We have a serious problem with the relationship between the church (used here as shorthand for a select group of religious leaders speaking on behalf of Christian churches) and the State.
Neil Ellis, a known supporter of the Progressive Liberal Party, arrived after a long silence - during which people died and were murdered, suffered through unemployment and could not carry out death rituals as they would have liked - with a vengeance on Sunday to deliver a sermon that seemed to be more of a lambasting or conviction of the Prime Minister than a useful, actionable message for the congregation. Even in referring to the video many of us watched, at least in part, “sermon” is used as a pejorative because it came across as a rant.
In the same week, Bahamas Christian Council made a statement on the recommendation to formally develop a marijuana and hemp industry. It gives no evidence that the body has even a rudimentary understanding of hemp, THC or CBD. The statement says: “The church is all too familiar with the devastating effects the sale, distribution and consumption of marijuana has had and continues to have on individuals most especially our young men and women.” It goes on to credit the use of marijuana for the destruction of homes and human lives, anti-social behaviour of students and missed days of school.
Has the Bahamas Christian Council ever spoken out about the negative effects of alcohol, violence, misogyny, racism, or capitalism on families, homes or students? Is it encouraging climate adaptation and mitigation, or appropriate disaster management plans, particularly after Hurricane Dorian results in mass death and destruction? Has it addressed the persisting issue of gender-based violence that has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed upon us and evidenced by the story after story including the murder of Alicia Sawyer and her daughter?
It is not responding to issues on which we have both reliable data and stories and that are affecting the people of The Bahamas, but instead released a statement making various claims with no substantive information to back any of it.
Dave Burrows, of Bahamas Faith Ministries, has taken a similar position on marijuana. Not only is he against the legalisation of marijuana, but agrees with president of the Bahamas Christian Council Delton Fernander that the issue should go to referendum. It is as though they are not paying attention at all. First, we need to stop using the word “referendum” so loosely and make a distinction between exercises that serve as opinion polls and are non-binding and constitutional referenda. We also need to understand our (very recent) history and, in that light, the usefulness of lower-cost data collection options.
The gambling opinion poll - mistaken for a binding referendum - was held in part to prove to the church that the Bahamian people wanted the legislative change. The government wanted to make the people the scapegoat and try to maintain its relationship with its disciples - religious leaders who would influence congregations and build voting blocks from their pulpits. The government was surprised by the result of that opinion poll and went against it - a waste of $5m and the time and trust of the electorate.
When a true referendum came in 2016, many refused to participate because the gambling opinion poll - then called a referendum - did not hold up. Why would an opinion poll on the issue of marijuana be a good use of our resources?
Watch the framing
The language used by the church is disturbing. It frequently presents itself as a small, weak, oppressed body, all while using its power to dominate. Burrows said, “I don’t think some things should be imposed on The Bahamas that The Bahamas is not in agreement with.”
The legalisation of marijuana would not be an imposition on anyone. No one is going to be forced to enter the industry or consume the products.
If we really get down to it, the criminalisation of marijuana is an imposition. Marijuana is for some a part of spiritual and religious practices. It has medicinal properties. It can be recreational and it has other uses. It is important to the Rastafarian community which has the right, under the constitution, to practice its religion.
Burrows also commented on the rights of LGBTQ+ people to civil unions, a conversation sparked by historic remarks by Pope Francis in a new documentary that premiered at the Rome Film Festival last week. The Pope said: “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way [LGBTQ+ people] are legally covered.”
Burrows repsonse: “I, personally, do not endorse or subscribe to such relationships being afforded the same recognition and rights as normal marriage relationships.”
He added: “To my understanding, existing laws allow for persons to have legal rights and privileges as citizens that are sufficient to peacefully exist regardless of their background, persuasion or orientation and there is no need for new or special rights to be afforded.”
This needs to be addressed more fully than this space will allow this week, but it is important to note key words “personally” and “to my understanding”. It is also important to see what is being prioritised - the comfort and (lack of) understanding of an individual obviously influenced by a religious belief over the experiences and needs of a marginalised group of people who could cause the institution of marriage no harm.
We need to remember that while some marriages are religious, marriages are legal. They afford the people in them a set of rights that extend beyond “permission” from certain authorities to live together, but are also economic. The concept of “normal marriage” is an interesting one, especially in a place where marital rape has yet to be criminalised. Protect young people (who can access it anyway) from marijuana, but allow people to rape their spouses?
I mention these examples because they are all recent. They occurred within the last week. Each of them demonstrates one of the main limitations of the church in its insertion into social and political issues - it is incapable of seeing beyond its own interpretation of religious text and doctrine and refusal to recognise the rights of citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs. The church concerns itself, in these situations, with building, maintaining and wielding power with an impact that extends far beyond its consenting community of congregants. It must also be noted that it congregants allow it to get away with this, failing to challenge its ideas of its own power or call it to the principles more universally recognised and widely applicable such as love and peace.
