The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The first thing to understand is a lot of religious leaders whilst being competent in theological matters are not necessarily well educated in other fields. Good orators, yes, and like magicians able to hold an audience’s attention but not intellectual powerhouses. There have been two issues in the last few days which highlight this.

The Christian Council’s stance on marijuana. Their stance is based on traditional beliefs it has no basis whatsoever on the facts/science of marijuana.

Tobacco consumption shortens people’s lives by on average ten years. The ingredients inside cigarettes contain carcinogens that are not only highly addictive they are highly poisonous to the human body.

Every year throughout the world eight million people die from tobacco use.

Last year, nobody died worldwide from marijuana use. Marijuana is prescribed by medical doctors throughout the world. Marijuana has many medicinal qualities tobacco has none.

Please, Christian Council direct your ire at the legal use of this highly destructive dangerous drug tobacco. Think outside the box?

We know COVID is highly contagious and deadly to particularly older people, it spreads very rapidly in enclosed spaces such as churches.

We have as our PM a medical doctor. I think it’s fair to say Dr Minnis, in gambling terms, has been dealt the worst hand imaginable – Hurricane Dorian followed by COVID.

Personally, I would not take his job for “all the tea in China”. He is in a no win situation. He has somehow to balance the economy whilst containing this plague of COVID and trying to keep us citizens happy. Yes, I agree, easy job.

Enter Bishop Ellis’ comments ref Minnis, he offered no constructive ideas or solutions to handling the pandemic just blanket criticism, all in all a non-entity of a sermon.

I am reasonably confident he does not understand the science of the virus as Minnis clearly does being a doctor.

He then casts doubt on whether Minnis is a Christian, what relevance does this have?

The virus will happily spread as eagerly in a church as a food store it knows no boundaries.

What is Ellis’s real motivation - is it a party political speech? Is he worried restraints on gatherings will reduce his congregation size and therefore tithes?

This is a guy with an expensive lifestyle, large house, private jet, he needs a continuous steady supply of money.

I have great empathy for Dr Minnis in the words of all the good bishops he has the “job from hell”.

THE REALIST

Nassau,

October 27, 2020.