Page 6 Portland Observer JULY 6, 1989
Œ5
RELIGION
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äh™
THE BIBLE ON
TAPE
From The Pulpit to the Pews
by Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
(Taken From 1 Timothy Chapter
5 & 6)
These passages o f scripture, taken
from the book o f I T im othy, should
serveasaguideline on “ H ow aG ood
Christian Should A ct on Everyday
Circumstances.
Never speak sharply to an older
man or woman, but plead w ith him or
her respectfully just as though he
were your own father or mother.Talk
to the younger men as you would to
much loved brothers. Treat the older
women as mothers, and the girls as
your sisters, thinking only pure
thoughts about them.
The church should take loving
care o f women whose husbands have
died, i f they don’t have anyone else
to help them. But i f they have c h il­
dren, these are the ones who should
take the responsibility, fo r kindness
should begin at home, supporting
needy parents. This is something that
pleases God very much.
The church should care fo r w id ­
ows who are poor and alone in the
world, i f they are looking to God for
his help and spending much lim e in
prayer; but not i f they are spending
their time running around gossiping,
seeking only pleasure and thus ru in ­
ing their souls. This should be your
church rule so that the Christians w ill
know and do what is r ig h t
But anyone who w on’ t care fo r
their own relatives when they need
help, especially those liv in g in his
own fa m ily, has no rig h t to say he is
a Christian. Such a person is worse
than the heathen.
A w idow who wants to become
one o f the special church workers
should be at least sixty years old and
have been married only once. She
must be w ell thought o f by everyone
because o f the good she has done.
Has she brought up her children well?
Has she been kind to strangers as
w en as to other Christians? Has she
helped those w ho are sick and hurt?
Is she always ready to show kind ­
ness?
The younger w idow s should not
become members o f this special group
because after aw hile they are lik e ly
to disregard their vow to C hrist and
marry again. And so they w ill stand
condemned because they broke their
first promise. Besides, they are like ly
to be lazy and spend their tim e gos­
siping around from house to house,
getting into other people’ s business.
So 1 think it is better for these younger
w idows to marry again and have
children, and take care o f their own
homes; then no one w ill be able to
MARANATHA
CHURCH
13th & Skidmore
288-7241
Services
Sunday
9:00am Sunday
School
10:30am Morning
Worship
6:30pm Evening
Worship
Wednesday?:30 Prayer/
Open Service
This is the perfect addition to your
audio and home library, and makes
a wonderful g ift, too!
This tape collection contains 10 ex­
hilarating hours o f B ib lica l read­
ings fo r your listening enjoyment.
This attractively bound 7 tape cas­
sette collection features the read­
ings from , the Four Gospels;
M atthew, M ark, Luke and John.
N ow you can enjoy the B ib le ’ s in ­
sightful teachings - anytim e, any­
where.
DONNIE JAMES FASHIONS located
at 517 NE K illin g sw o rth is the
distributors o f the Bahamian D iet
and “ The Bible on Tape” .
The features o f the audio cassette
form at is that it affords the lis ­
tener, the opportunity to hear the
w ord o f God in situations where
previously this w ould not have
been possible, e.g. d riving , shop­
ping, exercising, and more.
It opens up the opportunity fo r those
that can’ t read or see the Bible in
its w ritten form.
The pow erful and inspiring messages
o f the H oly Scripture is beauti­
fu lly narrated the Bible become
by Henry D uvall
music to your ears.
A fte r eight years o f research. Dr.
The K in g James Version is the most
Cain
Hope Felder, a professor at the
popular version o f the B ible in the
Howard U niversity School o f D iv in ­
United States o f Am erica.
ity , has emerged w ith what has been
There is a lifetim e replacement tape
guarantee. I f the cassette tape(s)
considered a “ landmark study” on
blacks in the Bible.
breaks or otherwise becomes un­
“ Troubling Biblical Waters: Race,
playable, CCI w ill replace the tape
for a minimal charge per tape which
Class and F a m ily ,” recently released
by Orbis Books o f M arykno ll, N .Y .,
w ill include shipping and han­
Remember that some men, even
illum inates the presence o f blacks in
dling.
pastors, lead sinful lives and every­
the Bible, p roviding “ some sorely
C all, w rite, or drop by
one knows it. In such situations you
D O N N IE J A M E S F A S H IO N S ,
needed correctives....,” says the
can do something about i t But in
(503) 288-1721.
author.
other cases o nly the judgm ent day
“ The mistaken notion w idely
w ill reveal the terrible truth. In the
persists that the relation o f black
same way, everyone knows how much
people to the B ible is a post-biblical
good some pastors do, but some­
experience, “ he notes. “ Such his­
times their good deeds aren’ t known
How Sweet the Sound
torical distortions, created by E uro­
u ntil long afterward.
