NEWSLETTER

of the

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION - CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC & CHRISTIAN AFFILIATION

Volume 23 Number 5   October/November 1981

COMING UNPLUGGED

Sometimes we wish we had an editorial computer-not to improve efficiency, necessarily, but to blame for our foul ups. We seem to have missed our deadline again, so you won't be reading this until December (or January, given a Christmas mail glut.) The fault was not a computer, or the typesetter or printer, or the folks in Ipswich. It was the Weary Old Editor (WOE is me!) whose Berkeley circuitry was finally overloaded by "commitment creep."

Computers (or computerers) have produced a lot of foul ups in ASA/CSCA subscription matters, however. Frustration with the computerized circulation monitoring system used in the past has finally pushed the national office to pull the plug. We're shifting to a Massachusetts-based computer service, closer to the office and more, sensitive to ASA's particular needs. There may be a few problems during the transfer but Bob Herrmann and Joan Lipsey anticipate much more competent service from the new company.

While you're being patient, we'll try to think of a suitable title for comments from the ASA executive director, in case Bob wants to write a regular column. Same old NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE? How about HERRMANN-ELITICS? (Feed that into a computer and we'd probably blow a fuse. -Ed.)

For my first chance to break into print in the Newsletter I'd like to extend some of my thoughts shared at the annual banquet as outgoing president.

I am excited that the witness of our God to a lost-but magnificent-world has never been so clear. Every day our minds are staggered by a universe growing more complex and more unimaginably beautiful than we could have dreamed. Whether the picture is of Saturn's rings by way of Voyager or of the surface of the erythrocyte from the scanning electron microscope, the Artist paints the same for those who see. Yet as "looking" in science has become more and more a source of awe and wonder, turning scientists toward the Infinite, "doing" in science has increasingly proved a source of frustration, reminding us at least of our finiteness if not of our sinfulness. The complexity of problems and the "mixed" nature of solutions-always bringing new uncontrolled factors into the picture-are abundantly evident.

The paucity of simple explanations and especially of simple solutions has led to an identity crisis among many of our colleagues which we should be eager to exploit (in the best sense of that word). For our faith brings with it elements that are bound to appeal. These include a high view of truth-including the reliability of our measurements and the validity of our reason-and also our conviction that truth demands commitment, value judgment, integrity. Christians also bring to science an integrative view of truth, an understanding that ideas of reverence for life, the meaning of existence, and a longing for wholeness are just as valid as the more objective-measurements of the laboratory. We believe that seeing the two views as complementary, stemming from biblical and scientific data bases, leads to a whole new dimension of understanding in both disciplines. We are potentially richer by being both scientists and Christians.

It is my prayer that, in the years ahead, we may find a deeper concern for our colleagues and students and develop more creative ways to bring the message of Christ to them. I am convinced that many will prove far more receptive than we have imagined. 

-Bob Herrmann
ASA executive director

TURNING ON THE JUICE

Don't all of us in ASA and CSCA say Amen to Bob Herrmann's prayer? We long to see God's will done in the scientific community, and we seem to be the logical ones to "complete the circuit." Because we speak both the language of faith and the language of science, we conduct an appreciation of God's Word in one direction, an appreciation of God's world in the other.

To be more redemptive, ASA somehow needs to be more creative. We face a number of problems. Our members tend to (1) be scattered, (2) work at demanding jobs, and (3) have many interests. What the Lord has accomplished among us over the past forty years has often been through isolated individuals or a few people in a local section who "caught the vision" simultaneously. What could God do if hundreds (or thousands) of us really focused on serving Him together in professional life?

Amen, we say. Yet with our excellent Journal, the meetings, papers, lectures, and symposia, many think of ASA merely as a professional organization. Its Christian basis provides special emphases, of course, but ASA does resemble other scientific societies from which we benefit. Some support it primarily for that reason. Would we support it more adequately if we thought of ASA as a special ministry to others which God has given us?

Maybe yes, maybe no. Most worthwhile Christian ministries seem precarious. And at least some of us already contribute to such ASA projects as the scholarship fund. ASA includes a lot of students, whose discounted dues don't cover the costs of the services they receive. They're our members of the future, however, and their financial status will improve after graduation.

What we need is a more realistic level of contribution from members already employed. Try these rough figures. ASA has about 2,500 members (plus that many more subscribers). Total contributions have averaged about $20,000 per year that is, $8 per member. Records show that less than a dozen members have given $100 in any one year. We have only a handful of Life Members (who each gave $500 in one year for a Special Projects fund-now depleted). The ASA budget approximates $100,000, of which about $80,000 comes in from dues and subscriptions.

