NEWSLETTER

of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

Volume 27 Number 6                                                                                      December 1985/January 1986

SWEET SIXTEEN  

With more news items than we can squeeze into this issue, we'll keep our traditional Christmas message short and sweet. This year's greeting marks the end of our sixteenth year as Newsletter editor. What a year! An outstanding Oxford conference is behind us but many other 1985 happenings are still building toward future pay-offs for our Affiliations.

Just now, though, our mood is tempered by news of the deaths of chemist Robert Albers and psychiatrist John Howitt. We will write obituaries of these two long-time ASA/CSCA members for the next issue, but meanwhile we're reminded to keep both mortality and eternity in our view of the future.

So, with thanksgiving for you all, and with anticipation, we wish you a continuing celebration of Christ's coming. -Walt & Ginny Hearn

HERRMANN-EUTICS

The memory of Oxford lingers on. One of our most memorable encounters at the joint ASA/RSCF conference was with George Kinoti, professor of parasitology at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. We remember his smile, his almost musical Oxford English accent, and his deep concern for the Third World.

Dr. Kinoti gave a paper in the plenary session on the social implications of science. He first discussed the fact that evangelical missions provided much of the stimulus for education and then for the development of hospital systems in the Third World. He proposed that the present state of development may call for a third missionary effort: a mission-stimulated research and development program.

Kinoti seemed to think such a program should take the form of independent research institutes like those already existing under the umbrellas of the World Health Organization or the Rockefeller Foundation, but with Christian sponsorship and staffing. Or perhaps Third World universities could be provided with independent research units to focus on fulfilling major needs, as a supplement to their own laboratories. Either approach would enhance the Christian witness in countries that have come to suspect the evangelistic motives of Westerners.

Is George Kinoti's vision something that evangelical scientists, in Britain's Research Scientists' Christian Fellowship and in our two North American Affiliations, should get behind? The RSCF has begun to mobilize advisors with a view to analyzing what is already being done and how best to proceed. Problems of organizing and financing such an enterprise seem enormous, but it would provide essentially unlimited opportunities for scientists as "tentmaker evangelists."

This is one item on the agenda for our November ASA Executive Council meeting. Whatever comes of that discussion, all who attended the Oxford conference were touched by contact with our African Christian colleague. George Kinoti reminded us to think of the whole world as our sphere of service.  -Bob Herrmann

OXFORD ENTRtES

Any ASA Annual Meeting is a great intellectual and spiritual feast. Our 40th, held 25-29 July 1985, took the form of an international conference in Oxford, England. Attending it was like having our feast in a foreign restaurant where one could sample both American and ethnic foods. There were even two main courses-like the "steak and lobster" special one sees advertised.

We can hardly do justice to the menu, let alone give you a taste of each dish. Submission of papers in advance meant, for one thing, that many of them should appear in print within a reasonable time. That's where you'll get complete "recipes."

Our North American entre'  was served up by theoretical chemist Walter Thorson of the U. of Alberta. In "Toward a Biblical Understanding of Human Knowledge," he said that knowledge of God and knowledge of science have much the same character, that knowledge must be integrated in a person (A la Polanyi), and that science grew out of a biblical understanding of the world.

To do science in the light of biblical understanding requires us to keep in mind three principles: (1) faith-in the orderliness and comprehensibility of nature, for example; (2) hope-of encountering real truth about the world; and (3) "hearing." Of "epistemic modes" like seeing, grasping, etc., Walter argues that hearing is dominant in the Bible-but neglected in our approach to science. The Greek emphasis was on seeing, the Hebrew on hearing, which Thorson said requires placing ourselves more completely in a position of dependence.

In his second address, on "Realism and Reverence," Thorson elaborated his concern for what might be called "participatory observation." A biblical understanding of created reality should engender reverence as we do our science. How do we avoid idolatry in our day-to-day contact with creation? Thorson gave a number of examples of beta-thinking ("thinking about thinking"), distinguished by Owen Barfield from a/pha-thinking ("thinking about things"). He suggested that a/pha-thinking itself (i.e., science in the form of "putting nature on the rack") may have become a new idol. Not everybody swallowed Thorson's arguments, but chewed on them in an extremely lively discussion.

