Volume 40 Number 2                                                                               MAR/APR 1998


Miles President; Cobern New Council Member

Western Michigan U. professor of science-teacher education, William W. Cobern, is ASA's new Council member. He has published about 40 papers in his field, the cultural study of science teaching and learning. Cobern has been an ASAer since 1978 and is also a member of the ASA Science Education Commission. Welcome to the Council, William!

Each year, ASA's five Council members shift positions, and this year, ASA's new president is Sara Miles, interim dean of undergraduate programs and associate professor of history and biology at Eastern C. in St. Davids, PA. Sara has been active in the organization and encouragement of women in science. She is enhancing communication between the Council and ASAN readers by writing a column telling us what our Council is planning and doing. 

The President's Perspective

The purpose of this column is to provide information and a perspective on issues being dealt with by the Executive Council that I believe are important for ASA members.

In this first column, I want to call your attention to three things. First, in the very near future, all voting members will be receiving a copy of a revised constitution and by-laws. In the past, several changes have been made to our constitution and by-laws, but consistency throughout the document was not maintained. Obviously, as we have grown, items that were once appropriate are no longer so and other items have been determined to be needed.

Moreover, the organization of the constitution has become a bit higgledy-piggledy. The Council has been working on trying to get the document into a shape that is reflective of a mature organization. Rather than note every change so you can compare it with the current version (assuming you have the compilation of changes that make up the current version!), we will be sending out a complete document and asking you to ratify it in its presented form. For the document to be approved, at least one-third of all Full Members and Fellows must vote, and two-thirds of those voting must vote in favor of the document. Your vote is crucial, so please return the ballot.

Second, the Council is looking at the issue of membership and how we can grow. For the ASA to reach the goal of 2000 additional members by the year 2000, two aspects of membership need to be addressed: attracting new members and retaining current ones. Each of you is involved in the latter facet. Please don't let your membership lapse.

What you may not realize is that each of you also needs to be involved in the first aspectónamely, recruitment of new members. Church evangelism has the slogan: "Each one reach one." That needs to be our approach as well. Don't you know someoneóa colleague at work, someone in your church, a former studentówho can benefit from and contribute to the work of the ASA? We are going to be strong in fulfilling our vision only when we all work together, and that includes working on recruitment.

Finally, we are excited about the up-coming annual meeting in Cambridge, England. How many professional meetings provide you with Christian fellowship and intellectual stimulation at the same time? When you consider that you are getting "2 for the price of 1," the annual meeting becomes a bargain. If you add to that the C. S. Lewis Conference (on both sides of our meeting), the ASA British Isles Tour, and other opportunities for sight-seeing, research, and recreation, it becomes a "best buy!" I hope to see you there!

I encourage you to give me and the Council feedback via postal or e-mail:

Dr. Sara Joan Miles, Eastern College,1300 Eagle Road, St. Davids, PA 19087 smiles@eastern.edu

Bradley Heads CLM

Walter Bradley, having been a professor of mechanical engineering for over 30 years, will be taking over as director of Campus Crusade for Christ's Christian Leadership Ministries, from founder Stan Oakes. The expanding ministry is directed toward university faculty, and publishes The Real Issue, a bimonthly publication in which ASAers often appear.

For example, Richard Bube of Stanford has known interviewee Adolpho Lopez-Otero, a physics colleague, for 15 years. Lopez-Otero, a Spaniard and a secular humanist, talks with RI about the effect Bube has had on him. In speaking about spiritual matters with the non-Christian, he says:

"do not be shy to deconstruct the pretentiousness of his world in the same way that he is not shy to point out the "triumphs" of science, the Enlightenment, and rationalism over the "superstitions" of religion. And above all, in conversation with him do not use the word "love" and "pray" as in "we love you," or "we'll pray for you." It sounds so patronizing to him." (RI 16, no. 1 [Sep/Oct 1997]: 11).

The Real Issue can be contacted by writing to CLM at: 3440 Sojourn Drive, Suite 200, Carrollton, TX 75006-2354; tel. (972) 713-7130; jmeyers@clm.org.

Bouma Addresses Congressional Committee; Ehlers to Address AAAS

Vernon Ehlers is a congressman and a physicist. More significantly, he is also an ASA member, as is fellow Calvin C. alumnus, philosophy prof. and geneticist Hessel Bouma III. Ehlers invited Bouma to address a congressional subcommittee where he opposed human cloning.

