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Cljarlotte
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1997
13A
RELIGION
God’s plan
revealed
to John
Sunday
School Lesson
Devotional: Revelation 4:1-11
Lesson scripture: Revelation
4,5
During his exile on the rocky
island of Patmos, John was
given a series of messages and
visions to convey to the seven
churches in Asia (Revelation
1:11). First came the letter to
the churches (Revelation 2 and
3). Chapter 4 begins with the
opening of a door in Heaven,
after which John hears a voice:
“Come up hither, and I will show
thee things which must be here
after” (verse 1). The rest of the
chapter then presents a descrip
tion of the glory of God seated
upon His throne and of the
response of reverent worshipers
to His glory. Our lesson text for
today is taken from Chapter 5,
which introduces God’s worthy
Lamb.
The one holding this book is
referred to as him that sat on
the throne. He is the One who
has just received worship and
adoration in chapter four, and
before whom the elders have
cast their crovrais. The book that
He holds should not be thought
of as the kind to which we are
accustomed. This was a scroll,
rolled together and sealed with
seven seals.
RoUed documents of papyrus,
parchment, or vellum (a more
durable form of parchment)
were usually inscribed on only
the smoother face of the materi
al, which became the inside of
the scroU as it was unfolded and
read. Only if a great amount of
material had to be recorded
would the back side be used as
well, and this would become
immediately evident to even the
casual observer. Clearly, there
was much to say in the book
that John saw! The prophet
Ezekiel was offered a similar
scroll, also with writing on both
sides, and was commanded to
eat it (Ezekiel 2:9-3:2).
Seals, commonly of wax, were
afBxed to important documents
to: (1) indicate ownership, (2)
assure genuineness of author
ship, (3) protect against any
change or abuse of contents, and
(4) conceal the contents until a
properly authorized person was
present for the opening. The use
of seven seals indicates complete
and perfect security against
such tampering. The seven seals
seem to have been immediately
visible, which suggests that they
were aligned along the outside of
the scroll, This would lead one to
believe that ail the seals had to
be broken before any of the con
tents could be read.
However, the impression given
in the following chapter is that
as each seal was opened, a new
vision was revealed to John. It
appears more likely that the
scroll consisted of seven separate
sheets, and that when a seal
was opened, a sheet was unfold
ed before John. At any rate, this
document was secured in a man
ner appropriate for the myster
ies of God that it contained.
The business of one of God’s
messengers (an angel) is not a
work for weaklings. An angel
rolled the huge stone away from
the entrance to Jesus’ tomb
(Matthew 28:2). Another angel
is seen tossing a “great mile
stone” into the sea (Revelation
18:21). The angel introduced
here may have been Michael or
Gabriel, but his question is more
important than his name. 'The
candidate for breaking the seven
seals and revealing its mysteries
had to be worthy in every way:
Ability, character, and standing
with God and man.
Strong repetition of the nega
tives in this verse emphasizes
the hopelessness John felt in the
search for one qualified to
receive, open and examine the
scroll extended by the Ruler of
the universe.
Dieters find divine inspiration in prayer
By Mary Beth Smetzer
FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWSMINER
FAIRBANKS - Take a nutri
tion plan, some Bible study, add
a prayer journal, Scripture and
cookbook. Combine faithfully
with a commitment to Christ,
mutual support and weekly
exercise.
Those are the main ingredients
of First Place, a national
Christian-centered weight con
trol program.
“The ultimate goal of First
Place is not just to lose weight
but to get closer to the Lord and
Christian people,” said Ellen
Harney, who has been leading
the women-only interdenomina
tional meetings at the Seventh-
day Adventist school since
September.
Harney had never considered
including prayer in her efforts to
lose weight until she saw an ad
in a Christian woman’s maga
zine last summer. Praying to
shed pounds seemed trivial, she
said, when there are so many
larger problems in life and the
world to pray for.
Still, the ad was intriguing.
She caUed the 800 number, sent
for the First Place materials,
hked what she saw, and held an
inaugural meeting last fall.
“Unlike drugs or alcohol, you
can’t stop eating. You have to
eat,” Harney says. Bible study
helps participants focus on keep
ing track of their eating and ask
ing for help in changing their
habits.
A typical First Place meeting
starts with 15 minutes of private
weigh-ins, followed by 15 min
utes devoted to nutrition. Bible
study, led by Harney, takes up
the next 45 minutes and the
meeting concludes with 15 min
utes of prayer requests.
Group members commit to
prayer. Scripture reading, Bible
study, a nutrition plan, exercise
and filling out daily fact sheets.
They also agree to make one
supportive call to another mem
ber each week or drop them a
postcard.
Anyone having a problem
resisting temptation is encour
aged to call the group leader or a
prayer partner. The program,
developed by a Texas Baptist
church in 1979, offers four 13-
week sessions. Costs range from
$2.50 a week to $5 a week.
Valerie Isaacson has dropped
18 pounds at First Place. “By
going through the Bible study,
you learn your body is the tem
ple of the Lord and he wants you
to keep it healthy and beautiful
on the inside,” she said.
The small group promotes
spiritual, mental, emotional and
ph3fsical well-being, participants
say.