Obviously members have been bailing ASA out each year by giving just enough to break even. We need to get ahead financially so energies aren't wasted on a kind of rear-guard action just to pay our bills. The Executive Council has repeatedly had to shelve worthy projects that would have made Christ better known among our colleagues or helped Christians get a better grasp of science, Our executive director now has to cope with a treasury deficit before he can get on with the real business of our Affiliations.

Could we make ASA/CSCA a focal point of our praying and giving, beginning now? If all of us would "tithe our tithe," giving one percent of our gross income to ASA, that would mean at least $200 a year from a lot of us. (For those who feel that a full ten percent must go to a local church or strictly evangelistic ministry, here's a chance to move your giving up to eleven percent.) Some, of course, can give more than $200.

Do we take ASA seriously as a ministry of Jesus Christ? Then let's support it with our time, creative energy, and prayers. And let's put a little more money where our Amen is.-Ed.

A brand new book by Science reporter Nicholas Wade entitled The Nobel Duel (Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1981), has a lot to say about the chemical work of ASA member Roger Burgus in the notorious race for the 1977 Nobel Prize in Ph 'ology or Medicine. The book includes a photograph, of Roger and even acknowledges his religious faith (while going out of its way to avoid using the word "Christian") In its opening chapters, The Nobel Duel also describes ASA member Walter Hearn's role as the first biochemist to work with physiologist Roger Guillemin on the problem (at Baylor medical school). That work began in 1954. Later, at Iowa State University, Roger Burgus did his Ph.D. research under Hearn on an entirely different problem. At the end of the book, after chronicling the break-up of Guillemin's group soon after the Prize was awarded, the author says that Burgus "became more interested in the long-held religious beliefs which his biochemistry professor, Walter Hearn, had helped reawaken. He studied religious healing, and was himself the beneficiary of a process in which it happened that his sight, which had been partially lost in his left eye, was restored. In mid-1977 Burgus left the Salk Institute and moved to the medical school of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma," where he is head of the school's peptide structure laboratory.

The Nobel Duel is a model of accurate, fascinating science writing. Scientific investigations seldom have as much drama as that particular one, and Christians seldom have an opportunity to play such a crucial role. Schally is quoted as saying that Burgus "did tremendous, beautiful work. A lot of credit for what was done at the Salk Institute must go to Burgus. Guillemin used Burgus and gave him very little credit."

Guillemin is quoted as saying, "Burgus is one of those people who is the salt of the earth, Burgus and honesty are the same word."

On October 17 the 1981 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation was hosted by the Toronto section. Meeting at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, the CSCA preceded its annual business meeting with a daylong conference aimed particularly at school teachers. CSCA president Bob VanderVennen said that because of many contacts made with teachers in Ontario, he was hoping for a good turnout from public, separate, and independent schools.

The morning session featured the showing of two CBC videotapes in which CSCA past-president Dan Osmond, U. of Toronto physiologist, played a role. One was the "Man Alive" program called "Puzzle of the Ancient Wing." The other was "Platform," a televised debate on creation/evolution at St. Pius High School in Ottawa. After the showings, Dan moderated a panel discussion. Panelists included Don Galbraith, professor of science education at U. of T. biology teacher Gerry Connelly, Michael Power of St. Joseph's High Schools, and Ian Taylor, U. of T. embryologist.

After lunch a lecture by ASA executive director Robert L. Herrmann on "Could Evolved Man be Truly Human?" was followed by an open discussion, led by the panel on the implications for teachers.

The CSCA now owns the two videotapes shown at the Annual Meeting, by the way, so people who couldn't make it to Toronto in October will be able to borrow the tapes and build their own regional meeting around them. A half-hour audio tape of a radio interview in which Dan Osmond gives his Christian approach to understanding science is also available for such purposes; it can be purchased for$3.00 by writing to Dan at 301 Rushton Rd., Toronto, Ontario M6C 2X8.

2. A session on "Sociologists and Christianity" is scheduled for the annual meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society in Des Moines, Iowa, April 7-9,1982. A session on "Christian Sociological Perspectives: Models and Values" is also being planned forthe Tenth World Congress ofSociology, meeting in Mexico City, Mexico, August 16-21,1982. Papers for either session are invited by David 0. Moberg, Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53233. For the Mexico City congress Dave would especially welcome papers from Third World participants.

