of ournal the J UNION FACULTY FORUM Editor-in-Chief Editorial Board Christine Bailey John Austin Gray Director of Composition Andrew Hamaker Support, Department of English Kayla Ketner Chris Rowland Online/Web Director Brooke Sledge Abby Williams Stephanie Traylor Abby Williams Art Director Gracie Wise Melinda Eckley Posey Assistant Professor, Department of Art Lead Project Designers Courtney Searcy & Ethan Smith The Journal of the Union Faculty Forum, now in its 33rd volume, consists of scholarly articles and creative works from all areas of study. The journal is published Acceptance is determined by the quality of the work. Please submit all works through the JUFF Dedication: David S. Dockery In the winter of 1995-96, the Union faculty gathered in Savage Memorial Chapel to hear from the newly elected president, David S. Dockery. DSD, as he would become known, had been serving at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville and would soon become the 15th president of Union University. Even though his tenure would faculty of the university prior to his installation as president to share his vision for the future of the institution. It was a profound and prophetic time for Union. During that time together, the faculty learned that this new president knew much of the rich history of Union University—a story many faculty did not know and one convinced that the university’s best days were still to come. DSD had a grand vision for Union’s future, a future that would be anchored in four core values: eXcellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, and future-directed. Yet, the most memorable remarks were about the new standard this president would set for Union as an institution of Christian higher education. It was his goal for Union to be on par with Wheaton College, arguably the premier Christian college in the nation. Most, if not all, had heard of Wheaton, some probably recalling that the famous evangelist Billy Graham had graduated from there. President-elect Dockery assured the faculty that unforgettable: “Not only is it my desire that Union will be known as the ‘Wheaton of the South,’ but rather that Wheaton, one day soon, will become known as the ‘Union of the North.’” Smiles and laughter followed this fantastic idea and those present began to appreciate the new leader’s sense of humor. After nearly two decades of DSD’s leadership, Union’s success is no laughing matter. DSD’s tenure at Union has been marked by many impressive accomplishments: a future-directed campus master plan along with the construction of multiple new buildings; the reorganization of the university into the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Human Studies, and Schools of Business, Pharmacy, and Theology and Missions; the recruitment and eXpansion of an eXcellent faculty; and the recognition of eXcellence conveyed by such premier academic rankings as Kiplingers, U.S. News and World Report College Rankings, The Princeton Review, and many others. Furthermore, DSD has supported and encouraged faculty opportunities for research leaves, for teaching and learning grants, and for conference travel. He has not only supported faculty research, but also maintained an impressive scholarly agenda of his own and has often invited faculty members to participate in his many collaborative proJects. The eXample he has set as a scholar, writer, and lecturer has encouraged many faculty members in their own scholarly pursuits. Recently, a long-time Union colleague stated, “Union is the Shire. It’s the happiest place in Christian higher education.” While Union might be the “Shire” in the world the envy of others in the Christian academy. Dr. Dockery, thank you for boldly taking Union to places she had not gone before. We salute you DSD by dedicating this year’s journal to you. Matt D. Lunsford John Netland Table of Contents Dedication: David S. Dockery Matt D. Lunsford and John Netland ...........................................................................i Welcome by Faculty Forum President Randal S. Schwindt.......................................................................................................1 Musings on the Future of Higher Education John Netland ............................................................................................................... 2 Vitamin E Lunawati L. Bennett and Pamela Howell .................................................................18 Does Modern Science Communicate Purpose? Jimmy H. Davis ........................................................................................................35 Excerpts from “Art and Faith” Lee Benson ................................................................................................................. 46 The Stability of the Solar System Bill Nettles .................................................................................................................48 My Clothes Wear Me Love Don’t Waste No Time Why Couldn’t Eleven? David Malone ............................................................................................................ 65 My Circle Matt D. Lunsford .......................................................................................................68 Expanse Patricia L. Hamilton .................................................................................................69 The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-being and Years of Practice in Nurses Delivering End-of-Life Care Carol K. Nethery and Cynthia F. Powers..................................................................72 Sovereignty Micah Watson ........................................................................................................... 81 Response Times and Sleepiness Among Fatigued CRNAs April Yearwood and Brad Harrell ...........................................................................90 Eyes to See: Christian Aesthetics and Perfectionist Seeing Taylor Worley ..........................................................................................................101 Biographies ..............................................................................................................116 Welcome by Faculty Forum President It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Proverbs 25:2 Welcome to Union University's Journal of the Union Faculty Forum (JUFF). As Forum President, I am pleased to invite you to engage with Union University scholars in "the glory of kings"—in searching out the mystery and beauty of creation and of the human experience. Many thanks to the faculty members for their work leading us in this royal endeavor. The purpose of the Union Faculty Forum is to advance the university's mission of Christ-centered higher education through JUFF and through the Forum's role in faculty governance. I invite Union faculty members to participate in both. May our intellectual worship advance Christ's kingdom as we walk in justice and mercy. Randal S. Schwindt, Ph.D., P.E. 2013 - 2014 Faculty Forum Officers: Randal S. Schwindt President Georg Pingen Vice President Chris Nadaskay Secretary Christine Bailey Editor-in Chief of JUFF Terry L. Weaver Past President Musings on the Future of Higher Education John Netland or most of my academic career, I have heard the dire prophecies of the academic F Cassandras1: the future of higher education is bleak; the humanities are doomed; state and federal support for higher education is being slashed; there are no jobs for Ph.D.s; academic standards are being eviscerated; higher education costs too much; college athletics have corrupted the academic enterprise; etc. As someone these warnings with a skeptical ear. These jeremiads about the state of education represent something of a seasonal ritual, a recurring lament that the halcyon days of education have vanished and that civilization itself hangs in the balance as hordes of technocrats and barbarians threaten the sanctuary of academia. What if the doomsayers are right this time? The mythical Cassandra had the misfortune to be both disbelieved and accurate, and while some of the ritual laments for higher education are overstated, something has shifted in the academic landscape, and the doomsayers are no longer so easy to dismiss. Increasingly, the critics of higher education describe an impending catastrophe not as an assault by the vulgarians against the noble aims of humane education but as an internal collapse 1 Cassandra was the mythical daughter of Priam, King of Troy. Her tragic dilemma was to be gifted with prophecy to foretell the future with accuracy but not to be believed. 2 of an unsustainable system. University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds warns of The Higher Education Bubble, a metaphor evoking memories of the dramatic economic collapses our society has experienced in recent decades (e.g., the “dot-com” bubble of 1997-2000 and the real estate and stock market declines of 2007-2008). In economic terms, a bubble refers to something that has become over- valued according to traditional measures of worth but that continues to increase in chain reaction that decimates the marketable value of that item. What Reynolds and and that its bubble is likely to burst when students and their parents will no longer pay for the cost of a university education. I agree that higher education is in a state of crisis, but I do not conclude that this crisis is a cause for despair. To be sure, higher education is in for a bumpy ride in the next decade, but despair