NEWSLETTER

of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

Volume 23 Number 6                                                       December 1981/January 1982


IT DOZEN SEEM THAT MANY ...

... But 1981 must have been our twelfth year of editing this Newsletter. The number twelve has a good feel to it. It's factorable many ways, a mathematician might say. The apostles liked it better than eleven (Acts 1:16-26). Churches honor it in the feast of Epiphany (Twelfth Night).

We're thankful for so many years of serving the Lord together with you in our Affiliations. We couldn't do it without your help, your encouragement, and your patience. We get things wrong, misplace correspondence for months, make poor choices, pun on third downs-and our jokes aren't always funny. We've been late three issues in a row. It's too late even to wish you a Merry Christmas, but we've made some New Year's Resolutions to serve you better in 1982.

Serious business, journalism. In Matthew, chapter twelve, the Lord warned careless wordmongers (vv. 36, 37). But in chapter thirteen he said the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that permeates a big batch of dough. Let's rise and shine and go for a Baker's dozen.

-Walt & Ginny Hearn

UP-TO-THE-MONTH NEWS

With this item we're almost scooping ourselves. Ordinarily, issue No. 1 of the next Volume would lead off with ASA election news. This year the Executive Council held its December meeting early-in November, in fact-to coincide with travel for other purposes (thus saving ASA some airfare expense). Hence we already know what happened there, and now you'll know, too.

Elected president of the Council and thus of ASA was ChiHang Lee, Del Monte Corporation food chemist of Walnut Creek, California. Chi had been elected vice-president for 1981. When president Bob Herrmann resigned to become executive director, Chi automatically became president for the rest of 1981. Now he will serve through 1982. Miami (Ohio) University historian Edwin Yamauchi was elected vice-president and Houghton College biologist Donald Munro will serve as secretary.

The Council elects its own officers but all ASA members get to vote in the election of Council members. This year you voted on two sets of candidates, one to fill Bob Herrmann's remaining year of his five-year term, the other to replace Kurt Weiss, retiring after his fifth year on the Council (including two years as president). Returns from those two elections were in by the November meeting. The one-year term will be filled by Oregon State University radiation biologist (and former ASA president) David Willis. The new five-year term will be filled by Geneva College sociologist Russell Heddendorf.

DEATH STRIKES HERRMANN FAMILY

The ASA Executive Council met in Ipswich on the weekend before Thanksgiving. As it turned out, heavy snows might have made an early December meeting precarious anyway. Another kind of heaviness also descended on ASA headquarters in November, which is why our executive director wasn't able to contribute a column for this issue.

Visiting Betty and Bob Herrmann for Thanksgiving were Betty's parents from Peekskill, New York, Mr. and Mrs. George J. Cook. They left Ipswich to drive to Key Largo, Florida. At a motel in St. Augustine, Mrs. Cook died suddenly, evidently from a heart attack. Some of those details may not be quite right, but we know that the Herrmanns left immediately to be with Betty's father, and to drive back with him (through some heavy snow) to New York for the funeral. ASA secretary Joan Lipsey called to let us know.

We offer our deepest sympathy to Betty and Bob Herrmann in the loss of Betty's mother.

GET THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR

Whether you buy a new calendar for 1982 or recycle an old one (a 1971 calendar has the same pattern of days as 1982), be sure to mark AUGUST 13-16 on it. Those are the dates of the 1982 ASA ANNUAL MEETING, to be held at CALVIN COLLEGE in GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. Keynote speaker will be V. Elving Anderson, professor of human genetics at the U. of Minnesota and president of Sigma Xi, the national scientific research society. Elving is also a past president of the American Scientific Affiliation.

With a geneticist for our main speaker, the 1982 Annual Meeting will have a biological theme. Program chair Wayne Frair, professor of biology at The King's College, is already working with his co-chair on the Executive Council, biology professor Don Munro of Houghton College, to develop a program focusing on biology but of interest to anyone who cares about science and Christian faith. A special session is being planned as a workshop for biology teachers.

If you have suggestions for the program or workshop even before the call for papers goes out, write to Dr. Wayne Frair, Dept. of Biology, The King's College, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510, or Dr. Donald W. Munro, Dept. of Biology, Houghton College, Houghton, NY 14744.

ALL BOOKED UP

We try to mention any book written by (or about) a member of ASA or CSCA that comes to our attention. And we try to give at least an impression of any such book sent to us "for review"-even though JASA is really the place for that. Maybe one reason we're late with this issue is that we got hooked on three or four books and read them all the way through.

