Ian Boyne, ContributorIT IS not only Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller who should gauge carefully the negative reactions and cautions about her promotion of Christianity. The church had better take careful notes, too.
There was a time when a Jamaican Prime Minister's announcement about putting a pastor on every state board and the invoking of the name of God would attract unanimous public applause. Not anymore. What has changed in Jamaica? First, media have had a major negative impact on the image of the church. There were always rascals, hypocrites and the corrupt in the church but they were traditionally outside the media's glare. People heard whispers, but the confirmed immorality and abuse which the media have documented was not the order of the day.
The sex scandals in the Roman Catholic and other churches, the not infrequent local headlines about sexual and other transgressions in the church and the impact of global media have significantly affected people's perceptions of the church. Innocence has been lost.
Besides, scepticism has grown about the exclusivist claims of Christianity as large numbers of Jamaicans now have access to channels such as A and E, Discovery, the Learning Channel and CNN which have carried many documentaries casting doubt on the Bible. Just this weekend information was highlighted on the Gospel of Judas, a Gospel which did not make its way into our canonised sacred scripture, the Bible.
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH
Besides, as individualism, consumerism and general scepticism over institutions of authority have grown, so have they expanded doubt about the role of the church in modern society. The focus on democracy, individual rights and the view that each person has the right to determine his own destiny and sense of right and wrong whittled down the influence of the church.
Besides, the church itself has been badly affected by consumerist, 'worldly' values and as church members have been seduced by the attractions of materialism and careerism, they have been less impressive in their lifestyle. In short, the salt has really lost its savour. The radicalism of Christianity has been diluted. There is little concept of radical discipleship anymore; little counter-cultural force in Christianity. Western capitalist notions of success and prosperity have held large sections of the church in captivity. A credibility deficit is the result.
BORN-AGAIN FLAVOUR
It is the best of times and the worst of times for the church in Jamaica. It is the best of times for never has a Prime Minister been as favouring to the church as has been our present Prime Minister. Never has a Prime Minister been so open about her own faith in God and never has any been so openly Fundamentalist, with a strong born-again flavour. None has ever attended church as regularly.
All previous Prime Ministers have been associated with churches of the upper and middle classes. Portia Simpson Miller's religious bent is distinctly of a Pentecostal, rootsy type; the type which is favoured by the mass of the Jamaican people.
Yet, she is clearly respectful of facilitating to the mainline churches. So, all the churches have a major opportunity to influence the public square. But the Jamaican church has to be more politically sophisticated than it is. It has nothing of the type of organisational acumen or even consciousness of the American evangelical and conservative Christian movement. The nearest they came to it with great effectiveness was recently with the Charter of Rights when the Christian Lawyers Fellowship and other Christian leaders organised to suppress the rights of gays to their own privacy. They were very effective in getting the Government to draw brakes and consider them. If the church is to walk safely through the door opened to her by the Prime Minister, they will have to show some of that gutsy force and organisational skills which the recent anti-gay rights activist Christians showed.
PM'S DEFENCE
Despite the fact that people like Al Miller, Peter Morgan, Peter Garth and others have been fervid about having a strong national church witness and presence in the nation, not one of them rushed to the defence of the Prime Minister when she was coming under the sustained assault of the secularists who control the media and who influence the national agenda. No ads were taken out defending the appointment of pastors to state boards; no pastor took to the air to explain texts from Daniel and Romans showing that the PM's statement about her appointment from God is Biblically defensible from a conservative reading of scripture and is common belief among Christians.
The Christians were not on the talk shows and did not seek opportunities to speak on the Breakfast Club, Beyond the Headiness, Nationwide, Independent talk, Smile Jamaica, CVM at Sunrise, Perkins on Line Impact, Religious Hardtalk etc. Here it is that the church had been quietly praying and screaming at national conventions about increasing the influence of the church nationally, and an opportunity was flung open before them and not one major voice, or even the minor ones, were available to deflect the echo of the secularists and the sceptics who are in a culture war with the church. Portia Simpson Miller was left all by herself to be defended by agnostics like Anthony Abrahams and non-church-goers like Dawn Ritch.
This would never be the case in the United States. The church would have rallied itself in defence of this wide open door for increased witness. The Jamaican church is simply not ready when it comes to effective political or strategic action. It is good for prayer and fasting sessions, crusades, conventions and 'bawl outs', but does not know how to penetrate mainstream media and get its point of view across. It does not even know how to use the letters sections of newspapers effectively!
PUBLIC DEFENDERS
If the Prime Minister did not truly believe her public pronouncements and was just posturing, she would be wise to choose issues which can at least find some public defenders, rather than aligning herself with causes which can find no champions.
But, quite apart from political strategy, the church needs to do some serious overhauling. What better time for assessment than at this time of Easter celebrated by Christians as a time of serious reflection on the mission of Christ?
How can Christians in Jamaica be the salt of the earth? How are Christian values really different from the acquisitive, atomistic and hedonistic values of secular society? How can Christians challenge the society philosophically? What about the quality of the moral lives of Jamaican Christians? Are Christians here really different from 'the sinners?' Have they really resisted 'Babylon' and its false values?
ODIOUS, REPREHENSIBLE
There are various segments of society, including the gay community, which find Christianity particularly odious and reprehensible. These groups, especially the gays, are becoming more vocal. They resent Christianity. In Jamaica they can't identify themselves clearly, but their influence in media and over the national discussion agenda is clear. This must not scare Christians, but prepare them. Christians must take an intellectual as well as respectful approach to challenging competing ideologies and worldviews.
Christians must not find themselves on the side of those suppressing human rights and discriminating against people just because of their sexual orientation.
Christians must distance themselves from those hypocrites ready to kill gays but accommodating of fornicators and adulterers. In Christian theology, adultery and fornication are in the same category of sin as homosexuality. Singling one out for criminalisation and discrimination is unbiblical.
The challenge to the church in Jamaica is to be credible, consistent and critical. It is a challenge the church must meet if it is to harness the unique opportunity which has been thrust upon it by the accession to office of Portia Simpson Miller.
Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. Email him at ianboyne1@yahoo.com
