SCIENCE & THE BIBLE by Bolton Davidheiser, Ph.D., Chairman o f the Science Division, Biola College
H OM E S T U D Y C O U R S E # 2 2 ___ F O R A L L C H R IS T IA N S 10 LESSONS COMPLETE including personal r help from our staff. 1 ALL fou r questions a re an* swered in the Bible. Let us guide you in your search for under standing and help you know God's Word so well that doubt no longer burdens your heart. IF you ha ve made yo u r de cision fo r C h rist w ith in the past 12 months, w e w ill send you this course n e t ! Write for list of 22 Courses available BIOLA CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL The Bible Institute of Los Angeles , Inc. 558 So. Hope St./ Los Angeles 17, Calif. B R A I L L E BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, TRACTS Evangelistic — Devotional FREE to the Blind (as the Lord provides) "Th a t those who see not may see' Write: CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP FOR THE BLIND INTERNATIONAL, INC. Cooperative Book Publisher (Author invests in 1st edition) BOOK MANUSCRIPTS CONSIDERED by cooperative publisher who offers authors early publication, higher royalty, national distribution, and beautifully designed books. All subjects welcomed. Write, or send your MS directly. GREENWICH BOOK PUBLISHERS, INC. Atten. MR. HALSEY 489 FIFTH AVE. NEW YORK 17, N.Y. FREE Magic Catalog 1958 catalog of visual aids and Gospel magic. Great aid to Daily Vacation Bible Schools & Sunday Schools. Assembly Time Productions 8609 Covel, Downey, Calif. 558 South Hope Street Los Angeles 17, Calif.
Following Strange Things
another. Some ducklings were first shown a green box with an alarm clock in it, and they followed that. Of course it is quite silly for little ducks to fol low an alarm clock in a green box in preference to their mother, but in this abnormal circumstance these little birds in obedience to a natural urge and without the ability to use discretion were brought to such folly. The scientist who reported this re search believes it has some implica tions which are relevant to humans. Although they may not he new prin ciples they reemphasize the impor tance of good early environment. Perhaps we can think of some other implications relative to the gospel. As we look into the histories and tenets of various cults we think of the little ducks following an alarm clock in a green box instead of committing themselves to the one who would look after their welfare and protect them from the enemy. But even more sad is the case of the ducklings who de vote themselves to following a decoy, a false duck painted to resemble the real thing. Indeed there are many who call themselves Christians who are following a mere imitation of the true gospel of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for their sins. The ducks which have been given a tranquilizer may represent the condition of those who are not concerned about their soul’s welfare and who follow first one thing and then another, whatever happens to strike their fancy or to he popular with their crowd. The ducks which had to overcome obsta cles may be compared to people who have borne persecution for the gos pel’s sake and are quite astute in dis cerning the distinction between truth and falsehood. But the clearest implication is the importance of grounding young peo ple in the faith, starting at the earliest possible age. “ Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).
ucks upon hatching will fol- low the first moving object I H they see. Normally this is their mother, but if some of the eggs are hatched in an incubator the little ducks will follow their human attendant. If ducklings hatched by their mother are put under a box with their brothers and sisters which were raised in an incu bator and then the box is lifted, the group will immediately separate into two parts, one following their mother and the other following the man. If the man hides, his group of little ducks looks for him and when they find him they will follow him again wherever he goes. Recent research has shown that the ducks are most strongly impressed by their first sight of a moving object when they are about 16 hours old and after this their ability to be im pressed decreases rapidly. In on e e x p e r i m e n t ducklings hatched in an incubator were isolated and the first moving thing they were permitted to see was a decoy duck painted to resemble the male of their species. On subsequent trials most of them (depending on the age factor just mentioned) followed this male decoy in preference to another decoy painted to resemble the female. Another factor which was found to influence the degree of discrimina tion they showed in discerning ob jects was the amount of energy the ducklings had to put forth the first time they followed something. When they had to walk fast to keep up with a moving object they acquired a greater ability to distinguish it from something else than they did if they followed it at a slower pace for the same length of time. Similarly, ob stacles placed in their path caused them to increase their effort and this also increased their ability to distin guish one object from another. On the other hand when a tranquilizing drug was administered they showed less anxiety in keeping up and in later tests fewer followed the first object they had seen in preference to I
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