1. Ken Pike: Scholar and Christian (Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1981, paper) is a biography of the keynote speaker at our 1977 ASA Annual Meeting, written by his sister and fellow SIL linguist, Eunice V. Pike. A note accompanying the book said that Ken allowed the book to be written "because his interest in missions was heavily stirred in his early teens by having read a biography of Hudson Taylor." Ken, born in 1912, graduated from Gordon College in 1933 and in the summer of 1935 enrolled in the second training session held at Cameron Townsend's "Camp Wycliffe" in Arkansas. From that beginning he went on to become a skilled Bible translator, the first SIL member to receive a Ph.D. (1942), and one of the leading linguistic theorists of the 20th century.


Besides chronicling events of Ken's life, the book has a number of photographs and a complete bibliography of his secular, religious, and poetic writings. Although not as absorbing a biography (in our opinion) as James and Marti Hefley's story of Cameron Townsend, Uncle Cam (Word, 1974), Ken Pike shows us a Christian scholar at work (and sometimes at play), a gracious witness both to Mixtec-speaking villagers in Mexico and to colleagues at the U. of Michigan. At Ann Arbor Ken became associate professor (1948), full professor (1955), chair of the Dept. of Linguistics (1977), and, on retirement, professor emeritus (1979). Probably no other evangelical scholar of our century has had more impact on a particular scientific discipline than Kenneth L. Pike.

Ken and wife Evie are still going strong, as evidenced by a recent letter to us from Togo, West Africa, where they were conducting linguistic workshops for Wycliffe translators. Other evidence is Tagmemics, Discourse, and Verbal Art (Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan, 1981), a paperback collection of three of Ken's essays published in the "Michigan Studies in the Humanities" series. And according to J. E. Bernhardt, publications coordinator of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236), a 1982 book is forthcoming from the U. of Nebraska Press. In it Ken Pike "attempts to make accessible to non-linguists a number of the most important theoretical presuppositions which underlie the tagmemic variety of linguistic theory."

2. UFO's and Evolution (1981, copyright by Sidney J. Jansma) is an attractive 11 2-page paperback, evidently privately published by author Sidney J. Jansma, Sr., president of the Wolverine Oil & Gas Co. of Grand Rapids, Michigan. From arguments we've had with Sid at ASA meetings, we knew he was dead set against evolution, but his title lured us in immediately to see what UFO's had to do with it. The connection Sid sees is that Satan is clearly behind both.

"The Quicksands of Theistic Evolution," a major chapter, introduces some technical matters but emphasizes "the theological proof of the fallacy of evolution." Sid does not see evolution "simply as the beastly actions and language of Satan but as his lying and blasphemy as spoken through the possessed." Sid reasons both from Isaiah 48:13 and from "the birth of Surtsey Island" off the coast of Iceland in 1963 that "the world has not existed forever but appeared abruptly." (This observer from the quicksand is always interested in what recent-creationists make of Surtsey. Mostly that island is said to have "appeared" or been "born" or "formed." Sid states that in only a few months its landscape was "created," which seems to raise a few questions: Is God still actively creating? Does he use physical processes to create?-Ed.)

Though it's not always clear whetherSid is quoting someone else or stating his own conclusions, he talks about UFO's in a very factual way. He describes them as "smooth, metallic like," and mostly saucer-shaped, "with a lighted transparent observation dome on top and lighted portholes along its perimeter." UFO's range in size up to a couple hundred feet but "the smallest, about three feet in diameter, is occupied by one ghastly operator." Pages of evidence for the reality of UFO's (which Sid calls ISA's, for "identifiable Satanic apparitions") are presented, including reports by "contactees" who were taken aboard UFOnaut-piloted craft.

Will leaders in the recent-creationist movement welcome association of their cause with that kind of argument -for UFO's? Evidently so, since Henry M. Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) wrote the foreword to UFO's and Evolution, and he, Duane Gish, and Richard Bliss of ICR wrote introductions to several chapters. Richard Niessen of Christian Heritage College, associated with ICR, contributed the chapter on "Significant Discrepancies Between Theistic Evolution and the Bible." Further, although no publisher is specified, a note at the end says that books on the question of creation and evolution can be obtained from ICR (2716 Madison Ave., San Diego, CA 92116). Presumably that's where you can get hold of Sid Jansma's book, too.

3. God Did It, But How? (La Mirada: CalMedia, 1981, paper) is the same size and shape as the book just mentioned but almost its exact opposite in every other respect. The author is Robert B. Fischer, now vice-president for academic affairs at Biola College after sixteen years as dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Cal State U.,  Domingues Hills. Before that, Bob spent fifteen years as professor of analytical chemistry at Indiana U. He is author of many scientific papers and five textbooks.

In this book, subtitled "Relationships Between the Bible and Science," Bob Fischer analyzes a positive relationship that he hopes will be acceptable to "average people, including those who are evangelical Christians and all persons who have even modest respect for science." Although both biblical and scientific data on origins are considered, the main emphasis is on sorting out the realms or levels of discourse in which the terms "creation" and "evolution" may properly be applied. On the scientific level, evolution (which need not be atheistic) is a theory of gradual development. It stands in contrast to theories of instantaneous appearances (which need not be theistic). Evolution and instantaneous origins are rival answers to a "how" question. Creation, on the other hand, is one answer to a "who" question.