3. The Eleventh International Congress on Sedimentology will be held at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, August 22-28, 1982, cosponsored by the International Association of Sedimentationists, Geological Association of Canada,. Dan Wonderly, author of God's Time-Records in Ancient Sediments, says he wishes many members of the Creation Research Society would attend not only for the papers and symposia but for the forty or so field trips offered before and after the congress. Dan, of course, recognizes the importance of this aspect of geology for Bible-science controversies, and plans to be there himself. For details of the program, field excursions, and registration, write to: IAS Congress 1982, Dept. of Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1. (To get together with Dan, write him at Rt. 2, Box 9, Oakland, MD 21550.)

4. The Second International Symposium for Christian Philosophy will be held at the Reformatorische Bijbelschool in Zeist, Holland, August 23-27. The symposium, sponsored by the Association for Calvinistic Philosophy, will focus on "Christian Philosophy in the Light of Biblical Prophecy." For information contact: Mrs. Trudy Kee, Secretary, Heemraadsingel 38, 3641JJ Mijdrecht, the Netherlands.

1. Rodger K. Bufford is author of the second volume to appear in the Harper/CAPS series on Christian Perspectives on Counseling and the Behavioral Sciences: The Human Reflex: Behavioral Psychology in Biblical Perspective (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981; cloth, $9.95). We haven't had time to read it all yet but it looks like a worthy companion to the first book in the series, The Human Puzzle by DavidG. Myers. Rodger doesn't argue for behavior theory itself but shows that the Bible supports the ethical use of positive reinforcement techniques; hence Christians can consider the practical applications of behavioral psychology a "God given" tool.

Rodger Bufford is associate professor and director of Counseling Service and Training at the Psychological Studies Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a part-time instructor at Georgia State University and a practicing psychologist at the Atlanta Counseling Service. General editor of the Harper/CAPS series is Craig W. Ellison, professor of psychology and urban studies at Simpson College in San Francisco. In a preface to Rodger's book, Craig describes the series as the first "that is both explicitly Christian in orientation, written on a professional level, and yet readable by psychologically educated lay persons."

2. Donald E. DeGraaf is author of What's Right? What's Wrong? (IVP, 1981; paper, 350), a new title in the InterVarsity Press booklet series. Subtitled Questions of Christian Conduct, the booklet distinguishes between biblical principles and rules and tries to help Christians avoid both legalism and license. "We need to accept other Christians and continue in fellowship with them, even when they follow rules of behavior which differ from ours."

Don DeGraaf teaches physics at the U. of Michigan's Flint campus. He has had an effective ministry with students and faculty. In recent years he has devoted part of his time to traveling under IVCF auspices to nearby campuses to encourage Christian faculty in their campus witness.

3. Publishers have sent us copies of the paperback editions of several books mentioned in earlier issues. Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth (Baker Book House, 1981; paper, $4.95) looks good in an attractive cover different from the 1977 IVP edition. Authors are Robert C. Newman and Herman J. Eckelmann, Jr. The Baker edition still contains Dan Wonderly's appendix on "Nonradiometric Data Relevant to the Question of Age" based on Dan's 1975 JASA paper.

Baker Book House has also picked up Ed Yamauchi's introduction to biblical archaeology, The Stones and the Scriptures (Baker, 1981; paper, $5.95). This excellent book was originally published in hardcover in 1972 by J. B. Lippincott as part of the "Evangelical Perspectives" series, of which John Warwick Montgomery was general editor.

We've also received a copy of the "first U.S. edition" of Ed Yamauchi's Harper's World of the New Testament. Harper & Row seem to be the publishers, although the 1981 copyright is held by Lion Publishing and the book was printed in Italy. The 7-by-10-inch paperback is beautifully laid out and illustrated with many drawings and photographs in color as well as black and white.

David Willis of the Dept. of General Science at Oregon State University sent us a squib from Nature (24 Sept. 1981) about a new book by a group of British scientists who are Christians. The document, called Shaping Tomorrow, is "essentially a statement of how scientists working in several different fields reconcile their work with their faith." Intended to help the Methodist Church get a better grip on some moral issues of science and technology policy, it tackles nuclear energy, the electronics revolution, and advances in the life sciences with implications for human reproduction.

Shaping Tomorrow is edited by Edgar Boyes, vice-principal of Luton Industrial College, and published by the Methodist Church. The idea came from scientists working at the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority who felt that certain anti-technology sentiments being expressed by the clergy needed to be balanced by statements from Christians in technical vocations. According to the story in Nature by Judy Redfearn, some lively debates are likely to be stirred up by the publication, especially over nuclear energy policy.

Collecting magazine and newspaper articles on recent creationism as a hobby has gotten out of hand. There's no room on the desk for anything else. One way to cut down the flow is to limit oneself to what is being said in science and science-news periodicals. For the overlap between science, philosophy, and religion, of course, it's hard to beat our own ASA Journal. But even periodicals of much narrower scope take a multidimensional approach now and then.