As reported by the Calvin C.'s Spark (Winter 1997: 6) news article, Bouma was invited by the U.S. House Committee on Science to address the Subcommittee on Technology as they held a hearing on "Prohibition of Federal Funding of Human Cloning Research." Earlier, Bouma and Calvin colleagues reviewed Ehlers' and others' legislative drafts on human cloning. Their response was persuasive enough to receive an invitation to address the Committee.

Bouma's allotted five-minutes emphasized that human life elicits awe and reverence, and that human freedom must be tempered with limits that protect human uniqueness.

Bouma's testimony was excerpted by the Washington Post and he was interviewed by local Grand Rapids, state, and national media. Bouma was explicit about his Christian commitment in the Reformed tradition and testified that:

"Human beings are unique. Whether this emanates from an understanding of our species as pinnacles of evolution or created image-bearers of God as in the Judeo-Christian tradition, we recognize our personal and relational uniqueness and seek to provide special protection for humans."

On the science front, Ehlers has been invited to address the AAAS Fellows Forum Feb. 14, during the AAAS annual meeting in Philadelphia. The forum will open discussion on the House Science Committee's new science policy study.

As AAAS executive officer Richard Nicholson wrote in his invitation letter to AAAS Fellows, the Speaker of the House has requested that the Science Committee, "conduct a comprehensive review of our national science policy and develop a new, sensible, coherent long-range science and technology policy. Representative Vernon Ehlers is leading the effort."

Last summer, as vice-chairman of the House Science Committee, Vern was reported in Science (Vol. 277, July 4, 1997: 28; www.sciencemag.org) as a "rare breed," with a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and a member of the U.S. Congress. Vern said then that the Cold War argument for govt. science funding will no longer do, that the fragile ties between basic and applied science need to be strengthened, and that scientists must take a more active political role, citing the Internet as a way for scientists to talk with Congress. Ehlers seemed to express some frustration with the inefficiency of Washington bureaucracy. He intended to keep the study short and concise, fund only one full-time staff member, and reduce public events because "We've had enough hearings [on this topic] in the last decade." He was referring to the nearly 20 hearings that the Committee conducted during 1985ñ86, resulting in a dozen papers but no final report. Ehlers developed an agenda for the study through a roundtable of about 40 high-level scientists.

Wil Lepkowski, a senior correspondent for Chemical & Engineering News, a weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society, also gave coverage of Ehlers' work in a detailed article (C&EN, June 30, 1997: 11ñ17), "R&D POLICY: Cooperation is the current byword," on federal science politics. Chairman of the Science Committee, James Sensenbrenner, appointed Ehlers as vice-chairman. Wil reported that "Ehlers is regarded as one of the most thoughtful members of the House." Sensenbrenner also gave Ehlers the task of improving math and science education from grade to graduate school. Don DeGraaf, Walter Hearn

Wright, Olson Fuel Thoughts on Earth

Richard T. Wright, prof. of biology at Gordon C. in Wenham, MA, has co-authored Environmental Science: The Way the World Works (6th Ed., Prentice Hall) and has spoken about the Kyoto Conference on the environment in World magazine (29 Nov 1997: 15). In an opinion insert, "Fuel for thought," he lists two aspects of the ecosphere for which we should be thankful: the protecting atmosphere, with its stabilizing greenhouse effect, and the historic formation of gigantic deposits of fossil fuels upon which we are dependent as energy sources. The dilemma is: should the world curtail its fossil fuel energy consumption to avoid the effects of global warming? Wright puts the question:

" Is there evidence that [the climate] is already changing? Perhaps it is just coincidence that the sea level is rising, global temperatures are rising, Alaska is warming up, polar ice sheets and glaciers are receding, storm events are more frequent and severeóas the amount of greenhouse gases has continued to rise.

Within the scientific community is a clear consensus, Wright contends, that this is the most serious problem facing the world. But he is not hopeful about the political outcome at Kyoto: "I fear that global economic interests will prevail, and that our grandchildren will suffer the consequences."

Wright's point of view was part of a larger article, "The Global Warming Smoke Screen," by E. Calvin Beisner, who leans in the direction of another contributor to the article, Edwin A. Olson, retired geology prof and geochemist. Olson's opinion piece, "The blind leading the blind," opposes the Kyoto Conference, not in failing to go far enough, as Wright argues, but in going too far. Olson gives counter-evidence for global warming not found on the front pages of newspapers: no upward trend in a century-long record of ground temperature measurements in the 48 contiguous states, slight worldwide cooling between 1940 and 1970 while atmospheric carbon dioxide had continued to rise, and the growth of the Antarctic glacier and other valley glaciers.

