Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / May 12, 1999, edition 1 / Page 16
Part of The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
RELIGION /columns, events What can Christians do to turn the tide of violence in community.'* _ _—. ^ .. ^ _. j _..i i,Qi,'Qf tiwt mhat hfiar and see from us that thcr,e BY REV. RON CAVA Pastor Rocky Hock Baptist Church Just when I think our society can't get any worse, I turn on the news and find out that it can. Recently, grim headlines announced the tragic shootings at Columbine Hi'gh School — and headlines in newspapers across the country continue to bear witness to the ongoing degeneration of morality and spirituality. Children are killing children. Children are killing teachers and parents. Parents are kill ing children. Jerry Springer's mindless, and mind-numbing, stupidity is the most popular television show among our youth. Girls as young as eleven are having and/or aborting ba bies. We have political officials we can t trust, and whom we would not dare ask our children to emulate. Drug and alcohol ad diction abounds among all age groups. Suicide continues to give us cause for concern, most significantly among the elderly and teenagers. Where is it all going to end? Can things get any worse than They are? How much longer will the Lord tarry? Have we passed the point of no return? What is our government going to do? What are our schools doing to help? These are a few of the questions we hear these days, expressing our stupeiac tion over the current state of affairs in our society. But are these the right questions? Try on a different set of ques tions if you dare. What shall we do? Where is our outrage? Where is our concern? Is there any hope and do the Christians of the 1990s care? What is the church going to do? These are the questions I think we should be asking. Perhaps a good starting place would be in the realization that we have a problem. Our lovely little rural corner of North Carolina is not exempt from the misery. Lest we believe these are global concerns, not affecting Chowan County, we need to look again. In recent years, gang-like violence has flared in our community, caus ing serious injury to some and bringing arrests for others. And, about this time last year, a teenager in our county was arrested and charged with the death of his mother. As I heard a longtime resident say, you don't go off and leave your doors unlocked in Chowan County any longer. Talk to veteran teachers at our middle and high schools and they will tell you of the free flow of alcohol and drugs among our students. They will also tell you about a troubling decline of respect from stu dents and parents alike. Talk to the good people at Albemarle Ya'U Come Immanuel Baptist Church Homecoming and Revival May 16th - 19th Evangelist Terry Lawson If you like Billy Kelly you'll love Brother Terry's Singing, preaching and Praising! Old Fashioned Day Sunday Morning * * * Dinner on Grounds Down to Earth Good Fellowship and Christ Honoring People IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH 901 WEST QUEEN STREET EDENTON, NC 482-3567 - 482-1113 PASTOR CHARLES F. LOCKWOOD T.R. HOLLEY GENERAL BUILDING CONTRACTOR 407 North Oakum St. EDENTON, NC 27932 482-7289 (Office) 482-7271 (Home) MASTERCRAFT Floor Service Wood Floor Sanding Finishing • Re-Finishing Installation Oak - Maple - Hickory Walnut - Pine Floating Floors 221-8418 s. National i) Wood Flooring % Association AZALEA MOBILE HOMES of N.C., Inc. 'Quality is our first consideration' Rt. 5, Box 788 - Highway 64 West Williamston, N.C. 27892 Hours. Monday • Friday 9 00 a m. to 6 30 p.m. Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Closed Sunday Edenton Motors CHRYSLER Plymouth CMC TRUCKS 1-800-643-3878 482-8421 North Broad Street Extended ELIZABETH CITY =fc BRICK CO. READY MIX CONCRETE Aluminum Awnings • Storm Windows Swimming Pool Supplies Concrete & Solite Block Wall & Ceiling Finishes • Insulation Masonr/ Supplies • Roofing • Siding North Road Street • Elizabeth City; NC 335-2965 Local Internet SIMFLEX.COM From $9.95/month Unlimited for $19.90 Available at Edenton Office Supply 501 S. Broad St. *482-7711 Whiteman's Service Center Route 1, Rocky Hock 221-4547 HOURS: Monday - Saturday 7:30 a.m. -10:00 p.m., Sunday 