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3d os dm ckric condemns ckming
o ffic ia l said on Sunday that cloning
humans was the w ork o f the devil
but was acceptable o nly i f used to
provide healthy organs fo r people in
need o f transplants.
Speaking atasym posium on c lo n
ing held at the d o cto r’ s syndicate.
Grand M u fti Nasr Farid Wassil said
scientists should concentrate on ways
to combat more pressing issues such
as poverty rather than on c lo n in g
research and called on legislators to
severely punish those w ho practiced
it.
• ’ There are in the religious scrip
tures indications that this (clo n in g )
is the w ork o f the devil, that he is
behind all corruption and cloning
aims at changing A lla h ’ s (G o d ’ s)
creation and the order o f society,”
Wassil to ld the symposium.
" T h is issue is taboo but not i f it
deals w ith aspects that can help hu
m anity, as in cloning an organ such
as a liv e r o r a kidney to solve a
problem ... and not weaken a healthy
person ”
The controversial subject o f hu
man clo n in g hit the headlines re
cently after scientists in Scotland
introduced the w o rld to D o lly , a
lamb cloned from an adult sheep.
But scientists have not said whether
it is possible to clone ju s t organs.
Egyptian scientists told govern
ment newspapers over the weekend
that they did not perform any clo n
ing research because it was expen
sive and needed sophisticated tech
nology.
M aking hybrids and a rtific ia l in
semination was as far as they got,
the scientists added.
But the issue has managed to d i
vide Egypt's cabinet, w ith Religious
Endow m ents M in is te r M a hm oud
Hamdi Zakzouk quoted as saying that
cloning was so taboo that is was not
even up fo r discussion. But Health
Minister Ismail Sallam said it was a
purely scientific affair.
Wassil, whose o ffic e is reponsible
fo r issuing re lig io u s edicts, said:
" W h y are scientists dealing w ith
cloning when there is d esertifica
tion, poverty and other issues that
need our efforts more? We d o n ’ t
need th is.”
" O ffic ia ls should ban research in
th is 'fie ld and impose strict punish
ment on those w ho perform it,as it
w ill lead to corruption the extent o f
w hich o nly A lla h can k n o w .”
An Islam ic theologian at the pres
tigious Sunni Moslem A l-A z h a r in
stitute has also called fo r an end to
research on cloning, saying it did
not meet Islam ic requirements.
Tattfttfj reiigion on sprirtgbread
Temptation is everywhere. Bars
beseech students to d rin k all day
fo r $5. B ik in i-w e a rin g w om en
beckon. Thong-clad boys cajole.
Into this Gom orrah wades the
Baptist Student U nion and the C am
pus Crusade fo r C h ris t w ith a
weapon o f their own - pancakes
and beach games.
■‘We’ re not going to push God
down their throat,” said Rachael
E lro d , 19, a s o p h o m o re at
Cam pellsville U niversity in Ken
tucky.
But it can’ t hurt to grease the
skids w ith fla p ja cks.
Baptist students spread across
the hot beach sands o f this spring
break mecca every day in v itin g stu
dents to a free pancake breakfast.
As they eat, they listen to talk about
the Bible and Jesus in the hope they
leave w ith more than ju st a fu ll
stomach.
A bout3.000 young adults, some
form er spring break sinners, o ffe r
succor to the estimated 500,000
college students who annually make
the p ilg rim a g e to Panama C ity
Beach. Called “ Beach Reach,” it
preaches w ithout getting too pushy.
“ I t ’ s a confro n ta tio n a l type o f
evangelism, but i t ’ s done in a way
that it ’ s not confrontational,” said
the Rev. Darren T ip to n , o f Nash
ville , Tenn.
T ipton, a student evangelism as
sistant w ith the Southern Baptist
Convention and leader o f "Beach
Reach,” said revelers need a little
rem inder o f m orality.
“ They are confronted w ith some
thing they thought they left at home,
a lot o f them, o r that they d id n ’ t
expect to fin d on the beach," he said.
T raditional spring breaker Rob
Pavis, 23, a U n ive rsity o f B u ffa lo
senior from Staten Island, thought
he w ould be d rin k in g his breakfast.
Instead, he found h im s e lf eating
pancakes and ta lkin g re ligion w ith
W illia m Stacy, a Baptist sophomore
at the U n ive rsity o f N orth Texas.
“ I pretty much believe what they
believe and I think they believe what
I believe,” said Pavis, a Roman Catho-
lic. “ It’ s nice to meet good people.”
Stacy, 20, o f K e rrv ille , Texas,
said he’ s ju s t try in g to po in t people
in the rig h t direction.
“ I ’ m not try in g to convert any
one,” Stacy said.
The Baptist students also o ffe r
free rides to students, hoping to get
in a little talk along the way.
One van crew had d iffic u lty get
ting its message across to a handful
o fU n iv e rs ity o f L o u isville students,
some o f w hom appeared drunk.
A fte r playing a game o f guessing
majors, the van arrived at its desti
nation before anyone mentioned
re ligion.
As the students got out they
were invited to a pancake breakfast
the next m orning aran amusement
park parking lot.
