Devon Dick
Recently, I read a report on the launch of Fred Kennedy's historical novel, Daddy Sharpe, in The Gleaner, which seemed to marginalise Christianity. At the launch, held at Alhambra Inn, there were three perspectives on the book, namely, cultural, historical and theological.
The report mentioned the cultural and the historical but no mention of the theological. The theological viewpoint was given by Jermaine Taylor, who was inadvertently styled as 'Rev'. Perhaps if the reporter knew that he was a lawyer from the DPP's office he might have related even one line of what he said.
Religion played a significant role in the production of this book. Fred Kennedy is a Roman Catholic who was once a former principal of St George's College. He did not get the job of principal of Munro because of his denominational affiliation and then went to head St George's. He writes with sensitivity about Sam Sharpe's Christian faith. It is impossible to write about Sam Sharpe and the 1831 Baptist War without understanding the Christian orientation of Sharpe and his followers. But the news media by and large do not get it.
It is like speaking about the USA Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and ignoring the Christian faith of Rev Dr Martin Luther King, or speaking about Bob Marley's music and ignoring the motivation that came from his Rastafarian faith. It should not be done.
This marginalisation of Christianity is pervasive in the media. It is rather strange because so many persons in the newsroom are Christians but still there is a bias against Christianity.
Bias against teaching of Christianity
This bias against the teaching of Christianity is obvious in the media coverage of funerals. It is not unusual that the politicians and police comments are reported while ignoring the sermon, save and except when the preacher says something sensational, such as 'hang them'.
In addition, one would have thought that with so many organisations visiting churches to launch their activities, more prominence would be given to Christian teaching but based on what is covered in the media, it seems that the Christian teaching is marginalised and the church was merely providing a building and an audience for the institutions to pass on information.
Christianity is also marginalised in Jamaican scholarship. In the 2004 edition of my book, Rebellion to Riot, I chided Sherlock and Bennett's 'The Story of the Jamaican people' (1998) for mentioning the work of Rastafarians, poets, scholars, artistes as persons 'dedicated to building a better Jamaica', but did not mention the Church which has been active in Jamaica since 1494, and if my book is to be believed, the Church would arguably be the leading group in nation building from the nineteenth century until 1999.
A UWI syllabus compiled by Cecil Gutzmore for the course 'Caribbean Civilisation' under the heading 'Ideas, Ideologies and Theologies', recommends some readings on Santeria, 'The woman in Rastafari', 'Spiritual Baptist and Shango', but nothing on Christianity in Jamaica. This is so sad because it is difficult to understand Caribbean civilisations and Jamaican development without wrestling with Christianity.
And the worst part is that the institutionalised church is also marginalising Christianity. I notice that at the beginning of the year there was a large prayer meeting organised by Bishop Delford Davis at the National Arena. When LOVE TV, a religious station, was reporting on the event the only persons in the newscast were the prime minister and opposition leader.
The heritage of this nation is Christian, and at least three of our National Heroes were motivated to create a better Jamaica as a result of the outworking of their Christian faith.
Rev Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