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. JOHN GROFF Building Contractor P.O. Box 681 • Edenton, NC 482-8576 LANE'S Family Bar-B-Que t / SPECIALIZING IN ^Lr* OLD FASHIONED BAR-B-QUE Open: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. "All Kinds of Fresh Seafood Daily" Owned and Operated by tma B. Lane TELEPHONE: 482-4008 CHURCH STREET EDENTON, N.C. Internet of Albemarle UNLIMITED: $19.95/Mo. Qualify for $ 17.95/Mo. Don't pay more than you should. Get Surfing. Bond’s Tax & Computer Services, Inc. 482-0300 For Delicious Sunday Sundaes & Treats Stop by Today's 482-2402 West Queen St., Edenton Floyd D. Alexander President ALEXANDER Electrical Contractor, Inc of Edenton INDUSTRIAL • COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONAL • RESIDENTS P.O. BOX 325 • EDENTON, NC 27932 (919)482-2400 FRIED CHICKEN & FRESH SEAFOOD PHONE: 482-4721 INTERNATIONAL ® PAPER Edenton, North Carolina (919) 482-2632 WESTOVER GENERAL STORE DELI MEATS & SUBS COLD MEAT PLATTERS VIDEO RENTALS LIVE BAIT TELEPHONE: 482-3323 HIGHWAY 17 BUSINESS RESTAURANT (919) 221-2244 • Banquet Rooms • Oyster Roast • Shrimp Fest • Pig Pickings For All Your Catering Nood* | Leon, Manager ( 327 River Rd. Edenton, NC 27932 Chowan Hospital University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina 482-8451 Blount's Mutual Drugs Family;|i! Care 323 South Broad Street Edenton, N.C. Telephone: 482-2127 EDENTON PLUMBING TELEPHONE: 482-4555 DAVENPORT LANE EDENTON, N.C. Harrell Brothers Construction General Construction Since 1965 • Quality Work • 221-4239 A Pastor's Crisis Pregnancy Center and they will tell you about the many teenage, unwed mother they assist. Talk to a social worker and let her tell you of the young boy or girl prowling the streets late at night because of a lack of parental concern or supervision. This is a short list; there are many others who bear witness to the downward moral spiral in which our community and every community is trapped these days. We must define who has the problem. This problem does not belong to the politician, the educator or the social worker alone. It is,a moral crisis that begins with the family and church and spirals outward to the fringes of society. Our po litical and educational systems need reform, but that alone will not win this battle. At the risk of being tuned out by some who hold to a particu lar ideological position, I must agree with the likes of Bill ucimcu, v^uiouu auu Pat Buchanan that we are in the midst of a cultural war. The casualty list includes Re publicans and Democrats, young and old, black and white, male and female. This being the case it seems to me that Christians and the Church should be leading the battle. We cannot afford to wait for politicians, educators, or any one else to provide a clear and consistent moral vision for our children. Christian families and churches should provide that vision and it should be based on the great truths of the Bible and our nearly two thou sand years of Christian heri tage. But we are not doing well; we have gone AWOL on this battle! Along with defining whose the problem is, we need to de fine what the problem is. The problem, it seems to me, is not violence, obscenity, etc., but rather, the decline of moral constitution and direction. Will Dodson, director of Public Policy for the Ethics and Reli gious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Conven tion, has spoken insightfully on this subject. He said:, "The greater crisis is one of belief in transcendant and im mutable moral truth, as re vealed in Holy Scripture. The loss of belief in higher truth, God's truth, has been replaced by many with a conscious or OUl/VV/UUVU/Mu ^ *'**•'- - once was considered right for everyone is now open to per sonal opinion. Thus, what might be wrong for one person is not necessarily wrong for another. No moral value is absolute. Everything is relative." It is this post-modern phi losophy of morality which, in my opinion, is the real problem we face. If I don't believe mur der is absolutely wrong under all circumstances, then I have no moral restraint to prevent me from murdering another human being. Similar cases can be made for the necessity of moral restraint with regard to not stealing, not committing adultery, etc. Teaching