Pancakes are not the on ly way to
draw a crow d. The Campus C ru
sade sponsors v o lle y b a ll tourna
ments and each evening its m em
bers gather in a huge blue-and-
w hite striped tent fo r singing, B ible
lessons and Christian rock and ro ll.
M other Teresa recovers
edly and confined m ostly to a bed or w heelchair, clim bed
down a flig h t o f stairs from her quarters w ith o u t help
Tuesday and was driven ,0 a religious ceremony a couple
miles away, said Dr. Ashish K um ar, her personal physician.
She was accompanied by Sister N irm ala, the new head o f
M issionaries o f C h a rity, the order founded and, u ntil last
week, led by M o th e r Teresa
“ I am very happy ,0 be able to go out on m y own. I wan,
,0 be active again as I s till have lots o f w o rk to do.” Dr.
Kum ar quoted M other Teresa as saying.
M other Teresa had said she no longer wanted to lead the
order because she was too ill She has been in an out o f
hospitals since A p ril 1996. First it was a broken co lla r bone,
then in July, she became ill w ith m alaria and a chest
infection. A month later, she was back in the hospital after
a fall.
In N ovem ber. M o th e r Teresa was readmitted w ith hear,
problems. She underwent an angioplasty to remove b lo c k
ages from arteries after a m ild hear,
attack, then fought a lung infection
The three elem entary school
g irls giggled asthey im agined what
Jesus looks like. H e’ s ta ll, one said.
W ith a flo w in g w hite robe, said
another. A nd he is nice.
The Jesus the g irls fro m the
Church o f the Incarnation in Jer
sey C ity were describing was a lot
like the one they were w atching on
stage at A m e rica ’ s oldest co n tin u
a lly running Passion Play.
What none o f the g irls thought
to mention was that this Jesus - like
the three o f them - was black.
N ot everyone has been so tran
scendent in their imagination. An
uproar fol lowed the in itial announce
ment that the Park Theatre decided
to cast a black actor as Jesus fo r the
first tim e in the 82-year history o f
the Passion Play in this poor, cu ltu r
ally diverse com m unity.
Five to u r groups canceled their
reservations. Others wanted to re
schedule to a show when a w hite
actor played Jesus. A fte r a couple
o f vague death threats were phoned
into the theater, tw o church schools
canceled out o f fear fo r the safety o f
Jesse Douglas W illia m s was bom
August 2 9 , 1929 in C rockett, Texas
he passed away on March 17, 1997
at his home in Portland. Oregon a,
the age o f 67 years old
M r. W illia m s grew up in Texas.
He jo in e d the U S. A rm y on June
15, 1948 u n til June 15, 1953. Hew
was a S ta ff Sgt. and was liv in g in
Fort Lew is, W ashington p rio r to
com ing to Portland after the ser
vice. He attended the Jehovah W it
ness Church He w orked as a custo
dian Supervisor fo r the Portland
Public Schools and he retired in
1992 after more than 10 years o f
service His last school was C h ie f
Joseph Grade School
(/
•
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■
through A p ril 20, said w h ile there
was no excuse fo r the overt preju
the role o f Jesus w ith G iles, said he
knew in te lle ctu a lly G iles was go
dice, he could understand the appre
h e n s io n o f m a n y p ro s p e c tiv e
ing to be good, but he was not
prepared fo r the em otional impact
o f a C hrist that transcends race.
“ T h a t’ s the m essage, p o in t
theatergoers.
O n ce p e o p le g ive it some thought,
however, the idea o f a black actor
p o rtra yin g a man from first-century
Palestine “ makes more sense than
the blond-haired, blue-eyed Jeffrey
H unter,” w ho has played Jesus on
screen, he said
The casting decision - and the
resulting p u b lic ity and controversy -
have forced people to re-examine
the racial characteristics they attrib
uted to the founder o f C hristianity.
For the most part, the answers
co m in g back have been encourag
ing, said the Rev. K e vin Ashe, the
p la y ’ s producer
In the firs t days after it became
know n that Desi A rnaz Giles w ould
play Jesus, the theater received hun
dreds o f calls and faxes from South
A m erica, H aw aii and everywhere in
between expressing support.
On opening day, the audience o f
b la n k," Bukovec said. “ It says... ‘ I f
y o u ’ re a C hristian, and you have
any p ro b le m w ith th is , y o u ’ ve
missed the message "
For h is part, the 34-year-old G i les
said he is th a n kfu l the racial feel
ings have surfaced.
“ It really gave me an o p p o rtu
n ity to put m y C h ristia n ity to the
test, dealing w ith those w h o hate
me,” he said.
By tu rn in g the other cheek, “ I t ’ s •
allow ed me to te stify to the true ’
meaning o f being a C hristian. ...
N ow is a chance to show C h ristia n
ity in a positive lig h t."
Dressed in an “ Eracism ” T -sh irt
before his opening perform ance,
G iles said his hope was that the
H o ly S p irit w o u ld shine through
him on stage.
“ The co lo r o f C h rist has no bear
ing on what the true message o f
their students.
