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http//WWW.thecharlottepost.com 8B €)l)arIotte THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2005 RELIGION LifelB Saul of Tarsus Acts 9:1-7 Other than Jesus Himself, no other person did more to shape the history of Chris tianity than the apostle Paul. Prior to his personal encounter with Jesus, Paul was known as Saul. He was named after Saul, Israel’s first king. Having been trained under the premier teacher of his time, Gamaliel, Saul had been ^exposed to some of the finest religious training avail able. In addition, he also became a Pharisee and possi bly a member of the San hedrin. Although he was wrong, Saul sincerely thou^t the Christian movement was a danger and needed to be stopped at all costs. So strong was his belief in the traditions and teachings of his religion that he was driven to have a deep hatred of the Christian faith, which led to his merci less persecution of new believ ers in Christ. Saul felt that his actions, which included imprisonment and brutsd executions of Christians, pleased God. Like the other Pharisees of his day, Saul had been operating by the letter of Moses’ Law, rath^i* than the spirit of the Law god intended. Saul may have thought his belief and actions to be correct for many reasons. For example, Jesios, the “alleged” Messiah, had been crucified. How could Saul and the other Pharisees believe Jesus was the true Messiah when their law taught that anyone who hanged on a cross was cursed? Because of this, the Pharisees saw followers of Christ as blasphemers. In Saul’s mind, this “new religion” was so dangerous that it had to be destroyed before it destroyed the very foundation on whidi Judaism was founded. Armed with letters fixim the high priest to the synagogues in Damascus, Saul intended to hunt down all the believers and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished. There are several possibilities why the Jews in Jerusalem wanted to pursue the Chris tians in Damascus. Many Jerusalem Christians had fled to other places to escape persecution. The Jews wanted them to be seized and brought back to Jerusalem so that their views would not be spread anyfurther. Damascus was a m^or city with access to several other m^or cities. Saul may have thought that if he prevented the spread of Christianity in Damascus, he could stop it fiom spreading to other m^or cites. Saul also may have seen this as a way to advance his reputation as a Pharisee, giv- Rease see SAUUZB PHOTO/WADE NASH The Rev. Monica Redmond of Temple Church lives her life with no limits despite having MS. She travels the country giving her testimony and letting people know through faith anything is possible. Fighting back Minister with multiple sclerosis won't be deterred By Cherts F. Hodges cherisJiodges®thecharlotiepost£om When most people think of multiple sclerosis, the image of a wheelchair or a person pushing a walker may come to mind. But if you meet the Rev. Monica Redmond, you’d see a vibrant 39-year-old who is not only living with MS but thriving. Redmond is the director of ministries and an elder of Tbmple Church in Char lotte. In 1998 she was diagnosed with MS. MS affects the central nervous system, particu larly the brain and spinal cord. MS is thou^t to be an autoimmune disease as tile immune system does not distinguish between foreign antibodies, such as a virus, and the body’s own tissue. As a resiilt, the immune system attacks the myelin sheath of nerve cell fibers and causes inflammation and destruc tion of the myelin that sur rounds and insulates nerve fibers (axons), a process called demyelina- tion. “I had gone for years without a diagnosis. I could go back almost 10 years knowing there was something in my body and going fix)m doctor to doc tor,” she said. “In 1992 there was a doctor who put me through a battery of tests. By the time I got to 1998, they couldn’t find anything and I knew there was something.” Redmond ssiid doctors had given her all kinds of diagnosis, including depression. It may be vmderstand- able to see why doctors missed Redmond’s MS. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Caucasians, primarily those of Northern Euro pean descent, are more likely to develop the dis ease than people of other ethnic backgrounds. MS is not considered to be a hereditary condition, although there is a hi^er incidence of MS among family members. This sug gests that certain individu als may be genetically sus ceptible to the disease. Redmond said she expe rienced numbness on the entire ri^t side of her body and she became real ly concerned and she wait to see Dr. Ophelia Gar- mond-Brown. At this time she was working as a youth minis ter at Salem Baptist Church and very active but by 10 p.m., Redmond said she was extremely tired. When she saw the doctor, she went through another battery of tests then, was referred to a neurologist. The onset of MS usually occurs between 20 and 40 years of age, and is twice as common in women than men The onset of the dis ease rarely occurs in chil dren or the elderly Redmond, still not know ing what was wrong with Please see DISEASE /7B Nightclubs file against religious groups THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBUS-Night- dub executives ui)set with proposed restrictions on strip dubs have filed two complaints alleging a reli gious group has threat ened state senators to get them to vote for the bill. Phillip Burress, the exec utive director of the Citi zens for Community Val- • ues, wrote supportors in an e-mail that if he had to, he would form a political action committee to cam paign against senators who voted against the pro posed ni^tclub legisla tion The Buckeye Asscxdation of Nightclub Execnitives said the Cincinnati-based group has violated restric tions on political activity by nonprofit organiza tions. The asscxriation also asserted in the complaints that the organization used improper lobbying tactics to bully senators into favoring the bill. Its lobbyist, Neil Qaik, filed coiiQ)laints with