Science in Christian Perspective
JASA BOOK REVIEWS
For June 1958
Table of Contents
Discovering Buried Worlds. By
New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 128pp $3.75
The Flood and Noah's Ark. By Andre Parrot. New York: Philosophical Library. 1953. 76 pp. $2.75
The Tower of Babel. By Andre Parrot. New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 75 pp. $2.75
Nineveh and the Old Testament. By Andre Parrot New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 76 pp. $2.75.
Archaeology and the Old Testament. By J. A. Thompson. Grand Rapids: MN. W.. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1957. 121pp. $1.50.
Discovering Buried Worlds. By
New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 128pp $3.75
The Flood and Noah's Ark. By Andre Parrot. New York: Philosophical Library. 1953. 76 pp. $2.75
The Tower of Babel. By Andre Parrot. New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 75 pp. $2.75
Nineveh and the Old Testament. By Andre Parrot New York: Philosophical Library. 1955. 76 pp. $2.75.
Reviewed by Richard C. Turner, graduate student at Wheaton College and graduate assistant in anthropology.
These volumes are the first in a series of brief studies in biblical archaeology. Six of the seven volnines are by Andre Parrot, Curator-in-Chief of the French National Museums, professor at the Ecole du Louvre and director of the Mari Archaeological Expedition. Dr. Parrot states that his purpose in writing the studies was to share these findings "because of the powerful light they throw upon the religion and beliefs of a people in search c~f the supernatural forces which dominate them and on which they depend." (Vol. 1, p. 10)The introductory volume, Discovering Burried Worlds, illustrates the work of an archaeological expedition by reporting the methods and results at Mari on the Euphrates. Then a rapid sketch of archaeological history in the eastern arm of the Fertile Crescent is presented followed by an outline of the ancient civilizations of that area. A final chapter relates discoveries to the biblical record. The author is quite friendly toward the Bible though his theological implications should be treated cautiously.
Holding to the documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch, the author states in the volume of The Flood, that the account found in documents J and P are based on the Mesopotamian tradition revised to a monotheistic viewpoint. The second part of this volume covers a description of the ark and the attempts to find it.
Parrot feels that the Tower of Babel, rather than being an "expression of man's pride" was "a hand stretched out in supplication, a crv to Heaven for help." (p.9) The biblical tower is identified with a ziggurat in Babylon. Ziggurats throughout the Mesopotamian area are discussed, literary accounts from Genesis to Herodottis are investigated and even a chapter on "The Tower of Babel in Art" is included.
Mentioned in Genesis, Nahum, and Jonah, Nineveh, the author claims, is one of the oldest Mesopotamian cities, dating back to around 4,000 to 5,000 B.C. A survey of its exploration is followed by a chronological record from biblical and archaeological sources. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria during Sennacherib's time (7th century B.C.) and housed the voluminous library of Ashurbanipal (7th century B.C.) A difference between the biblical record and Assyrian documents as to the conqueror of Samaria is mentioned. The Bible states that Shalmaneser was the victorious king while the Assyrian documents claim the capture for Sargon II. The siege lasted three years. J. P. Free suggests in Archaeology and Bible History (pp. t99, 200), that Shalmaneser might have made the capture at the end of his reign with Sargon, his successor, taking all the credit. There appears to be no mention of this victory in Sargon's earliest records. This is cited as indicative of the suggestion.
The other voluines in this series are St. Paul's Journey in the Greek Orient by Henri Metzger; The Temple of Jerusalem and Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, both by Andre Parrot. All are brief but useful for quick reference or a general outline of their subjects.
Archaeology and the Old Testament. By J. A. Thompson. Grand Rapids: MN. W.. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1957. 121pp. $1.50.Reviewed by Richard C. Turner.
Another volume in the Pathway Book series-designed to keep Christians informed on major subjects and problems in contemporary religious thought-has recently appeared. The author, an Australian, has done archaeological work at Jericho and Dibon, been Director of the Australian Institute of Archaeology and has taught in the field of Old Testament Studies in theological colleges.
Short and compact, It I s a readable book dealing with Israel from the time of Abraham until the exile into Babylon in 586 B.C. A running historical narrative serves as the basis for archaeological findings which bear on the Old Testament within these limits.
Little documentation or argumentation is given for positions stated, probably due to the size of the work, so only those points the author considers extremely important receive detailed treatment. The date of the exodus is one of these where 1300 B.C. is suggested with arguments presented for the unlikelihood of an exodus earlier than 1319 B.C. or later than 1230 B.C. It is a handy book to have for a general survey of Old Testament archaeological findings.
I would like to commend to the readers of this column a unique journal, Practical Anthropology. Now in its fifth volume, this journal is published by and for Christian anthropologists, and studies "t e function of Christianity in a cross-cultural sense." According to its Statement of Purpose. it is "designed, for example, to be of benefit to missionaries and to students preparing for missions in that it discusses the problems related to an effective communication of the Gospel across cultural barriers . . ."
