| Show 1 ZrhtialtrbaktZtibnnt d 4 -- Fr COMICSTV CLASSIFIEDS T DI SATURDAY Aucust 28 1993 Centennial Conference to Unite World's Religions Starts Today By Michael Hirs ley Mormons to join this Parliament CHICAGO TRIBUNE CHICAGO —Planning the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions may not have been a leap of faith but it was a long stretch : It began five years ago as the brainstorm of a dozen Chicago Baha'is Buddhists Hindus and Zoroastrians They enlisted a few Christians in their effort to reprise the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions which was held In Chicago in conjunction with the D-- Rap Mps' Kids To What's Going Down With Jesus Worlds Fair After five years of fits and starts during which they lost their donated office space and then reorganized with fresh funding the planners are about to realize their vision of a centennial celebration and a call to unity among religions in today's turbulent times 4'1A x )k ''4 — ''‘ ifi : PK I Judeo-Christia- ti N ' i 1 o difi -e- k - N'e e -- il - ' '"'-- '' 111 - ' - - - ' have less formal representation said Ramage president of McCormick Theological Seminary "We hope that there are enough common assumptions among us that we can stand together in looking to the future" Oraie Baldwin of the host committee for American Indian religions which were not represented in 1893 said representatives of 2 million American Indians will bring one loud message to the parliament In 1893 our people were being persecuted in this country Now we are fighting a different kind of repression trying to save our sacred land and religious practices" pl - I w tf II See D-- 5 Column parlia: Column Seeks Good By Connie Cass THE ASSOCIATED Two Versions e°iti - r hero" family-oriente- d D-- 2 Ethical Unioli 1 - Of Genesis 3:1-- 5 Revised Standard Version Now the serpent was more sub- tle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made He s - II See - - - - We are coming to this PRESS — They meet on Sundays in a squat building of uninspiring cinder block The flat roof doesn't strain skyward like the spires atop the Methodist church down the street There is stained-glas- s winno dow like the Presbyterians have:: That's fitting because their faith doesn't reach for the heavens The congregation of the Washington Ethical Society takes inspiration from a more worldly source: human beings It is sort of a nonchurch without the trappings of religion and some would say without the soul It is a church without God "Ethical societies are founded on the belief that there is no God except the experience that people have in doing good" said leader Don Montagna the group's cleric' "We would spell God with two WASHINGTON time society made Jesus Christ - founder Baha'ullah who had died the preceding year was the first reference to the Bahal lead' er made in the United States Everyday Life: it's about Bigger than Magic Johnson better than Michael Jordan So' cool that kids would imitate Jesus' life rap his message wear T shirts sporting his picture maybe even buy a soft drink that bears his name "Society says we can't do that because it's irreverent" says Mc Cary of Houston mother of three author and storyteller "Well I say we'd better start doing things differently because it's a war out there We'd better put Jesus on the electronic wire put him on the store shelves We'd better find some way to bring Jesus' message to the children be cause that's the only way we're going to turn things around" To that end Mc Cary has taken the first five books of the Bible Genesis through Deuteronomy and translated it into the language of the streets peppering it with slang and contemporary expressions The result is Black Bible Chronicles: A Survival Manual for the Streets it's expected to hit bookstores in September The King James version it ain't as its publisher African American Family Press is quick to acknowledge But the publisher an imprint of Multi Media Communicators Inc is itself new created earlier this year to meet the growing demand among black families for meaningful inspirational material Black Bible Chronicles is among its first publications Controversial? Definitely Family Press is banking on it "Where controversy exists curiosity will follow the kind of curiosity that will have people flocking to your stores" proclaims a marketing brochure sent to booksellers Initially at least the campaign has been successful With more than a month to v before its offi- cial publication date the initial press run of 40000 books has delegate's tribute to Balla' 0-- - ' -- - Act and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act The latter sternming from an Oregon case prohibiting ritual use of peyote in Indian religious ceremonies has won support of a broad coalition of liberal and conservative US religions Leilani Smith of the Bahal host committee said her faith group also was not represented at the 1893 parliament However she said a Presbyterian missionary Not God in - - N tire American Religious Freedom She cited efforts to pass the Na 1i — ' se Ellie messages while others will Forms African-Heritag- e g NEWS SERVICE Mc Cary thinks "‘the ultimate oim 'Religions ' i By Susan McNamara GANNETT ntot