Science in Christian Perspective

Letter to the Editor

Print December 1969 Issue as Monograph

Virginia Johnson 
16 W. Acker St. 
St. Paul, Minnesota 55117

From: JASA 22 (September 1970): 119.

I am an adult student at the University of Minnesota. If more copies of the December Symposium (Journal ASA 21, No. 4, December 1969) are available, I would like to have some. This issue is the closest any organization has arrived at a direct, concise statement of Christian ideology.

The ASA, along with Drs. Ramm, Bass and V. Elving Anderson, have helped me considerably with a serious deistic liberal-fundamental conflict. Dr. Anderson recommended Dr. William Pollard's Chance and Providence. Dr. Hatfield's ASA article, "Probability and Providence" (Journal ASA 17, 16 (1965) ), led to my reading of Pollard's book which helped bridge a materialism-faith gap.

Because of the severe conflict imposed on me by transitional Methodism, dogmatic, forced fundamentalism and controversial liberalism, I have suffered deeply from religious confusion. I have finally arrived at intellectually honest Christian faith. The Self-revealing God, to me, is more the tolerant understanding Scientist-Father than the dogmatic, vindictive judge of fundamentalism.

My detached experience as a commuting student impresses me that Intervarsity, Campus Crusade and other Christian organizations cannot accommodate commuting student needs. Their approach is too simplistic-too Christ-oriented to meet the more sophisticated studentprofessional needs. The foreign studenta separate mission opportunity, is a peculiar problem. A recent Minnesota Daily article by an African revealed the defense psychology of foreign students. It could be discussed in the Journal.

I have a few ASA monographs, one of them, "The Eye as an Optical Instrument." Monographs dealing with basic Christian issues such as "The Relationship Between the Bible and Science" could serve as inexpensive, immediately available reference material. Monographs for hand-out would be printed on less expensive paper than the Journal-could be issued in a catalog available on request. Mass production would allow more non-member contact-and up-dating revision to keep abreast of science.

An earlier imperssion that the ASA is a mutual inter-member admiration medium has been revised. The interchange of science-theology views maintains proper Christian humility. Fundamentalists claim or imply intellectual pride among scientists, even among Christian scientists. I believe that the ASA, with more lay contact, can correct this error and prevent conflict in less informed students and laity. The ASA contact should he broadened to a lay level. The ASA could serve the Intervarsity and other Christian groups with the more sophisticated contact they need.