How sweet the sound o f m orning * centric scholars and missionaries to
Christian employees should work
birds
the detrim ent o f blacks, have long
hard fo r their employers and respect
That sing from summer trees
been one o f m y concerns.”
them; never let it be said that C hrist’s
The melodies o f nature
The 233-page paperback, the au­
people are poor workers. D on’ t let
That com fort and appease.
thor’s first book, dispels various myths,
the name o f God or his teaching be
How sweet the evening w ind song
especially the notion that blacks had
laughed at because o f this. I f their
Beside the restless sea
no “ substantive history” prior to 1600,
employers is a C hristian, that is no
Where the ages are but movements
says Felder in an interview .
excuse fo r slow ing down; rather they
In nature’ s symphony.
‘ ‘There is evidence o f black in flu ­
should w ork a ll the harder because a
H ow sweet a m other’ s lullaby
ence in the shaping o f b ib lic a l narra­
brother in the faith is being helped by
B y waning candlelight
tives thousands o f years before
their efforts.
As she holds w ith in her arms
C hrist,’ ’ he emphasizes.
Teach these truths and encourage
Her miracle tonight.
In his book, the professor o f New
all to obey them. Some may deny
H ow sweet the sounds o f nature
Testament language and literature
these things, but they are the sound,
Throughout this earthly sod
says that after conducting studies in
wholesome teachings o f the Lord
Where we have heard unknowing
Egypt, he found the ancient Phar­
Jesus C hrist and are the foundation
The gentle voice o f God.
aohs
o f several Egyptian dynasties to
for a godly life . Anyone w ho says
C lay Harrison
be, fo r the most part black.
anything different is both proud and
* ‘W hether we call these Pharaohs
stupid.(Finale in next week’ s issue)
black, A froasiatic, or Negroid does
not m atter,” he writes. “ The sub­
stantive p oint is that they were not
Caucasians.”
He also points out in ‘ ‘Troubling
Biblical Waters” that there is a strong
presence o f black people in the O ld
Testam ent “ M any o f these passages
attest to the greatness and power o f
A frica n blacks participating in the
salvation drama o f ancient Israel,”
Grace C ollins
Memorial Center
"Since 1952"
• Kindergarten
• Pre-School
‘Latch K ey Program *
Wendell H. Wallace Sr.,
Senior Pastor
Children 6 wks.
to 11 yrs.
2 -1 /2 Y e a r O ld s - L e a rn in g Shapes
Jesus Loves Y ou1
• Breakäst
• Hot Lunches
Allen Ternole
CME Ch\rch
•S n a ti^
F
281-6930
j
128 N.E. Russell St.
Portland, Oregon 97211 ■
(503)
Call
I.
4236 N .E . E ig hth A venu
(c o m e r o f 8th & S kid m o re )
M oo-fri
6:30 am 6.00 pm
4 Y e a r O ld s - M a k in g C o o k ie s
287-0261
Phillip S Nelson, Pastor
j
Grace Collins
Psalm 34:3
Memorial Center
□ T car u im •
R ca d in a F irst Gras.
B o o ks
— Day Care
j
Scholar Reveals Black Presence In Bible
say anything against them. For 1 am
afraid that some o f them have a l- '
ready turned away from the church
and been led astray by Satan.
Let me remind you again that a
w id o w ’s relatives must take care o f
her, and not leave this to the church
to do. Then the church can spend its
money for the care o f w idow s who
are a ll alone and have nowhere else
to turn.
Pastors who do their w ork w ell
should be paid w ell and should be
highly appreciated, especially those
who w ork hard at both preaching and
teaching. For the Scriptures says,
“ Never tie up the m outh o f an ox
when it is treading out the g ra in -le t
him eat as he goes a lo n g !” A nd in
another place, “ Those w ho w ork de­
serve their pay! ’ ’
D on’ t listen to complaints against
the pastor unless there are tw o or
three witnesses to accuse him . I f he
has really sinned, then he should be
rebuked in fron t o f the whole church
so that no one else w ill fo llo w his
example.
1 Paul solemnly command you in
the presence o f God and the Lord
Jesus C hrist and o f the holy angels to
do this whether the pastor is a special
friend o f yours or not. A ll must be
treated exactly the same. Never be in
a hurry about choosing a pastor; you
may overlook his sins and it w ill look
as i f you approve o f them. Be sure
that you yourself stay away from all
sin.
Day Care
SCRIPTURE OF
PROVERBS
THE WEEK:
Chapter 23 & 24
he maintains.
“ It has always struck me as incre-
diable that modem scholars have so
much d iffic u lty acknowledging the
existence o f black Jews before Jesus
C hrist.” B ut he writes that the c r iti­
cal point is that” ... i f one considers
the Hebrew exodus story as a histroi-
cal event, we have to reckon w ith the
fact that these liberated Hebrews were
most probably a racially m ixed stock
o f people — A froasiatics.”