A fte r centuries o f seeing Jesus
portrayed in art and film and Sun
day School books as a w hite, blue
eyed European, the idea o f a black
Jesus s till ja rs many C hristians.
Eric Hafen, the d ire cto r o f the
Passion Play w hich runs weekends
700 gave G iles a standing ovation
fo r hischarism atic portrayal o f Jesus.
“ I was lo o k in g at him and I
co u ld n ’ t see c o io r," said 73-year-old
M a ry W engenic o f St. M ich a e l’ s
C hris, is about,” he said.
That message was not lost on
John Behrend, an older m em ber o f
C hurch in G erm yn. Pa. “ Yes, I knew
he was black, but it d id n ’ t make any
difference. He was Jesus.”
Joseph B ukovec, w ho alternates
group from B risto l, Conn.
“ I never considered him black
u n til this here came u p ," Behrend
said o f Jesus. “ A nd he could be."
‘Buddfui carved
into mountain
w hich is paid fo r by public donations,
awaits the k in g ’ s reply to an invita
tion. O n ly a bit o f landscaping work
the brainchild o f an abbot o f a nearby
remains to be done. The carving was
from the quarry w ould cease.
A noisy quarry in eastern T h a i
land is being turned into a site o f
w onder and reverence, as the fin is h
ing touches are being put on a giant
Buddha image carved into the side
o f a mountain.
T h e $ 5 .9 2 m illio n
p ro je c t
in
C honburi province was launched 18
months ago to celebrate the 50th
anniversary o f the accession o f K in g
the Im m anuel Lutheran C hurch
temple w ho saw a w o rld ly bonus to
such grand w ork - the incessant racket
f o i a our cliw tiic fzevrCiA p w tity a-i toc o&ieiac "?Mtf TPedE
a n d ectc&zate. (Ac TZejaiicctioa oar S avion, f u t a (jfaivit!
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
7:00 p.m. — Foot Washing and H o ly C om m union
12 -1 :0 0 p.m. — Meditations
7:00 p.m. — Good Friday Liturgy and Com m union
8:00 and 10:00 a.m. — H o ly Com m union
St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church
B hum ibol A dulyadej to T h a ila n d ’ s
120 NE Knott St. at Rodney Ave.
throne in 1996.
The o ffic ia l opening o f the project.
281-S802
/ i ter**
7Cz
Cox Funeral Home
2736 N.E. Rodney, Portland,
Oregon (503)281 -4891
presented by
R i V e r P la c e
E s p la n a d e
Fri. Sat., March 28 - 2 9 a t 10 am
“Before You Must
Make a Decision”
thousands o f co lo rfu l tulips fo r sale
live ja z z and youth perform ing arts groups
children's coloring contest sponsored by Haggen
On Saturday: a visit fro m the Easter Bunny
accessible candy hunt fo r children w ith disabilities, noon
children's candy hunt, 12:30
Easter Seals thanks our sponsors:
Inspect the Beautiful Cox Funeral Chapel
“ Planning your funeral is our first
consideration. Equipped to serve all
religions, races, veterans and
fraternal organizations. ”
BBS International, Haggen Food & Pharmacy, OURTOWN, Portland Observer, Pacific
Gas Transmission, RiverPlace Athletic Club, Talking Rain and The Oregonian
. K fltsi c r
o m in
-Jerom e Tanner, Funeral Director
“How should I pray?”
GOD
the balcony o f her home
Jesse Douglas
Williams
..
> . n 2 u * ’ - ’ ’ ’ «
‘Btacfcjjesus causes stir
RiverPlace Tulip Festival V
fo r Easter Seals
today.
The 86-year-old nun, w ho has been hospitalized repeat
© bitutirp
r
7th Annual
For the first tim e in months, M o th e r Teresa stepped out
unaided to v isit a charity home in the city, her doctor said
and kidney problems.
Since her release in December,
she m ostly has been confined to bed
or a w heelchair, rarely even seen on
.
ft
M arch 26, 1997 • Tm P ortland O bserver
P agi B4
E gypt's highest-ranking Islam ic
• * . « .2 i » >
e rv ic e s
Rick Hamlin offers an engaging,
funny, and touching tale o f one
■ man's lifelong pursuit o f the
j answer to the question, “ How
should I pray?” in Finding God
on the A Train. A fresh and
fluent new voice on the
Christian writing scene,
Hamlin offers the candid
story-sure to appeal to the
millions today rediscovering
the joy o f prayer-of his
search for an authentic
spirituality.
March 30th - Pastor Richard Probasco Speaking
8 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m.
Special Music with the R. P. Vocal Band
MP’
Good Friday Candlelight Service
March 29th 7:30 p.m.
4
* New Song Church Choir
* RP Vocal Band
* Desperate Measures Vocal Ensemble
J
y ' " (
K , C. K
‘O ’
H A M I
I N
f
MlrtKOUIW
POWELLS BOOKS
* Special Presentation “He Is" by Childrens Church
• 1005 W Burnside, downtown Portland 503-228-4651
• 8725 SW Cascade Avenue, Beaverton 503-643-3131
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