An idea of the growth of Practical Anthropology can be gained from the fact that during 1957 alone its circulation jumped from 350 to over 900.. and it's still growing. The subscription rate is $2.00 per year (six issues), or $5.00 for three vears. Address Box 307, Tarrytown, New York.
Below is reprinted an editorial from a recent issue (P.A., Vol. 4, No. 3, May-June. 1957, pp. 101-104) by the editor, Dr. ~Villiam A. Smallev. Mrs. Reyburn, mentioned in the editorial, is Marie Fetzer Reyburn who, with Smalley, authored the Anthropology chapter in Modern Science and Christian Faith. She and her husband have contributed many stimulating articles and reports from the field to the pages of Practical Anthropology.
,\,Iissionaries talk about "going out to live among the people" (although anyone who has seen a typical mission compound will not take that cliche too literally), but how many have ever thought of being neighbors to these "people" nearby?
In our western world individuals may be thrown into regular contact, even close physical proximity over long periods of time, and not have more than the most superficial social intercourse, if any at all. This is most true of our large cities where people in adjoining apartments may never meet each other, or if they do, may have no more than a formal and polite social interchange. Even in smaller communities, however, the boss who works daily with his men may have no other contact with them (except for the annual Christmas party), and people who bow in church may never meet during the week.
It is not until we reach the very small rural community in the United States that we find a high degree of neighborliness between people in close proximity, where everybody knows everybody else. An indication of the fact that in our culture we do not always put high value on such relationships is that we may add to the previous sentence: and where everybody minds
In our highly complex society we have built cultural devices for keeping people close by from being neighbors unless for s.nie reason we choose to include theni. These barriers provide a protection for us, keep us from having to associate with people who are not cornpatible, whose race or education or social status is different fron-i ours. We can withdraw within the barriers for security froni people and social patterns which conflict with our own.
Some missionaries live in large cities where this urban pattern of proximity without neighborliness may be well developed. If they bring in their insulating mechanism as part of their cultural baggage it is not particularly conspicuous, although even in the urban setting it may be an almost insurmountable barrier to effective communication on an individual level. Such missionaries have to rely on the mechanics of playing church and mass evangelism to do what has historically been most effectively done by the personal contact of one dedicated soul with his neighbor.
It is in the rural mission areas where proximity without neighborliness stands out in such painfully brutal fashion. Typically, the mission builds a compound on a hill a mile outside of the village. A cluster of huts may be built on the least desirable part of the compound for servants and hangers-on. Non-western school teachers and preachers have their quarter, too. It is hard to imagine a more effective physical way of isolating the missionary from the people "among whom he is living."
But the psychological isolation is far more serious. As one missionary put it. "The Africans know to which missionary door they can go." A conversation which was reported to me is not an extreme case. One missionary had learned that a Bible revision committee which included both Westerners and Africans had refreshments served during the morning, and asked, "What do vou do with the Africans?" When he learned that they were served too, he asked if butter tins were brought in for the Africans' coffee. When he learned that they were served from cups no differently from anyone else he was horrified, considering it most unsanitary.
Missionaries protect themselves from the people around them by a host of devices. They may never participate socially either in the local culture or through inviting people into their homes. They may not learn the language really well. They may be contemptuous of the uneducated and revolted by the unclean. They are not interested in the things which interest people. They are therefore remote, distant, and terribly cold.
On a recent trip in Africa I saw two examples of missionary neighborliness which I would like to contrast to the above. One was in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Wesley Sadler, Lutheran missionaries among the Loma people of Liberia. (In their case the "among"
is not figurative.) The Sadlers' home is on the edge of a Loma village, just a few yards from the nearest Africans' houses. It is not, however, that close proximity which makes the Sadlers neighbors,. but it is their spirit.
During each evening while I was there, anvwhere f rom two to f ive or six of the %iflagers, men and women, would drop in. They would come indiNidually, and stay for just a few minutes. They came naturally, without the embarrassment which marks the entrance of an African tribesman into so many missionary homes. The%- stopped and chatted for a few minutes. and then left. They were at home. The usual barrier %%-as not there. Equally revealing was the Sadlers' reception of their visitors. It was the reception given someone with whom you are on the very friendly relation of frequent contact. The visit was taken fora
Sadlers raised their children under that thatched roof in Woozie, the little Loma village. They studied Loma life and language not just as anthropologists and linguists (Dr. Sadler's Ph.D. is in linguistics) but as interested neighbors. They liked their neighbors and wanted to know them better. I have never seen happier missionaries.
The other example of missionary neighborliness which I saw took place when I was visiting Dr. and Mrs. William Reyburn in the Camerouns. We heard drum beats one evening and went to investigate. A group of students were "playing." They had formed a circle, in which they were dancing and singing, while one person danced in the middle. The person in the center tried to perform some antic which was different from what anyone else had done. When he had finished he would point to someone in the circle who would take his place. Reyburn took a few steps so that they would not think we had come to criticize. He made everybody laugh, and then we sat down to watch.