Chemical & Engineering News, for example. In the past the only philosophical differences dealt with by the American Chemical Society's news weekly concerned industrial vs. academic chemistry. Lately C&EN has run major articles on implications of the nuclear arms race, followed by lots of letters on the subject. News stories about litigation over "creationism" have also appeared. After one such story, David L. Lewis of Winterville, Georgia, wrote to let scientists know that "the young Earth philosophy is not universally held among Bible fundamentalists." He was concerned that "scientific creationists, while attempting to stand upon the Bible and science, may trample both under their feet with their philosophy of the young Earth. The-Bible's purpose is to show personal salvation through faith and trust in Christ, and not to become a stumbling block to scientists over such issues as the age of the Earth" (C&EN, 29 June 1981). A pair of letters more or less balancing each other in the Aug 31 issue followed aJuly6 report by Rudy Baum on the Arkansas "Balanced Treatment" law.

Then on Sept 7, James M. Gibson of Columbia, South Carolina, responded to David Lewis's letter, calling the "gap theory" of interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2 a mixture of "99% imagination and 1 % strained exegesis." On Sept 21, Edwin B. McClelland of Orange, Texas, criticized Baum's "editorializing" and outlined a number of recent-creationist arguments against evolution. In the Oct 26 issue, Buford Delaughter of Jackson, Alabama, offered a rebuttal to Gibson's criticism of the gap theory, discussing the Hebrew tenses in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Meanwhile, several books on extraterrestrial life and the origin of life on earth have been given long reviews by leading investigators of biogenesis, Cyril Ponnamperuma (Sept 7) and Lynn Margulis (Oct 8).

Science, the AAAS weekly journal, has published a series of letters on the falsifiability of theories and the relevance of philosopher of science Karl Popper's statement about evolution. Robert E. Kofahl of the Cteation Science Research Center had quoted Popper's statement that "Darwinism is not a testable scientific-theory" (Science, 2Z May 1981). Did Popper withdraw his statement? Did he know what he was talking about? Does it matter? Finally Robert Root-Bernstein of the Salk Institute tried to sort out the scientific, philosophical, and religious issues, saying "it is time to stop the nonsense" (June 26). A month later he was taken to task for saying that the use of fossils for establishing geochronology depends on evolutionary theory, in a letter from geology curator David M. Raupof Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History (July 17).

David Raup is one of the "punctualists" suggesting alternatives to a "gradualist" approach at the famous macroevolution conference held at the Field Museum in October 1980 (reported in Science, 21 Nov 1980; ASA/CSCA News, Dec 1980/Jan 1981). Many letters from evolutionists on both sides of that controversy have appeared, mostly saying that they aren't all that far apart and that the conference has strengthened evolutionary theory. One correspondent said that Roger Lewin's report on the conference" is undoubtedly destined to enter the out-of-context arsenal that has become a mainstay of recent creationist literature."

That seems likely. An example is cited by U. of Massachusetts anthropologist Laurie R. Godfrey in an article on "The Flood of Antievolutionism" (subtitled "Where is the science in 'scientific creation ism'?") in Natural History, June 1981. It shows how David Raup and Harvard anthropologist Stephen Jay Gould have been quoted by Gary Parker of the Institute for Creation Research. Part of an article on neocatastrophism by Parker in ICR's Acts & Facts (Oct 1980) is reprinted by Godfrey, who says, "Reading his article one cannot avoid the conclusion that Raup and Gould consider the creation model tenable, if not actually preferable to evolutionism." Godfrey also quotes Gould as saying "It's so utterly infuriating to find oneself quoted, consciously incorrectly, by creationists," and "None of this controversy within evolutionary theory should give any comfort, not the slightest iota, to any creationist."

The Chicago macroevolution conference tended to line up paleontologists on-one side and geneticists on the other, partly because "what is an instant to a paleontologist is an unimaginable tract of time to either an ecologist or a population geneticist." (An excellent public television program in the Nova series explores the issues debated at that conference. Entitled "Did Darwin Get it Wrong?" it features some leading punctualists and gradualists discussing their views. It also includes a shot of ICR biochemist Duane Gish describing the controversy as a kind of desperate thrashing around to save evolutionary theory. Catch it on your PBS channel.-Ed.)

A defense of the (now old) "modern synthesis" of evolution by two U.C. Davis geneticists, G. Ledyard Stebbins and Francisco J. Ayala, has recently been published in Science (28 Aug 1981). "is a New Evolutionary Synthesis Necessary?" deals at length with "the central question" posed by the punctualists: "whether the mechanisms underlying microevolution can be extrapolated to explain macroevolution."