Olson's argument, after quoting a few environmental scientists about how little is known of ecospheric dynamics, is that "Nonetheless, a political process that started at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio continues to roll on. Kyoto is the culmination." Olson's conclusion is that the Kyoto accord "might simply wither away because it will almost certainly demand too great an economic price for what might well be a non-problem."

And Beisner's conclusion? "Clearly there is good reason to proceed slowly and with caution on recommendations to reduce energy use to prevent or mitigate global warming."

What this multidimensional issue needs is a few experts who have not only mastered what is known of earth and ecological dynamics, but who are also savvy at economics, politics, and theologyóand in predicting the future. Are we hearing the distant hoof beats of the apocalyptic horsemen or the pattering feet of Chicken Little? The sheer interconnectedness of the many disparate factors must surely drive us to call upon the Sustainer of heaven and earth for our salvation in the present age as well as in the age to comeóand to thank him for both thus far.

Erudite New Ph.D.s

Hee-Joo Park has a fresh Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science, obtained from the U. of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. He is looking for a book publisher for his dissertation, Anti-Creationism in America. Instead of documenting "creationist" activity, Park studied the anti-creationists, who in the 1970s and `80s were not carrying out any more of an organized effort than the creationists.

Another erudite Ph.D., Walter Hearn, has known the native Korean from his stay in Berkeley, delving into the NCSE archives and some background correspondence of ASA's Teaching Science book. Park's thesis ended with a chapter on ASA's characteristically moderating position. Walt reflected recently on the book and the ASA resolution to teach evolution as science in his letter to Hee-Joo:

" What we really wanted to get across to people on both sides of the controversy was that they should not "claim too much." When dealing with origins, we wanted to say, why not just describe the physical evidence, say how it points to a certain scientific conclusion, and let it go at that? ¼ I think we were trying to get teachers to see how big a difference there is between the "no possible links" of the anti-evolutionists and the "no missing links" of NAS. We don't even know how many are missing." [11 Dec 97 letter to Hee-Joo Park, p. 3]

In advising a prospective book author, Walt reflected on his new IVP book, Being a Christian in Science, which is headed for a second printing after the first 8,500. Walt, of course, wants the publisher to put marketing effort into the book, and says:

IVP is not yet convinced that I've written a great book, but they are catching on that I have some great friends. Some professors in Christian colleges are beginning to use the book in courses or seminars for science majors ... I suppose the most encouraging feedback comes in notes scribbled by spouses on letters from ASA members, saying "I'm not a scientist but I enjoyed your book."

Being a Christian in Science is available from the ASA. (See inset on p. 2 for ASA office address.)

Another new Ph.D., though not new to ASAers, is Paul Nelson. At approximately 1:20 p.m. (Central Time) on Friday, December 19, 1997, Nelson successfully defended his doctoral thesis before a faculty committee of the University of Chicago, and was duly awarded the degree from the Department of Philosophy.

According to Brock Eide, an MD at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, U. of Chicago, who sat in on some of Paul's defense, the general atmosphere was surprisingly cordial. Paul's thesis was limited to a consideration of the plausibility of universal common descent as a scientific theory, and as such did not directly challenge the naturalistic metaphysics underlying much of evolutionary theory, Eide said. Yet it was obvious from the nature of the exchange that his metaphysical and religious views were known by all. It was also obvious, both from the tone and the content of the questions asked, that their many years of contact with Paul had given them a deep respect for his intellectual abilities.

The more philosophical attendees seemed to place less emotional stake in protecting the notion of universal common descent than Eide was used to seeing from most biologists. And according to Eide, Paul looked very professorial in tweeds. On the down side, Paul may have lost his student discount at the Lyric Opera, but is sure to be happy to now be "Dr. Nelson."