both the state Elections Ck)m- mission and the legislative inspector general on Mon day The commission will hold a hearii^ on Dec. 1. The bill’s most controver sial section places statewide restrictions on dubs that indude keeping dancjo^ at least six feet fix)m patrons and dosing down all dance shows at 11 p.m. Opponents of the bill, which has already passed the House, testified that the restrictions will hurt, if not kill, adult businesses that are violating no laws and serving consenting adult customers. The bill (»uld come up for a vote in the Soiate this week Burress said lawyers review the activities of the group, which he pointed out has separate charita ble and lobbying arms. Deputy Legislative Inspector (general Don Petit said e-mails submit ted with the complaint appear to be to the group’s members, not lawmakers. He said it doesn’t look like Burress, who is not a reg istered lobbyist, violated any lobbying laws. On the Net: Citizens for Ccmmunity Val ues: www£cvx}rg Ohio Senate: !WWW senate state oh us/ Winfred Cross Sapp lifts ‘Exalted’ to new heights Marvin Sapp Be Exalted Marvin, Melinda Sapp and Max Si^el, executive producers Verity/Zomba Records Marvin Sapp’s tenure with Commissioned introduced him to the gosi)el world Sounding much like Fred Hammond at an octave hi^er, he’s nevo* tried to be anyone but himself That’s a good thing. . I’ve never been a huge fan of Sapp, but Tve nevo* doubted his vocal ability Now he’s found the right combination of songs to compliment his expressive voice. “Be Exalted” is his best work. f Sapp has selected a group of producers that push his oqjres- sive voice. Donald Lawrence does the best job on the Rudolph Stanfield Jr. deissic ‘Terfect Peace.” Sapp is so into this song, it soimds as if he wrote it himself It’s a tremen dous scjng of praise. The back- groxmd vocals are classic Lawrence, soaring at the right moment and coming back to a near whisper. Sapp’s lead vocals are exceptional. James Poyser (who did fine work with Mariah Carey earlier this year) is nearly as gocxl on “Every thing That I Am.”.^ain, Sapp’s expressiveness shines. He’s Icx^ked into the lyrics. Most of the remaining tracks were produced by Israel Houghton and Aaron Lindsey or Steve White. The Houghton/Lindsey collabora tions are what you might expect - disco praise. These two thrive on uptempo praise and worship and it’s not bad. Their tracks for Sapp have more bite than those done with New Breed. “Strong Tbwer” is more Tbwer of Power than gospel, but the sassy horn arrange ment does make the song strut. Sapp has never sung with more conviction and it pays off on this CD. His song selection is strong and the induction is ti^t. That makes for a great recording. Ratings ClaaMc; ExceUait Good Fair Why? ^ No stars—A meflB Church News Ihe deadline for announcements added to the calendar is 5 p.m on Fridays. Fax to (704) 342-2160 or e-mail your announcement to cheris. hodges(« thechariottepost. com. November 4 Second Calvary Baptist Church’s drama ministry will present a dinner theatre produc tion of three one-act plays. The cost is $10 per ticket and $15 at the door. The play will begin at 6 p.m. There is also a show on Saturday For more information, call (704) 399-0378. November 5 Pineville Church of the Nazarene will host its fourth annual Christmas Arts & Oafls Fes tival fiom 9 a m. to 3 p.m The church is locat ed at 8614 Pineville-Matthews Road For infor mation, call (704) 542-3618. • Reeder Memorial Women’s Ministry will present “A Celebration in the ^fidst of Wom anhood” workshop at 9 a.m The church is located at 3725 Beatties Ford Road • Thomasboro Church of Christ, 216 Brad ford Drive in (haiiotte, will be hosting an “Employment Search Training Boot Camp” fix)m 9am-2 p.m. at the church facilities. The topics to be covered include: Job search strate gies, resume/cover letto* writing, dress for suc cess, and interview strategies. A continental breakfast and lunch will be served For more information and to RSVP, please call (704) 392- 4253. November 6 Pineville Church of the Nazarene will host the group River in concert at 6 p.m The church is located at 8614 Pineville-Matthews Road For information, call (704) 542-3618. • The Chappell Mass (hair, under the direc tor of Minister Christopher L. Gray, will per form at 6 p.m, in the sanctuary of Chaj^)ell Memorial Baptist Church. Guest emcees will be Praise 100.9 FM per sonalities Tbnya Rivens and AC Stowe. Also perfaming will be C&C Mimes, an area wor ship dance groi^), and Ree Ree and Matt, win ners of the kids, talent competition at the leg endary Apollo Theater in New York The event is fi^ and open to the public. For information about the concert or ChappeU Memorial, please call (704) 394-5615 or visit the church wdD site at www.diappellbc.cag. November 8 First Church of Christ, Sdentist, located at 1048 East Mcaiehead St., will celebrate it’s cen tennial anniversary The speaker for the event will be Elise Moore. The celebration b^ins at 7:30 p.m November 12 University Paik Baptist Church, located at 6029 Beatties Ford Road, will host “Thrive” women’s conference that is designed to help women maximize their potential for influence. The church is hosting a simulcast fixim 9 a.m to 5 p.m Tickets for the event are $40. For more information, call Valerie Williams at (704) 369-7736. • The Women’s Ministry of Bethany Baptist Church, 400 Wllard St., will host a program “Allow the Spirit to Flow” at 4 p.m For more information call (704) 391-8467. • Little Rock AME Zion (hurdi will host a celebraticm to welcome the church’s 23rd pas tor, the Rev. Dwayne Anthony Walker. The event begins at 4:30 with a reception to follow. For infcamation, call (704) 334-3782. November 13 The Anointed Vcaces will perform at 4 p.m at Marable Memorial AME Zion Church in Kan napolis. The church is Icx^ated at 400 Huron St. For information, call (704) 932-2863. Rease see BETHLEHEM/6B omo
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 3, 2005, edition 1
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