Actually, sticking to the refereed scientific literature not only cuts down on the quantity of one's reading about evolution but also seems to improve the quality.

Our remarks in the April/May Newsletter about a creationism story in Time magazine drew a response all the way from Tunisia. Missionary physician William F. Campbell chewed ASA out for not flooding Time with letters "to give some positive information to people about the problems of the evolutionary hypothesis." Bill cited five problems of the kind he meant and offered the opinion that ASA is "asleep at the switch and that we need to do much better next time. Time never prints a letter to the editor longer than 100 words. Therefore we need to have 12 to 20 members write letters to Time of 20 to 100 words. When they get such a quantity of letters from Ph.D.s in the various disciplines, they will print some of them almost surely."

We were already thinking about another kind of letter we ought to be writing. None of the correspondents to C&EN or Science in the above story seem to belong to ASA. Those who share our convictions about science and Christian faith should be invited to join us. The others should know about our openness so they won't equate all evolutionists with atheists or all Bible-believers with recent-creationists. More of us need to keep a supply of ASA or CSCA brochures on hand to include in warm personal letters to people who express opinions on science/faith issues.

The May/June 1981 issue of Radix carried an article by Dickinson Colllege anthologist Wade Seaford, "On Creation, Interpretation & Evolution." Because 'Seaford described evolutionary processes as "the method God used to create," the editor balanced that article with an excerpt of equal length from Henry Morris's Scientific Creationism. Several letters in the Sept/Oct issue commented on the two articles. One took the Radix editor to task for referring to Seaford's position as "also creationist." The writer called that statement "nothing more than doublespeak, unless simply saying 'God did it' automatically makes a person 'creationist.' "

We've come a long way-and too far-if confessing God as Creator no longer makes one a creationist.

ASA members are committed by our statement of faith to a theistic position. That means that, philosophically, we cannot be naturalistic, materialistic, mechanistic, or evolutionistic. But we are also committed to science as a way of understanding natural, material, mechanical, and yes, evolutionary, processes. In our lives as a whole we do not elevate natural over supernatural explanations, material things over spiritual things, mechanisms over purposes, or a scientific understanding over a theological one. As Christians, we think that how old the universe turns out to be or what caused the extinction of dinosaurs is less important than the facts revealed in Scripture that we are God's creatures (however he chose to bring us into existence) and that Christ died for our sins.

Since science and theology are continuing, self-correcting activities, controversy is bound to exist within science, within theology, and between the two. For a lot of us, though, pitting "creation" against "evolution" is a mistake, a pseudoproblem. When we read something like the Jehovah's Witness publication Awake devoted to that alleged controversy (Sept 22), we wan tto get back to "the fundamentals" of trying to understand our existence from genuinely biblical and genuinely scientific perspectives. We get tired of both pseucloreligion and pseucloscience. Two "fundamental" articles to clear up category confusion are Richard H. Bube's "Creation. (A) How Should Genesis Be Interpreted?" and "(13) Understanding Evolution and Creation" in JASA (Mar 1980 and Sept 1980).

Biochemist Duane Gish once told us that ICR scientists would rather not enter into debates, but do it to get a bigger audience for recent-creationist views. Categories almost inevitably get confused in such public debates. For a published version of a "creation ist/evol ution ist" debate, read "The Genesis War" in the Oct 1981 issue of Science Digest. ASA members who disagree strongly with Gish on the scientific questions could never side with atheist Isaac Asimov against their brother in Christ on the ultimate questions. Losers, all.

The climate of controversy fostered by debating seems to push advocates on both sides into belligerent postures. A widely quoted blast against recent-creationism by Isaac Asimov in the New York Times Magazine drew "An Answer for Asimov" by ICR's Henry Morris in Acts & Facts (Sept 1981). Morris, usually mild-mannered, in that reply begins to sound more like the smug Asimov than like a winsome Christian.

Defenders of evolution as a scientific theory have come to recognize recent-creationists like Gish and Morris as extremely skillful opponents. In The American Biology Teacher   (May 1981), biologist David H. Milne of Evergreen State College in Washington described his participation in a 1979 debate. "How to Debate with Creationists-and 'Win " outlined recent-creationist debate strategies and suggested counter-strategies. ASA member David Willis knows Milne personally and has tried to convey to him that one can be a "creationist" in the broader sense without subscribing to the ICR attitude and approach.