Felder also discusses the contro­
versy surrounding the racial identity
o f the ancient Queen o f Sheba, argu­
ing in an entire chapter that evidence
indicates that she was black and
considered in some circles as “ the
queen o f E gypt and E thiopia.”
“ For centuries, Western scholar­ hunger” fo r discussion beyond tra­
ship (whether Jewish, C hristian or d itio na l Bible stories.
M u slim ) displayed a tendency to
A t a recent book party on the
regard this queen as a legendary fig ­ campus o f H ow ard’ s School o f D i­
ure from South Arabia; usually there v in ity , Felder greets students, schol­
was also a strong im plication that she ars, clergym en and others who have
was not a black A frica n w om an,’ ’ he come to buy his book. He has been at
notes in the book.
sim ilar book-signing parties in such
Says Felder, who is also editor o f cities as New Y o rk, San Francisco
the “ Journal o f Religious Thought”
and Dallas in addition to W ashing­
at H oward, “ From all o f the data ton, he notes.
surveyed thus far, it w ould appear
T im Lake, a 26-year-old H oward
that the ancient Queen o f Sheba was
d iv in ity student, says he bought
indeed o f Negro ancestry.”
Felder’ s book because it is “ the most
Studies in England as well as Egypt
preeminent w ork o f a black scholar
contributed to Felder’ s eight year
in the area o f b ib lica l studies.”
research. H is review o f various li t ­
erature has included several versions
Ronald P. Jones, 39, c h ie f finan­
o f the Bible in addition to a number cial o ffic e r at D is tric t o f Colum bia
General H ospital, says, “ You can’ t
o f scholarly translations.
Asked why the black presence in fin d much literature on religion and
the B ible has been ignored, the pro­ blacks.” Adds the form er student o f
fessor responds, “ I t ’ s a subtle form the professor, who plans to return to
o f academic racism, which appears d iv in ity school, “ The book w ill
at times to be liberal, nom inally broaden m y perspective o f religion
C hristian, but basically Eurocentric. and give me a clear understanding o f
It is engaged in fa lsification o f his­ my role in a black m in is try .”
tory and undermines the whole no­
tion o f cultural and racial pluralism .
“ W e have consistendy recast the
personalities o f the Bible into the
likeness or images o f the dom inant
racial groups o f modern Western
c iv iliz a tio n .”
The author also addresses the role
o f women in the Bible.
“ There are commanding images
o f women in leadership roles. There
is evidence in the New Testament
that women have functioned as m in ­
isters.”
Dr. Clarice J. M artin, a professor
at the Princeton Theological Semi­
nary, says Felder’s book is “ destined
to change forever the way scholars,
teachers, preachers, and a ll serious
students o f the Bible reflect upon,
teach, and preach b ib lica l narra­
tives....”
“ T ro u bling B ib lica l W aters’ has
been so w ell received that it is a l­
ready in its second printing, accord­
ing to Orbis Books, a small publish­
ing house.
The book is p rim a rily targeted to
black church leaders and seminari­
ans, as w ell as to the larger theologi­
cal community, says Felder, who holds
a Ph.D. from Colum bia U niversity.
“ I firm ly believe that people need to
‘ trouble the waters’ w ith perspec­
tives and inform ation not usually
addressed by discrete theological
cu rricula.”
But the book is also intended to
raise the level o f discussion about the
Bible among the laity, he stresses,
m aintaining that the laity has “ a
A woman at the party, who is
struggling w ith fiv e copies o f the
book in her arms,wants to examine
his research on women as w ell as
blacks in the B ible. “ W hat I think he
has done is lifte d them out o f the
B ible and put them in a form that we
can recognize,” stresses G loria
Pendleton, 60, a retired federal gov­
ernment computer programmer, now
a d iv in ity student.
Says the Rev. D r. Henry Ferry, a
professor o f church history at H ow ­
ard, “ I ’ m interested in w hat Cain has
to say, especially because it illu m i­
nates the im portant aspects o f early
church h istory.”
The author slips away from the
autograph seekers and returns mo­
m entarily to his o ffic e , where four
large book shelves containing an
estimated 1,000 books loom over his
desk. “ A ll o f these books are written
by w hite people,’ ’ he remarks. ‘ ‘ You
have black theologians and ethicis-
tis, but not many black b ib lica l schol­
ars. M y book fo r the moment, unfor­
tunately, is a lone voice.”
Felder believes that one reason
“ T ro u bling B ib lica l Waters” is sig­
n ifica n t to the black com m unity is
that "b la c k people are fundamen­
ta lly people o f the book (B ib le ).”
He explains in his book, “ M y
intent is to ‘ trouble’ the w aters... and
clear a new pathway that leads to the
B ible as an indispensable tool for
liberation - sociopolitical and eco­
nom ic, as w e ll as sp iritua l.”