Practise what is preached!

Published: Monday | May 17, 2010 | The Gleaner

by Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter

Local theological minds believe Jamaica is not a Christian country, just a country with Christians living in it, even with Jamaica tagged as having the most churches per square mile in the world.

At least one theologian thinks Jamaicans need to practise what is preached by the Church for the island to be considered a Christian nation.

David Pearson, head of the department of biblical and theological studies at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, espoused the view that Jamaica is a Christian country in theory, not in practice.

Pearson told our news team that about 60 per cent of the 2.7 million people making up the populace claim strong allegiance to the church, which should mean that they are more than just professing Christians.

"The sheer numbers should mean that we are a Christian country, but we kind of see a disconnect from Christian teaching in daily living which would lead one to question whether we are a Christian country," Pearson opined.

He added: "We are more given to narcissism, love of self. The essence of Christianity is selflessness ... in many areas we see an overwhelming move towards selfishness."

Encounter with Christ

Dr. Newton Cleghorne is the Dean of the School of Religion and Theology, Professor of Religion at Northern Caribbean University, cautioned against labelling Jamaica or any other country as Christian. He said salvation is a personal thing. "I think it is the person who is a Christian," Yorke said. He explained further that "Christianity presupposes an encounter with the risen Christ.

"And, therefore, by its very nature Christianity focuses on the person who is invited to voluntarily submit to the claims of the risen Christ on his or her life."

Yorke said while "Jamaica is full of Christians of various denominational traditions", it remains a religiously pluralistic society. He also argued that there are dangers associated with labelling the island a Christian nation. "It might be unwise to label the country so in that it might reflect a lack of sensitivity to and even tolerance of other religious traditions that have an equal claim to the country," he said.

A jocular Yorke also pointed out that bars were in proximity to most churches across the island which would suggest that "Jamaica is a country of Christian drunks".

Rev Courtney Stewart, general secretary of the Bible Society of the West Indies, thinks Jamaica is a country with a Christian orientation; seeing that some functions are started with prayer and the fact that the national anthem is a prayer. But, "the truth of Christian commitment has been long lost on us as a people".

So, if Jamaica is not a Christian country then what is it? "We are a nation struggling to find a moral compass," Stewart surmised.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com