The media is also complicit, often seeking comments from people we can all guess would be on the side of oppression and against recognition of the freedoms we are afforded the constitution.
It is not unusual for religious leaders to use their pulpits to address political issues and influence the behaviour - particularly the voting behaviour - of the membership. It is so common and, in many cases, expected, that we are faced with a troubling reality. Politicians are not interested in meeting the needs of individuals, least of all those of us who are suffering. They prioritise the church, recognising religious leaders as some of the most powerful influencers in the country with congregations that are also constituencies. Together, the church forms a large constituency and religious leaders are able to leverage control of their congregations for political power. They have created an environment in which legislators approach them with bowed head on bended knees, seeking permission to do their jobs.
Is anybody consulted more than the church? Has anybody blocked progress more than the church? Is there any body more inappropriately intertwined with the State and its affairs than the church? A number of men are repeatedly given too much control over the trajectory of the country because politicians are more concerned about being re-elected - which seems to require being in the good graces of the church - than doing what is best for the country.
Freedom of religion, but governed by the Christian God anyway?
One of the crutches that the church uses often is the repeated proclamation that The Bahamas is “a Christian nation”. This phrase has been repeated so many times over such a long period that it is accepted as true.
It is said that it is in the constitution when, in fact, Christianity is referenced in the preamble to the Constitution, before Chapter One which defines the State and the constitution itself.
Even there, it does not call The Bahamas a Christian nation. It says: “the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity, and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law.”
It also refers to The Bahamas as “a Free and Democratic Sovereign Nation founded on Spiritual Values”.
This preamble speaks to respect for Christian values and founding on spiritual values. It does not commit the country or its people to Christianity, and it cannot. On the contrary, Article 22 affirms “freedom of thought and of religion” as well as freedom to change religion.
The Bahamas is not a Christian nation. It is a nation, like many others, in which many people profess Christianity. It does not mean that we are all to be legally bound to the faith. It should follow that laws and policies are not based on Christianity and that religious leaders of the Christian church are not the deciding factor in decision-making processes that impact us all. They are more concerned with their own interpretations of religious text and control of their congregant than they are with the human rights of all people.
The government should be concerned about the human rights of all people. The elected and appointed officials that make up the decision-makers in the government, however, are more concerned about maintaining their positions than protecting and expanding the human rights of all people. For that reason, they subject themselves and, by extension, the entire country to the beliefs and demands of the church.
This has been happening for decades, and to our detriment. Right-thinking Christians, activists, members of the press, politicians and citizens need to recognise what is happening as anti-democratic, an abuse of power and deserving of critique and terminable. This does not have to continue, but it requires us - all of us - to do something about it.
Comments
joeblow 4 years, 1 month ago
Why do we allow a group of persons who are attracted to the same sex to change common sense institutions of marriage, family and biological sex which have existed from the dawn of time? Why do we tolerate them calling those who disagree with their views intolerant, bigots, homophobes or worse? Why do we allow choice to be called an immutable characteristic? One can always ask why!
Bobsyeruncle 4 years, 1 month ago
Why do we allow a corrupt, homophobic institution full of self-righteous, self-appointed babbling preachers (aka bigots) to brainwash us into believing that you have to go through them, if you want to find a mythical man (isn't it funny how it's always a man?), and that he is watching us every second of the day, just waiting for us to commit a sin (such as being attracted to the same sex) so he can dispense lightning justice.
joeblow 4 years, 1 month ago
... you just had to use teh 'H' word right Bob! Your views of biblical Christianity, the historical Jesus and the message He taught (both salvation and judgment) are medieval and grossly distorted!
Remember, a society has to get its values of right and wrong from somewhere, I have found that if those values originate from an individuals personal views of right and wrong they will always embrace self promoting, pleasure seeking and destructive values! Hence the high rates of addiction, depression and mental illness in countries with liberal humanistic values.
DWW 4 years, 1 month ago
There is research on the books which suggests that those who are most homophobic often have strong repressed homosexual tendencies. Read some of the psychological literature. Freud, despite all the flaws is a good starting point.
JonathanKnowles234 4 years, 1 month ago
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FrustratedBusinessman 4 years, 1 month ago
I always marvel at how quick the rabid anti-religious types come out of the closet anytime the BCC makes a public statement, you would think that we are living in the Christian equivalent of the Islamic Republic of Iran or Saudi Arabia with how quick they are to spew vitriol towards all things religious. Please wake up people, no religious institution has any say in legislating over your lives in this country. No church is forcing you to live your life a certain type of way.