Another response to recent-creationism comes from San Diego State University biologists W. M. Thwaites and F. T. Awbrey, who have begun teaching their own "two-model" course on creation/evolution. Their letter to Students for Origins Research (Winter-Spring 1981) says they are evolutionists who have been reading John N. Moore's articles in SOR about confrontational teaching. Trying it out, they invited speakers from nearby ICR to give half the lectures in their course, and had students self-rate their positions before and after the course. The trend was toward greater confidence in evolution, so they plan to repeat the course. Thwaites is listed as a participant in one of two sessions on "Science and Belief" scheduled for January 4 at the AAAS meeting in Washington, D.C.

By the time you're reading this, "the great debate" will have been televised on Jerry Falwell's Old-Time Gospel Hour. After taping the hour-long debate with Duane Gish, U.C. San Diego biochemist Russell F. Doolittle was reported in the Washington Post as feeling "devastated" at his miserable defense of evolution. He said he accepted the challenge already turned down by Carl Sagan, Ashley Montagu, and Stephen Jay Gould-because "for the $5000 fee, they could pay some numbskull to come in and make a fool of himself. As it turns out, that's exactly what they got." Evidently Doolittle's timing was so bad that he used up his time trying to make a minor point. He had debated Gish before, he said, so he should have been better prepared. For Doolittle in better form, see his review of "Similar Amino Acid Sequences: Chance or Common Ancestry?" (Science, Oct 9). He may have had his mind on another controversy-over patent rights to a process for producing synthetic antigens (see "La Jolla Biologists Troubled by the Midas Factor" by Nicholas Wade, Science, Aug 7).

Personally, we'd like to see the whole atmosphere cool down so scientists can get back to work on how the earth came into existence and what's happened since. It's relatively easy to spot flaws in other people's theories-especially if you don't like those people because of their religion, their politics, or their manners. It's a good bit harder to patch up the holes in one's own theory. That's why we were glad to see the Institute for Creation Research begin M.S. programs this fall, in biology, astro/geophysics, geology, and science education. ICR, no longer a division of Christian Heritage College, remains closely associated with it. According to the CHC Courier, "So far as known, these are the first graduate programs in science to be offered by an evangelical Christian institution in this country."

Another major confrontation that may have occurred by the time you're reading this is a court test of the Arkansas "Balanced Treatment" law passed on the last day of last spring's legislative session and signed by Arkansas Governor Frank White on March 19. The American Civil Liberties Union is arguing the law on behalf of a number of individuals and organizations. The state Attorney General, Steve Clark, will defend it. Federal Judge William Overton will hear the case in Little Rock. The case was originally set for October 26, then postponed. The law goes into effect in fall, 1982, when school starts.

Both sides regard the Arkansas case as epoch-making. ICR attorney Wendell R. Bird, Jr., and Virginia attorney John W. Whitehead offered a motion to intervene with the testimony of many expert witnesses for recent-creationism, fearing that Attorney General Clark might not defend the law vigorously enough. Bird and Whitehead are evangelical Christians and specialists on First Amendment issues. A Creation Science Legal Defense Fund (P.O. Box 1238, Little Rock, AR 72203) has been set up.

On the other side, the ACLU sees the law as a violation of the principles of church-state separation and academic freedom. Further, the Arkansas bill is based on a "model bill" being circulated all over the country by a South Carolina group known as Citizens for Fairness in Education. A similar bill was passed in Louisiana and signed into law on July 21. According to Paul Ellwanger, head of the group offering the model bill, 21 states are considering bills similar to theirs.

In August the ASA/CSCA News editor received a call from an ACLU attorney, asking about possible ASA assistance in challenging the law. We told him that ASA didn't take positions on issues on which Christians disagree, but that a number of respected scientists within ASA might be willing to testify as individuals if they knew exactly what was in the law. He promised to send us a copy of the law but never did.

Thanks to ASA member Wayne Frair, we do have a copy of Arkansas Legislative Act 590 of 1981, known as the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act. Section 4, on definitions, states that "Creation-science includes the scientific evidences and related inferences that indicate: (1) Sudden creation of the universe, energy, and life from nothing; (2) The insufficiency of mutation and natural selection in bringing about development of all living kinds from a single organism; (3) Changes only within fixed limits of originally created kinds of plants and animals; (4) Separate ancestry for man and apes; (5) Explanation of the earth's geology by catastrophism, including the occurrence of a worldwide flood; and (6) A relatively recent inception of the earth and living kinds."

Section 2, entitled Prohibition against Religious Instruction, says that "Treatment of either evolution-science or creation science shall be limited to scientific evidences for each model and inferences from those scientific evidences, and must not include any religious instruction or references to religious writings."

How does that old camp song go? "What did Tennessee, boys, what did Tennessee? Why, she saw what Arkansas, boys, she saw what Arkansas." If Act 590 is still on the books by our next deadline, we'll probably have more to say about it.