In Bob's view the biblical and generally accepted scientific understandings of origins complement each other, and where they overlap "they are basically reinforcing rather than contradictory." In the light of certain weaknesses or limitations of the present scientific concept, however, Bob suggests caution in accepting "what is claimed by many to be its unequivocal certainty."

God Did It, But How? also contains a discussion of miracles and ends with a chapter on "Fitting it All Together." A balanced Christian view avoids falling into "scientism" on one hand or a naive "biblicism" on the other. Readers of JASA will find Bob's position familiar and many will regard it not

as quicksand but as very firm ground indeed. Bob claims no originality for these views but simply wants to make them available to more people. We wonder why he chose a relatively unknown local publisher, CalMedia (P.O. Box 156, La Mirada, CA 90637), instead of a major publisher with an established distribution system. CalMedia seems off to a good start, although we did spot a few minor typos. They can be corrected in future printings, which we hope Bob Fischer's book will receive.

4. Beginning with God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1981, paper, $3.50) is the latest book by James W. Sire, editor of InterVarsity Press and author of The Universe Next Door, Scripture Twisting, and How to Read Slowly. Subtitled "A Basic Introduction to the Christian Faith," this little 156-page book seems a worthy successor to John Stott's Basic Christianity (IVP, 1957). In his preface Jim recommends Stott's book as an alternative presentation based largely on the picture of Jesus in the Gospels, whereas this book is more explicitly theological and based on Paul's letters. Both books are designed to help earnest seekers find New Life in Christ.

Jim Sire's association with ASA shows his respect for science, although his own training and interests are primarily literary. In Beginning with God he beautifully explicates the theological meaning of the Genesis creation narratives without reference to evolution or any other scientific question: we are made by God; we are made in his image; sin separates us from him; hence we need to be reconciled. The book goes on to show how Jesus Christ accomplishes that reconciliation.

Epigrams from 17th-century scientist Blaise Pascal's Pens6les introduce several of the chapters. One long one calls each human being "judge of all things," yet "imbecile worm of the earth; depository of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error; the pride and refuse of the universe!" It ends, "Know then, proud man, what a paradox you are to yourself. Humble yourself, weak reason; be silent, foolish nature; learn that man infinitely transcends man, and learn from your Master your true condition, of which you are ignorant. Hear God."

LASTING IMPACT

Early in 1980 a group of Berkeley physicists presented evidence that a huge asteroid ("the size of Manhattan") may have collided with the earth some 65 million years ago. A thin sedimentary layer rich in iridium and some other metals was found in several locations in different parts of the world and interpreted as dust that settled after the impact. Almost immediately that idea was linked to the dramatic extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. After all, atmospheric dust from the 1888 eruption of the Krakatau volcano is known to have messed up agriculture in a broad band around the world. What if the dust or haze from a much larger explosion had stayed in the atmosphere long enough to blot out photosynthesis, "doing in" many plants and the animals that fed on them?

Eventually, in October 1981, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the National Academy of Sciences brought paleontologists, geologists, and physicists together at Snowbird, Utah, to debate "Large Body Impacts and Terrestrial Evolution." As reported by Richard Kerr in Science (20 Nov 1981), the geochemical evidence for such a unique "catastrophe" was generally accepted. Disagreements were largely over the extent of the consequences on both marine and terrestrial life. Some paleontologists estimate that 44 to 49 percent of all marine genera living at the time, 14 percent of freshwater genera, and 20 percent of terrestrial genera became extinct at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.

Yet to paleontologists and geologists, "the most exciting prospect may not be the explanation of some mass extinctions. Rather, it is the possibility of telling geologic time with unprecedented precision. They have been able to say with great precision what the order of events was at any one site. The difficulty has been telling the order of events at widely separated locations, especially when one event was in the ocean and another on land. If a great impact did deposit an identifiable layer over the globe in a single geologic instant, it would be the ultimate time marker."

COURTING TROUBLE

As we are putting together this issue the "creation-science" suit has gone to court in Little Rock, but we've seen only one or two small news items about its progress. We gather that the American Civil Liberties Union has lined up an array of scientists, theologians, and others as expert witnesses against the "Balanced Treatment" act passed in March 1981. Probably the state Attorney General has found an equal number to testify on the recent-creationist side. It occurs to us that some ASA member might be among the witnesseson either side. If so, how about sending us a story about that experience?