Before long the dancer in the center pointed to Reyburn there on the bench, and he went into the circle to jump up and down. Before long I had been invited too, and we were all jumping up and down to the beat (I was at least trying) for about half an hour. Once I got over being self-conscious it was fun.
The next day word of the Africans' appreciation came through to the Reyburns: "It is the first time anyone (meaning missionaries) ever played with us."
cation of science, of academic freedom and many other fundamental issues. Many of these items are not spelled out in so many words in textbooks and little attention is paid to them by either the teacher or the student and yet they seem important to me in the training of future citizens.
With this thought in mind, I pass out to my students the material which follows. I realize that there is no agreement among scholars on many points but it seems desirable to me to have the students carefully consider the issues. If they disagree with my interpretation, they will at least have been exposed to the issue. I trust that the thoughts expressed will be of some use to the readers of this column in their contacts with students.
Viewpoints for the Student to Consider-Note that the views may not be the only possible ones nor are they complete due to space limitations,What is a University?
It is a place where the mind (thinking and reasoning ability) is to be developed.
It is not primarily a vocational institution nor is it tor the development of the body.
~kmerican supremacy will be maintained in direct proportion to brain power.
A University passes on the knowledge of the past, produces new knowledge through research and guides society through its findings.
It is a place where new ideas, controversial or heretical can be discussed. The heresies of the past become the mores of today.Why study General or Liberal Education?
The advantages are that one will have a broader background, a wider viewpoint, be more tolerant of fields other than their own, have a better sense of values and be more adaptable in their work. General courses frequently help a student to decide upon a vocation. Executives dislike narrow specialists-they demand a breadth of vision. Why study Natural Science?
An educated person will know quite a bit about the living and non-living things making tip his environment.
A person unacquainted with nature will be frightened by the news of certain scientific advances reported in the daily press and magazines.
A study of the sciences teaches a method of clear thinking useful in many problem situations.
Sciences teaches us certain attitudes such as sticking to the facts, being intellectually honest, of suspending judgement until all or most of the facts are in, and of tolerance. These attitudes are important.Why should I study in College?
The average persons spend very little time in developing their minds after they leave college. They have not developed a thirst for knowledge-their mental habits are poor--college has failed them. Good habits and attitudes learned in college can be carried over and will
help one to be happier, healthier and generally more successful as a human being. What is Science?
Science, in the traditional sense, is organized knowledge of the physical and biological world and of the relationships of this knowledge. Botanv. zoology, physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy are the main sciences. Mathematics is a tool used bv science, social studies, engineering and in other fields. Kinds of Science
Pure science has curiosity as its base and understanding as its goal. Practical applications are not the end sought except the satisfying of ones curiosity. Examples are the Copernican principle, the theory of evolution and early experiments on spontaneous generation. Applied science has practical ends in view from the start. A chemist making new carbon compounds to increase our knowledge of them is a pure scientist while a chemist making carbon compounds to cure cancer is an applied scientist. Both kinds are essential but since the former deals more with theories and understanding, it is considered more basic. America's stock of new ideas is low-survival demands more attention to pure science. Methods of Working in Science
There are two main methods of operation here. One is the empirical method which consists of obtaining facts by observation and experimentation. Organisms are experimented upon by the factors in their environment and those with harmful characteristics are eliminated. Progressive science can hardly be said to exist without coming to grips with reality, the essential goal of empiricism. Theory goes beyond the facts discovered by empiricism. Deductions (what ought to be true or follow if the statement is true) can be made from empirically-derived facts or from theories. Modern science seems to be a happy blend of both empiricism and theory and both are of equal importance. Theories, whenever possible, must be tested by empiricism or we leave the realm of science and become entirely speculative.
Many of you may be interested to know the outcome of the A.S.A. get-togethers announced in this column in the last issue of the Journal. I haven't had a detailed report yet from the dinner meeting held in San Francisco on April 14 in connection with the American Chemical Society meeting, but I gather that it attracted about a dozen A.S.A. chemists who had a fine evening of fellowship together. Dick Ferm performed a real service in making the arrangements.
