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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1996
10A
RELIGION
Atheist credits people for success not God
By Andrea R. Richards
THE CHARLOTTE POST
I s there a God? Was
Christianity introduced
to slaves to allow
them to repent of their
sins and go to heaven
or to keep them obedi
ent, unquestioning and docile?
Have African Americans been
brainwashed by religion?
Norm Allen Jr., of Buffalo,
N.Y., believes so. He founded
African Americans for
Humanism in 1989.
Even though Allen was
reared as a Baptist, now he
denies the existence of God.
He said his mother was very
open-minded and encouraged
him to think critically about
everything, including religion.
At the end of his religious
analysis, Allen, 38, concluded
there is no God.
"We believe first and fore
most that we as human beings
have the right to take charge
of our lives instead of placing
emphasis on a supreme
being," he said.
Allen became an atheist
seven years ago and founded
an atheist group for African
Americans. African Americans
for Humanism has about 500
members and is based in
Buffalo.
"First of all, I rejected the
notion that there is a supreme
being even though I did see
some positive things, but
there were also some nega
tives. Basically, I saw religion
as a paradox,"' Allen said.
"Not enough black people
question religion. A negative
effect of religion teaches black
people to have the pie in the
sky mentality and believe that
we were put on this earth to
suffer.
"A positive effect of religion
produced the civil rights
movement. It was largely
influenced by religion."
Atheists believe in the trini
ty of science; reason, experi
ence and observation.
Allen said atheists do believe
in helping others, but they use
non-religious approaches.
"Humanists put emphasis on
critical thinking, human fact
and human actions," he said.
"If something positive hap
pens in our lives, we give cred
it to the human beings respon
sible for that."
Allen founded the atheist
organization in 1989 when he
attended a conference about
humanism and saw there
were no African Americans at
"Not enough black people question
religion...By challenging dogmas, then you
have the freedom to grow."
-Norm Allen Jr.,founder of African Americans for Humanism
the meeting.
AAH members believe that
"the good life" can be achieved
on earth through positive
thinking, the sharing of ideas
and enlightened self-interest.
They also acknowledge the
contributions of humanists of
Afncan descent to world histo
ry, such as poet Langston
Hughes, author Zora Neale
Hurston and historian W.E.B.
DuBois.
They also challenge religious
beliefs they feel are largely
responsible for the problems
plaguing African American
communities.
"They (AAH members) ask a
lot of questions," Allen said.
"They appreciate the empha
sis on critical thinking. Often
times, they say there aren't
too many organizations in the
black community that encour
age critical thinking."
He encourages other African
Americans to think about the
origin of religious teachings
and not just believe out of tra
dition.
"By challenging dogmas,
then you have the freedom to
grow."
Now, the atheist group is
looking forward to targeting
younger African Americans
"to grow" through music. A
rap group in California, Kazan
Kane, has expressed interest
in doing atheist-oriented rap
music.
"Rap music is the best way
to reach young people," Allen
said.
Ruth was loyal
Sunday School Lesson
Devotional Reading: Psalm 119:59-72
Lesson Scripture: Ruth 1
This lesson and the next are based on the book of Ruth. This bibli
cal shot story takes its title for the main character of the story, Ruth
of Moab. In our English Bible, the book follows Judges, which pro
vides its historical setting.
This connection is seen in the opening statement of the book,
"Now it came to pass in the days when the Judges ruled."
The small book seems to have several purposes. Besides showing
how difficult times were during the era of the judges, it teaches
qualities that God endorses: courage, duty to family, fear of God,
honor, loyalty, and love. The main characters (Naomi, Ruth and
Boaz) display these noble traits even under stress.
The book also warns God's people against dismissing foreign peo
ple simply because they are foreign. It shows that conversion, even
by enemies, is possible and can bring blessing in unexpected ways.
Another purpose of the book may be to show that David's sterling
qualities could be traced to notable and honorable
characters, among whom was Ruth.
The story of Ruth touches
us because it gives us real
istic glimpses of life in
Judah prior to the time of
the kings.
