Letter of the Day | Church being forced to confront scrutiny
Published:Wednesday | November 3, 2021 | 12:07 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
The past week has seen the Church come in for unusual open scrutiny, and the once-sacrilegious idea of calling the Church to books was set aside. The idea of the long- outstanding need for the regulation of religious operations found unabashed voice, and could no longer be muted by the fear of fire and brimstone. The unattached, some of which serve only to prop-up the egos of single personalities, are now being seen as the pathways to crookedness, for which they are.
The Church has certainly been damaged by these events and Christendom has found itself in a position of accepting that it is not superior to other religions. Undoubtedly, its adherents have on many occasions been blindfolded in ignorance, believing warped and manipulated theories. Sadly, females have been the unparalleled victims of the most egregious scams perpetuated through religion.
Notwithstanding, Christendom represents significant good, and it will prevail. Its adherence must, however, understand that all are subject to the governance of the land, and religion will not be exempt from the established statutes governing all citizens. Too often, those of us as adherents to Christendom believe we can just chuck to the entire nation; churches breach the Noise Abatement Act for no good reason, and consider it blasphemous to be asked to observe the law. We witness crimes and breaches committed by leaders in the Church, and instead of standing up for ethics and principles, we bash victims and coalesce around religious conmen, and often attempt to elicit fear by invoking the “blood of Jesus.”
Jamaica has not been able to maintain economic development initiatives, to an enormous extent because the two political institutions have preserved their slavish reliance on the clannish nature of governance. A critical mass of our people is aligned to the two political parties first, and are Jamaicans later. Those of us in the middle have incorrectly concluded that there is nothing for which to vote, so we sit on the sidelines and allow the 33 per cent, who are invested in the two cults, to share up the country among their interests.
The hurt, pain and fright in Montego Bay should be a moment of reckoning, showing that our nation cannot continue on this slippery slope. If we do not take stock, we are headed towards an abyss. It is time to rewrite the script, if we are not to become a failed state, with a few First-World-styled enclaves that are often the manifestation of unexplained opulence or modern-day labour oppression.
MARK HYLTON