Derek Nonhebel, a post-doctoral fellow from England who has been here at Iowa State this year, attended the meeting and enjoyed it very nitich. He told me that several chemists he met there said this had been their first opportunity to get acquainted with other A.S.A. members. Derek, incidentally, is a member of the Research Scientists Christian Fellowship in England, an organization ~omewhat similar to our own; I hope to Dass on to
have learned from Derek about activities of the R. S. C. F,
Our dinner meeting in Philadelphia on April 17 1 can report on first hand. Credit for its success goes to a number of people, including Elmer Maurer of the U.S.D.A. lah in Philadelphia and Wes Clayton, Neal Brace, and Art Nersasilan of the active A.S.A. local section in Wilmington Delaware Elmer had
been considering the formation of a Philadelphia or Delaware Valley local section, and the Wilmington group voted to help out by holding their April meeting, in Philadelnhia as a ioint meetin I think there
were probably about ten A.S.A. members attending the meetings of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, but several were tied up in other group dinners that evening and weren't able to J . oin us. Altogether there were thirty-two of us, including about fifteen from Wilmington and several invited guests. After an excellent dinner, we introduced ourselves around the table, and then I gave a talk on "Some Conflicts Between Christianity and Science," stressing internal conflicts which some of us experience within ourselves, and indicating ways in which participation in the A.S.A. can help resolve such conflicts. I may discuss some of these points this column from time to time. Incidentally, most those attending the get-together were chemists, and the course of the lively discussion following my talk, this question was brought up: "Why should there be a special section devoted to chemistry in the journal, and what role can chemists play in the A.S.A. as clicniists?" Now there is a good question which some of you might like to toss around a bit in future issues of this column. My spur-of-the-moment answer went somethinp, like. this-
"I agree that the major areas of apparent external conflict between scientific and Christian thought seem to lie in the domain of physics on one hand and of biology and geology on the other hand, sort of bypassing chemistry in between. In the borderline fields of biochemistry and geochemistry, of course, there is obvious need for discussion of theological implications, of which I am personally very conscious as I see evolutionary considerations moving more and more from straight biology into my own field biochemistry How-
ever, I think that all of us, whatever our field of specialization, have a real contribution to make to the task of the A.S.A. in hammering out a Christian phil-
osophy of science. Each branch of science has its own patterns of thought, its own way of looking at reality, and an adequate Christian philosophy of science must consider all of these. Chemists have a unique contribution to make because it is they, rather than either atomic physicists or biologists, who work dallv with a statistical concept of nature. That is, when a chemist thinks of natural phenomena, he is usually thinking in terms of billions and billions of molecular events. in contrast to a physicist who may be thinking of discrete quantum events and individual electron~, or to a biologist who may be thinking in ternis of only several thousand living organisms. The laws of molecular behavior are, after all, based on observation,~ of gram-moles of material containing 6x1023 molecules; compare this with the problem of establishing laws of human behavior from observations on a much, much smaller sample. (Have there ever been a **mole" or Avogadro's number of human beings oil the earth?) In our Christian interpretation of phenomena, we want to maintain the proper balance between the immanence of God in His creation and His transcendence over it, and our statistical view of molecular phenomena has a place in these considerations. What do we mean by "natural" and "supernatural" when we use these terms? In what ways does the Holy Spirit interact with His creation? When we pray about events which involve, at some level, the movement of molecules, how do we conceive of the ways in which God may act? In general, I think that Evangelical theologians have not grappled with these questions to the extent they deserve. The A.S.A. can at least provide a forum for the thoughtful discussion of such questions, and chemists of the A.S.A. have an obligation to contribute to the discussion with those particular tools of thought which the Creator has given its to use for His glory." Well, maybe this will serve to open tip the discus
scholarly, well-informed papers for our journal and for our Annual Convention programs. If you feel you are not yet ready to tackle such a major project, why not begin on a smaller scale by contributing some briefer comments to this column? In this way you might pose questions which you think are significant and stimulate others to continue their discussion in later issues. And if you prefer to begin on a still more modest scale, the Editor will welcome your contributions to his "Of Interest" column. These may be very brief comments on articles you have run across in the literature of possible interest to other A.S.A. members in line with the purposes of the Affiliation.
I do think that getting acquainted with each other is a -ood idea, so I'll continue reportificy oil VOUF activities as I hear from you, at least until we have all "checked in."
Richard A. Hendry is nov,- Assistant Professor of ChemistrN at Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas. Dick did his Ph.D. work with me in biochemistry at Baylor Medical School. Part of his thesis problem on amino acid chemistry was published last year in JACS. His post-doctoral year was spent at the U. of Illinois in I study of the structure of some lipocarbohydrate compounds from wheat flour, one of which showed indications of being a plant cerebroside, and which is still being investigated. Now he is starting some research on his own, along lines discussed in his paper '. "Physico-Chemical Synthesis of 'Biological' Compounds." in the last issue of this journal. Dick is experimenting with the.synthesis of pyrimidines from Verv simple compounds tinder conditions which might she~ some light on mechanisms of the original formation of living things. Here is an excellent example of the preparation of a paper for the A.S.A. serving as a stimulus for research, and vice-versa. Dick is a coauthor of the chapter on "The Origin of Life" for our Darwin Centennial Volume. He joined the A.S.A. in 1954 and has attended every Annual Convention since. Dick has participated in IVCF activities on several campuses in the past but is now trying to 14ke a more active part in his local church; in a recent le'Rer he says he has even taken a crack at preaching in a Presbyterian church in a little town near Lubbock.
