president) was quoted. Elving said that secular pressures on university faculty make evangelism difficult no matter how well the Institute does its work of presenting thought-provoking seminars and articulating the faith. Currently Bill is trying to raise funds ($8000) to rent an office near campus rather than continuing to operate out of his home. Address: The Maclaurin Institute, 3945 - 14th Ave., S., Minneapolis, MN 55407.

W. Douglas Morrison, Executive Director of the Canadian Christian and Scientific Affiliation and professor of animal and poultry science at the U. of Guelph in Ontario, was the prestigious Klinck Lecturer for the Agricultural Institute of Canada for 1985. At its June meeting the CSCA Executive Council asked Doug to be the main speaker at the 1985 CSCA Annual Meeting in Toronto on October 26, relating some of his comments on "animal rights" from the Klinck Lecture to the Judeo-Christian view and to current animal-welfare activism.

J. Richard Pratt is a research chemist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Richard has a Ph.D. from the U. of Southern Mississippi in organic chemistry and specializes in polymers and high-performance materials. A Methodist, Richard is a new member of ASA deeply concerned about faith questions and apparent science/faith conflicts. He would like for the Newsletter to carry more stories about the witness of ASA members and more discussions of such issues as miracles of healing and, for that matter, biblical miracles in general. (We're game.-Ed.)

H. Miriam Ross has become assistant professor of Christian missions and social issues at Acadia Divinity College, a Baptist school affiliated with Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Her new assignment brings together Miriam's education in Bible/Greek, nursing, and anthropology, plus her overseas missionary experience and interests in gerontology, women's issues, health, and spiritual well-being. Breaking ground once again, Miriam will be the first woman full-time professor at a school of about 120 students, a third of whom are women. Miriam won't be at the ASA/RSCF conference in Oxford because of a trip to Tel Aviv in June to read two papers at the 2nd International Conference on Nursing Care of the Aged.

Charles Thaxton, curriculum director of the Foundation for Thought and Ethics in Richardson, Texas, is one of the authors of The Mystery of Life's Origin (Philosophical Library, 1984). We were worried that the book might not be doing very well when we saw that Charlie had put an ad for it in the newspaper his nine-year-old son C.J. publishes as part of his home schooling. That issue of The C & C Monthly News carried news of Caspian, the family gerbil, and of younger brother Carson's new ability to read Dr. Seuss's Hop on Pop. But about The Mystery, not to worry: it went into a second printing after less than four months, is getting wide distribution in the scientific community, and will likely be translated into Romanian, Russian, and other Eastern European languages. Reviews keep popping up everywhere. A reviewer in The Vortex (Jan 1985) of the California Section of the American Chemical Society called its ideas "interesting." Ronnie J. Hastings gave it a long review in Creation-Evolution Newsletter (Jan/Feb 1985); he had some reservations but called it "well-worth reading," partly because it is (in his words) such a "refreshing departure" from the usual run of "creationist literature."

Ronald J. Vos has moved to northwest Iowa to join the faculty of Dordt College and be manager of the Agricultural Stewardship Center. Before that he taught science in the Pella Christian School system in Pella, Iowa, and raised purebred sheep on his "hobby" farm, aided by his wife and three children. Ron has a master's degree and additional graduate work in environmental science.