Kenric M. Johnson (Agronomy Dept., North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105; tel. 701-293-0463) seeks a position in university teaching or research, Third World agricultural research & development, or some combination of the two. Ken will complete his Ph.D. in plant breeding and physiology in summer 1982. He has eight years of college teaching experience in biology and chemistry, four years of overseas living experience when younger.

Counseling & Psychotherapy Center in Kentucky needs a Ph.D. clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist to participate in a psychodynamic practice with strong orientation to the Christian community. The present psychologist and psychiatrist, both Christians, have a growing adolescent and adult practice, working closely with pastors in the heart of the famous Bluegrass area. University affiliation is available, as is affiliation with various private hospitals, including a new (1983) psychiatric hospital to be operated by Charter Medical Corporation. Send curriculum vitae to: John H. Freer, M.D., Counseling & Psychotherapy Center, 2533 Larkin Rd., Suite 201, Lexington, KY 40503. (Received 8 August 1981.)

Judson Baptist College in Oregon has a new campus along the mighty Columbia River (good fishing) in sight of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams, is beginning a four-year program for the first time in 1981-82. For September 1982 they will need three new scien6e faculty members, in (1) chemistry & physics, (2) biology (botanical and cellular), and (3) mathematics. Prefer Ph.D.s, generalists with experience in building a general science program over research specialists, and Christians with a balanced view of creation and evolution. Increasing numbers of students are interested in engineering, computers, physical therapy, geology, nursing, and so on. Apply to: Dean of Faculty, Judson Baptist College, 400 East Scenic Dr., The Dalles, OR 97058. (Received 8 Sept 1981, from Dr. Nellie R. Harris, Chair of Science & Mathematics, who hopes to retire from the college in September 1982.)

Hope College in Michigan seeks a Ph.D. in paleontology for its four-person Geology faculty, with preference given to applicants also qualified in stratigraphy or regional geology. Full-time, tenure-track appointment; primary teaching responsibilities in historical geology, invertebrate paleontology, and stratigraphy. Department is well equipped for research; faculty are expected to maintain a research program including undergraduates. Active field program includes six-week summer field camp in Colorado. Geology has about 35 majors irf a college enrollment of 2200. Applicants must be committed to the religious goals of Hope College. Send applications, including vita, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation, to: Robert L. Reinking, Chair, Dept. of Geology, Hope College, Holland, MI 49423. (Received 15 Sept. 1981, via Gordon Van Wylen, president of Hope College.)

CDS Laboratories in Colorado seeks an additional partner willing to invest both time and money in expansion of the small custom R&D lab, working with other evangelical Christians. The person sought should have extensive experience at bench-scale synthesis of organic and biological chemicals (such as amino acid derivatives, peptides, and nucleoticle analogs) and be able to direct the synthetic group, which produces custom chemicals for all the major U.S. catalog companies. "Southwest Colorado is ideal for outdoor recreation, and for early retirement with continued chemical contacts." Contact: Dr. Joe A. Bowden, Director, CIDS Labs, Received 2 Oct. 1981.)

Miami University in Ohio lists three science teaching/research openings for Ph.D.s: (1) In Zoology, beginning Jan. or Aug. 1982, a person with formal training in ecological toxicology; contact: R. G. Sherman. (2) In Geology, one person in either quaternary sedimentation (including glacial deposits) and tectonics, or geophysics, another for a non-tenure one-to-three-year position teaching introductory courses and courses in the person's area of research interest; contact: A. Dwight Baldwin, Jr. Address: (Contact person & department), Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056. (Received 15 Oct. 1981, from Ed Yamauchi, professor of history at Miami.)

Link Care Foundation in California is looking for two people to work in their program of helping mission boards assess the strengths and weaknesses of missionary candidates. (1) Psychiatrist devoted to serving God through the missionary activity of the church, to work with several Ph.D. psychologists and a support staff in a missionary "staging area" that includes a community center, offices, auditorium, and about a hundred apartments on nine acres. Close association with Christian Medical Society. Possible combination with some private practice, staff appointment to local hospitals. (2) Test-writing expert and clinical psychologist to develop a diagnostic instrument for use with several thousand candidates per year. Some 30,000 overseas veterans are available for validation purposes through cooperation of the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association and the Independent Foreign Missions Association. Contact: Dr. Stanley Lindquist, President, Link Care Center, 1734 W. Shaw, Fresno, CA93711; tel.209-439-5920 or(before7a.m.) 209-222-4916. (Received 17 Oct. 1981.)