Meanwhile ACLU was preparing to file a separate suit against the Louisiana "Balanced Treatment" law. For some reason recent-creationists seem to anticipate losing the court fight in Arkansas but have strong hopes of winning in Louisiana. Further, the same group headed by Paul Ellwanger of South Carolina that drafted those two bills has announced that it has cleaned up the wording to produce a more airtight model bill, even if ACLU should win in both states. A bill constitutionally weaker than either of the present statutes has been filed in Maryland by Roman Catholic legislator Patrick Scanello.

On the eve of the current trial, a long article by Roger Lewin in Science ("Creationism Goes on Trial in Arkansas," 4 Dec 1981) outlined strategies expected to be followed by both sides. The ACLU must show not only that "creation-science" is not a science but that it is a religion in order to show that the law violates the First Amendment. The other side, of course, argues the same way about "evolution-science." A sample of the legal sophistication on that side is seen in an article by Wendell R. Bird in the Fall 1981 issue of Origins Research. "Creation-Science and the Separation of Church and State" is a condensed version of an address given by him to the ACLU National Directors Conference at Tufts University, 8 June 1981. Bird, general counsel to the Institute for Creation Research and the Creation Science Legal Defense Fund, argues that (1) three First Amendment provisions require creation-science if evolution-science is taught, and (2) separation of church and state does not prevent instruction in creation-science.

A more complete account of those arguments can be found in Bird's articles, "Freedom of Religion and Science Instruction in Public Schools," 87 Yale Law Journal 515-70 (Jan 1978), and "Freedom From Establishment and Un-Neutrality in Public School Instruction," Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 125-205 (Summer 1979). Copies are available at $3.90 each from Wendell R. Bird, 2100 Greenfield Dr., El Cajon, CA 92021.

NEO-JOURNAL-ISM

Creationism, neo-Darwinism, evolutionism-they seem to fill our pages these days. Maybe we ought to move on to other topics and refer you to some other journals for those -isms.

Creation/lEvolution is a new quarterly journal "that answers the arguments raised by creationists" but says it welcomes responsible articles by creationists. Editor is Frederick Edwords, administrator of the American Humanist Association. In the first issue, Summer 1980 (reviewed by Jerry Albert in the Sept 1981 JASA), Edwords presented his version of the legalities in "Why Creationism Should Not be Taught as Science." Subscription rate is $2.50 per issue, $8 per year. Address: 953 Eighth Ave., Suite 209, San Diego, CA 92101.

Biblical Creation is a U.K. journal we learned about from ASA president Chi-Hang Lee, who says he discovered a copy in the ASA office. It is published three times a year by the Biblical Creation Society. U.S. subscribers pay $4 annually for surface mail, $5 for airmail. Address inquiries to Dr. D. Lachman, 316 Hamel Ave., North Hills, PA 19038. The issue Chi saw, No. 5 (Vol. 2, Feb 1980) contained an article by D. A. Carson, professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, entitled "The Genesis Flood in Perspective." Carson expressed appreciation for that 1961 Morris and Whitcomb book as a pivotal work, suggested several ways in which it needs updating, and offered a select annotated bibliography of related books written since 1961.

Finally, Origins Research mentioned in the story above, although still available at a $2 yearly subscription rate (or free to students and educators who request it), is now also being offered on a membership basis by Students for Origins Research (SOR). One can be a sustaining member of SOR for $50 or more per year or an associate member for $15 per year. SOR is trying to bail itself out financially because it has been sending its publication free of charge to over 2,000 science department heads in colleges and universities. "The purpose of SOR is to assist students and educators in critically analyzing the evolutionary model of origins and to aid them in exploring the alternatives." Of all the so-called "creationist" organizations we know, SOR seems to have the most open definition of creation. Several people on its board of advisors are members of ASA or subscribers to JASA, and both editor Dennie Wagner and technical editor David Johannsen are ASA members. Address: P.O. Box 203, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-0203.


PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIONS

Jon Canaday (Physics Dept., University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1) seeks a faculty position in physical science or engineering in a college or university. He would like to develop an interdisciplinary course blending elements of energy, environmental science, and economics, emphasizing the need for stewardship of natural resources. He would also consider nonacademic employment in those areas. Jon holds a B.S. in metallurgical engineering (U. of Oklahoma), M.B.A. (U. of Arizona), M.S. in nuclear physics

(U. of Calgary), and expects to receive his Ph.D. in solid state physics from Guelph in 1982. He has experience in engineering, teaching, and research, plus several publications.

Sherman P. Kanagy, (Physics Dept., Room 313B, Moulton Hall, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761) is looking for a tenure-track position in physics or astronomy for fall 1982. Sherm has a B.S. in astronomy (Case Institute of Technology), and an M.S. and Ph.D. in astronomy (U. of Illinois) and four years of teaching experience in physics and astronomy. He is currently assistant professor of physics at Illinois State. Major interests: (1) paleogeophysics; (2) archaeoastronomy; (3) relationships between science, pseucloscience, and religion; (4) teaching physics/astronomy. Sherm gave a paper "On the Nature of the Star of the Magi" at the 1981 ASA Annual Meeting and is coauthoring a book on that subject with a theologian. He has also prepared a textbook supplement on Issues in Science and Pseudoscience for use in science and philosophy courses. He has several technical publications on globular clusters.