Americans, on average,
change residences every
three to five years. Ours is
a mobile society. Moving
is neither good nor bad of
itself, but the motivations
and results are often nega
tive. We are a restless peo
ple. Many of us are with
out roots, family ties or
close friends.
Sometimes, of course, people move for very
practical reasons. Eleimelech and Naomi
moved their family to Moab to escape a famine.
Work, income, food and shelter-chasing the necessities still keeps
people on the move. Ruth's inlaws were by no means transient or
vagrant. Once they were settled in Moab, they stayed at least ten
years. When the land of Judah once again was productive and pros
perous, Naomi chose to return to familiar surroundings and reestab
lish her home there.
Christians today must rediscover the church-family values of fel
lowship loyalty and faithfulness. "Church shopping" and "church
hopping" have hurt the body. The spirit of community has suffered.
Let us remember and return to our religious roots and be glad we are
part of the family of God.
The Hebrew term hesed is one of the Bible's most powerful terms
describing God's divine nature. The King James Version employs ten
different English words to convey the meaning of this Hebrew term.
Primary among these are lovingkindness, mercy, kindness and good
ness. Other versions add loyalty and steadfast love.
When Naomi urged her daughters-in-law (Orpah and Ruth) to
return to their families , She pronounced a benediction of God's
kindness (hesed) upon them, even as they had shown to their
deceased husbands, her sons. Later in the account (Ruth 3:10)
another mention is made of Ruth's kindness (hesed).
Hesed has been defined as "covenant love" such as that of friend
with friend, marriage partners with each other, and child of God with
God. The significance of this quality is such that none of these rela
tionships is ideally possible without it. Without loyal love, these
relationships to sour or many times they are broken altogether. May
this divine quality characterize each of us.
Eye on Gospel
Closing the gap: In a move
that will help bridge the gap
between the church communi
ty and the gospel industry,
Savoy chief executive Milton
Biggham has pacted with
Henry Lyons, president of the
8 million member strong,
Nashville-based National
Baptist Convention Inc., to
record a National Baptist
Convention mass choir at the
group's annual September
meeting.
Recruiting efforts are
presently underway for the
choir, which would be the first
in the history of the conven
tion. Biggham, who as a
Baptist pastor, is a member of
the convention, is excited.
"We're going to organize the
mass choir, which means they
are going to a new music con
vention within the National
Baptist Convention," he said.
"We're going to open up the
door to gospel music artists to
come in and sing for the con
vention, and those artists do
have to be just Savoy artists."
In the meantime, Biggham
is prepping Shun Pace's latest
effort, "A Wealthy Place" for
release next month and is set
to work in April on the next
album from the New York
Restoration Choir with
Donnie McClurkin.
Going for Grammy gold:
You can bet John P. Kee will
be on hand in Los Angeles on
Feb. 28 for the 38th annual
Shirley Ceasar
Grammy Awards. Believe it
or not, the trip comes with his
■ first-ever Grammy nomina
tion for his latest release,
"Show Up" with the New Life
Community Choir. He'll face
off with Donald Lawrence &
the Tri City Singers ("Bible
Stories"); the Brooklyn
Tabernacle Choir Chaise
Him...Live"); Hezekiah
Walker & The Love
Fellowship Crusade ("Live in
New York"); Milton Brunson
& the Thompson Community
Choir ("Shout") in the catego
ry of "best gospel album by a
choir or chorus."
Meanwhile, squaring off in
the coveted "best traditional
soul gospel album” category
are James Moore with the
Mississippi Mass Choir -
"Live At Jackson State
University;" the Blind Boys of
Alabama - "I Brought Him
With Me;" Shirley Ceasar —
"Shirley Caesar Live...He will
Come;" the Mighty Clouds of
Joy - "Power;" and Fontella
Bass - "No Ways Tired." Best
contemporary soul gospel
album nominees include
Yolanda Adams ("More Than
A Melody"); Doug Williams
("Heartsongs"); CeCe Winans
("Alone In His Presence");
Anointed ("The Call"); Daniel
Winans ("Not in My House");
and "Motown Comes Home."
