Positive statements from Religious Leaders

A case in point is the energy and time we are spending on
homosexuality . . . . Regrettably, when the problem is discussed, it is
not to promote justice for people, but rather to victimize, oppress,
ridicule and discriminate against persons whose lifestyles differ from
others and this is contrary to the gospel message of inclusion of all
people in God’s Kingdom. – Canon Wayne Isaacs, September 22, 2013.

Several years ago, popular Christian calypsonian Ronnie Clarke penned a tune entitled TC, or Those Christians,
which launched a scathing attack on people he argued professed
Christianity but were not “true Christians”. Ronnie has always been the
type of Christian who could be characterized as “fundamentalist” and
such people believe they can best serve the Lord by arguing for a
literal interpretation of the Holy Bible.

My challenge with such thinking is well known. I believe that such
thinking sacrifices the intellectual constituent that should be central
to religious (or indeed any) expression. I have consistently argued that
“fundamentalists” and “literalists” seemed locked into an understanding
of the role of religion that should have been made redundant by the
teachings of Jesus Christ from the New Testament
(properly contextualized). Although not a Christian myself, I do think
that there is considerably greater value to the “progressive” school of
Christianity than the “literalist” school which has little relevance in
an era when we have the capacity to think independently.

Barbados always seems to be such a lonely place for progressive
thinkers and as such, two sets of recent remarks by religious leaders
provide hope that local and international Christianity might finally be
moving towards modernity and narrowly escaping irrelevance. The first of
these statements came from no less a person that the leader of the
worldwide Christian community, Pope Francis, who has already
distinguished himself as a “people’s pope” – which is ironically
uncharacteristic of any previous pontiff.

In a recent interview, he uttered the words reproduced above which
essentially represent a radical departure from established Catholic
teaching. His comments were made in an interview that was wide-ranging
and spoke to many controversial issues but across all of these, there
was one central theme that seems to be an enlightened reflection of the
mission of Jesus Christ, which was to promote love and not hate.

Leading local cleric Canon Wayne Isaacs made similar statements that
are also quoted. Both comments speak to the issue of homosexuality.
However, both leaders’ comments can be applied to wider social issues.

In the case of Canon Isaacs, it was fortuitous that he elaborated on
the broader social implications of this perspective. He suggested that
while “our” community appears to be more concerned about whether or not
we have been divorced or had a child out of wedlock, God is more likely
to ask us questions that “relate to issues of human need, justice and
mercy”.

This perspective appears consistent with my limited understanding of
the philosophy of Jesus Christ, upon whose life Christianity is based.
It is therefore unfortunate that religious zealots, fundamentalists and
literalists prefer to see religion as a baton with which they should
bludgeon someone into submission instead of a tool that can encourage us
to develop a better society. It is also important to note that this
type of comment had previously come from other clerics within the
established Christian church in Barbados, who have received less
coverage but are no less sincere.

These types of statements have generally been associated with older
traditions such as Anglicanism, Methodism and Catholicism, while the
newer churches here appear to prefer “hellfire and brimstone”. This
latter approach might appear exciting because of the associated antics,
but this is probably also responsible for the large numbers of people
who have become “fed up” with this brand of Christianity that appears to
insult our intelligence and ignore a unique opportunity to build a more
“just” society.

The decision of the Pope to move the Catholic Church in a direction
that will make Christianity more relevant is perhaps belated but no less
commendable. Leaders like Pope Francis and Canon Isaacs are ultimately
part of a movement that will save Christianity from obsolescence and
this can only make for better societies in the future.

• Peter W. Wickham is a political consultant and a director of Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES).
source:http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/people-things-message-to-those-christians/?fb_action_ids=10153285166450302&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210153285166450302%22%3A338233832980228}&action_type_map={%2210153285166450302%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map=[]