Congratulations to both Hee-Joo and Paul on their academic achievements! Brock Eide, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, MC 2030, University of Chicago, Room J209, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637; tel. 773-702-1657.Walter R. Hearn, ad hoc Berkeley regional ASA Newsletter correspondent

 ASAers Appear in NCSE Reports

Several ASAers appeared in the last issue of Reports of the National Center for Science education (Vol. 17, No. 1; Jan/Feb `97). The article, "Old-Earth Moderates Poised to Spread Design Theory," by NCSE Executive Director Eugenie C. Scott, cited Stephen Meyer, William Dembski, Paul Nelson, and Jonathan Wells as examples of individuals involved in what Scott calls "university-based anti-evolution."

Scott views a shift in the creationist side of the controversy, with the publication of Phillip Johnson's Darwin on Trial in 1991, which "encouraged the growth of a more moderate `old-earth' anti-evolutionism ¼ " She goes on to identify the root cause of dissension over "evolution" as a clash of Christian and materialist worldviews. Scott's criticism is that "instead of arguing about the values of theism vs. materialism, the university-based anti-evolutionists use evolution as a stalking-horse."

NCSE's objection to Johnson's and biochemist Michael Behe's (Darwin's Black Box) books is "not because they promote a philosophy but because they unjustifiably attack science." What Scott means by "science" is methodological materialism: "supernatural explanations are dead ends that do not lead to further understanding." In other words, Scott considers Intelligent Design to be introducing miracles as explanations where further investigation might otherwise uncover regularities accessible to scientific scrutiny.

Scott recognizes the legitimacy of discussion of the non-scientific effects of evolutionary theory. What confuses the controversy is that Johnson, for instance, is not only asserting that science should not be used to promote a particular ideology, with which Scott agrees, but he also denies that the neo-darwinian mechanism could produce the present complexity of life. This second question is amenable to scientific inquiry, and his attempts to show difficulties with the theory are what draw most of Scott's criticism, it appears.

The third major thesis of Johnson's is that Darwinism is inseparably entangled with a materialistic worldview. Whatever one makes of the extent of this entanglement, it can be argued that historic science was heavily entangled, to the point of dependency of its presuppositional roots, in a biblical worldview. The early founders of science were quite explicit about their Christian motivations for natural philosophy. While in our time, non-Christians can obviously do science, the need for the wider foundations of the enterprise become apparent when science is subjected to postmodern or neo-pagan attack. How science rests upon its worldview foundation is part of the underlying issue.

What separated medieval thinking from science was the recognition that study of the creation was a legitimate pursuit in its own right, distinct from theology, but not autonomous. Herein lies the rub. How is science related to wider human activity, thought, and commitment? Can practicing scientists ground their beliefs about science in any arbitrary worldview and, in the long run, expect the enterprise to sustain its identifying characteristics?

Another ASAer, cited in NCSE Reports article, "An Evening with Hugh Ross," by Kenneth E. Nahigian, roots his view of science quite directly in a biblical framework. Nahigian attended a Hugh Ross lecture at Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento. He was impressed with Ross's ability to defuse angry young-earth questions with patient, non-sarcastic biblical exegesis. Ross's science also seemed, with some exceptions, agreeable.

While listing a few nit-picks, Nahigian considered Ross's strongest argument to be the fine-tuning aspects of the universe for the existence of life. Carbon is the cornerstone of such anthropic-style arguments, and Nahigian asks: "If we slip those [fundamental physical] constants, wouldn't the properties of the other elements slip also? Then perhaps silicon would form long chains, and.... "

Unlikelihood arguments are further discussed. The fact that events with very unlikely odds happen (such as the odds of a golf ball landing on a specific blade of grass), Nahigian concludes, make ordinary events seem impossible. (Perhaps probability theorist Bill Dembski should have been there!)

The argument about cumulative natural selection vastly reducing development time due to chance is reiterated, but without alluding to the existence of a priori selection criteria necessary for such selection.

Ross is credited with "offering no homilies about the evils of evolution," debunking UFOlogy, but was faulted for an implicit god-of-the-gaps theology. He was also credited for outlining "key weaknesses in our knowledge of abiogenesis (the origin of life)... " and other scientifically unanswered questions. To these many questions, the article ends by referring to Richard Feynman's comment that "I'd rather have no answer than the wrong one."  Walt Hearn

The Wedge Works

The effort of Phillip E. Johnson and colleagues has become known as the "Wedge," an effort to drive a wedge for discussion into the prevailing viewpoint on Darwinism and its philosophical spin-offs. One of the leading Wedge members is Bill Dembski, who married Jana last summer and lives in Dallas, TX, where he manages editing of textbooks for Jon Buell's organization, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics. FTE organized the Symposium on Darwinism at Southern Methodist U., that brought Johnson, Michael Ruse, and others together.