Congratulations to all of the
nominees. (There really are
no losers in this group.)
Coming attractions: It
was easy to see why the
Mississippi Mass Choir is the
top choir in the gospel indus
try, as its members laid tracks
on their fourth recording late
last month. Recorded live at
Jackson State University,
standout cuts include "Lord,
We Praise You", (almost
assuredly the lead single) and
"Holy Place," a stirring tribute
to the late Frank Williams
(with Melvin and Doug
Williams sharing lead vocals).
Other featured guest included
Walter Hawkins, Milton
Biggham, Bryan Wilson, and
James Moore. The project is
tentatively slated for a sum
mer release.
This week's scripture:
"Neither yield ye your mem
bers as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin:
but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive
from the dead, and your
members as instruments of
righteousness unto God,
Philippians 4:19.
Religion and mental illnesses
By Carl Cooper
SPECIAL TO THE POST
T raditionally the
African American
church has always pro
vided assistance and
help to families and
individuals in need of help
and understanding with a
problem in their personal lives
- families and individuals
may turn to the church for
help with any number of con
cerns, from marital difficulties
to drug and alcohol abuse, and
mental illnesses.
We can see this type of sup
port from black churches in
providing a source of strength
and spiritual guidance for con
gregation members. However,
the alliance between clergy
and mental health centers and
mental health professionals
working together has been
lacking in the African
American clergy.
Unfortunately, this lack of
cooperation between African
American clergy and mental
health centers and profession
als has contributed to misun
derstandings and fear about
mental illness within the
African American community
in Charlotte.
I believe the African
American churches more than
ever need to provide opportu
nities for a segment of the
African American population
who are mentally ill by offer
ing volunteers and outreach
programs to serve the needs of
the mentally ill. The African
American church is an ideal
place to promote a better
understanding of mental ill
ness within the African
American commimity because
of the long-standing trust that
African Americans have for
their churches. I believe the
African American churches
can provide a vital role in end
ing this division by becoming
advocates for the mentally ill.
I challenge African
American clergy to give their
churches and congregations a
mission to become actively
involved with the mentally ill.
A good example of this active
alliance and participation is
exemplified in one church in
Charlotte. An alliance
between St. Luke’s Lutheran
Church in Charlotte and the
local alliance chapter for the
Mentally Ill are working
together to provide a drop in
center for the mentally ill to
socialize and receive accep
tance, feel welcome and loved,
make new friends, have a
good time and not feel threat
ened. This ministry provides
St. Luke's the opportunity to
be a friend to those special
people who find themselves so
often isolated from society and
needing somewhere to social
ize. I challenge African
American churches to become
proactive in providing out
reach programs to the mental
ly ill person and their fami
lies.
If there are any African
American churches in
Charlotte who would like to
provide or sponsor outreach to
the mentally ill, please contact
the local chapter for the
Alliance for the Mentally Ill at
333-8218.
Carl Cooper is a mental
health professional and a
member of the local chapter for
the Alliance For The Mentally
III.
Myths and Mental illnesses
affecting African Americans:
There arc many.mjrths-untrutha about mental illness with
in the African Attserican community which tend to self-per-
pctuatc misunderstandings about mental illnesses.
First of all mental illms» are i-riual opportunitv di-.ert-,(-,
They do not discriminate by race. MitiluI illnP“.es know no
boundaries - it affect.s people of any age. r:ii f-. gender, or n’li-
giouB affiliation. According to the Nat:onjl In'^iituK of
Mental Health (NlMHi .-.tudies indicate that their are
approximately 28.9 million adidts suffering from some men
tal illness disorder in Amt'rica.
African Americans sufter no more or less of these disor
ders. The pnivalenco rates for most major depression, panic
disorder - do not significantly differ for African Americans
and non-Afnean Americans. The mental illnesses are real
illnesses, not emotional weaknesses or personality defir
ciences. They are diagnosable and affect African Americans
at aimilar rates to the gone ral population.