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http://www.thepost.mindspring.com Cliarlotte ^0£(t 10A RELIGION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1997 Friendship pastor’s appreciation Rev. Clifford Jones’ banquet at Convention Center Friday. See Church News page 11 A. Sunday School LESSON ig^ Baptists take daily purse strings from Lyons V THE ASSOCIATED PRESS j . . ., committee smce 1994, plans to Bernice Edwards. fi,„ ations are no longer m the Last week we read how four Hebrew youths became honor students in Babylon and became rookies on the king's team of wise men (Daniel 1:17-20). These young men not only had brilliant minds; they also had help from the Lord. With the aid of a reve lation from God, Daniel was able to answer a question that had stumped aU the senior wise men of the realm. Nebuchadnezzar then appointed Daniel chief of the wise men and ruler of the province of Babylon. His three friends also became important ofiBcials in the province. Naturally some native Babylonians and older wise men were not pleased to have these foreign youngsters in authority over them. No doubt they watched eagerly for the young men to blunder, hoping to use the error against them. It was sever al years before they found a means to accuse the Hebrews. Opportunity for such criticism came at a great celebration planned by Nebuchadnezzar. The centerpiece of this occasion was a huge image set up in the plain of Dura, somewhere near the city of Babylon. The image is not described in detail. The simple description given tells us only the material used to construct the image and its size. It was made of gold. Considering its great size, most commentators suppose that this means it was gold plated, not made of solid gold. The image was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. Some students think this image may have been a statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Others say this is not likely, for the king called for worship of his gods, not himself. So the suggestion has been offered that the image may have represented one of the Babylonian gods - perhaps Marduk, the chief god of Babylon. Again, others point out the refer ences to worshiping gods - not one god - and so this interpreta tion is also questioned. Some have suggested the image may simply have been a large pillar or obelisk. Whatever the exact shape or image, bowing to it was clearly a test of one’s loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar; to his empire; and to the Babylonian gods. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego recognized the pagan connection and refused to bow down. Tb the celebration were invited ofBcials from all the provinces of the far-flimg Babylonian empire. A vast crowd gathered on the plain before the image. Then a herald shouted an announce ment. At the sound of the instru ments, everyone would be thrown into a blasting furnace. At this point the record says nothing about what the image represent ed, but we can be sure the people understood. Either the image itself made that obvious or the record is simply abbreviated and does not include all the explana tions that may have been given. Upon hearing the instruments, everyone in the vast throng immediately dropped to his knees and bent forward with his face to the grovmd - that is, nearly every one. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remained standing. Jews worshiped Yahweh and no one else. One of the ironies of this story is that there is no mention of Daniel. Where was he? Surely he was not bowing down to the image. Nor is it likely that he was away on business when rulers of aU the provinces were summoned to Babylon. We simply have no information about where Daniel was or what he was doing. Unfortunately, we will have to content ourselves with that. Some envious men were not too much engrossed in worship to raise their heads and see the Hebrews still standing. This was clearly an act of rebellion. At their earliest opportunity, these watch ful Babylonians reported what they had seen to the king, and the king sent for the disobedient men. The king was furious, because he had been disobeyed. MILWAUKEE - A MUwaukee clergyman who is helping review the financial affairs of the National Baptist Convention USA says the 117-year-old organi zation is overdue for new fiscal regulations. The Rev. Fred Crouther, chair man of the organization’s budget committee since 1994, plans to meet monthly in Nashville, Tfeim., with the convention’s officers. They include its president, the Rev. Henry Lyons of St. Petersburg, Fla. Lyon’s management has been under scrutiny since July when it was disclosed he owned a $700,000 Florida home with Bernice Edwards. She was convicted of embezzle ment a few years ago in Milwaukee after running a pri vate school, drug counseling agency and other businesses with taxpayer funds. Lyons had put Edwards on the convention payroll. He has main tained his role as president despite questions about the use of convention funds. “Something should have been in place long before now. We’re try ing to bring credibility and trust back to our convention,” Crouther told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. For the first time in the conven tion’s history, its day-to-day oper- Atonement Day activities planned PHOTOS/ OF RODERICK TERRY Minister Lewis Farrakhan-ied Miiiion Man March drew a mliiion men to Washington on Oct. 18, 1995 for first Day of Atonemnent. Severai cities, inciuding Chariotte, wiii be sites for 2nd anniversary. Mosque sets rally for Million Man March Anniversary By Jeri Young THE CHARLOTTE POST The Nation of Islam will host a sympo sium next week to mark the second anniversary of the 1995 Million Man March, a mosque leader said Wednesday. Minister Robert Muhammad said next Thursday will be a day of revival and atonement for the Charlotte community. The event, which will be held at the 'Tuckaseegee Road Mosque, begins at noon with an interfaith service and ends that night with a message via