Edmund C. Kornfeld is a Department I-lead in the Organic Chemical Division of The L' Ily Research Laboratories of Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis 6, Indiana. Ed received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1944 and has been at Lilly since 1946. He kindly sent me his bibliography of some nineteen papers in JACS and J. Org. Chem., mostly dealing with heterocyclic medicinal compounds. The research interests of his departinent cover most of the fields of medicinal chemistry wth emphasis on antibiotics, alkaloids, steroids, and insecticides. I tried to line him III) for a paper on the chemistry of psychopharmacologic a-ents for otir
sorbed materials. He then spent several years as a research chemist at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, where he enjoyed fellowship with several A.S.A. members, including George Fielding and Dean Waller. He has this to say about Belhaven College: "Belhaven is a small liberal arts college affiliated with the Southern Presbyterian Church. Theologically we are oriented to Calvinism, and at the heart of our philosophy of education is the recognition that all knowledge can be understood only when it is related to the sovereign Creator. That is, we recognize that the Bible gives us not only the way of salvation but that it also gives us the basis for a consciously Christian interpretation of all things. I believe that there is a great need for this kind of Christian college education, and that very few people are aware of that need." He hopes that Belhaven students in science will go on to do graduate work at larger universities. perhaps under the supervision of some of our A.S.A. members. We are trying to compile a register of our members who direct graduate research, Bob, which ought to be of help. There is at least one other A.S.A. member at Belhaven, and they hope to start an active local section in the Jackson area.
Robert W. Isensee is Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at San Diego State College, San Diego 15, California. There are fourteen staff members in chemistry at that school of some 8500 students. The department has just recently started granting the M.S. degree and can offer a fairly attractive financial arrangement for teaching assistants. Bob teaches organic and general chemistry, and has been directing undergraduate research in the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles and the spectrophotometric determination of the dissociation constants of weak acids and bases. He received his Ph.D. at Oregon State in 1948 and has published half a dozen papers in JACS and J. Org. Chem. since then. He has been a member of A. S.A. for about four years, is a member of the College Avenue Baptist Church and currently serving as a deacon.
0. Carroll Karkalits has become Supervisor of Research for Petro-Tex Chemical Corporation, P. 0. Box 2584, Houston 1, Texas. His degrees are in chemical engineering, including the Ph.D. from Michigan in 1950, and he serves on the national Program Committee of the A.I.Ch.E. His field of investigation is heterogeneous catalysis, particularly vapor phase hydrogenation and del~ydrogenation of organic compounds. He has been an A.S.A. member since about 1950 but hasn't been able to attend an Annual Convention yet; however, he is trying to organize an active local section of A.S.A. members in the Houston area. In addition, he teaches a young men's Sunday School class in the Rice Temple Baptist Church in Houston and helps out with an IVCF Bible study group in one of the dorms at Rice Institute, his alma mater.Wayne U. Ault is currentiv at the U. S. Geologi-
cal survey, Washington 25, D.C., equipping a new geochernical laboratory which he will transport in June to the Volcano Observatory at the Kilauea Crater in the Hawaiian National Park, Hawaii. Wayne is the new editor of the Geology colunni in the journal, but since he is a geochemist we will introduce him here to the rest of the chemists. He received his Ph.1). at Columbia last year and has several publications with Larry Ktilp on the isotope geochemistry of sulfur. He is taking the whole family with him to Hawaii, where lie will spend several years making mass spectrophotometric and other studies of volcanic fluids to get a better idea of the nature of the primary materials escaping from the interior of the earth. We will miss Wavne and Ruth at the Annual Convention in August. He has been an A.S.A. member since 1954 and has attended three Conventions; last year he did an excellent job as Program Chairman, and is serving on the program committee again this year.
By the way, I want to thank those of you who returned the questionnaire about your future meeting plans which I appended to the notice of our gettogethers in San Francisco and Philadelphia. I sent out about 150 notices and received 46 replies. It looks as though we'll have twenty or thirty members attending the A.C.S. meeting in Chicago, September 1-12. and maybe a dozen or more at the Boston A.C.S. meeting next spring. If we add to these the local A.S.A. members, Nve should surely be able to arrange a couple of fine get-togethers at these meetings, as well as at next year's Federation meetings in Atlantic City. I'll see that a postcard notice of the time and place gets to those of you who have indicated that you might attend the Chicago meeting, since the September issue of the Tournal won't be out in time to announce the details. If any of the rest of you decide to go, let me know in time to send you a notice. We will also try to have announcements posted on the bulletin boards at the meetings.
And-oh, yes-to those of you who haven't returned that questionnaire or written to me yet: Why not use that stamped, addressed envelope I enclosed to let me know something about yourself, as a Christian and as a chemist?