World '''' — : as 1::t Parliament CD-RO- M 1 atg 1°993 The parliament opens today at the Palmer House Hilton hotel with a procession of participants from around the world in the traditional attire of faiths from Christian to Buddhist to American Indian to Muslim It ends Sept 4 with the Dalai Lama a Nobel Peace Prize winner and exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader addressing a 6 pm rally open to the public at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park In between 600 speeches sym 2 t Bible Delivers in Rap (1:Ct posiums films exhibits and live performances will include beliefs ranging from mainstream ChrisliAnity to Eastern religions to neopaganism humanism and witchcraft Parliament organizers closed registrations this week saying their suggested cap of 3500 had been nearly doubled Evangelical Christians seemed to be the only group among America's estabn communilished to reluctant participate ty "My expectation of the parliament might not be yours" the Rev David Ramage chairman of the orgAni7ing council said at a reception for cosponsors and committee members who will host the international delegates Some attendees will bring spe - it 1 í said to the woman "Did God say 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden?' " And the woman said to the serpent "We may eat of the fruit of the trees and the garden but God said 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden neither shall you touch it lest you die' " But the serpent said to the woman "You will not die For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil'" f - I 11"e Now the serpent was one bad dude one of the baldest ( of all the animals the Alithty ‘- ' - 1 had made' Dennis GreenThe Salt Lake Tribune Scholarly Bible Challenges Notion d Of Blond-Haire- d Jesus Oldest Stories Ever Told Spring Vividly to Life on Computer Disk dude one of the baddest of all the animals the Almighty had made And the serpent spoke to the sister and asked "You mean the Almighty told you not to eat of all these trees in the garden?" And the sister told him "Yeah snake I can eat of these trees just not the tree of knowledge or the Almighty said I'd be knocked off" And that bad or serpent told the sister "Nah sister he's feeding you a line of bull You won't die The Almighty just knows that if you eat from the tree you'll be hipped to what's going down" GANNETT NEWS SERVICE NEWS SERVICE KNIGHT-RIDDE- Black Bible Chronicles "The Sinning Place" Now the serpent was one bad Blue-Eye- If Jesus had blue eyes and blond hair he was a rare spectacle in his homeland Time Warner Inc which touched off a fierce moral debate last year by releasing the rap song "Cop Killer" gets religion disk "The New Family Bible" on a released by the Time Warner Interactive Group applies the power of multimedia technology to one of the oldest stories ever told Subtitled "From the Garden to the Promised Land" it is a guide through the Old Testament It mixes words pictures and spoken narration With elegant graphics interesting voices and a simple interface "The New Family Bible" makes the Bible come alive All 39 books of the Old Testament are here from Genesis to Malachi But most compelling are 40 separate stories explaining the Bible's most important lessons — from Adam and Eve through the trials of Job — in language easy enough for children to understand yet not condescending to adults The single biggest flaw is the lack of an option to print text from "The New Family Bible" The only way to save a particularly meaningful passage is to copy the words by hand Finally a scholarly book has documented what many suspected all along the powerful and divine role that blacks played in the develn world opment of the Called the Original African Heritage Study Bible the King James Version it was seven years in the making and is published by the Winston-DerePublishers Group in Nashville one of the largest African American publishing houses in the world For millions this incredible Bible will be a work as well as heatedly challenged Through its 1892 pages with scholarly articles a new world opens purged of Western mythology that established a biblical base for black inferiority Maps and charts establish Eden the cradle of civilization in Africa Pictures identify such biblical characters as Moses and many of the Apostles as people of color Jesus and his mother known as the Black Madonna in Spain Portugal and Poland also have black skin CD-RO- Judeo-Christia- k 1 o's" as its own reward Nci heaven or hell no one to watch over us — except each other It is one of the nation's smallest and most freethinking religions There are 20 congregations across the country under the um brella of the American Ethical Union The 3050 members are encouraged to develop their own spiritual philosophies Most are' atheists or agnostics but some be-- t lieve in God and a handful alsq belong to mainstream churches What they share is faith in tlié' value of human life and dedicai tion to good deeds and social act tion "Our purpose is not to argue about the afterlife but to act ig this life" said Jone Johnson leader of the Chicago society She calls it "an alternative religion"t The Washington group holdl Sunday "platform meetings" in a plain auditorium with no altar orlf candles There is uplifting music and meditation but not prayer The leader or a guest speaker lectures on topics ranging from: the philosophical to the pragmatic to the political One Sunday a social worker talks about living with grief the: - ss See D-- 2 Column 14 1 We as Vatican Diplomat Provides Glimpses of World Leaders Religion By - pin : 1 By ' fr Archbishop Domenico y of Peter Scarlet THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE v"' DeLuca's former job as chief of protocol at the Vatican was a celebrity groupie's dream He has met more kings queens and chiefs of state than he can recall Yet the pomp and pageantry did not go to the veteran Vatican diplomat's head His idea of his role remains idealistic beyond himself "My chief goal is to keep people at peace and united" says Archbishop DeLuca "I want to remind people of God's infinite love for each of us that we Can correspond to this love by living as God's children" The prelate was in Salt Lake City last weekend to visit friends before returning to Rome and then to his new post as apostolic nuncio — the pope's ambassador — to Morocco "He is a very bumble dedicated person" says Paul Bruno a retired US Air Force general and Salt Lake resident who met Archbishop DeLuca 21 years ago in Naples where they lived in the same apartment building - It was through Mr Bruno that the Italian cleric Met another Salt Lake City resident businessman James L Sorenson in 1984 ' "He emanates the love of God not the fear of cod" says Mr Sorenson "He is a delightful man It's a real treat to have him in Utah His spirit reminds me of President Howard W Hunter" Elder Hunter is president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints A native of a small village near Naples Archbilh Radio Takes Sunstone Symposium to New Heights ' ! Peter Scarlet THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE -- This year's Sunstone Symposium had the largest number of participants yet say conference organizers But the real audience was even larger While more than 1500 0 c t I I A l' --1 4 ' :- people paid registration fees others listened to Sunstone on KCPW a new public radio station at 883 FM "The response was just overwhelming" said Blair Feulner the station's general manager "We quit counting after 60 calls from listeners who said it was a great public service and great programming to broadcast Sun-ston- 444t i l'r) Lynn R Jo ImanniThe Salt Lake Tribune Archbishop Domenico DeLuca gathered many memories as Vatican chief of protocol Now he's set to serve as the pope's ambassador to Morocco op DeLuca entered the Vatican's diplomatic service in the early 1950s after study in Rome following his ordination as a priest in the archdiocese of Naples After a variety of diplomatic postings in Central and Latin America Europe the Near East and Asia Archbishop DeLuca served as the Vatican's protocol chief for the past seven years in a post where he 111 See D-- 5 Column The station which has been on the air nine months has 13000 listeners who tuned into It the symposium Aug was a first for Sunstone and a boon for interested Mormons who did not want to attend Two weeks after the 1991 symposium the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Saints isChrist of Latter-da- y sued a statement urging Latter-daSaints to avoid symposiums at which sacred beliefs are 12-1- 4 y iSunstone represents a renewal of the kind of spirit Ifelt 36 years ago when Ijoined the has church Sums-ton- e been a Iffelinet Arizona Republic "You wouldn't think that they would be funny on radio because you can't see their work" said Mr Feu Iner "But it worked Many callers liked the cartoonists A number of people sent us checks" The checks did not cover the e $2000 it cost to broadcast but Mr Feulner said this will not deter the station from broadcasting Sunstone again next year Irene Bates came from her home in Pacific Palisades Calif to attend the symposium just like she has in past years "This year's symposium was just wonderful" said the British convert "It was such a mixture of humor being moved by BYU young people panelists Sterling McMurrin's conversation with Jack Newell and the session with the cartoonists which just lifted everyone's spirits "We need all that humor We need to laugh at ourselves now and again" said Ms Bates "Sunstone represents a renewal of the kind of spirit I felt 36 years ago when I joined the church" she said "Sunstone has been a lifeline" Sun-ston- IRENE RAMS Who attended 1993 symposium Sunstone Foundation is an in- dependent organization that promotes intellectual discussion of Mormon history culture and theology through its maga- zine and symposiums Sun- stone's principal symposium is the annual Salt Lake City event but it sponsors several regional symposiums each year in various parts of the United States Sunstone Foundation editor and publisher Elbert Eugene Peck said he has heard from lots of people who listened to sessions The station's most popular workshop? The one featuring three newspaper editorial cartoonists: Pat Bagley of The Salt Lake Tribune Calvin Grondahl of the Standard Examiner in Ogden and Steve Benson of The 1 I I 1 |