Bill has completed his book, The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities, to be published this year by Cambridge U. Press.

 The ubiquitous Johnson has recently appeared on the front cover of World news magazine with title, "Question Authority" (Nov. 22, 1997: 12ñ14) and in the Christianity Today article, "The Making of a Revolution" (Dec. 8, 1997: 16ñ22), where he argues, among other assertions, that "Darwinian evolution ... undergirds a whole mode of thinking that has no need of God." Tom Woodward, Dave Wilcox, Steve Meyer, Howard Van Til, and Paul Nelson also appear in the article along with William Dembski.

In the article, Johnson explains the wedge strategy. As the leading edge of the wedge, like an offensive lineman in football, he says: "My idea is to clear a space by legitimating the issue, by exhausting the other side, by using up all their ridicule." Johnson wants to leave open questions about how God created. Part of the strategy is to keep the Bible out of the discussion in order to deflect the claim that he is a stalking horse for religious fundamentalism.

He illustrates from a lecture at the U. of Oregon, where a prof. of paleontology put up his hand and asked which god he thinks Phil wanted him to be teaching in his class. Johnson told CT: "I don't want him to talk about God in his paleontology class. I told him to give the fossil evidence honestly, instead of shading it to protect the materialist theory from being discredited." Johnson has no intention of letting the discussion be shifted away from criticism of Darwinian theory as it is used to make nihilistic metaphysical claims by members of the scientific community.

Newspaper Articles Talk Up Darwinian Challenge, Get Apologetics Right

Around the country, the creation-evolution controversy is alive in its current phase, with reports questioning Darwinian evolution. For instance, Don Erler, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Thursday, August 28, 1997: 13) wrote "The crumbling citadel of Darwinism." His opening paragraphs are:

" Helen Cronin, a fervent neo-Darwinian who runs seminars on evolution at the London School of Economics, sums up her side's position succinctly: "Nature does have every appearance of design, but it is translated out of blind force and natural selection. The Darwinian process in general is the only one we know that can produce apparent design without a designer."

Lynn Margulis, distinguished professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts, is equally adamant. She thinks that neo-Darwinism, especially its emphasis on the "slow accrual of mutations," will come to be regarded as "a minor 20th-Century religious sect within the sprawling religious persuasion of Anglo-Saxon biology."

The press sometimes hits the bull's eye in clearly and accurately describing aspects of science and religion, and in discerning between them when science is used to promote an ideology. From the Alberta Report, in Canada, July 14,1997, is an article at Website:

http://albertareport.com/24arcopy/24a31cpy/2431ar11.htm

"that shows understanding of the need to properly distinguish between science and religion. It says, in part:

"Why should a sense of futility in one of the century's foremost skeptics of traditional religion be inexplicable? Carl Sagan insisted that we believe only those things which science can measure. Anything else is mere speculation; the only objective truth is scientific truth.

Now this is itself not a scientific assertion, of course. Science can legitimately define the terms and conditions which must be met by "scientific" truth. But to deny the existence of any other method of discovering what's true is not in itself scientificóit is philosophical.

So when Carl Sagan wrote or broadcast on science as a professional scientist, he could properly command the respect due the professional. When he plunged into philosophy, a habit he indulged increasingly, he was speaking as a rank amateur, but the respect he merited as a scientist was improperly accorded to his philosophy.

Perhaps in his illness he realized this. The statement that the ozone layer is depleting may be scientific, for example. The demand that we do something about it is not scientific, but moral. Science can tell us what we and the rest of nature do. It cannot tell us what we ought to do. This suggests something beyond natureóa rule or law or code or obligationówhich all of us are somehow duty-bound to observe.

Most of us actually do believe this, but it is not a scientific truth; it's another kind. And if, as Mr. Sagan insisted, there is no other kind, then he can give us no reason to do anything about the ozone layer."

NABT Statement: E-Mail Commentary

From the ASA list server comes the following excerpt of a post from Allan Harvey, responding to Craig Rusbult:

From: aharvey@boulder.nist.gov

Subject: Re: NABT statement

At 04:19 P.M. 10/18/97, Craig R. wrote:

" But can we also ask for clarifications, such as what is meant when evolution is declared (without qualification) to be "a natural process," and whether this is just an alternative way to say "unguided"?