Walter B. Sinnamon (Dept. of Zoology, College of Sciences, Clemson University, 336 Long Hall, Clemson, SC 29631) expects his doctorate in physiology from Clemson in August 1982 and is looking for a teaching job with some opportunity for research. Walt joined ASA in his senior year at Houghton College (1969), then taught at Houghton Academy and Central Wesleyan College before entering Clemson's graduate program. He has several publications on the role of the pineal gland in thermoregulation in Spermophilus species (ground squirrels) and is generally interested in mammalian thermoregulation, hibernation, and biological rhythms. He has coached various sports and has held a number of positions in Wesleyan churches.

Paul A. Twelker (Simulation Systems, P.O. Box 8046, Black Butte Ranch, OR 97759) seeks a position in either an academic or industrial setting that will make use of his experience in one or more of the following: educational technology; instructional system design and development; programmatic research, developmental, or evaluative activities; teaching. Paul has had extensive experience in managing curriculum development projects, faculty development, and simulation/gaming applications in professional education. He has an Ed.D. degree and in recent years has been consulting for a major church denomination, which has taken him into the area of organizational psychology.

POSITIONS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE

Wheaton College in Illinois has several openings in chemistry for 1982-83. One is for a Ph.D. analytical chemist to teach in a well-equipped laboratory situation, with potential for some curriculum development. The second is for a B.S. in chemistry, preferably with some technical experience and teaching ability, to serve as laboratory associate to run the general chemistry lab. This is a faculty position with considerable student contact. "Strong Christian liberal arts environment and a gifted student body." Contact: Dr. Derek A. Chignell, Chair, Dept. of Chemistry, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 60187. Tel: (312) 260-5065. (Received 23 Oct 1981.)

Calvin College in Michigan is still looking for a geologist, preferably a soft-rock geologist with a Ph.D. but open to a Christian geologist of some othe rvariety. Contact: Dr. Roger Griffioen, Chair, Dept. of Physics, Calvin College, Grand

Rapids, MI 49506. Tel: (616) 949-4000. (Received 12 Nov 1981, from Davis A. Young, associate professor of geology at Calvin.)

Roberts Wesleyan College in New York seeks a full-time faculty member in mathematics and computer science for fall 1982. Most teaching will be in math but some expertise in computer science is essential. The first two computer courses of a computer science concentration in math, offered in cooperation with Rochester Institute of Technology, are taught on campus. Roberts Wesleyan is just outside of Rochester and is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Contact: Dr. Philip M. Ogden, Chair, Division of Natural Science & Mathematics, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2301 Westside Drive, Rochester, NY 14624. Tel: (716) 594-9471. (Received 7 Dec 1981.)

Bethel College in Minnesota is looking for a vice-president and dean, as George Brushaber steps up from that position to the presidency. Oops, probably too late, but just in case, contact: Dean Search Advisory Committee, Bethel College, 3900 Bethel Drive, Box 2370, St. Paul, MN 55112. (Received Dec 1981.)

Taylor University in Indiana is also looking for a vice-president of academic affairs and dean. Oops, closing date on this one is January 15, so it may be sewed up, too. Try: Vice Presidential Search Committee, Taylor University, Upland, IN 46989. (Received Dec 1981, from administrative assistant to the president, who said several ASA members on the faculty suggested a plug in our Newsletter. Nice try, you guys, to get a dean with a science background-Ed.)

LOCAL SECTION ACTIVITIES

VANCOUVER

Another new section in Canada! Enoch E. Mattson has stirred up enough interest to get things going on the west coast. All CSCA members in B.C. (or traveling to B.C.) are invited to contact Dr. Mattson at 11104 - 134A Street, Surrey, B.C., V3R 2Z5.

SAN DIEGO

Jim Merritt of La Mesa has been the catalyst for re-activating a somewhat somnolent section this year. The June/July 1981 Newsletter carried a squib about his discovering in his first issue of JASA that a section was supposed to exist in the San Diego area where he lives. He wrote to the national office for the name of a contact person and received a computer printout of names and addresses of members and JASA subscribers in the area. (The Ipswich office is glad to supply such a list to any member who wants to "start something"-Ed.)

Jim started calling people, and when he got to Jerry Albert (the printout was by ZIP code but he probably looked up the phone numbers in alphabetical order), things started happening. Jim dropped in at Jerry's lab at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center to talk over ideas for programs. They knew that Bob Herrmann was planning a visit in a few months but decided not to wait that long.