Since the geoscientists comprise a fair percentage of the membership of the A.S.A. it is only fitting that we rejuvenate this coluil-in on geology and related fields. This column can serve as a means for you to express your opinions. Your letters or prepared discourses are invited. Also, there is the need for all the geoscientists to get better acquainted. To this end a questionnaire has recently been mailed to everyone
so listed in the current directory. Any new members who are geologists, geochemists or geophysicists and who did not receive a questionnaire can write me through the editor of the journal. This column can also serve to announce new books in our fields. Since any one of us likely finds time to read only a few new books in his own specialty why not take time to write a paragraph or more on the next ne%v book you read and share your evaluation with the mernhership. This service can be especially helpful to members in other scientific disciplines.
Now that summer is approaching and our thoughts turn more intently to the annual convention it seems fitting to comment on the perpetual problem of obtaining papers for the program. These desirably would be on subjects of widest possible interest arising from the sciences, current problems such as the emphasis of science in education, or the summary of progress in certain fields which have philosophical implications. And it hardly need be mentioned that it takes those most intimately acquainted with the topic to give an understanding of the whole problem. The symposium or panel technique of presentation has been successfully used to give variety and a cross-section of opinion. With due respect to those who are faithfully active and willing to submit papers it seems on looking over the membership list that there are many men active in their fields from whom we would like to hear. There are many good reasons why some busy men do not volunteer.
This is where the local A.S.A. groups and also the kindred professional groups such as chemists, biologists, etc. working more closely together can be an advantage. It is possible that these groups will undertake to study, discuss and present topics of current interest, thus bringing to the program the benefit of a spectrum of viewpoints, more or less tried, tested and matured. In one's own field on technical andscientific subjects one has the benefit of the criticism of his colleagues and a body of tested principles. He is able to ask for criticism on his paper before he presents it in public. On philosophical aspects it may be more difficult, but it is equally necessary to obtain constructive criticism. Since there is room on an annual program for only a limited number of papers it is not possible for this to serve as a sounding board for isolated untested philosophies which are presented for the first time. It is unfortunate if the local A.S.A. group is inactive such that individuals cannot share their thoughts with one another in discussion.
Attention is called to a book The Bequest of the Greeks by T. Dantzig, Charles Scribner's Sons (1955) in which he describes what he calls "Pseudoniath". Professor Dantzig has written on the history of math for the layman and presents a small group of problems which it can be demonstrated have no solution.
plicity have always fascinated the amateur. And"ifiese individuals though not having any professional training in the field, nor understanding the proofs or all that is involved continue to present their own solutions to these problems which over the centuries have baffled the experts. Dantzig points out from his experience that unanimously they rise techniques in common. In their solutions they labor obvious detail and then skip over the critical points and assume that they have proved the problem. The "psendomath" feels that lie has a corner on eternal truth and proceeds to extend himself into Solving all problems in all fields of human knowledge and society. Such individuals are not a new phenomena but have been a problem to professional scientific societies since the days of Pericles. Finally, in the last century the reputable scientific societies, followed the lead of the French Academy which announced that it would not entertain any further solutions to problems such as trisection of the angle "or of any machine which lays claim to perpetual motion," etc. Experience of many years had "demonstrated that those who send in solutions of these problems understand neither their nature nor their difficulties, that none of the methods employed by them could ever lead to solutions of these problems, even were such solutions attainable . . . ." "Some of these individuals, being unfortunate enough to believe that they have been successful, have refused to listen to the criticism of geometers, often because they could not understand it, and have finished by accusing the examiners of envy and bad faith
The folly of such individuals resulted in loss of time and expense to their families. And, "To account for the singular fact that without studying the subject they have arrived at solutions which the most famous scholars have vainly sought-they persuade themselves that they are under the special protection of Providence, and from this there is but one step to the belief that any combination of ideas, however strange, that may occur to them are so many inspiration,;. Humane consideration therefore demanded that the Academy, persuaded of the uselessness of such examinations, should seek to offset by public announcement a popular opinion that has been detrimental to so many families . . . . ...
kewise in any field of science it is very disturbing to see anyone offer papers, other than perhaps review articles, which are not in their own fields. It is equally unfortunate when an unprepared individual takes upon himself to synthesize related fields which even the specialists in those fields have not been able to integrate. One can usually detect the areas which such a person understands for there he is more likely to accept and even to use the current data available. But in other areas he will ridicule the conclusions of
the specialists, ignore the body of demonstrated data on which these conclusions are based or select isolated statements from noted scholars to prove his point. Evangelical scholarship will do well to rejoice more over theses which can be demonstrated by experiment and proofs acceptable to all than over conjecture which, conditioned by prejudice, concludes that which one may want to hear. Dreaming is no substitute for research.