I'd guess that they mean the same thing as if they were declaring lightning, rain and wind to be "natural processes." These are processes that occur in nature, and for which science presently finds no need to invoke the "supernatural."

The Christian, of course, knows that all these processes, including evolution, are ultimately under God's authority. But I can't imagine Christians protesting a description of wind as a "natural process." As I've said before with regard to my theological disagreement with Phil Johnson, the problem comes when we consider "natural processes" and "things God does" to be disjoint sets, when biblically the first is a subset of the second.

While I'm here, let me mention the one part of Eugenie Scott's article that troubled me. The letter exemplified how describing evolution as "impersonal" and "unsupervised" was being interpreted by individuals outside of science as anti-religious and unscientific. There are, of course, many of us inside science who see those terms as anti-religious and unscientific. As George Murphy said, we should be grateful that the statement was changed. But if these people can't recognize that their original statement really was saying something science has no business saying, there is still a fundamental problem.

Hoehner Initiates Symposium on Bioethics

Paul J. Hoehner, Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology and Chairman of the Heartland Regional Medical Center's Ethics Dept. in St. Joseph, MO, presented a bioethics symposium addressing issues of "The New Genetics" on Dec. 4, 1997. The featured speaker was physician and theologian Frank E. Young, former FDA Commissioner, Asst. Surgeon General, and current Executive Director of Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. The symposium was described by participants as a model for hospital ethics departments across the country for approaching ethical issues from a worldview outlook.

The St. Joseph News-Press reported the event (Dec. 5, 1997, "Genetics discussion involves Bible, too") and noted that Young referred to the book of Genesis several times. Young said most discussions on biotechnology usually do. He raised the question of where the biblical image of God comes in. "Is it imprinted on DNA?" he asked. Young suggested that ethical questions need to be framed as answerable questions and that what leads to the formation of opinions must not be overlooked.

The poster for the symposium was titled, "Genetic Engineering in the 21st Century."

New Flood Theory Book by Morton

Glenn Morton's new book, Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man, is now available. Morton is an active ASA list-server participant and his grasp of the empirical facts of the issues he discusses is extensive. With index, his new book is 203 pages long and includes over 1000 references to the primary literature, 34 figures, and eight tables. It is bigger than his previous work, Foundation, Fall and Flood, and can be obtained for $20 + $2 postage in the U.S. Foreign postage information can be found at:

http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/acubed.htm

or from Glenn's Web page:

http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.ht

Starkey's Book Theorizes on New Findings on Joseph

Lawrence Starkey was a very active ASA Fellow in the `50s and `60s. He is still active, but as author of New Findings on Joseph: Written on Tablets and Stone. He offers copious evidence for the theory that Hebrew patriarch Joseph Egyptianized his name, substituting Re- (the sun god) for Jo- (Jehovah) and was posthumously deified as Ressheph and worshipped all over the ancient Near East. 1 Chronicles 7:25 cites a Resheph as Joseph's great-great grandson, presumably his namesake. Joseph may even have married Isis (Asenath: Isis-Neith), chief goddess of Egypt for over 2,000 years, whose name may have evolved into Ishara when the god Re superseded Neith, and to Anath. Both were widely known to be closely affiliated with Resheph.

The Ebla tablets name a "Resheph of Shechem," site of Joseph's home sanctuary where he ordered that his bones be buried. Quoting his claim that "God ¼ made me a father to Pharaoh" (Gen. 45:8), Starkey associates him with the boy-king Pepi II, who reigned for 94 years during the late 2000s B.C.

Books & Such

Savior or Servant? Putting Government in Its Place, by David W. Hall, (Covenant Foundation, 1996, covpca@usit.net), is a 400-page political science and theology hardcover. It attempts to define the role of the state: Is it minister or Messiah? Hall offers a theology of the civil state, identifying what it is mandated to do, permitted to do, and prohibited from doing. The study shows that all political schemes and issues are fraught with theological value.

Theologians from Augustine to Calvin, Aquinas to Barth are studied and presented in a readable manner. Hall challenges both right and left-oriented politics and summons Christians to the old paths that God's Word has occupied for centuries. Items of discussion include: taxation, resistance to evil governments, methods of influence, escalation of rights, separation of powers, limited govt. and more. Order from: The Kuyper Institute, 190 Manhattan Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

Hall has also written The Arrogance of the Modern, a sustained apology for the wisdom of the past, and has edited Election Day Sermons, containing classic, Colonial and contemporary political sermons that call for a return to an earlier practice of going to the Bible before the ballot box. For ordering info, see above.

