The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Very early in his career, old King Saul of the Bible, the first King of Israel, disobeyed God, giving flippant excuses and foolish rationale.

For this disobedience, he was told the sentence was that the kingdom would be rent from him and given to his neighbour, who was better than him.

After this grave disobedience, nothing could reverse Saul’s downward path to a cataclysmic end.

Notwithstanding the fact that he repented, worshipped and even prophesied several times afterwards, it was all over for him.

Like King Saul of old, Perry Christie, when he legalised gambling, carried out a grave and wilful act of disobedience against the sovereign power of the Bahamian people who instructed him by referendum NOT to legalise gambling.

Instead of obeying the “voice of the people”, which, according to one maxim, is the “voice of God”, Christie sucked his teeth in arrogant, disrespectful and defiant disobedience, and legalised the vice anyhow.

Like old King Saul, Perry Christie, too, had a flippant excuse for his disobedience, namely, that a majority of registered voters did not participate. Further, the foolish and wicked rationale for his disobedience was that the referendum was “non-binding” anyhow.

Christie’s batting average, so to speak, plummeted immediately after he legalised gambling, as a large majority of persons who voted against gambling, decided then and there, that they would punish him for this at the next General Election.

The critical mass of discontent against Christie was then reached shortly after when the majority of voters were permanently set against him.

This was made perfectly clear last year, when Christie brought a second referendum, which was roundly defeated by the Bahamian majority which, by that time, was decidedly and bitterly opposed to him.

Many of these persons who have decided to punish Christie for his disobedience in the gambling legalisation, may actually praise him for National Health Insurance, for Urban Renewal, for BAMSI, for the opening of Baha Mar, for the purchase of Defence Force vessels, for promotions here, there and everywhere, and whatever other accomplishment he may wish to add to the list.

But none of these accolades and achievements can commute the sentence for disobedience, which is that the reins of Government must be taken away from Christie and given to his neighbour who is better than him.

Now, the day of judgment is set for May 10, and since making his Freudian slip, that “God can’t stop me now”, at a rally in Exuma, Christie is going around the country lambasting people for questioning his faith in God.

But the issue in this election campaign is not Christie’s faith in God, but rather, the people’s faith in Christie.

Like old King Saul of the Bible, Christie can repent, worship and prophesy all he wants; he can call up Pindling until he is hoarse; he can read all the verses in Isaiah, Ephesians, Psalms and all the books of the Bible for that matter; he can put on as much armour as he wants; he can talk as endlessly and as passionately as he wants about his stroke and God’s grace in granting him full recovery; but the full sentence for his disobedience shall be carried out: The Government shall be rent from him and given to his neighbour, who is better than he is.

J NEWBOLD

Nassau,

May 4, 2017.