One is tempted to make some suggestions on ethical practices. Christian scholars should be the first to label their hypotheses and assumptions as such. For example, the author of a recent monograph which came to my hands accepts the C14 dates for man and
then slips in the statement that we now have confirmation for pre-Adamic man. What he failed to prove was the date for Adam. It is very detrimental to teach as truth and fact that which is only assumption. working hypothesis, or conclusion. Many are the examples during the progress of human knowledge where the interpretation which gave a best fit to all the data had to give way to a better one when new data became available. One cannot afford to be in a dogmatic position such that he cannot entertain alternative viewpoints or accept a proof when it is given. Often all that is at stake in his own assertions.
Christians ought to be humble enough and wise enough to admit that we do not have all the answers in the physical sciences (or others for that matter). Picture Newton of nearly three centuries ago. Though a Christian and blessed with genius we realize that he did not know of radioactivity, relativity, and many other phenomena for they were not yet known. Likewise, if our Lord tarries, those of a century or two from now may look back on our state of knowledge as we do on that of the Dark Ages. Any synthesis made now in 1958 is based on limited knowledge, to be sure, but it should at least include the available data. And if one doesn't understand the techniques well enough to have confidence in the data then he should not be making the synthesis.
When one is so naive as to present new physical concepts which contradict established phenomena it would seem only reasonable that he should present some proof. Physical concepts should be capable of laboratory demonstration. Scripture taken out of context to support such hypotheses in contradiction to basic physics is a most unscholarly approach.
Consider the natural world. It is odd indeed for a Christian to speak disparagingly of the natural world or nature. But too often God's manifestations are only pictured as supernatural as if the natural world detracted from His glory. Nature is God's handiwork; natural laws are His laws! Must we not insist on this? To say that life springing from a seed and the production of more seeds is a natural or ordinary sequence of events does not explain the process or diminish the
greatness of the phenomena. The uninterrupted strearn of living things is an awesome fact. Let's not dismiss it under the term natural as atheistic. Does God only obtain glory from supernatural events? If this is our attitude then it may be that our understanding is blinded. If we have a proper view of nature, God's handiwork, then it seems we will be more likely to go to the natural world to learn. And if we learn something new* or contrary to our concepts let us seek to integrate the new data. Let its be able to change our thinking if necessary. There are some things which we accept on faith: God, redemption, the angels, the soul, heaven and hell-on the authority of the Scriptures even though we have not been able to investigate them with physical means. But the physical universe can be investigated by physical means and since God has allowed us to develop techniques, we ought to be willing to use them to learn.
The aim of the A.S.A. has been stated as reviewinl-l preparing and distributing information on the authenticity, historicity, and scientific aspects of the Holy Scriptures in order that the faith of many in Jesus Christ be firmly established. Well meaning individuals who are attempting to achieve these ain-is by explicit analogies presented with the attitude that now we have proof of certain scriptures may actually find themselves destroying faith in the Word. Temporal scientific views or private interpretations should not be tied to the Scriptures. At least one could label them as an opinion. Pastors who feel they have to teach young people that we have all the answers may actually lose the young folk when they enter high school or college and find out that perhaps the age of the earth and mankind is older than they were taught. The body of human knowledge is in a state of change or growth. Likewise interpretation of Scripture changes and contains a human element. Thus it can be destructive to equate in a dogmatic way a temporal, best approximation to the truth from a study of the natural world and a revelation which we hold to be accurate. It does not seein that a humble Christian 'will try to speak as an oracle when presenting his understanding (interpretation) of Scripture. Opinions stated dogmatically may win people but their relativity to the truth may be no better than the person's understanding or bias, Christian scholarship should be characterized by humility in appraising one's own abilities and truthfulness in presenting his assumptions and conclusions as such. We believe that God is the author of both the physical world and the scriptures and that when both are ri-htlN, understood they will be in perfect agreement.
Mrs. Faith Coxe Bailey has caught the diffused atmosphere of the alcoholic addict in a new book -Oat Of the -Liqttid Jifngle" (Moody Press, Chicago, 1958).
The underworld slang of the drunkard appears even in the title. Each of the sixteen chapters features the case of such an alcoholic. The author reveals her understanding of the skidrow and of the alcoholic problem, in that each of her cases manifest, not mere drunkenness, but true alcoholism. the kind -which ordinarily has no cure.
These true stories, however, do not leave the alcoholic in his liquid gutter. Each one is unshackled from his hopeless condition through the living Christ and each tale has a happy ending. Each one features the work of an American or Canadian rescue mission.
What does this volume have to do with psychology? Psychotherapy, as well as all the medical and physiologic helps leave the alcoholic cold. Even though recent literature credits the Alcoholics Anonymous with the most effective of all cures, most of the dry alcoholics who are now Christian, will tell you of their failure to find effective help in the A.A.'s. Regeneration, however, that divinely-bestowed change in individual human nature, brings about such a thorough going transformation in the alcoholics personality, that he seems to be a "new creature." This great transformation, which involves psychologic change, is by no means psychologically produced, coming as it does from the depths of the personality, the heart.
