Some people have the knack of making things grow. My wife is one of them. One day she told me the secret. “I talk nice to them, that’s the secret.” I thought it was a joke. Talking nice to plants! Who ever heard of such a thing! I’ve always thought that plants naturally respond to tender care. Who gives that tender care makes no difference. Some plants, such as African violets, should be watered from below, some plants, must be watered more frequently than others. Water from melted snow is better than tap water. A little fertilizer helps too. But as far as talking to plants, that’s pure sentimentalism, so I thought.
But now I’m not so sure. I’ve had some second thoughts about the relationship of man to the plant world.
An Enlightening Article – My attention was called to an article in the February 2nd issue of The Wall Street Journal entitled, “Be Kind to Your Plants Else You Could Cause a Violet to Shrink.” The article tells about the experiments of Cleve Backster, a polygraph expert. I wasn’t sure of the definition of “polygraph” so I consulted my dictionary. I found that “polygraph” is a term used in medical science and is “an instrument for recording tracings of several different pulsations simultaneously, as of the heart and one or more of the arteries.” It’s a term familiar to those engaged in lie detection work. A lie detecting machine is also called polygraph machine.
Backster attached polygraph electrodes to the leaves of a tall, droopy plant. He wanted to know how long it would take for the water to travel from the roots to the leaves of the plant. And he wondered whether the change was sufficient to register on his lie detector. “To his surprise he got an immediate poly
graph reaction pattern that closely resembled that of a person under emotional stimulation.” Backster is convinced. that the quick response of the plant as shown on the polygraph chart was not due to the water but to the attitude toward the plant. His experiments (several thousand) have convinced him that plants possess something akin to feelings and emotions. “They appreciate being watered. They worry when a dog comes near. They faint when violence threatens their own well-being.”
Backster’s experiments have aroused interest in the scientific community. The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem. N.C. has given Backster a ten thousand dollar grant to further his experiments.
Adam Had A Green Thumb – A study such as referred to in the foregoing should elicit in us a particular response. Our thinking and our entire outlook on life has been conditioned by God’s special revelation. In our thoughts we reflect upon Adam in Paradise before sin’s entrance.
Man, created in God’s image. looms large in Genesis one and two. The creation days reveal order and progression. Man, created by a special act of God, was placed in a world prepared for him. As the image bearer of God, he was made master of his environment. He was given dominion over the earth. Particular reference is made to man’s dominion over the animals. He named them. This was a scientific task. What about man’s dominion over the plants?
Because man’s dominion over the animals looms so large before the Fall, we are apt to stress this at the expense of a necessary and legitimate emphasis on man’s dominion over the plant world. I must look at the studies and experiments such as arc being conducted by Cleve Backster against the background of the Genesis account before the entrance of sin. Whether or not there is a closer relationship between the African violet and my wife than I thought possible perhaps remains to be more definitely proven by scientific research. But even at this stage, I must confess that the marvel, the mystery, the profundity of man’s dominion over creation, particularly the plant world has opened to me a door that was previously barely ajar. Yes, Adam had a green thumb!
“In Depth Study” – We read a great deal nowadays about “in depth studies.” The first chapters of Genesis, especially, are being subjected to so-called In depth” studies. But if we think a moment of what we are importing into our investigations and what is influencing our judgments and conclusions anent these studies, we must conclude that they are long on breadth and short on depth. We cannot close our eyes to what is discovered in God’s book of general revelation. Cleve Hackster apparently has uncovered something new. The study of the various sciences is continually uncovering new things about God’s universe. What is our standard by which we test them? What are our presuppositions? God’s special revelation must be the final criterion.
I appraise and evaluate Backster’s experiments with the presupposition that what is recorded in the first chapters of Genesis is a simple, historical account of creation. It is very plausible that in a perfect world where there was perfect harmony, in which man, God’s image bearer, who was given dominion over creation, should enjoy a very close relationship to the plants. It is also plausible that in a world marred and disrupted by sin there should be traces of man’s once close relationship to the plant world. No problem here.
But other sciences. such as geology, paleontology and anthropology create greater problems. The faith of many is set adrift on account of them. Why? Because they don’t hold presuppositions that are based on the Bible. The tendency today is to change the meaning of Scripture and try to make it say something it obviously doesn’t say. This is especially true of the first chapters of Genesis. This is actually tampering with and weakening the underpinning of Scripture. Rather than adjusting Scripture to conform to science, when we face problems that appear irreconcilable, let us be humble enough to say, “I don’t know.”