(We had some reservations of our own about that "hearing" metaphor. A few weeks later, though, the idea echoed in our mind while reading Evelyn Fox Keller's feminist critique, Reflections on Gender and Science (Yale, 1985). She pointed to Nobel prize-winning plant geneticist Barbara McClintock. McClintock urges scientists to "listen to the material" and develop "a feeling for the organism." Keller was commending that approach not as a Christian ideal but as a feminist ideal-but hadn't we heard the same point somewhere before? -Ed.)

The British main course consisted of a plenary address and a summing up at the end of the conference by emeritus communications theorist Donald M. MacKay of Keele University. MacKay is familiar to ASAers for his many writings on "logical indeterminacy" and the problem of free will in a mechanistic universe. In the RSCF tradition, his talk was less a presentation of his prepared paper on "Christian Priorities in Science" than a commentary on it and on ideas expressed at the conference.

MacKay said that scientists must take values seriously, must value science, and must recognize our own need for values in doing science. As mapmakers of the real world, we choose the kinds of maps we construct. It is not necessarily pious to think we are doing God's will when we do science well; the Bible says that even Pharaoh did God's will. We need to understand the nature of our accountability to God: we are limited by our finiteness as well as by sin. It is hard to exercise responsibility for technology: the seatbelts that save many lives also cost some lives, when people cannot get out of a burning car fast enough, for instance.

In his summary, MacKay applauded Thorson's search for deep reverence, not as "finding a Bible text to hang on the wall" but as rooted in the realism of what we actually do as scientists. He pointed to the many difficulties facing us as we try to make science serve God, serve individual human beings, and serve society. He also blended Thorson's concept of beta-thinking with his own metaphor of science as mapmaking.

At the 0xford conference: speaker Donald MacKay and ASA executive director Bob Herrmann discuss science and theology over coffee.

The contents of our maps must be as free as possible of our personal values, but our values must exert their influence on the process of mapmaking. Our values determine the way we play our spotlight on the terrain, not the terrain itself; we do not "create our own reality." When we turn the spotlight on the process, we enter a unique situation of logical relativity (beta-thinking); our own map of "ourselves mapmaking" will be different from one made by an external observer.

MacKay fit the conference deliberations into five general categories. (1) The rapidly expanding sciences of the human person: issues of genetics, abortion, psychopathology, artificial intelligence, etc., where the danger of manipulation is always present. (2) The science of chronological origins, and their relationship to ontological origins. (3) The major threats of nuclear war, population explosion, and environmental pollution. (4) The limitations of our present knowledge. (5) Our need to help each other gently "shake our concepts" to see which of them are valid.

In particular, MacKay said of our respective organizations, having true fellowship in the Word of God can help us to be more careful, honest thinkers. We must learn to avoid the "selective indignation" to which most people, including evangelical Christians, seem prone. (Coming up in later issues: appetizers, side dishes, and dessert.-Ed.)

On Thursday, September 5, office manager Caryl Proctor and managing editor Ann Woodworth started packing everything into boxes. The big move downtown began next morning, in a downpour. Gordon College profs Tom Dent (with his trusty truck) and Jack Haas (with his trusty sense of humor) were on hand to help "person-handle" some heavy but fragile equipment.

In spite of the inclement weather, the only serious casualty was the modem, the device that connects ASA's computer to other computers via the telephone lines. It refused to function properly in the new location and had to be sent off for repair. In the Lord's good timing, another modem was borrowed and crisis averted. Ann was able to transmit copy for the Journal and Newsletter to the respective printers, and Caryl to send membership changes to Gordon's mainframe computer.

Before the transmission trouble was traced to the modem, the telephone lines themselves had been suspect. In fact, with New England Telephone short of lines into downtown Ipswich, at first even the phone of a neighboring office had to be borrowed. Eventually ASA got a new phone line of its own, with a second one promised. So the office was back in business by early October (when hurricane Gloria paid its call) and should be back to "peak efficiency" by the time you're reading this.

(We hear that the new office is a very pleasant place to work, thanks to Betty Herrmann's interior decorating skills and a view of a lovely old home and trees across the town's main street. Meanwhile, the Newsletter editor hopes this sort of move doesn't spread; we'd hate to have to leave home every morning to commute to downtown Berkeley. Besides, our Newsletter office has never even come close to peak efficiency.-Ed.)

An unexpected bonus from the move was a full-page story about ASA in "The Region" section of the North Shore weekly newspapers the week of September 15. Reporter Laura Brown's profile of Bob Herrmann (complete with photo) was an excellent account of ASA's attempt to grapple with "some of the hottest issues challenging science and religion today."

