The Journal of the \ I Victon Institute Volume 111 Number 1/1986 FAITH AND THOUGHT Journal of the Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE or THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN FOUNDED 1865 Full details of The Institute, together with application forms for Fellows and Members and Subscription Order Forms will be found on the last four pages of this Journal. PAST PRESIDENTS 1865-1886 The Right Hon. The Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G. 1886-1903 Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Bart., D.C.L., F.R.S. 1903-1921 The Right Hon. The Earl of Halsbury, P.C., F.R.S. 1921-1923 The Very Rev. H. Wace, M.A., D.D., Dean of Canterbury 1927-1941 Sir Ambrose Fleming, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S. 1941-1946 Sir Charles Marston, F.S.A. 1946-1952 Sir Frederic Kenyon, G.B.E., K.C.B., D.Litt., L.L.D., F.B.A. 1956-1965 Professor F. F. Bruce, M.A., D.D., F.B.A. 1966-1976 Professor Sir R. L. F. Boyd, C.B.E., D.Sc., F.l.E.E., F.R.S. OFFICERS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT Professor Sir Norman Anderson, O.B.E., Q.C., M.A., LL.D., D.D., F.B.A. VICE-PRESIDENTS The Rt. Rev. H. R. Gough, C.M.G., O.St.J., D.D., O.B.E., T.D., M.A., H.C.F. The Right Honourable Lord Denning, P.C.D.L. Professor F. F. Bruce, M.A., D.D., F.B.A. Professor D. J. Wiseman, 0 B.E, M.A., D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. Professor Malcolm A. Jeeves, M.A., Ph.D., F.B.Ps.S., F.R.S.E. Professor Sir R. L. F. Boyd, C.B.E., D.Sc., F.I.E.E., F.R.S. TRUSTEE U.K. Evangelisation Trust Inc. THE COUNCIL (In order of original election) Gordon E. Barnes, M.A. (Chairman) Rev. Michael J. Collis, B.A., B.Sc., Ph.D. P. E. Cousms, M.A., B.D. Terence C. Mitchell, M.A. David Mitcheson, B.Sc. (Econ.), A.T.1.1. M. W. Poole, M. Phil., B.Sc., A.K.C. Professor C. A. Russell, Ph.D., D.Sc., T. J. Chappell, F.C.A.A. C.Chem., F.R.S.C. A. B Robins, B.Sc., Ph.D. Honorary Treasurer T. J. Chappell, F.C.A.A. Secretary to the Council David Mitcheson, B.Sc. Assistant Secretary Brian H. T. Weller Meetings Secretary David A. Burgess, B.A. AUDITORS Benson, Catt & Co., Chartered Accountants FAITH AND THOUGHT VOLUME 111 • NUMBER 1 • APRIL 1985 A Journal devoted to the study of the inter-relation of the Christian Revelation and modern research GENERAL EDITOR: Dr. A. B. Robins Published for THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE by THE PATERNOSTER PRESS ISSN: 0014-7028 Vol. 111 No. 1 April 1985 Copyright© 1985 The Victoria Institute and Contributors Faith and Thought is published in April and October by The Paternoster Press, Paternoster House, 3 Mount Radford Crescent, Exeter, UK, EX2 4JW, on behalf of The Victoria Institute, 29 Queen Street, London EC4R lBH. EDITOR: Dr. A. B. Robins 119 Orchard Avenue, Croydon, CR0 7NL, U.K. EDITORIAL POLICY: The articles in Faith and Thought are the opinion of the authors and reviewers and do not necessarily represent those of the Editor or Publisher. Typeset by Photoprint, Torquay, Devon and Printed 1n Great Britain for The Paternoster Press, Paternoster House, 3 Mount Radford Crescent, Exeter, Devon by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter, Devon. CONTENTS EDITORIAL 7 DR. R. E. D. CLARK-An Appreciation 8 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1984 9 OUR CONTRIBUTORS 12 ARTICLES:- David Lyon:- From 'Pacman' to 'Homelink': Information technology and social ethics 13 Rowland Moss: The Ethical Underpinnings of Man's Management of Nature 23 Duncan Vere: Does Man's 'dominion' over nature include the Natural World within himself? 57 Theodore Goller Jr: The Use of Computers in Bible Translation 65 Richard Skinner: The Creation of Meaning 71 David Pusey: Creation as frame-by-frame projection from the mind of God 75 DEBATE REPORT: Proposal-that the earth was created much more than 6000 years ago 81 BOOK REVIEWS (see list) 85 THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE: Details, Application/Subscription Forms 125 Editorial It was a great shock to many ofus when we learned of the death, in November, of Dr. Robert E. D. Clark, the previous editor of this journal. I had only known Robert since assuming respons­ ibility for the editorship in the summer of 1983, and paid him several visits in Cambridge. These meetings were a tremen­ dous encouragement to me, and I was delighted when Robert agreed to carry on with' News and Views' which, over the years, he had made his own. I formed a very high regard for Robert, and would like to echo every expression