The Editor, Sir:

Let me attempt to lighten the darkness a bit in response to the Letter of the Day on Thursday, June 19, by Joan Davis in which she scoffs at the idea of a Patois Bible, thinking that it is a waste of good money that could be spent much better in other areas considering that English is our basic language.

In every society, there is no one organisation that can be all things to all men. That is the way God created the universe with varying colours, animals, weather patterns and people, with each having its unique contribution to the balance of nature. This helps to eliminate boredom, and instead a feeling of renewed energy and freshness occurs each morning one rises and views His creation.

The suggestions stated, on which $65million could be better spent in moulding a better society, are all good, but only cater to the natural man. In fact, there are several organisations, including the Church, that have been performing those functions from time im-memorial.

Government, non-governmental, para-church, service clubs and other societal groups have taken on the mandate to perform these functions.

Spiritual awareness

There is another aspect of mankind which is most important and which directs social behaviour and that is spiritual awareness.

The Church, regardless of some of its 'crasses' people, is mandated to carry out this performance of ministering to the spiritual needs of humans by any means possible.

Therefore, the validity of publishing the Bible in a language that is understood by the masses of a given society, in this case, Jamaica and its diaspora.

For your information also, Ms Davis, the King James version of the Bible is not written in today's standard English, and even those who have been through Bible seminaries sometimes have great difficulties understanding its interpretations, let alone the average man pon di corna.

All the other suggestions made by Ms Davis, have been tried and are still being tried with few successes. Therefore, if a bway or gal pon di corna can be transformed from a criminal to a saint by one passage of scripture read or heard and fully understood in his own street language, dat deh $65million woulda mek back inna di life of one smaddy, trus mi.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL DUNN

micberd@yahoo.com

Via Go-Jamaica