The need for great patience in dealing with alcoholics is shown in these accounts. Many of them had numerous backslidings back into the jungle, but the Lord finally conquered them, as well as Jacob at Penuel. Thus the case histories ring true to life. One very effective Christian of my acquaintance had thirtyfive such sprees after he professed Christ.
One of the most recent areas of concentrated research in the field of sociology is the study of professions. In particular, the newest efforts have been in the areas of law, medicine, and education. The significance of this trend is indicated by the fact that the leading departments at Harvard and Columbia are the forerunners in this work.
The particular reason for the study of professions has varied with the understanding in the field. In-
itially, professional groups were merely looked upon as elites who controlled change in society. At the same time, studies in professions attempted to understand the common denominator of work as it was distinguished in professional from non -professional roles. Later, the concept of professions was analyzed when the legitimization of some professional functions were questioned. This has been a particularly obscure area for two reasons: 1) the requisite specialization of professions prohibits complete understanding of some functions, 2) there is a need for most professionals to be insulated from the public in order to perform their functions. Finally, the more precise concern has been with the functioning of professions, the steps taken by them to see that society's needs are met and whether or not they actually are met.
Since 1948, there have been several studies of the minister's profession. Probably the largest one, however, was authorized in October 1957 by the National Council of Christian Churches and supported by a Rockefeller grant. The uniqueness of this study is that it apparently does not have any of the above reasons as a primary source of interest, though it is being conducted by a well accepted sociologist. Rather, the explicit objective of the project is "to assist the churches and laymen in developing a better understanding of the remuneration needed by ministers to enable them to provide rnore effective service to their local congregations and communities".* This seems to be an example of the partisan and propagandist views referred to by the National Research Council and discussed in this column's last issue. It is unfortunate when the "popularization" of a discipline requires it to seek immediate data which will confirm the views of an interest group. Nor is sociology alone affected by such corruption of scientific values.
The initial working papers for thl s project make some statements which could be considered further: 1) as a calling, the minister's role is more tbaii a profession, 2) because of the role's nature, there is no sure criteria of effectiveness or success, 3) raising the salary of ministers does not necessarily increase his effectiveness, 4) the adequacy with which a congregation supports its minister is, in part, an index of the importance it attributes to religion in its own life.
The constant problem to be dealt with In the area of the sociology of religion is the overlapping of sacred and secular. Hence, the "calling" dimension of a minister's role is the sacred aspect while the professional connotation develops a more secular note. The critical line between sacred and secular must constantly be clarified by the religious institution. In this case, it would be the seminary, as a representative of the institution, which should have that responsibility. It would seem necessary, therefore, that serninaries
give a clear picture of the effective minister's role in terms of a compatible understanding of it as both calling and profession. .
Perhaps the greatest potential incentive for the secularization of the minister's role is the raising of salaries without emphasizing the calling aspect. The teaching profession has had much of a sense of calling. With the current increasing salaries, however, this will undoubtedly be lost and, instead of the quality of teachers improving, it will probably decrease. A sociological study of the minister's role, therefore.
should be concerned with those mechanisms strengthening the calling in the role, thereby allowing for these factors to be stressed while salaries are increased. Simply, it would be necessary to find the common denominators which keel) the calling and professional concepts from being entirely contradictory.
The congregation's view of the minister's role will largely depend upon its evaluation of its own need. The congregation may see its need chiefly in secular terms. If so, it may have this need met largely, by non-church agencies. In this case, there would probably be less value placed on the minister's role and the accruing rewards. If the view is one of sacred needs, however, the value placed upon the role is higher. Here again, there is probably a great need to study the degree of compatibility between the ininister's role and the congregation's view of it.
In conclusion, it may be stated that the goals of this study seem to miss an opportunity to do some worthwhile work in a little studied field. PerhapF this is because it has established its own objectivinstead of following the sociological objective of stv
The policies and planning of the previous two joint conferences were discussed. It was decided that the immediate step to be taken by the committee is to solicit from the Regional Chairmen, and the last national convention Program Chairman of each body specific suggestions of topics, papers, or subjects to he put on the agenda for inclusion in the program of the next joint conference, the time (presumably in the summer of 1959) and the place to be decided by the Executive Committee of the two bodies. It was the feeling of the committee that joint conferences should be held in the Midwest if possible, and that such schools as Moody, Trinity, Concordia, NVheaton,
A communication from committee-member Dr. J. C. Whitcomb, Jr. (E.T.S.) expressing evidently widefelt queries about trends of thinking apparent in the
Committee co-chairman, Dr. Henry Weaver, Jr., (A.S.A.) sent a communication suggesting the area of psychology for thorough consideration at joint conference. Dr. Klotz also reported a hill-h interest from Lutheran circles in Christian psychiatry and psychology. These, and other program suggestions by those present were discussed with interest shown in the dirion of examining the treatment of the Creationist