Genetic Ethics: Do the Ends Justify the Genes? from Eerdmans is edited by John F. Kilner, Rebecca D. Pentz, assoc. prof. of clinical ethics at the U. of TX, and Frank E. Young, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Admin. Kilner heads the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity in Bannockburn, IL, and was keynote speaker at ASA's 1994 meeting in St. Paul, MN.

Genetics is rapidly advancing, but the ethical issues raisedóand overlookedó"are glaring." Contributors to this volume include ASAers Francis Collins, Elving Anderson, Hessel Bouma III, and James C. Peterson. Other contributors include Charles Colson, Nancy R. Pearcey, and C. Christopher Hook. The book sells for $22 (paperback) and has 291 pages, including a 14-page glossary of bioethical terms. This book looks like a good starting-point for those interested in looking into the bioethical issues of the new genetics.

In their Reason & Religion series, Eerdmans has published Faith and Understanding, by Paul Helm, the series editor and prof. of history and philosophy at King's C., London. This series is intended to introduce students and the educated general reader to some of faith's most challenging philosophical questions in practical and accessible ways.

Helm's book follows the Christian tradition of reasonably articulating the content of Christian belief and philosophically defending its reasonableness. It addresses central issues such as the relationship between faith and reason, the claims of natural theology, and the pursuit of the vision of God. The views of Augustine, Anselm, Edwards, and Calvin are covered along with contemporaries Norman Kretzmann and Dewey Hoitenga.

A second book in the series, God, Reason & Theistic Proofs, by Stephen T. Davis, prof. of phil. and religion at Claremont C., takes up the long-standing tradition of trying to prove the existence of God. But can it be done by human reason alone? And which of the various proofs are actually persuasive? Davis surveys the subject, from Anselm to Paley. Davis works over the three classical proofs, and also foundationalism and the argument from religious experience. He also covers alternatives to theistic proofs, such as Pascal's wager and William James' argument from insufficient evidence.

Veritas Forum has released an audiotape series, Truth in Science and Evolution. Volume 1 includes: Phil Johnson, Hugh Ross, Calvin DeWitt, Ian Hutchinson, Walter Bradley, and Fritz Schaefer. Six tapes for $24.95 plus shipping can be ordered by calling: (800) 874-8730.

Audiocassettes by Bruce Waltke ("Biblical Theology of Origins: An Exegesis of Genesis 1" ACST5), Calvin B. DeWitt ("Redeeming the Creation: Our Reason for Hope" ACST6), David G. Myers ("Yin and Yang in Psychology and Christianity" ACST8), Stanton L. Jones (Psychology, Science and Methods" ACST9) are a few of the tapes available from the Coalition for Christian Colleges & Universities for $8.95 each, including shipping. (Tape numbers are given above, after titles.) Order from: CCCU, 329 Eighth St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-6158. These tapes are in the "Supplemental Textbook" category. Many other tapes explore integration issues and result from faculty workshop curricular projects.

Brian Gruel's Dream Fulfilled

For a long time, Brian T. Gruel's dream has been to teach at a Christian liberal arts college. That dream was fulfilled when he started in 1998 as an asst. prof. of biology at John Brown U. in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the site of next year's ASA Annual Meeting. Prior to this appointment, Brian served as an asst. prof. of biology at the U. of Scranton (in PA) since August 1993.

Meyer Aids PBS's TechnoPolitics

Videotaped at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA, PBS's TechnoPolitics off-prime-time program received such great response from their airing of the contemporary challenge by Intelligent Design advocates to Darwinian theory that Part 2 was also aired. The opening to Part 2, a discussion of how life began, included the announcer's lead-in to the discussion:

" Since the time of Darwin, modern science has largely confirmed his theory. In fact, it's difficult to find established experts in biology or chemistry who don't support Darwinism, but there remain a few questions that science has been unable to answer."

Joining the moderator, Washington Post columnist James Glassman, was Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box, and one of his critics, philosopher Michael Ruse, author of Darwinism Defended. Also joining the discussion was U. of California law professor Phillip Johnson, an expert on evidence and author of Darwin on Trial. Steve Meyer provided background for the show.