By the way, the address of ASA's national office (P.O. Box J, Ipswich, MA 01938) and telephone number, (617) 356-5656, remain unchanged.

2. The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California, announces that A. R. Peacocke will be in residence at CTNS from early January to mid-March 1986. The British biochemist and Anglican theologian will give a Tuesday-evening course on "Current Thought in Religion and Science," Feb. 4 through March 4, and a major public lecture on March 7, all at the GTU. A related conference on religion and science is being planned for March 8-9. For registration information, contact CTNS, c/o GTU, 2465 Le Conte Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.

3. New or near Ph.D.'s in psychology and cognate fields are invited to apply for a grant from the Institute for Advanced Christian Studies (IFACS) to cover costs of participating in the 1986 IFACS Seminar on "Biblical Models of the Person in Academic and Applied Psychology." The seminar will be held July 5-11 at the I.J. of Toronto. Application deadline: 15 March 1986. For information contact: Dr. Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

4. Jim Sire, senior editor of Inter-Varsity Press, wants to expand his itinerating ministry in 1986. He has prepared a "catalog" outlining some 45 topics he can adapt for single lectures, one-day seminars, or weekend retreatsall with one-to-one dialogue thrown in. They cover worldviews (as in Jim's The Universe Next Door), pre-evangelism and apologetics, Bible teaching (especially in the Gospel of John, on which Jim has just finished writing a book), and integration of Christian faith and academic or professional life. Sire, whose Ph.D. is in literature, keeps up with science/faith issues and has worked with ASA Council member Charles Hummel in a number of faculty conferences around the country. For groups outside of IVCF, a stipend of $150/day beyond expenses would be appropriate, though it will not completely cover the ministry's budget. Contact Dr. James W. Sire, InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515.

A sample of the way retired U.C. Berkeley chemist Richard Lemmon thinks appeared in the 1 July 1985 issue of Chemical & Engineering News. A book review by him began this way: "The only people to whom I can recommend The Mystery of Life's Origin: Reassessing Current Theories are the minuscule fraction of C&EN's readers who are religious creationists. These also are people who are prone to write letters to the editor whenever anything touching on creationism appears. I look forward to the forth-coming complaints about this review and, to help the complainers, aver that I am an agnostic, and proud of it."

That paragraph shows not only the reputation of "religious creationists" as ungracious correspondents but also that all the belligerence isn't on our side. in fact the tone of that review drew three intelligent responses from Christians in the August 12 issue of C&EN. John S. Schroeder, of Glendale, Calif., found the review flawed by "a mean spirit" and was offended by "the classification of creationism, and Christianity by implication, to the realm of the irrational."

Dennis J. Sardelia, professor of chemistry at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass., objected to the review's "acrimonious tone" and urged C&EN to publish no more reviews or letters "couched in condescending, angry, or superior terms, in which authors proudly trumpet their atheism, agnosticism, or belief. If any of these stances stem from an authentic search for personal meaning, they are not titles to wear proudly and wield like clubs. They should be worn humbly."

The third letter was from ASA member and U.C. Berkeley chemistry professor Henry F. Schaefer I//. "Fritz" Schaefer said he had found the book (by Charles Thaxton, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen) "both interesting and provocative" and objected to Lemmon's consistently pejorative use of the term "creation ist. " He pointed out that the authors of the book "are indeed creationists in the sense that they acknowledge God as the creator of everything that is. However, many scientists, including more than a few readers of C&EN, would share this view."

So much for bitter old Lemmon. (Now, why don't some Df you readers of C&EN write to John Schroeder and Dennis Sardella? Thank them for their good letters to the editor and tell them about ASA. Let them know that as scientists flying the flag of Jesus Christ, they're not alone. Who knows what kind of angry mail they may have received by now?-Ed.)

A WP keyboard is basically a typewriter keyboard with a few additions, the most important being a CONTROL key that changes the function of the regular keys. In fact pressing the same key can make half a dozen different things happen, depending on what other keys have been pressed. Take the D key, for example. When we "enter WordStar" by typing WS, we get an "Opening Menu" on our screen mcit tmiio u~ by pressing D.OX, we open our ASANEWS  file and now see a "Main Menu" on our screen. It tells us that CTRL D (pressing D while the CONTROL key is held down) will move the cursor one space to the right. But if we hold down CTRL and press Q (for "Quick"?) first, pressing D moves the cursor all the way to the end of the line in one move. When CTRL and P have first been pressed, though, pressing D puts in a symbol telling the printer to turn on double-striking for emphasis (or off, if it's already doublestriking).

