As Christians we need to constantly remember that everything we do and say (and write) should be done with the aim of glorifying our Lord. We are to be God-pleasers and not people-pleasers. Yet each of us, whether in business, industry, or academia are under pressure, not only to produce, but to "excel." Such achievement is to be for the glory and reputation of our company or our institution, and all too often this further degenerates into cut-throat competition to excel for our own glorification. Richard Bube discusses this crucial, contemporary phenomenon and gives us some guidelines for developing a more Christian response to 11 achieving excellence."
The mind-boggling complexity of our world as revealed in quantum theory and the interaction of chance and deterministic mechanisms has stimulated numerous reevaluations of the meaning of life and why this universe exists. John Templeton and Robert Herrmann discuss some of the contributions from this area of scientific endeavor that help us understand meaning and purpose in the universe. In relation to evolution, these authors discuss the "interplay of apparent randomness and determinism in the processes which appear to have led to the emergence of living things."
To a considerable degree, the impact of quantum theory in physics and astronomy is matched in the life sciences by E.O. Wilson's "sociobiology." Paul and Mary Ellen Rothrock evaluate the theological implications, both positive and negative, of this significant approach to the evolutionary myth of scientific materialism. The Rothrocks help us to see that, as with other false religions, sociobiology has insights that "might complement the Christian understanding of human nature and society."
We don't need to watch many TV documentaries and news broadcasts to be impressed and often disturbed by the manner in which the media tend to handle religious organizations. (Indeed, some of the response to ASA's "Teaching Science in a Climate of Controversy" demonstrates how easy it is to distort and to misrepresent the true intent of any organization.)
Jerry Bergman discusses some of the sociological principles of organizations in general, and religious organizations in particular.
We also have some thought-provoking Communications in this issue. Michael Bozack, who (in the March issue) gave us a significant analysis of the implications of the thermodynamic triple point to our understanding of the trinity, gives another intriguing approach to the trinity on the basis of the conjugate properties of matter. Donald Adolphson argues in favor of nuclear weapons as a means ordained by God to preserve world peace, in much the same manner as the Pax Romana was part of God's plan for the Incarnation. Raymond Seeger gives us another of his mini-biographies with a summary of the life of Nicholaus Copernicus.
We have changed the name of our journal, primarily to indicate more specifically our major purpose: we are not merely an inhouse publication of an organization, but are a vehicle for the discussion of the many aspects of science as they relate to Christian faith. We need to reaffirm that, as evangelical Christians, we are committed to Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Redeemer of mankind, as well as to the Scripture as our only infallible rule of faith and practice. Within that framework, there are Dow, and there have been throughout the history of the Christian church, differing views and traditions. In the ASA we encompass a spectrum of perspectives on creation and evolution, church and state, war and peace, ArminiaDism and Calvinism, and certainly on the highly controversial, recent issues of the ethics of the biotechnological manipulation of the world around us, including animal and human life. If you disagree with the position taken by any of our contributors we encourage you to write: a regular paper, a communication, or a letter. We can't publish everything we receive, but our major guidelines are for clear and concise writing in a spirit of respect and gentleness. We may not always achieve this goal, but that is the end towards which we strive.
