Church leader says minister’s comment may be inflammatory

A CHURCH LEADER here is asking a Government Minister to diffuse what could be an ‘inflammatory’ situation with regard to his alleged use of the words ‘bow before’ at a Unity Labour Party (ULP) rally.

Almost a month after the ULP’s 17th Anniversary Rally was held on April 8, an incident which supposedly happened on stage when Minister of Transport Julian Francis had the microphone, is causing concern.

A letter to the editor published in SEARCHLIGHT on April 27, written by Theodore Browne, outlined his version of the events of what happened that night.

Browne had written, “I consider it my duty to guard against any semblance of sacrilege or disrespect of biblical precepts creeping into the official rhetoric and public discourse of this blessed land.”

He stated that he was in attendance at the Rally when Francis took the mic. “Suddenly, he took me by surprise when he asked us to turn in the direction of a huge frame which said “17 Years” and bow to it. I couldn’t believe what I had heard,” Browne continued.

Reverend Dr Cecil A Richards was asked his opinion on these events by radio host Dwight ‘Bing’ Joseph on Boom 106.9 FM on Wednesday, wherein he had indicated that the words themselves were loaded.

SEARCHLIGHT spoke to the pastor yesterday in order to ascertain his thoughts on the matter.

“First of all, there was a delayed response, and so if the incident itself was appalling, that appalling, how come people did not react to it?” Richards said.

“The second thing that we have to investigate is the intention of the Minister, was he really inviting the nation to idolatry, to bow before another God or was it that he used words carelessly?” he continued.

“It is highly possible that he was not aware of the loaded potential of that phrase ‘Bow before’ and therefore, when he used this phrase, ‘Bow before’ it is possible that the text was removed from the context,” the Pastor reasoned, further intoning, “Any time you remove text from context you will get trouble.”

However, Richards stated, “Whether or not he intended, the fact is that it is a highly sensitive word, and it evoked a response and people are out there saying he is inviting a nation to idolatry. That is not a light indictment, at all.”

Although he is not asking the Minister to apologize, the pastor thinks that it would be to the Minister’s advantage to “diffuse what could be an inflammatory situation.”

“It is very ‘inflammatory’… If you go to say to a Christian nation…if people are going to take just the text “bow before,”… once you begin to use that word it is very, very loaded,” the pastor insisted.

“It would be to his advantage therefore…to come to the nation and be forthright and explain what he meant so that people are not heading in the wrong direction,” Richards indicated.

SEARCHLIGHT reached out to Minister Francis yesterday but he declined to comment, saying that if he did comment it would be on his radio program on Tuesday night.

REVEREND DR CECIL A RICHARDS (internet photo)