When it comes to same-sex unions, please take a good look at how corrupt and degenerate the United States currently has become to the point where pedophilia has started to become openly pushed, in addition to extending this "transgender" demented foolishness to young people. It always starts off as wanting to be accepted, and then it is same sex unions, and then marriage, and then it is having men in dresses share the same bathroom with women, and then it is injecting your kids with hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers while mutilating themselves through surgery to only die a horrific death by suicide when they become adults in most cases. Please wake up and see that the degeneracy will never end, it is best not to give into it in the first place. They are already trying to normalize pedophilia with films such as Cuties and using innocent-sounding terms such as MAP (minor-attracted person), and they will push bestiality and necrophilia as the next items up for acceptance when they are finished. We have enough problems as it is with our Bahamian society, we do not need to import the worst of America over here to compound our issues.
Bobsyeruncle 4 years, 1 month ago
I don't think all of the US is like you say it is. Some states embrace same sex marriage while others don't. Certainly there are many other countries (especially in Europe) which offer a counterpoint to your skewed belief. These are typically countries that don't have a strong religious culture so transgenderism and same sex marriages etc. 'fit in' with the normal culture. If you think religion is guilt free, why are there so many proven cases of sexual abuse/molestation by male clergy against young boys. And, I don't even want to bring up the topic of FGM on religious grounds.
FrustratedBusinessman 4 years, 1 month ago
Did I ever imply that religion is guilt free? The Church is comprised of sinful humans, of course there are going to be waywards that end up giving it a bad name. I would encourage you to compare the rates of reported abuse in various churches, and then compare it to the general public. You will realize how easy it is to fall for a certain agenda that the media pushes. You only hear about it in certain places and not the others...
When it comes to FGM, I do not know a single church in the Bahamas that condones the practice. You can correct me if I am wrong, I have not canvassed every church in the country. Some church in the backwaters of Africa may support the practice, but I highly doubt that it would be condoned here. If a church does support it, shame on them. No where in the Bible, or in any Church teaching, have I ever seen/know of support for the practice.
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020/au…
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-town…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl…
I can post a million links here if I wanted to. Same sex marriage was legalized on the federal level by the Supreme Court in 2015, and the pace of the descent into this filth has only accelerated since then. You are 100% right that Europe is divided East vs. West when it comes to the LGBT movement, and I support nations such as Poland, Hungary, and Russia 100% when it comes to protecting their nations from this vile disease. It wasn't enough for these people to keep their perversions private, they had to force it on the children as well.
Fooling around with the LGBT movement is like opening Pandora's box; once you open it, there is no putting it all back in. We would be very wise to keep that box closed.
Chucky 4 years, 1 month ago
The Catholic Church has by far the highest incidence of rape and child abuse of any organization in this world.
And when it’s leader endorsed a form of “legal union” for gays lesbians etc, the world responded as though it just heard from a moral authority!
The same leader ( the pope) is the one who does the most to hide and protect the worlds most prolific child abusers in his own organization.
It’s abundantly clear that the path forward does not include contemplation of anything or anyone religious!
FrustratedBusinessman 4 years, 1 month ago
Based on what data is able to be collected, it appears the pedophilia is a much more rampant issue in the various Protestant denominations. The educational system also has a problem with it as well, yet we only hear about one organization in particular constantly in the media spotlight. I will put two links below, the research study is a lengthy read (I don't blame you if you skip through it)
https://stopabusecampaign.org/2018/01/0…
https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/p…
For the record, I don't support the hiding or covering up of any abuse what goes on. When it is discovered, it needs to be quickly dealt with and the offender made an example of. At the same time, I think we should keep things in perspective about the scale of the issue. It is a problem for many organizations, yet the media only seems to cover it in the Catholic Church.
It is important to note that the Pope was not speaking ex-cathedra, or on behalf of the Church, when he made that statement. That was his own personal opinion, which he is entitled to have. Whether that was a wise idea or not, we will see. It certainly has created a lot of confusion among the faithful.
I do not think that you will ever be able to create an irreligious society, the concept of God is as old as humanity itself. All the ancient Greek, Roman, Phoenician, Egyptian, etc. societies all had a concept of a god(s) to worship, belief in a higher power is the default natural state of humanity. Even in Europe, the dethroning of Christianity by secularism has only resulting in the growth of Islam on the continent. Someone will always fill the power vacuum.
Bobsyeruncle 4 years, 1 month ago
No where in the Bible, or in any Church teaching, have I ever seen/know of support for the practice.
I never said it was a Christian practice. I said 'religion' There are other religions besides Christianity, you know,
Oh, and homosexuality is not a disease, you can't catch it from someone. You've been listening to too many of those self-righteous homophobes in dresses again
FrustratedBusinessman 4 years, 1 month ago
Given that we are in the Bahamas, the predominant faith is Christianity (of various denominations). There are other faiths here, but given the context, I think that it would be safe to assume Christianity should be the focal point of discussion.
