Will NCU, Adventist Church condemn pastor’s remarks?

THE EDITOR, Sir: T

HAT JAMAICAN society has largely sunken into depravity in terms of public conduct, and what comes out of the Parliament, and from entertainers, is widely accepted;, but when the Church endorses decadence, civility is at its end.

On Monday of this week, Northern Caribbean University (NCU), which is operated by the Jamaica Conference of Seventhday Adventists, commenced a week of public meetings at its Kingston campus along Half-Way Tree Road. It went on fairly well, until Wednesday evening, as the main speaker, a young pastor, went into a rant against gays.

BUJU'S RETURN

“I hear that dem releasing Buju Banton in December, and I can’t wait for his return, because him have a song weh seh boom byebye ... yuh know I can’t say di words,” the pastor said, with loud applause from most of the people gathered at the venue. He might have well finished the filth, as he sounded more like a DJ in a dance hall.

The audience consisted of mainly young people who are seeking education, and no doubt, to contribute to restoring Jamaica to decency. With education, it is hoped that they will be able to relate better with each other, and, importantly, although we may disagree with the lifestyle of other people, we can give them respect, as the cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ellen G.White, and Jesus Christ Himself, would do to those who err from the straight path, as outlined in the Holy Scripture, but not to endorse Buju Banton’s violent stupidity.

The Church today is failing the society, and the young pastor who told the gathering of his legal training at Norman Manley Law School is a prime example of how those who, by virtue of their calling and education, should guide the minds of young people are, instead, conveniently oblivious to many of the ills corroding the communities. And they entertain with frivolity so that they can be popular.

Not too long ago, leaders from the Seventh-day Adventist Church publicly lynched another pastor for using a political platform to disclose his own political liking. What that pastor did at the time was outright disgraceful.

The leaders of the university and the church must let this pastor know that their standard of public conduct is not in keeping with his.