Simon Viss is pastor of the Transcona Christian Reformed Church of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.
But now I’m not so sure. I’ve had some second thoughts about the relationship of man to the plant world.
An Enlightening Article – My attention was called to an article in the February 2nd issue of The Wall Street Journal entitled, “Be Kind to Your Plants Else You Could Cause a Violet to Shrink.” The article tells about the experiments of Cleve Backster, a polygraph expert. I wasn’t sure of the definition of “polygraph” so I consulted my dictionary. I found that “polygraph” is a term used in medical science and is “an instrument for recording tracings of several different pulsations simultaneously, as of the heart and one or more of the arteries.” It’s a term familiar to those engaged in lie detection work. A lie detecting machine is also called polygraph machine.
Backster attached polygraph electrodes to the leaves of a tall, droopy plant. He wanted to know how long it would take for the water to travel from the roots to the leaves of the plant. And he wondered whether the change was sufficient to register on his lie detector. “To his surprise he got an immediate poly
graph reaction pattern that closely resembled that of a person under emotional stimulation.” Backster is convinced. that the quick response of the plant as shown on the polygraph chart was not due to the water but to the attitude toward the plant. His experiments (several thousand) have convinced him that plants possess something akin to feelings and emotions. “They appreciate being watered. They worry when a dog comes near. They faint when violence threatens their own well-being.”
Backster’s experiments have aroused interest in the scientific community. The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem. N.C. has given Backster a ten thousand dollar grant to further his experiments.
Adam Had A Green Thumb – A study such as referred to in the foregoing should elicit in us a particular response. Our thinking and our entire outlook on life has been conditioned by God’s special revelation. In our thoughts we reflect upon Adam in Paradise before sin’s entrance.
Man, created in God’s image. looms large in Genesis one and two. The creation days reveal order and progression. Man, created by a special act of God, was placed in a world prepared for him. As the image bearer of God, he was made master of his environment. He was given dominion over the earth. Particular reference is made to man’s dominion over the animals. He named them. This was a scientific task. What about man’s dominion over the plants?
Because man’s dominion over the animals looms so large before the Fall, we are apt to stress this at the expense of a necessary and legitimate emphasis on man’s dominion over the plant world. I must look at the studies and experiments such as arc being conducted by Cleve Backster against the background of the Genesis account before the entrance of sin. Whether or not there is a closer relationship between the African violet and my wife than I thought possible perhaps remains to be more definitely proven by scientific research. But even at this stage, I must confess that the marvel, the mystery, the profundity of man’s dominion over creation, particularly the plant world has opened to me a door that was previously barely ajar. Yes, Adam had a green thumb!
“In Depth Study” – We read a great deal nowadays about “in depth studies.” The first chapters of Genesis, especially, are being subjected to so-called In depth” studies. But if we think a moment of what we are importing into our investigations and what is influencing our judgments and conclusions anent these studies, we must conclude that they are long on breadth and short on depth. We cannot close our eyes to what is discovered in God’s book of general revelation. Cleve Hackster apparently has uncovered something new. The study of the various sciences is continually uncovering new things about God’s universe. What is our standard by which we test them? What are our presuppositions? God’s special revelation must be the final criterion.
I appraise and evaluate Backster’s experiments with the presupposition that what is recorded in the first chapters of Genesis is a simple, historical account of creation. It is very plausible that in a perfect world where there was perfect harmony, in which man, God’s image bearer, who was given dominion over creation, should enjoy a very close relationship to the plants. It is also plausible that in a world marred and disrupted by sin there should be traces of man’s once close relationship to the plant world. No problem here.
But other sciences. such as geology, paleontology and anthropology create greater problems. The faith of many is set adrift on account of them. Why? Because they don’t hold presuppositions that are based on the Bible. The tendency today is to change the meaning of Scripture and try to make it say something it obviously doesn’t say. This is especially true of the first chapters of Genesis. This is actually tampering with and weakening the underpinning of Scripture. Rather than adjusting Scripture to conform to science, when we face problems that appear irreconcilable, let us be humble enough to say, “I don’t know.”
Simon Viss is pastor of the Transcona Christian Reformed Church of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.