our children to live without abso lute moral truth and restraint makes about as much sense as turning them loose on our high ways without any speed limits or traffic regulations. Either case is a recipe for disaster. We have focused on the symptoms of our disease for long enough. We need to treat the host cancer, that is, the lie that morality does not matter. The way to do that is with mas sive doses of scriptural educa tion, daily prayer therapy, and by spending time with fellow strugglers and survivors. We need a sustained and in tensive dialogue in our homes and in our pulpits concerning this moral struggle and the way out of it. Our children need to Meatloaf Continued From Page 3-B shape beef mixture into round patty about 9 inches in diam- i eter. Bake 30 minutes. Remove < from oven. Arrange tomatoes i and olives over top of meatloaf; ’ sprinkle with cheese. Continue baking 8 to 10 minutes or until 1 ^- ^"Tl THE (0) CLOTHING CLOSET WEST EDEN STREET Behind Sound feet Shoes New Items Displayed Daily — Weekly Sale Items — Monday thru Friday 9 am to 3 pm < < < 1 ] 1 Mens Clothing, Ladies & Children's Clothes & Household Items neatloaf is to medium loneness (160° F.) and cheese s melted. To serve, cut into vedges. Continued From Page 3-B ;tables, drained 8 oz. uncooked pasta shells 1 cup tomato juice or veget tble juice 1/2 tsp. oregano Brown meat and drain. Add remaining ingredients, :xcept cheese. Bring to a boil. Cover, re luce heat and simmer 20 min ltes, stirring occasionally. Top with cheese. Cover; re nove from heat. Cool 5 min ltes, until cheese melts. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Call the Classifieds... (252)482-4418 are moral absolutes and that what God says matters. In Deuteronomy 6: 1-9, the j,ord reminds Israel that her welfare in the land He is giving them is connected to their faith fulness and to their passing along of their covenant with God to each new generation. He tell us them to teach God's commands to their children with diligence, "As you sit in our house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the covenant God had made with the people in earlier times, but to bring it to fulfillment. And, He added, it is never enough to simply hear His Word — we must do it;, obey it, live by it. Relay Continued From Page 2-B . his money." Plant displays will be set up on the front lawn where shopr pers can browse through thou sands of wonderful perennials and herbs. Windmill Farms is a peren nial and herb nursery, selling to the wholesale market. They will open for retail business this Friday and Saturday at 8;30 a.m. and close both days at dusk. The nursery is located at 803 Macedonia Road, just north of Edenton. For directions or other informat ion, call 482 5225 or 221-4216. Iredell : Continued From Page 2-B by Period Designs of Yorktown, VA. With the purchase of this floor cloth, the state continues, to ensure t hat its 22 historic ' sites provide residents and touring visitors alike with au thentic and accurate views of what life was like at various stages of North Carolina's his tory. Floral arranging class is offered College of the Albemarle's: Continuing Education Division will offer Floral Arranging beginning in late May. The class will meet Thurs days, May 27 through Aug. 5, from 7-10 p.m. in room A-223 on the Elizabeth City campus. The cost of this class is $35. A social security number is needed to register. For more information, call the Continuing Education Di vision of CO A at 335-0821, ex tension 2250. lo buy, sell, trade or rent... You'll find the hest bargains in the Herald classifieds! Know Your Bible Campaign In order to encourage a greater interest in the Scriptures a special FREE Home Bible Study Course is now being conducted. This course is: • Completely undenominational • Absolutely free of charge • Conducted entirely by mail • Based directly on the Bible . For a Free sample lesson: Simply print your name and address below in the space provided and mail to the address provided. Why Not Do So Now Before You Forget? Name•' V Address City * State T5p Mail To: Church of Christ 117 Mexico Road, Edenton NC 27932'
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 12, 1999, edition 1
16
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75