made in the obituary below. Many, many people will have lost a great friend, and a unique champion of truth. The obituary has been written by the Reverend James Newcombe of Bar Hill church, who also took Robert's funeral service. In the course of time, we hope to collect together memories, anecdotes and contributions from those who knew Robert over the years. It would be wonderful if at some future date we could make a 'Memorial Issue'; may I ask anyone who cares to do so to get in touch with me about this? Another change! This issue is the first to be printed and pub­ lished by Paternoster Press, to whom I would like to express my thanks for their help over the- arrangements. Alongside Faith and Thought we hope to issue from time to time a News-sheet with details of meetings and items of interest, correspondence, etc. The first issue will contain some of Robert Clark's last contributions to 'News and Views' which haven't been previously published. This issue of Faith and Thought contains the papers which were presented at the Annual Conference in May, 1984, on the subject 'Man-manager or manipulator?' December 31, 1984 marked the six-hundredth anniversary of the death of John Wycliffe, the 'morning star of the Reformation'. It seemed appropriate to include a contribution from the organisation which bears his name-the Wycliffe Bible Translators. There are still many tribes in the world who do not have the scriptures in their language, and the very lengthy process of translation has been much shortened by the advent of computer tech­ nology. The other articles in this issue bear on the matter of 'meaning' and the understanding of the relationship between God and man. Though brief, these contributions provide a 7 8 FAITH AND THOUGHT salutary check upon our too-glib use of words and ideas at times. Finally, the editor owes apologies to a number of contributors. The names of both Sir Robert Boyd and Dr Robert Clark were omitted from the list of Vice-Presidents in the last issue. Very sincere apologies are due, again to Sir Robert Boyd, for omitting from the cumulative index 106-110 two of his contributions to volume 109. They have, in fact, been attributed to R. Boyle in error (Volume 109, pages 19 and 111). My attention has been drawn to the omission of at least one name from the cumulative index (also an article from volume 109, part 1). There may be other such omissions regarding this particular issue, and if so I apologise to all concerned. When the editorship was trans­ ferred 18 months ago, so also was the index material for volumes 106 to 109, and it may be that this was incomplete. As a result of Robert Clark's untimely death, there is no way of finding out at this stage. However, I can only say that as he was so thorough, the fault is almost certainly mine. The present issue contains a notice of the Annual Conference in May; more details of this are available elsewhere. Please note the venue, which we hope will be more convenient. Dr. Robert E. D. Clark: An Appreciation Robert Clark died on Sunday, 18 November at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. He was 77 years old, and his funeral took place in Bar Hill, Cambridge, at the Ecumenical Church, of which he had been a member for several years. He leaves a son, Stephen, who lives in Glasgow, and a great many friends the world over. Robert will be remembered in the first instance as an out­ standingly gifted scholar, whose interest and knowledge spanned an unusually wide range of subjects. He was equally at home in the worlds of chemistry (which he taught) and theology. His insatiable curiosity led him deep into the study of history, biology, physics, and linguistics. The scope of his reading was quite remarkable, and he made, and kept, careful notes on every one of the thousands of books he read in the course of his life. The fruit of his scholarship was readily apparent both to his pupils at a number of schools and colleges, and to the readers of the many articles and books that he wrote. His overriding concern was always the link between science and religion-a field in which he was able to make a particular and distinctive EDITORIAL 9 contribution as editor of this journal. A rigorous approach and lucid presentation were characteristic of all his written work, as were also the stimulating insights and profound convictions for which so many have cause to be grateful. However, as well as being a great scholar, Robert Clark was also a fine person, whose deep Christian faith was evident in all that he did.