When I referred to disease, I meant the LGBT movement. It is a cancer that destroys the fabric of society. If we want to be technical, homosexuality was at one point listed as a mental illness by the DSM as well (removed for political reasons).
Lol. I do not know a single person that is afraid of a homosexual, I only wish that they keep whatever they do in private to themselves. This is the thing that the LGBT zombies do not get, no one really cares what you do in the privacy of your own home; however, there is a line drawn when it comes to pushing your degeneracy on everyone else. If walking around in a dress is your fancy, go ahead, but do not expect me to play along with your delusion and then try to charge me with "hate speech" for calling a spade a spade and not wanting my children to be a part of your lifestyle.
The LGBT drones need to understand that they would have life a whole lot easier if they just kept their mouths shut, nobody really cares whether you are gay, bi, etc. It is when they start pushing their lifestyles and delusions onto everyone else, and charging everyone who voices opposition to your lifestyle with crimes, that people start to get pissed off. Most of them have a massive persecution complex, and end up creating issues for themselves.
JonathanKnowles234 4 years, 1 month ago
What religion supports FGM though? The only one I can think you attributing it to is Islam, since most FGMs occur in Islamic countries. But even still, that's a tribal practice as Islam doesn't require it and numerous fatwahs have been issued against it. So no major world religion supports it. In fact, rates of FGM have been down since after colonialism, so it would be safe to say that the growth of Christianity and Islam in Africa has actually helped to extinguish the practice. And how can the West oppose FGM and circumcision, especially when voluntarily, but support men getting their penises bludgeoned in the name of feeling like a woman?
Porcupine 4 years, 1 month ago
Ms. Wallace,
I more than appreciate your viewpoints. You are obviously a compassionate thinker. My personal sentiments are, having lived in and spent time in a number of different countries, that we are about as intellectually backwards as they come. The vast majority of the pastors are morons, to put it charitably. The lack of desire to learn and understand is more than evident in most every aspect of our national lives. From the ranking of our Covid response, to our academic achievements as a country, to the failings of nearly every Bahamian enterprise, to the prominence of idiots leading the so-called church, to the mathematical realities that we are basically bankrupt as a country. You don't have to have wisdom to see the writing on the wall. It is more than apparent that we have failed in most ways as a society. Don't look at the US as the source of all our problems. We have had enough time for our own people to "lead" whereby the fact that we have failed as a society can be laid squarely at our own feet. The Tribune comment pages alone illustrate the level of racism, sexism, corruption and mendacity which prevails. Ms. Wallace, you will be a voice in the wind for the rest of your life. Your viewpoints represent what Christ would say to his fellow world travelers. We are not a Christian country. We are a group of people who don't care to know or to care. The statistics on most every available metric on Bahamian society all point to failure. Worse, we remain proud and don't seem to give a shit. I can think of no worse combination.
Chucky 4 years, 1 month ago
You are so correct that we are intellectually backwards.
That is what it is to be religious, to base thoughts and reason solely on an outdated book of nonsense and block out any and all modern thought and empirical evidence.
Looking through the eyes of religion is the same as closing your eyes.
BahamaPundit 4 years, 1 month ago
If we simply focussed on things that actually affect our democracy like a Freedom of Information Act and Campaign Finance Reform, all the other smoke and mirror stuff they try to distract us with could get sorted out. Why can't the Press relentlessly call for a Freedom of Information Act every single day a paper is published until it passes?
Chucky 4 years, 1 month ago
It’s a simple answer. Freedom of information would be a tool against corruption/ crony capitalism etc!
The press is owned by the ruling class. What is good for a corrupt politician is also good for the elite ruling class.
The system is genius, and the people fools.
It’s a like obtaining a gold star for a government to be deemed competent incompetent, rather than corrupt.
Truth is, with a system so perfectly run for the ruling class, there is no possible way they can be incompetent when it comes to anything else, they just choose to hide behind incompetent appearance, to mask there systemic corruption
benniesun 4 years, 1 month ago
In order to push their agenda, persons may appear to be caring when if fact they have mastered the art of dissembling. Societal violence is rooted in our indoctrination. In order to change violent behavior our indoctrination must change by way of restrictions to access harmful television, movies, books, internet content, etc... Since we live in a degenerate permissive society that will not happen meaning violence and degenerate behaviors will never be rooted out.
JokeyJack 4 years, 1 month ago
Bahamians PAY to have the church run their lives. They go every Sat/Sun and make a payment. If they did the same at BPL, no light would get cut off. In the Bahamas, the President of the Christian Council is the de-facto Prime Minister, and we all know it.
The majority want it to be this way - just like the Mullahs in Iran - so there is no problem here. The people are getting exactly what they want. That is democracy in action.
DWW 4 years, 1 month ago
Matthew 7:15
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