The first meeting they organized was held on August 3 at Craig Allen's house. Jim Lipke gave a presentation that was followed by discussion and then suggestions for future programs. The topic was "Scientific Evidence, Historical-Legal Evidence, and Revelation: Apologetics." Jim is a chemist working for the Point Loma sewage treatment plant and a former student in Fred Jappe's "Science and Religion" course at Mesa College.

For a September 10 meeting they moved to the Evangelical Free Church, where most subsequent meetings have been held. That night John Siobring discussed "How Old Is the Earth: Genesis and Objections to the 'GapTheory 'as Strawmen, and Other Topics." John is an instructor in apologetics and New Testament Greek at Southern California Bible College, with a background that includes Dallas and Fuller seminaries, University of Strasbourg, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. A conservative Bible scholar, he can accept the general scientific view of the age of the earth and considers the "young earth" position extremely unrealistic. The announcement of that meeting suggested that members might also be interested in a two-Saturday lecture series at S.D.S.U. on "Relativity, Black Holes, and the Universe" by Dr. William J. Kaufman. The idea was that a future ASA meeting might be planned around a biblical response to Kaufman's views.

By the time ASA executive director Bob Herrmann made it to the area on his first west coast swing, several functions had been planned. On Wednesday evening, November 4, an informal discussion on "Future Directions of the ASA" was held in Don Boardman's home in Rancho Bernardo. The next night Bob spoke at the Rancho Bernardo Community Church on "Whole Person Medicine" in a program cosponsored by its Adult Education class. On Friday night Bob gave a talk on "Ethics of Recombinant DNA Research" at the E.F. Church.

The meeting scheduled for December 8 at the E.F. Church featured a repeat performance by Jim Lipke, this time to see color slides of an archaeological tour Jim took to "digs" in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in October 1981.

Announcements for these meetings have been simple double-spaced typed sheets, replicated by Xerox or some similar process. They carry Jim Merritt's and Jerry Albert's phone numbers and a little note asking for help with (1) an alternative meeting place; (2) a program someone might want to present, perhaps enlarging on a JASA article; and (3) contributions toward postage for the announcements. Interest seems to be building, with 13 in attendance in September and 37 for at least one of Bob Herrmann's talks in November. (We hope the "build-up" continues without "burn-out"-Ed.)

SAN FRANCISCO BAY

The meeting on October 29 at Palo Alto Christian Reformed Church was remarkable in several respects. For one thing, having Bob and Betty Herrmann share a program on "Ethical Problems in the Treatment of Genetic Disease" increased the impact considerably. Bob, a biochemist, began by stating that probably 200 of the 2,500 known genetic abnormalities can now be diagnosed in utero by amniocentesis. After he had described both technical problems and ethical questions in coping with such information, including the possibility of "gene therapy," Betty brought the personal human dimension into the discussion. In Tulsa she worked with the "Little Lighthouse" program, which began by training people to work with visually impaired infants but eventually

helped many other "exceptional" children under the age of ten. She showed slides of children afflicted with Down's syndrome, spina bifida, and various forms of mental retardation who were obviously responding to the love of those caring for them. Betty had watched little Stephanie "die day by day" of a brain tumor-and both their lives had been enriched by their love for each other. Not many scientific presentations leave an audience with joyful tears in its eyes, but that one did.

Besides the executive director, several other notables from the national ASA scene were visible at that meeting. Ourtwo editors, Dick Bube and Wal tHearn, old-timers in the section, were on hand, of course. But national president Chi-Hang Lee was also there, attending his first local meeting since moving to the area. Walter Thorson, keynote speaker at the 1980 Annual Meeting, also attended, on sabbatical from the U. of Alberta to work at Stanford Research Institute this year.

The next meeting of the section will be in the East Bay. It is scheduled for February 20 at Karpe Hall of the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley. The program is shaping up as a Saturday mini-conference on "Science, Technology, and You," cosponsored by New College for Advanced Christian Studies (located on the ABSW block at 2606 Dwight Way in the south campus area of Berkeley). Chemist-philosopher Walter Thorson will give an address in the morning; after lunch some technological problems and their ethical implications will be explored by several other speakers.

PERSONALS

Roger Burgus, professor of biochemistry at Oral Roberts University School of Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was back at Iowa State University in Ames in December to give a lecture on "Brain as an Endocrine Organ" and receive the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Roger, whose contribution to the work that won the 1977 Nobel Prize in medicine has been described in The Nobel Duel by Nicholas Wade ("The Right Stuff," Oct/ Nov 1981 Newsletter), received his Ph.D. at Iowa State in 1962 under Walt Hearn. He started in Hearn's group as an undergraduate lab assistant. After a postdoctoral position at Wayne State he joined physiologist Roger Guillemin's group at Baylor Medical School and then transferred with Guillemin to the Salk Institute, where his prize-winning chemical work was completed. (Thanks to biochemist Mildred Carlson of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines for spotting a notice in Iowa State's Biochemistry & Biophysics Bulletin Board about Roger's visit. BBbb is the weekly departmental newsletter Walt Hearn founded and edited for ten years-his apprenticeship for editing the ASA/CSCA Newsletter-Ed.)