After CTRL plus 0, pressing D will "hide" such a print symbol on the screen (or reveal it, if already hidden by the same command). But after CTRL plus K, pressing D becomes the command to exit from the file after saving it on the disk.

That's a lot of action for one little key that on a typewriter would only print "d" by itself or print "D" with the SHIFT key held down. On our WP the CTRL key is so close to the SHIFT key that crazy things sometimes happen. Suppose we mean to type a capital "Y", for example, but instead the whole line disappears. Obviously we hit CTRL instead of SHIFT, since CTRL Y is the command to erase the entire line the cursor is in. It didn't take us long to figure out that particular goof, but a WP's seemingly bizarre behaviour can be baffling.

Some word processing programs have fewer commands to memorize than WordStar, but all provide a lot of options-and that's what makes one nervous. We might make some awful mistake-like erasing a whole file, or wiping out all the files on a whole disk-by simply touching the wrong key. One has to stay alert to remember to turn on (or off) the justified right margin feature, the automatic page numbering feature, the adjustable character width (changing pica to elite and vice-versa), and so on.

A painfully obvious boo-boo is to forget to turn off a print feature, such as underlining or boldfacing, at the end of the words one wants to emphasize. We heard of a novelist who left the room with confidence while his WP was printing out his book-length manuscript; he came back to find over 200 pages underlined.

We find that tale easy to believe, having ourselves unintentionally underlined a whole page of Newsletter copy by one careless mistake. But here's something that is hard to believe: In spite of all the hassles in learning how to use our WP, we've bought a second one within one year! Yep, it's true.

With the two editors in the family facing simultaneous deadlines on our return from Europe, we heard of another bargain package-deal where we had purchased our first computer. This time for $995 we bought a second Kaypro computer with WordStar and a dot-matrix printer. Our new Gemini 1OX produces reasonably legible printing, and at five times the s' peed of the daisywheel printer we already had. Interchangeability of the disks we write on gives us a flexible system.

Now our "upstairs computer" and our "downstairs computer" are both busy most of the time. (To be continued.)

Each chapter includes a chronology of events in the history of that branch of chemistry, and discussion questions. The price is $5.95 (10 or more, $4.75 per copy) plus $1.00 for postage and handling. Order from Dordt College Bookstore, Sioux Center, IA 51250. (Information from a flyer received from the author.)

2. Christianity: A World Faith (Lion Publishing, England, 1985) is the latest beautifully illustrated book in the Lion Handbook series. This one contains a thoughtful fourpage article, "Are Christians and Scientists Friends Again?" by Douglas Spanner, emeritus professor of plant biophysics at London and an RSCF participant at the Oxford conference. It also contains small side-bars by Miriam Adeney ("Reaching New Peoples") and Walter Hearn ("The Evolution Debate Continues").

In his contribution, Walt managed to describe the work of ASA and discuss the broad middle ground we occupy. The article came out pretty much the way he wrote it. But when the publishing house called to check on how his name should appear under "Contributors," the language barrier or transatlantic static must have interfered. Walt is listed as "the Editor of a Newsletter of American Scientific Evaluation."

3.Way Back in the Hills (Living Books, Tyndale House, 1985. Paper, $3.95) is James C. Hefley's story of his growing up in the hills of Newton County, Arkansas. It's a good yarn about kinfolks, moonshiners, "barefoot chillern," coon hunters, and country preachers. Tales welltold are reminders that the gospel of Jesus Christ comes to us in the form of story; Jim's tale eventually tells how that gospel took hold of his life.

Jim Hefley, now a Ph.D. in mass communications, teaches writing at Hannibal-La Grange College in Missouri. He, gave a paper on studies of the influence of the mass media at our 1984 Annual Meeting. His wife Marti is also a writer. Marti was once in the Philippines researching a book when a native of Mindanao asked why she should be interested in someone like himsomeone from a little hill tribe in the mountains.

"Oh, don't worry about that," she said. "My husband is from one of the hill tribes in the United States."

4. Laurence C. Walker is a professor in the School of Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Months ago he sent us a copy of the Afterword from his book Trees: An Introduction to Trees and Forest Ecology for the Amateur Naturalist (Prentice Hall, 1984. $23.95; paper, $10.95). Those two pages made us want to read the whole book.

