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RELIGION
Life 1B
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Proverbs’
wisdom
What is the difference
between a wise person and a
foolish person? In the book of
Proverbs, this usually has
nothing to do with education.
Many of us can name some
one with a college degree who
acts the fool on a regular
basis. We may be able also to
point to a person who never
graduated from high school,
yet stands as a source of
quiet, reliable wisdom.
In Proverbs wisdom is a
matter of how one responds
to the will of God. The wise
person is the one who knows
what is right and wrong from
God’s perspective and chooses
to do the right thing. The fool
ish person is the one who
knows what is right or wrong
from God’s perspective and
chooses to do the wrong
thing. Foolishness, then, is
not a matter of ignorance.
Conversely, wisdom is not a
matter of education. Both the
wise and the foolish are
assumed to be educated in
the ways of God, knowing
what is right from wrong.
The fools consistently disre
gard God’s standards and
freely do the wrong thing
(sin).
Central to the message of
Proverbs, however, is that
foolish behavior is more than
just displeasing to God. The
life of the fool is also self
destructive. When we shim
God’s standards to follow our
own desires, we will be frus
trated, unhappy, and without
hope. “The way of a fool is
right in his own eyes: but he
that hearkeneth unto coimsel
is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).
The book of Proverbs in
general is attributed to King
Solomon (see Proverbs 1:1).
Solomon’s wisdom was given
to him by God (1 Kings 4:29).
This wisdom was legendary
even during Solomon’s own
lifetime (1 Kings 10:24). We
know that some of the
proverbs of Solomon were
compiled several hundred
years later by the advisers of
King Hezekiah (Proverbs
25:1). Apparently, this compi
lation process included a few
authors beyond Solomon. The
book also contains proverbs
that are attributed to Agur
(Proverbs 30:1) and Lemuel
(Proverbs 31:1), although we
know nothing about these
Desiring Wisdom (Prov. 2:1-
5)
1. What does a student
need to do once he has heard
the truth? (v. 1)
In today’s world, the word
“wisdom” is used rather
loosely. Many people claim to
be wise. Some people make
wisdom S5Tionymous with
knowledge. Some use the
word “wisdom” to attribute to
worldly success. The bottom
line, however, is that wisdom
comes from God. A person
cannot be wise outside of a
High-tech mishap brings
singles together
PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONWADE NASH
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JOHNSTOWN, Pa.-Not even a
computer’s delete key was enough
to erase the love that would form
between Sherry and Don Rudge.
The Somerset County couple met
through a misdirected e-mail.
Don, who is a United Methodist
pastor, had just been assigned to
the Centennial United Methodist
Church, 426 North Fork Road, and
was trying to forward a sermon by
e-mail in October 2003.
Sherry, who had a night off from
her job in the emergency room at
the Carlisle Hospital, was the
recipient of the e-mail.
“I hit delete,” Sherry said. “It hap
pened three times and I kept delet
ing it.”
Sherry then got an e-mail stating,
“Sorry I dumped junk in your box.”
“I thought. Who is this?” Sherry
said. “I responded with. Do I know
you?”’
Don wrote back to explain that he
was computer-illiterate and had
been trying to forward an e-mail,
but he had the wrong address.
Since Don couldn’t figure out
what was wrong. Sherry, who has a
computer science background,
decided to help him.
Through instant messages, the
couple exchanged names, and
Sherry found Don an updated com
puter program and answered his
questions.
Sherry, who was recently
divorced and was enjoying her
newfound freedom, had no way of
knowing if Don was married.
“I thought he was some old,
retired minister,” she said. “I was
content with my life.
“I had season tickets to the Har
risburg Senators (minor league
baseball team) and planned to go
on a singles cruise.”
In addition to her hospital job,
Sherry owned a medical billing
business and worked in a doctor’s
office.
She had one night off a week and
found herself spending her pre-
Please see E-MAIL/6B
Priest admits stealing $2 million from church
Plea deal includes
restitution and taxes
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FREEHOLD, N.J. - A
priest who enjoyed exotic
vacations and drove fancy
cars has pleaded guilty to
embezzling more than $2 mil
lion from his parish, a judge
said Thursday.
As part of a plea bargain,
the Rev. Joseph W. Hughes
agreed to return the money to
the Church of the Holy Cross
in Rumson and pay $120,229
in taxes.
Superior Court Judge Bette
E. Uhrmacher will determine
whether Hughes should be
fined when he is sentenced
next month. Prosecutors plan
to recommend that Hughes
serve five years in prison.
The priest’s lawyer and the
prosecutor would not com
ment because of a gag order
imposed by the judge.
Hughes, who led the parish
for 16 years, had set up a
secret account in a local bank
and deposited church money
into it, prosecutors have said.
He also used a church credit
card for personal reasons.
His pilfering, which extend-
A ‘Da Vinci Code’ puzzler about Jesus’ divinity
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
See PROVERBS’/7B
It’s no surprise that the No.
2 man in the Vatican’s power
ful doctrine agency. Archbish
op Angelo Amato, urged a boy
cott of “The Da Vinci Code”
movie. He said Dan Brown’s
novel, on which it is based, is
filled with “offenses, slander,
historical and theological
errors” concerning Jesus and
Christianity.
One crucial issue is the
novel’s statement, presented
as fact by a historian, that
Jesus was seen as a mere
mortal until A.D. 325, when
the Emperor Constantine
“turned Jesus into a deity” at
the Council of Nicaea.