James 0. Buswell, ///, is dean of graduate studies at William Carey International University. WCIU is the research wing of the U.S. Center for World Mission, founded by Ralph Winter in 1977 in an all-out effort to plant a church in every culture or people-group by A.D. 2000. Jim has had an academic career as a professor of anthropology but in his WCIU role has moved from a salaried faculty rank to "missionary" status, dependent on others for financial support. Contributions to support the Buswells can be sent to WCIU, 1539 E. Howard St., Pasadena, CA 91104. For income tax deductibility, make donations payable to U.S. Center for World Mission, stipulating separately that they are for the Buswells' support.

R. David Cole, professor of biochemistry at U.C. Berkeley, is also a vital part of New College in Berkeley. Dave serves on the New College board and academic senate. As chair of the presidential search committee he is delighted to announce that William A. Dyrness, professor of theology at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines, has been appointed president to replace Ward Gasque, who returns to Regent College in August 1982. In summer 1981, Carl F. H. Henry taught a New College course on "Issues in Contemporary Theology" and Dave hosted a luncheon so some U.C. scientists could give Carl feedback for Vol. 6 (on Creation) of his huge God, Revelation, and Authority. The lively discussion included chemist Fritz Schaefer, geneticist Phil Spieth, and visiting Oxford astrophysicist John Barrow.

Arnold Dyck is a Canadian entomologist whose work for the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines takes him to many places. Last March a trip to Indonesia (six islands, including Kalimantan) enabled him to encourage a young couple who had become Christians while studying in the Philippines. In September he was off to China to study rice pest problems there. Arn serves as secretary fo the Pest Control Council of the Philippines (the national entomological society). He can have an international influence for Christ without traveling because grad students from some twenty countries are always in residence at IRRI to learn how to grow more and better rice. A group of Christian students has been meeting every week in Arn's office to pray for their fellow students.

G. Archie Johnston, executive director of the California Behavioral Science Institute in Long Beach, is a licensed marriage/family/child counselor and an orthomolecular nutritionist. In May he gave a paper on "Orthomolecular Styles of Medicine (Counseling)" at a meeting of the Orthomolecular Medical Society in San Francisco. Archie says he is one of about 40 Ph.D.s among 500 M.D.s in that society. The same month he gave a well-received paper on "Orthomolecular Counseling: Concepts, Methods, and Cost Effectiveness" at a meeting of -the Christian Association for Psychological Studies in San Diego.

Denis MacDowell has been teaching organic chemistry at West Virginia University in Morgantown since 1959. Denis is Irish and his wife Evelyn is Nova Scotian. They became Christians through Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and have been active IVCF supporters ever since.

R. Clyde McCone teaches anthropology at California State University, Long Beach. In the spring Clyde gave a paper at a meeting of the Society of Applied Anthropology at the U. of Edinburgh in Scotland. This summer he visited Regent College and had some good interaction with James Houston, Carl Armerding, and Donald Wiseman.

Eric L. McLaughlin of Atlanta, Georgia, saw the name of Charles E. Hummel in the Newsletter and wondered if that could be the Charlie Hummel he knew back in North Plainfield, New Jersey, over 40 years ago. Eric said they entered the service the same day, along with another Christian fellow. After misplacing Eric's postcard, we finally sent it off to our Charlie Hummel, who did turn out to be Eric's ol'buddy. Charlie travels for the IVCF faculty ministry from a home base in Grafton, Massachusetts. With his HQ near ASA HO in Ipswich, maybe some cooperative projects will develop.

David 0. Moberg and wife Helen of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have lagged almost as far behind in sending out a family newsletter as those premier procrastinators, the Hearn's of Berkeley. (The reasons are probably similar: the rollercoaster effect of teenagers in the family.) At any rate, after an unmentionable number of years, this spring's Moberg chronicle featured a photo of Dave holding his first grandchild, Johan Sigfrid Janssen, born to daughter Lynette last November. It also clarified for us that Dave stepped down from chairing the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Marquette University after three three-year terms and returned to full-time teaching and research after his 197778 sabbatical. The Mobergs spent that year in Europe, the last week of it in Uppsala, Sweden, where Dave led seminars on spiritual well-being at the Ninth World Congress of Sociology. Some of those papers went into Spiritual Wel lBeing: Sociological Perspectives (University Press of America, 1979), which Dave edited. On the Marquette cam us Dave has been IVCF sponsor for several years and since arch 1979 the Mobergs have hosted a Friday evening supper and Bible study for international students in their home. Average attendance has been about 25, with over 50 on occasion. The Mobergs have been delighted to see the Lord use their home "as a means of bringing people from other lands to know Him and to grow in their faith."