Describing the ambivalence people have always felt toward forests, the Afterword refers to the biblical mention of Eden as a garden that turned into a wilderness (Joel 2:3). Nowadays wilderness is less feared than admired "for its beauty, its utility, and the beauty of its utility." Harvesting its products may render a forest ugly for a while, Larry admits; "but in the providence of God who understands ecological succession far better than His creatures seem to, beauty will return. The cross was made of wood; so too was the manger."

(We thought we'd already given Trees a nod in this column, but a search of back issues hasn't turned it up. Maybe we misplaced the copy we wrote. Or hit the wrong key and our computer ate it.-Ed.)

Calvin College in Michigan will consider applicants for the 1986-87 academic year in mathematics, computer science, and mathematical statistics, in a department with 18 full-time faculty and nearly 100 upperclass majors. Calvin faculty are expected to "demonstrate a Reformed and Christian perspective in teaching and other professional activities." Contact: Prof. Thomas L. Jager, Chair, Dept. of Mathematics & Computer Science, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. (Received Oct 1985.)

Wheaton College in Illinois has an opening for a laboratory associate in chemistry beginning summer or fall 1986. B.S. in chemistry required for supervision of lab operations in general chemistry, ordering and maintaining supplies, some tutoring. Experience or interest in computers is an advantage for inventory and for preparation of lab manuals. Preference to candidates willing to make a long-term (3-year) commitment. Contact: Dr.

Derek A. Chignell, Chair, Dept. of Chemistry, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 60187. (Received Oct 1985.)

The articles are distributed in advance and a different person leads the discussion each month. Selections have included Stephen Jay Gould's "Nonmoral Nature" (from Hen's Teeth and Horses' Toes, 1983); a selection from J. R. Moore's The Post-Darwinian Controversies (1979) bearing on whether the theory of evolution is inherently atheistic (pp. 269-298); Michael Polanyi's "Life Transcending Physics and Chemistry" from Chemical & Engineering News (1967); and chapter 5 of E. 0. Wilson's On Human Nature (1978), bearing on the doctrine of original sin.

Jim asks for recommendations for good films to use for an adult Sunday school class on "origins" or on the interaction of science and Christian ity- before ASA's proposed TV series becomes available for VCR, that is. Also, what books would you recommend as a text for such a class? (Address your responses to Jim Armbrecht, 4285 Massabielle Dr., St. Louis, MO 63129.)

Plans are being laid for a day-long conference at Stanford on Saturday, 12 April 1986. The conference, jointly sponsored with New College Berkeley, will address the question, "is Science Primarily a Western Phenomenon?" with historian Ed Yamauchi as principal speaker and a number of non-Western scientists as respondents.

Gary L Allen, executive director of the Christian Mission for the United Nations Community in White Plains, New York, reports that the spring and summer of 1985 were productive months of ministry. At an evangelistic event on June 15, a number of international U.N. diplomats were receptive to Gary's explanation of the gospel and to the Christian testimony of two respected members of the U.N. Gary, who has a Ph.D. in physiology, was formerly a researcher in Sir John Eccles's laboratory at SUNY in Buffalo. To offer (needed) support to his strategic U.N. witness, contact Gary at P.O. Box 202, North White Plains, NY 10603.

Edward Lewis Dick, who has been working toward his M.S. in public health, has transferred from the UCLA School of Public Health to the School of Public Health of the U. of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Lew is a graduate of Texas A&M whose home is in San Antonio, Texas.

Kenneth J. Dormer is a physiology professor at the U. of Oklahoma Medical School in Oklahoma City. In the early summer of 1985 he went to Nairobi, Kenya, with a group of Christian professors who gave lectures and seminars in their disciplines and also bore witness to their faith in Christ. The group, coordinated by Christian Leadership Ministries of Dallas, also included physicist Don Kobe of North Texas State U. in Denton. Several students came to know Christ, and Christian professors in Nairobi were encouraged in their witness. The dean of the medical school at the U. of Nairobi was very hospitable. Ken says the Americans were invited to return next year and bring other Christian professors with them.

William C. Duke, Jr., is now dean of faculty at Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College in Phoenix, Arizona. He teaches the one-year general science course and one-semester courses in philosophy and systematic theology. Will's wife Pat is working part-time at the college; their three daughters (ages 6, 8, and 10) have fallen in love with Arizona since their move there in July. Will started out in biology; his doctoral work at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Ft. Worth dealt with the creation/ evolution controversy and ASA's role in it.