Northwestern College in Iowa seeks a Ph.D. psychologist with major concentration in experimental or social psychology plus ability to teach in the other sub discipline. Tenure-track position open Sept. 1982. Applicants should have demonstrated excellence in teaching. Courses include research methods, learning, cognitive, and social psychology. Undergraduate liberal arts college affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. Letter of application with curriculum vitae to: Dr. Harold Heie, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA 51041. (Received 19 Oct. 1981.)

Houghton College in New York has two full-time positions in psychology, one in counseling psychology, the other in educational psychology. Contact: Dr. Frederick R. Shannon, Academic Dean, Houghton College, Houghton, NY 14744; tel. 716-567-2211. (Received 19 Oct. 1981.)

Radiation Research Institute in California needs consultants in genetic toxicology, health physics, and radiochemistry to advise on several research projects concerning new, previously unrecognized radiation-induced diseases. Initially, consultation is on a volunteer basis; grant proposals currently being drafted include consultant fees. Contact: Susan D. Lambert, M.D., Radiation Research Institute, 2288 Fulton St., Suite 306, Berkeley, CA 94704; tel. 415-848-8056. (Received 19 Oct. 1981 via Walt Hearn, who thinks this might be an opportunity for ASA members to make a contribution toward a new aspect of public health.)

On October 9 the section met at St. Andrew's Hall to hear John Patrick of the Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Ottawa, discuss "Medical Ethics: Is There A Christian Viewpoint?" One topic to be discussed at the business meeting was whether to support section activities by donations at meetings or by local dues (expenses have been running about $20 per meeting). The section also encouraged members to attend the national CSCA meeting in Toronto October 17, in anticipation of hosting the CSCA annual meeting in 1982.

In June Richard Herd, Ewen Todd, and Colin McGregor presented a tape-slide show at a meeting of the Ottawa Christian Voyageurs. Out of that came an opportunity to participate in a program on "Science and Christianity" at Redeemer Christian High School (formerly known as Community for Christian Learning). On the evening of November 5 the CSCA chapter has responsibility for a program on "Origins." Other topics to be discussed are "Ethics" (Nov. 12) and "Man and Nature" (Nov. 19). Sessions are being held at the T. P. Maxwell School on Merivale Road, which houses the high school this year.

On October 6 the section met on the campus of the University of Guelph to hear two perspectives on "Nuclear Energy in Canada." One speaker, D. McCormack Smythe, professor of administration at Atkinson College of York University, was concerned with the safe use of nuclear energy. The other, Robert E. Jervis, professor of chemical engineering at the U. of Toronto, discussed technical problems in using nuclear energy. The seminar was moderated by Ed den Haan, secretary of the section.

Section president Margaret Fallding says that noon-hour meetings of the book club are expected to start up in January. Suggestions for topics or books are welcome. Last year the group studied Hooykaas's Religion and the Rise of Modern Science. The Guelph chapter also intends to become self-supporting. With a core of about 25 CSCA members, the section maintains a mailing list of about 100, and expenses are running about $300 per year. This year a minimum of $2 was requested of all who wished to stay on the mailing list.

On November 7 the section meets at The King's College in Briarcliff Manor, New York, to hear John Bostrom, M.D., discuss "A Doctor's Point of View of Drugs and the Brain." John has a bachelor's degree from Rutgers and an M.D. from the U. of Chicago. After internship and residency in Illinois, he served as an army psychiatrist for two years and then as a staff psychiatrist at the U. of Illinois in Urbana for two years. Since 1971 he has been director of out-patient services at the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, New Jersey.

The focus of the 3 p.m. lecture is senility and enclogenous depression. After a cafeteria dinner and section business meeting, the 7 p.m. lecture deals with schizophrenia, alcoholism, and addiction to other drugs. Plenty of time is reserved for questions from the audience.

On October 4 the section met at Paul Arveson's home in Silver Spring, Maryland, to hear David 0. Moberg discuss "Perspectives on 'Christian Sociology.' " Dave Moberg, professor of sociology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a world traveler. This summer he did some research in Senegal and Mali, west Africa, while visiting his sister and brother-in-law, who work with United World Mission. In his brother-in-law's Cessna 180 Dave was able to make some interesting side trips, including one day in "the best-known small town in the world" Tombouctou (Timbuktu).

The Herrmanns will spend October 31 through November 3 in the Los Angeles area, stirring that slumbering section into life once again. On October 31 the LOS ANGELES section meets at Cal State University, Long Beach, to hear Bob discuss "Ethical Concerns with Recombinant DNA." We suspect the San Diego section is planning a meeting during the Herrmanns stay in San DiegoG, November 4~6,but we had not received an announcement at press time.