Brown’s controversial book,
“The Da Vinci Code.”
Brown’s assertion agrees
with modern-day Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Christadelphians,
the Restoration Fellowship
and The Way International,
raising this pop culture ques
tion: When did belief in Jesus’
divinity originate?
The situation was actually
the opposite of Brown’s sce
nario. Except for one faction,
early heresies said Jesus was
divine but not quite human,
Nicaea defined the long-exist
ing belief in both Jesus’ full
humanity and divinity.
Brown’s novel appeared
simultaneously with a mag
num opus on this: “Lord Jesus
Christ: Devotion to Jesus in
Earliest Christianity” by
Church News
Williams
Brothers
jazz up
their sound
Williams Brothers presents
The Jazz Album: Songs
From The Brothers' Repertoire
Randy Everett, producer
Blackberty/Malaco Records
ed over a seven-year period,
was discovered during a
church audit triggered by
anon5Tnous telephone calls
and letters to the Diocese of
Trenton about the priest’s
, spending habits.
The clergyman was banned
from performing ceremonies
or wearing his collar in pubhc
after the allegations became
known.
The Williams Brothers are
known more for their tradi
tional quartet sound than
anything remotely modem.
That’s not a bad thing
because these guys are about
the best at what they do.
Taking the group’s kind of
gospel and transferring it
into another genre probably
wasn’t easy, but producer
Randy Everett has done so
with silky smoothness. Who
knew quartet harmony could
work so well with jazz?
There are times when some
of the songs are hardly recog
nizable. “Helpless and Hope
less” is transformed into a
jazz jam session. Jessie
Primer III is playing the sax
as if he’s in a smoky jazz club
instead of church. “Never
Seen Your Face” has been
chilled so much that you
expect to hear wine glasses
clinking in the background.
The grand piano solo is near
ly breathtaking.
There’s plenty fans will rec
ognize quickly. “Cooling
Waters,” the massive hit from
Doug and Melvin’s “Duets”
CD, is much the same. The
brothers are even singing
background vocals. “After
The Storm” and “Allow Me”
are sung by Rhonda Richmon
in a rich, husky tone that’s
more jazz than gospel, but
that’s the point of this whole
project.
Ardent fans may find this
collection too secular for their
liking, but a close listen
should win them over. This is
the perfect CD to play while
working around the house,
commuting to work or simply
relaxing. It’s fine music for ^
any genre and that’s becom
ing harder and harder to find
these days.
Larry Hurtado of Scotland’s
University of Edinburgh, fol
lowed by Hurtado’s “How on
Earth Did Jesus Become
God?”(both published by
Eerdmans).
Hurtado starts from New
Ibstament letters that Paul
wrote between the late A.D.
40s and early 60s.
Philippians 2:6-11, for
example, is thought to repeat
an earlier hymn and says
Jesus “was in the form of
God” but “did not count equal
ity with God a thing to be
grasped” and was bom a man.
Further, at Jesus’ name every
knee should bow and every
Please see DA VINCI/7B
SwBisit
***
The deadline for announcements to be included in
the calendar is noon on Fridays. Fax yourj
announcements to (704) 342-2160 or e-mail\
cherishodges@thecharlottepost.com.
May 13
The House of FuE Life Gospel!
Ministries will hold its third annu-i
-al health fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at
Southview Recreation Center, located at!
1720 Vilma St. For more information, call]
(704) 598-9851.
May 15
Tme Way Church of God in Christ will!
host its annual Men’s Conference through*
May 17. The church is located at 2931 James
t the I
Road.
May 20
Christian Women of Elegance will host its
l5th annual “Gospel Day in the Park-A Day to
Celebrate Women,” at Independence
park, 300 Hawthorne Lane from 11
a.m.-7 p.m. For more information, call
I (704) 332-9434 or (704) 493-2536.
May 24
Little Rock AME Zion Church will host
I revival through Friday. Services begin nighh
I ly at 7 p.m. The guest pastor will be the Rev.
■ George W.C. Walker of St. Mark AME Zion
'^Church, East Chicago, HI.
May 26
The community outreach committee of
Steele HOI AME Zion Church is sponsoring a
two-day, one-night trip to the GiOlah Festival
in Beaufort, SC. The dates are May 26-27,
2006. Steele Hill AME Zion Church is located
at 6021 Charlotte Highway, Lancaster; S.C.
For more information, call (704) 488-5008.
May 27
Tickets for JoyFest ‘06, a gospel showcase of
praise and song, are on sale.
The concert will take place at the Paladium
Amphitheatre at Paramount’s Carowinds, fea
turing Deitrick Haddon. Also appearing are
lye 'IVibbett & Greater Anointing, Cross Move
ment and Serenity, a Gospel group out of Char
lotte.
Advance ticket purchases and discount tick
ets for Season Pass members are available
through Ticketmaster by calling 704-522-6500,
by losing on to www.ticketmaster.com or at
any Ticketmaster outlet. Discounted tickets for
groups of 15 or more, including a group picnic
option, are available by calling 1-800-888-
4FUN (4386). All prices are slightly higher on
the day of the events.
May 28
Little Rock AME Zion Church, 401 North
McDowell St., will host Little Rock Day, cele
brating excellence in ministry. For more infor
mation, can (704) 334-3782.