Peter R. Espie is a Ph.D. candidate in biology at the Forest Research Institute, U. of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. He is interested in soil fertility and soilplant relationships in montane/alpine zones and rangelands. Pete says he would love to act as host for any ASAers on holiday or passing through "down under."

William Jordan is now assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, hoping to continue research on fracture and failure of materials, particularly composite materials. He's one of a number of academic second-generation ASAers: his Ph.D. work in mechanics and materials engineering, completed in August 1985, was done under Walter Bradley at Texas A&M University.

Stanley E Lindquist was one of the workshop leaders at the Christian Congress for Excellence in Public Education held in Kansas City in August. Stan is president of Link Care Center of Fresno, which held its first CrossCultural Workshops for new missionaries this summer in new facilities. Link Care guest rooms, meeting rooms, and food service are now available for retreats or conferences of up to 70 people, Stan says. (Link Care Center, 1734 W. Shaw Ave., Fresno, CA 93711. Tel. (209) 4395920.)

Robert B. Mann is assistant professor of physics at the U. of Toronto, in his second year of a five-year University Research Fellowship. He is interested in gravitational theory, chiral anomalies, and regularization technique. Robert recently attended the 15th International Symposium on Lepton-Photon Interactions (in Kyoto, Japan) and the 14th International Colloquium on Group Theory (in Seoul, Korea). At the Colloquia in Korea he gave a paper on chiral anomalies. Robert and wife Nancy were expecting their first child in September. They attend Spring Garden Church in Toronto. Robert coordinates a weekly Bible-study group and last spring gave a series of seminars to high-school students on "Cosmology and Creation."

John H. Marshall, Jr., is chair of the board of Marshall Energetics, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, a company set up to provide worldwide exploration services in the energy field. John has a B.A. and M.A. in geology from Missouri and for 35 years or so was employed as a geologist by Mobil Corporation.

Mary Alice Meyer is a clinical laboratory scientist at Texas A&M University in College Station. She attended the 13th World Congress of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology in Brighton, England, at the end of September bit too late to include the ASA/RSCF Oxford conference on the same trip.

David A. Saunders is a new employee of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. His Ph.D. in biochemistry will come in handy as new fundamental cases arise in patent law applied to biotechnology. In September David took a two-week training course in patent law. He says he's impressed with the professional competence of patent examiners.

David G. Seiler is spending a year in Washington, D.C. as a program officer in solid state physics in the Division of Materials Research of the National Science Foundation. He and wife Nancy and two daughters live in Gaithersburg, Maryland. David is on leave from the physics department of North Texas State U. in Denton. His colleague in that department, Don Kobe, tipped us off about David's NSF appointment.

J. D. Stewart was recently appointed assistant curator in the vertebrate paleontology section of the Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County. He completed his Ph.D. at the U. of Kansas in fall 1984, after research on the symbiotic relationship between certain fishes and bivalves found in Cretaceous sediments in Kansas. During his graduate work J.D. started a glass and aluminum recycling operation at his local (Reformed Presbyterian) church, still going strong at last count. In April 1985 he took members of three Reformed Presbyterian congregations on a field trip to explore western Kansas geology. Besides acquiring a first-hand appreciation of the intricacies of that record of God's creation, the group discovered a Pteranodon and other specimens now in the U. of Kansas collections. J.D. is praising God for his new position in a tight job market, and would like to meet other ASA members in his area (address: 1348 E. Orange Grove Blvd., 7, Pasadena, CA 91104).

Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen is professor of interdisciplinary studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In her reduced-load (2/3) position she teaches psychology and the philosophy of social science, and helps with seminars for students in the Master of Arts in Christian Studies program. Although the other 1/3 includes 1/2 (?) of the family parenting, Mary also takes an interest in women's studies at Calvin. The consciousness-raising necessary to upgrade offerings in women's studies isn't easy, she says-even after the accrediting association recommended improvement in that area.

Bernard Zy1stra of the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto has had chemotherapy treatments for what was diagnosed in June 1985 as cancer of the adrenals with metastasis to the liver. The cancer was sufficiently arrested by August so that he could go home from the hospital. Bernie and Josina need our prayers for strength and healing,  as they "thank God for each new day." Bernie had already stepped down from the ICS presidency. Appointed to replace him as president is Clifford from outside the Christian Reformed Church, the major Pitt, who has served as president of the Ontario Institute ICS constituency for Studies in Education and as chair of the national board of IVCF-Canada. The new president, who has a Ph.D. in educational and counseling psychology, comes -30-