Mary Kuhn, one of Harney’s
original Wednesday night group
members, said she made a coni-
mitment to follow the program
until she lost 20 pounds. She is
just one-half pound from that
goal and intends to continue on
the 13-week program cycle for
maintenance.
Bible study becomes an impor
tant addition to the dieters’ daily
routines.
‘T set my alarm clock a half an
hour early and do my Bible
reading first thing in the morn
ing,” Kuhn said. Writing in jour
nals provides extra focus as well.
First Place members count
food exchanges - or portions -
instead of calories.
Convocation a success
PHOTOS/SUE ANN JOHNSON
Worshippers celebrate the closing of the AME Zion’s Quadrennial Evangelistic Convocation in April. The event, sponsored by the
Bureau of Evangelism brought hundreds of worshippers to Fort Mill, S.C. for three days of lectures on improving church ministries.
Chavis loses UCC ministerial license
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A United Church of Christ
group recommended the termi
nation of the Rev. Benjamin
Chavis Muhammad’s standing
with the denomination last
week.
'The 12- member Church and
Ministry Commission of UCC’s
Eastern North Carolina
Association ruled Thursday that
Chavis Muhammad’s standing
be “terminated without preju
dice.”
The ruling ended months of
speculation brought on by
Chavis Muhammad’s conversion
to the Nation of Islam in
February.
The decision suspends Chavis
Muhammad’s right to preach,
administer sacraments or per
form other kinds of pastoral
leadership as a minister of the
1.5 million member UCC,
although he could technically
seek ministerial standing with
another UCC association.
Chavis Muhammad, former
chief executive officer of the
NAACP, was ordained by the
group in 1980.
The commission reached the
decision “painfully and with
much discussion,” said CMC
chair the Rev. J. C. Cheek, pas
tor of Durham’s Moimt Calvary
UCC.
The Rev. Rollin Russell,
Conference Minister of the
UCC’s Southern Conference said
the decision was difficult
“because Ben is a friend and has
been a friend for many years.”
But, Russell added, the commis
sion’s decision was correct.
“Our confession is that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, Savior
and Lord,” Russell said. “If I
could sum up the feeling of
many on the commission, it is
‘that there needs be no other
name.’
“We understand that he has
become a member of another
world faith.”
The group commended Chavis
Muhammad for his years of ser
vice and for his efforts “to bring
people together across racial and
rehgious lines and to bring rec
onciliation among all people,”
the formal motion released by
the group read.
But a majority of commission
members felt his work with the
Nation of Islam “is not a min
istry that requires UCC ministe
rial standing,” Russell said.
The motion will go before the
Eastern North Carolina
Association Board of Directors in
May or June.
The board voted in March to
suspend Chavis Muhammad
pending a final ruling.
Chavis Muhammad has been
See CHURCH on page 16A
PHOTOS/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chavis Muhammad says he will do what God tells him. Above, pic
tured during January’s Black Monday protest.
Blacks
denying
HIV/AIDS
dangers
B y Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
African America is in a state
of denial about HIV and AIDS,
says the Rev. Gwen Curry.
And the faith community
needs to step up efforts to halt
the epidemic.
“Here in the African American
community we’re in state of
denial that it is a disease that is
affecting us,” Curry says. “It’s
not just a disease of homosexu
als. That’s the myth that we
must contend with.”
Curry is the North Carolina
coordinator for the African
American Faith Initiative. 'The
group, an offshoot of the
HIV/STD Control Section
Division of Epidemiology, North
Carolina Department of
Environment Health and
Natural Resources will host a
free conference Tuesday at
Walls Memorial AME Zion
Church. The initiative is
designed to certify church lead
ers to educate about the impact
and prevention of AIDS. Dr.
Janet Wise, assistant section
chief for the Control Section,
will be the instructor.
“This is an invitation to
Christians and Muslims to
come together,” Curry says.
“They will be certified as pre
vention educators. Through the
churches we can reach a larger
percentage of the African
American community.”
According to the National
Institutes of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control, 56
percent of reported female
AIDS cases were among black
See DENIAL on page 14A
Twice
lynched
Muslim to
speak here
B y Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
When Minister Abdul Bey
Muhammad sees police brutali
ty on TV, it bothers him.
Muhammad cringes when he
sees the videotapes of the beat
ing of Rodney King or other
African Americans. He can
identify with the victims - he
was beaten and hanged by
Louisiana police.
“They strung me up by my
tie,” Muhammad said. “But the
tie broke. I just thank God for
that.”
As a young minister, he spent
several years organizing a
Nation of Islam mosque in tiny
Monroe, La.
“They (the police) didn’t like
that we had a newspaper,”
Muhammad said. “They made
it difficult for us to sell papers.
’They put fear in the hearts of
the people we were selling
papers to.”
According to Muhammad, he
and his group were harassed
and arrested for no reason.
“There were never any
charges,” he said. “Just intimi
dation.”
Muhammad was arrested and
sentenced to six years in prison
on charges ranging from
attempting to overthrow the
government to inciting a riot
and desecrating the American
flag. He served three years, dur
ing which his case was appealed
to the Supreme Court, which
dropped the charges.
See POLICE on page 14A