Thomas Opie of Collingswood, New Jersey, was recently cited by his employer, Rohm and Haas Company, for developing an improved manufacturing process for the company's agricultural chemicals. Tom's research led to a patent for the company. He received his B.S. from Davidson College and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University.

Douglas N. Rose of Warren, Michigan, gave the Newsletter office a call when he was in our area this summer. His field is photoacoustic spectroscopy. Doug was in San Francisco for a conference and wanted to find some Christian fellowship.

Melvin Shuster has moved to Sacramento, California, where he works for the Water Resource Control Board, a state agency in part responsible for construction of water treatment plants. Melvin is an engineer in charge of ensuring proper operation and maintenance of newly constructed plants. A member of ASA for several years, Mel would like from other members in the Sacramento area. (His addr6ss-Is VM "S" St, Sacramento, CA 95816. While you're at it, look up Deborah L. Baly at 1511 Anderson, Davis, CA 95616. She's also interested in ASA local section activity.)

Michael J. Sonnenberg is a biology professor at Nyack College in Nyack, New York. Mike and his wife Jan are writing a book about their young son Joel, who was so badly burned that he lost all his fingers and toes. This spring surgeons at the Shriners Burn Institute in Boston constructed a thumb for Joel, using a bone graft. When we heard from Mike, Joel was scheduled for more facial surgery. The Sonnenbergs pray that telling Joel's story will honor God and help other families of burn victims. Joel has an older sister Jami and a baby sister Sommer born in January 1981.

Charles B. Thaxton is director of curriculum research for the Foundation for Thought and Ethics (P.O. Box 721, Richardson, TX 75080). In the Aug/Sept 1981 issue we noted the Foundation's current project of producing a "balanced treatment" high school biology text, but we didn't make clear that the Thaxtons are supported by the gifts of friends and those interested in the project. Donations should be made payable to the Foundation, with a separate note that they are for the Thaxtons' support. Charlie was recently a featured speaker at the annual conference of the Science Teachers Association of Texas.

Henry Weaver, Jr., associate director of overseas educational programs for all the campuses of the U. of California, dropped in on the Newsletter editor in Berkeley while making his rounds. Hank, who teaches a physical chemistry course at his U.C. Santa Barbara base campus in addition to keeping track of U.C. students and faculty around the world, has a warmer spot in his heart for "holistic medicine" than most other hard-science types. He got it the hard way. About a year and a half ago, not long after moving from the faculty of Goshen College, away from long-time friends and relatives, Hank began losing neural control of both feet. The diagnosis was severe: malignancy in one of his vertebrae secondary to a cancer somewhere else in his body. Hank was shaken by a flat statement from his skilled physician that he would never walk again. But Christians rallied around Hank, Mary, and their four children, supporting in prayer Hank's conviction that he would live-and walk. Radiation and chemotherapy did their part but the spiritual aspects of his recovery were equally important, he believes. He now walks with braces on both legs because he has only partial control of his ankle muscles, but he believes even that function may eventually be restored. Since the primary cancer site has never been found, Hank believes it has regressed. But his faith in God, the giver of life, has grown. Hank is also doing a lot of thinking about the influence of spiritual and psychological factors in physical well-being. There's some interesting chemistry in there, somewhere.

Robert W . West, Jr., received his Ph.D. in genetics at U.C. Davis and is now an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Mark Ptashne's lab in the Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Robert and wife Debbie have two daughters, Erika Dawn (1.5 years) and Heidi Nichole (2 months).

Warren Willis, director for Guam/Micronesia of Campus Crusade for Christ, was doing evangelism in the Philippines this summer with a team of over 300 American students ,.stopping out" for overseas service. At summer's end they were all to go to China for a week, to pray for the 1 billion Chinese people and to consider the possibility of serving Christ there in the future.

Walter Hearn taught a course last fall on "Science and Christian Faith" at New College for Advanced Christian Studies in Berkeley, California. A few weeks ago Walter Thorson dropped into class, on sabbatical from the U. of Alberta's Chemistry Department. A theoretician who doesn't need a lab, Thorson has an office at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park. He's living in Castro Valley, about as close to Berkeley as to Stanford, so he hopes to thrash out epistemological ideas with ASAers in both places for a book he's writing with Thomas Torrance of England. Thorson was keynote speaker for the 1980 ASA Annual Meeting at Taylor University. Hearn's class was also visited by ASA executive director Bob Herrmann and ASA president Chi-Hang Lee later in the quarter. Wait gives an ASA brochure and a membership blank to each class member.