satellite by Muhammad Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. During the day, a documentary of the Million Man March commissioned by NOI will be debuted. Other events include African dance and music as well as a gospel showcase. “'This is part of the process of atonement,” Muhammad said. “It’s important to keep that in focus.” According to Muhammad, several events are planned, including an ecumenical prayer service and discussion. Interfaith worship is the key to atonement, Muhammad said. “If we had to depend on the Nation of Islam to make the Million Man March a success, we would have been about 2 million short,” he said. “We are actively seeking the participation of all groups. If you have a talent, we need you.” See ATONEMENT page 12A Promise Keepers vow change at home By Donna Abu-Nasr THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Joseph Scott plans to start communicating bet ter with his girlfnend and by to see things from her perspective. Cecil Parrack, a 54-year-old teacher, wants to start a men’s ministry in his hometown of Pueblo, Colo. Lloyd Mongold, 45, who works in a poultry plant in Petersburg, - W.Va., intends to pray more to become a man of God. Buoyed by Saturday’s Promise Keepers mammoth rally, which atbacted hundreds of thousands of evangelical Christian men to Washington, many like Scott, Parrack and Mongold returned home eager to make a difference in their lives. “The gathering is not a period at the end of a sentence. It’s a nice paragraph in the middle of a book,” said Scott, 36, an audio engineer from New York City. Promise Keepers foimder Bill McCartney said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the six-hour assembly on the National MaU was “a tremendous display of hunger for God that exists in men today.” To appease the hunger, McCartney plans to repUcate the experience nationwide on Jan. 1, 2000, with rallies at every state Capitol to “take roll call” for Jesus Christ. He also wants to take his min istry worldwide. “I believe God is showing us now that he wants us to go global,” he said. “How that unfolds is any body’s guess.” But he said his movement has already started doing research and is bringing in people from aroimd the world to “teach us how to be culturally sensitive so that we can communicate effectively and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The Promise Keepers have won an endorsement fiom Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The Promise Keepers held a rally Saturday at the site of Farrakhan’s Million Man March two years earlier. Farrakhan said that while Promise Keepers is a “mostly white” organization and the Nation of Islam is led by blacks, the groups hold similar ideals. “Any call that brings men in particular back to God and makes See PROMISE page 11A Promise Keepers strain to see at weekend rally in Nation’s Capital. Thousands attended Christian rally. ations are no longer in the presi dent’s hands, Crouther, pastor of New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, said. Financial donations to the con vention will be placed in a fund recently established in Nashville. “No funds can come out of that accoimt unless they are voted on by the executive committee or the board of directors,” Crouther said. Prisons can take gifts By Randi Goldberg THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT — Under pressure from Congress and religious groups, federal prison officials Monday lifted a ban on gifts religious items that was imposed last month under a strict inter pretation of new ethics rules. , The rule had threatened to pre vent inmates from having the prayer books and other ritual items needed for their obser vances. 1 The order, signed by Attorney General Janet Reno last monfii, said no employee of tie Department of Justice “may solic it gifts or encourage the solicita tion of gifts to the Department,” uiJess she approved the donati}n in advance. j Federal prison chaplains int*- preted the order to include reli gious donations intended for imnates, according to the Aleph Institute, a Surfside, Fla. groijp that represents Jewish federm prisoners. j “Of all the groups in this cou{i- tiy, inmates are the one groi|p that definitely needs structure and spirituality,” Isa^c Jarosiawicz, the Aleph Institutes executive director, said MondaV. “We’re not talking about weight lifting equipment or pornogra phy.” I One week before Ro^ Hashana, the Jewish new year that fell last TTiursday and Friday, he said he was inundated by phone calls from chaplains telling him they had to retmji prayer books and ritual materials they had previously ordered f3r Jewish inmates to use during tKe High Holidays. r The 112,000 federal prison po^ ulation includes about 1,400 Jewish inmates, according & Jarosiawicz. “Absent a directive counterii^ it, chaplains would've been har^ pressed to get material to fuLfiU'k specific prisoner’s religious needs,” said Deborah Phillips of 'The Justice Fellowship, a Baptiit prisoner rights group in suburban Washington. * That reverse order was issu^ Monday, Bureau of Prisoffs spokesman 'Ibdd Craig said. ^ “During the last two weeks, the issue has been under review and today, authority has been re-del^- gated to wardens to accept dona tions, whether educational or reli gious in nature,” Craig said. ^ Prison wardens can accefit donations worth up to $250. Beyond that, the assistant attor ney general must review the donation, Craig said. ^ 'The original order was intend^ for Department of Justice official so avoid the appearance of ai^ conflict of interest by acceptii4 gifts. “Tm glad that this has be^ worked out. The policy that was previously in place was threaten ing to inmates and made no sen^ in the context that it was being applied,” said U.S. Rep. Charles Canady, R-Fla., a member of th'6 House judiciary Committee. “I think it was just something; they didn’t anticipate,” Canady said. He and another committee member, U.S. Rep. JerroM See PRISONS page 12A
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