The first program, Program No. 734, which aired November 15, 1997 is at:

 http://www.technopolitics.com/scripts/tp11-15-97.html

and Program No. 739, which aired December 19, 1997 is at:

http://www.technopolitics.com/scripts/tp12-19-97.html

 

A VHS videocassette for $29.95 can be purchased from copyright owners: The Blackwell Corporation, USA Today Building, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209; tel. (703) 524-2300.

The Discovery Institute of Seattle, WA has also put transcripts of the programs on the Web at:

http://www.discovery.org

Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science & Culture is headed by Marshall J. Sana. It is located at: 1402 Third Ave., Ste. 400, Seattle, WA 98101.

Pascal Center Conference

The Pascal Centre is organizing an international conference entitled "Science in Theistic Contexts: Cognitive Dimensions," to be held July 21ñ25, 1998. The objective of the conference is to present an analysis and evaluation of the internal role of theistic religious beliefs in the natural sciences and mathematics. The conference is intended for those with an interest in the relationship between science and religious belief. If you would like to receive more information, please e-mail your postal address, as well as a fax and phone number, to: Dr. Jitse M. van der Meer, Professor of Biology, Redeemer College, 777 Hwy 53 East Ancaster, ON, Canada L9K 1J4; tel. (905) 648-2131; fax: (905) 648-2134; e-mail: jmvdm@redeemer.on.ca

AAR/SBL Report

Walt Hearn, the ASAN's de facto and intrepid Bay Area reporter wangled his way into the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco last November. In AAR's Theology & Science group, he heard about the moral nature of the universe from Nancey Murphy and George Ellis; met historian Bill Durbin, and saw evidence of John Templeton in absentia everywhere, including the Templeton Foundation exhibit booth and Templeton Press. Also present were the Center for Theology & the Natural Sciences (CTNS), the Chicago Center for Religion & Science, and the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science.

Walt was pleased to see copies of the IVP book he authored, Being a Christian in Science, on display at IVP's booth "and even witnessed one being sold to a young bio-engineering post-doc."

With the Lord

The word finally got to us that James Guy Ashwin of Ottawa, Ontario died May 18, 1996. He was an enthusiastic ASAer who gave many talks in churches. Jim was in a wheelchair for nearly 40 years due to polio that he contracted on the mission field. He wrote his autobiography, God's Mountain, which, according to his wife, Myrtle, "told mostly of his faith but not of his suffering which was intense." Jim spent 1953ñ1955 at Ludhiana Christian Medical College in Punjab, India. Jim was a physiologist and pharmacologist, with a Ph.D. in physiology from McGill U.

ASAers should note that comments on your ASA Members Questionnaire might be your last message to other ASAers. On Jim's form, his comment was the suggestion, with hand-drawn map, that across the US/Canadian border, ASA/CSCA groups should be organized. Areas Jim penned in were: SeattleñVancouver, Calgary/ReginañDenver, WindsorñDetroit, TorontoñBuffalo, and St. JohnñBoston.

Welcome, New Members: Dec. 1997 ñ Jan. 1998 

Baker, Susan óUnionville, ON Canada

De Haan, David óBatesville, AR

Ferguson, Barbara óToronto, ON Canada

Halvorson, Hans óPittsburgh, PA

Harper, Christopher óExeter, NH

Heintzman, Paul óWaterloo, ON Canada

Holland, J. David óChatham, IL

Horney, Mark óPeyton, CO

Jonkiman, James óWaterloo, ON Canada

Khoo, Kerry óToronto, ON Canada

Kwok, Kai óWaterloo, ON Canada

Lanciotti, Robert óFort Collins, CO

Lefavi, Robert óGuyton, GA

Mc Crotty, Stephen óFairfield, OH

McArthur, Randall óMississauga, ON Canada

McCarrick, Alan óBoothwyn, PA

Parsons, William óDallas, TX

Piggott, Kathryn ñWaterloo, ON Canada

Shurmer, Bryn ñWaterloo, ON Canada

Smith, F. Whitney ñCoppell, TX

Smith, Michael ñNorth York, ON Canada

Steinke, Kim ñLabrador City, NF Canada

Strum, Donald ñFresno, CA

Venables, Dean ñNew Haven, CT

Vescera, Lawrence ñNewport Beach, CA

White, Owen ñToronto, ON Canada

Wong, Conway ñSt. Louis, MO

Wright, Dawn ñCorvallis, OR

Zimmerly, Steven ñCalgary, AB Canada